A Polished Lakeside List Worth Lingering Over
Loring Park · Minneapolis · New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Cafe Lurcat arrives looking exactly like the restaurant itself — composed, confident, and dressed for the occasion. You're sitting in a room overlooking Loring Park, and the list matches the energy: France, California, Oregon, Spain, all the right names in all the expected places. It's not trying to surprise you, and that's fine.
With somewhere between 150 and 250 bottles, this is a serious list by Minneapolis standards. Burgundy and Bordeaux anchor the Old World side with genuine depth, while California flexes its usual Napa Cabernet muscle for the expense-account crowd. Oregon Pinot Noir gets a respectable showing, and the Spanish section — Rioja and Ribera del Duero — adds some texture to what could otherwise feel like a greatest-hits compilation. The gaps are predictable: don't expect natural wines, pet-nats, or anything that would raise an eyebrow at a business dinner.
Sixteen to twenty-four pours by the glass is a strong showing, and with a sommelier on staff you'd expect that selection to be curated rather than just padded. The range covers the core regions on the bottle list, so you can work your way through France and California without committing to a full bottle. Rotation isn't something we could pin down as frequent, but the depth of the program suggests the pours are at least thoughtfully chosen.
Oregon Pinot Noir — null
In a list that leans hard on Napa Cab and French prestige bottles, the Oregon Pinot Noir selections represent the best value play — genuinely food-friendly, lower markup territory than the headline Burgundies, and a natural fit with Cafe Lurcat's kitchen. Specific pricing wasn't available in our research, but these are the bottles worth asking about.
Spanish Ribera del Duero
Everyone at the table is eyeing the Napa Cab, but the Ribera del Duero selection is the quiet overachiever here. Tempranillo-based, built for red meat, and almost always priced more honestly than the French and Californian prestige picks sitting next to it on the list.
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (well-known producers)
The big-name Napa Cabs are the most requested bottles in the room, which means they're also the most marked-up. You're paying for the brand recognition and the comfort of ordering something everyone recognizes. If that's not the goal, your money goes further almost anywhere else on this list.
Oregon Pinot Noir + Minnesota Walleye
Walleye is delicate and sweet, and a heavy Cab would bulldoze it. A lighter Oregon Pinot Noir — especially one with some earthy, red-fruit character — gives you enough structure to feel like a real wine pairing without overwhelming the fish. It's the kind of call a good sommelier will steer you toward if you ask.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Cafe Lurcat is a reliable, well-staffed wine program in one of Minneapolis's prettiest dining rooms — just know you're paying a premium for the address and the ambiance. Ask the sommelier for help navigating the list and you'll drink well; go on autopilot and order the obvious Napa Cab and you'll leave having spent more than you should have.
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