Crane Club
Barolo and Burgundy done dead serious
West Chelsea · New York · American
Reviewed April 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at Crane Club lands like a quiet flex — 400-plus selections in a moody West Chelsea dining room that clearly takes itself seriously. The Piedmont and Burgundy sections alone could keep you occupied for an entire dinner. This is not a list assembled by committee or a beverage director phoning it in.
Selection Deep Dive
The spine of this list is Italian and French, and both are built with real conviction. Piedmont is the headliner: Giacomo Conterno, Bartolo Mascarello, and Bruno Giacosa represent Barolo at its most traditional and uncompromising, while Gaja and Bruno Rocca anchor a Barbaresco section that doesn't skip legs. Burgundy runs just as deep, with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Leroy, and Rousseau doing exactly what you'd expect them to do on a list that earned a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in its first year of eligibility. There's even a Barolo Chinato section for digestifs, which tells you everything about how seriously the team thinks about the full arc of a wine-driven dinner.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty-five pours by the glass is a generous program for a room this calibrated, and the $15–$30 range reflects genuine quality rather than filler. We'd expect the Nebbiolo-based Langhe selections to do heavy lifting here — approachable entry points into the same regional DNA that defines the bottle list. Rotation frequency isn't confirmed, but a staff this deep in sommeliers suggests the glass program isn't just set and forgotten.
Langhe Nebbiolo — $15-$20
As a by-the-glass pour, a well-chosen Langhe Nebbiolo gives you the Barolo experience — same grape, same terroir philosophy — without the sticker shock of the prestige bottles. It's the smartest drink in the room if you're watching your tab.
Barolo Chinato
Most tables walk past the digestif section entirely. Barolo Chinato is a bittersweet, fortified, aromatized wine made from Nebbiolo — it's the kind of thing serious Italian wine lovers seek out and most American diners have never encountered. Order it after dinner and thank us later.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
It's on the list, it's the real thing, and the markup on DRC in a New York fine-dining room will make your eyes water. Unless someone else is paying, there are extraordinary bottles here at a fraction of the price that will make you just as happy.
Bartolo Mascarello Barolo + Wood-fired meat
Mascarello's traditionally made Barolo — firm tannins, tar, roses, the whole classic package — finds its foil in the char and fat of a wood-fired preparation. The smoke softens the wine's edges and the wine cuts right through the richness. This is the pairing that justifies the whole evening.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Crane Club is a serious wine destination wearing a stylish restaurant's clothes — the Piedmont and Burgundy depth alone earns its Rager badge. Prices climb fast once you go deep, but the staff and the list give you every tool to spend wisely.
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