Six Tables, Serious Wine, Zero Compromises
Newport · Newport · French · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed May 1, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Cara at The Chanler at Cliff Walk feels like stumbling into someone's very wealthy, very tasteful private dining room — six tables, Gilded Age bones, and a wine list that earns its spot in the room. The Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator isn't window dressing here; this list has clearly been assembled by people who actually care.
The California-France axis is where this list lives and breathes, and it does both with real conviction. You've got Kistler and Kongsgaard on the Chardonnay side — two producers that rarely show up together outside of serious cellar programs — alongside Napa heavyweights like Opus One, Dominus Estate, Joseph Phelps Insignia, and Ridge Monte Bello, which is the intellectual's pick of that crew. France holds its own with Château Lynch-Bages anchoring Bordeaux and Louis Jadot and Domaine Drouhin Oregon representing the Burgundy lane, though we'd love to see more village-level Burgundy to balance the blockbuster names. At 200-350 bottles, this isn't a sprawling cellar, but the curation is tight and intentional — every bottle feels like it was chosen, not just listed.
With 12-20 pours running $12-$25 a glass, the BTG program is substantial for a six-table tasting menu room — that's a meaningful commitment. Rombauer Chardonnay makes an appearance here, which will keep the crowd happy, though we'd push Karen Hatcher or Kevin Kilavey to steer you toward something with a little more tension. Rotation details aren't publicly posted, but with two sommeliers on staff, there's someone to ask.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir — $45
Oregon Pinot at the entry point of this list is your foot in the door — Drouhin's Oregon project punches well above its weight class and gives you real Burgundian structure without the Burgundy markup.
Ridge Monte Bello
Everyone orders the Opus One because they recognize the name. The Monte Bello is the wine that serious collectors reach for — a Cabernet-dominant blend from the Santa Cruz Mountains that ages like great Bordeaux and gets consistently overlooked next to flashier Napa labels.
Rombauer Chardonnay
Perfectly fine wine, but in a room with Kistler and Kongsgaard on the list, ordering the Rombauer is like going to a steakhouse and ordering chicken tenders. It's not a bad wine — it's just a missed opportunity at this address.
Kongsgaard Chardonnay + Tasting menu fish course
Kongsgaard's Chardonnay is full-bodied and textured but never flabby — it has the weight to stand up to butter-sauced fish preparations and the acidity to cut through them cleanly. In a tasting menu format where the kitchen controls the protein, this is the BTG anchor that holds across multiple courses.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Cara is doing serious wine work inside a serious restaurant, and the combination of two credentialed sommeliers, a thoughtfully curated California-France list, and that Cliff Walk setting makes this one of the best wine experiences in Rhode Island. Markups lean high — this is a Forbes Five-Star hotel dining room, not a neighborhood trattoria — but if you're sitting down for a tasting menu anyway, you're already in the right headspace to order something memorable.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.