Rochester

Sea has the bones of a wine list worth respecting — a few smart coastal picks that actually match the food — but the rest of the card is overpriced crowd-pleasers that suggest the wine program is an afterthought. Come for the seafood, order the Muscadet or Albariño, and don't touch the California reds.

Grappa is the wine list equivalent of a reliable neighborhood Italian place: it shows up, it doesn't embarrass itself, and the prices won't ruin your night. Just don't come here expecting to discover anything new.

Char is a reliable anchor for wine in downtown Rochester — the list has real bones and a few genuinely good picks, but the markups remind you that ambiance costs money. Send a friend here for a special occasion, just steer them toward the Nebbiolo and away from the Champagne.

Flight West is the kind of place that makes you reconsider your assumptions about suburban wine bars — the list is small but genuinely curated, the pricing is some of the fairest we've seen in Rochester, and that Jean Diot Champagne pour alone is worth the drive out to Greece. Send your friends here, but tell them to order the bubbles first.