Great Scones, Forgotten Wine List
Rockwood / Chapel Hill Road · Durham · Cafe & Market · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 15, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Foster's Market feels like an afterthought stapled to a menu built around biscuits and grain bowls. Six house-bottled SKUs — Pinot Grigio, Rosé, Chardonnay, Cab Sauv, Pinot Noir, and a Brut — all priced at $15 a bottle, all wearing the same family dinner program label. It's functional, sure, but it's not trying to impress anyone.
The entire list leans on entry-level California and Italian house labels — think Cora and Grayson Cellars, the kind of bottles you find on the bottom shelf at your grocery store. There's no regional depth here, no interesting producers, and no apparent curation beyond 'one of each color.' France gets a nod in the region focus, but we couldn't find a single French bottle on the actual list. If you came hoping for a Beaujolais or even a decent Côtes du Rhône to go with your lunch, you're going home disappointed.
Glass pours run $9–$13, which is at least honest given what's in the bottles. The by-the-glass program mirrors the bottle program exactly — same six house-label wines, no rotation, no surprises. There's no evidence this list has changed in a meaningful way in years.
Cora Pinot Noir — $15
At a 36% markup over its $10.99 retail price, this is the least egregious bottle on the list. It's not exciting, but if you're grabbing a bottle for a casual picnic-style lunch, it's the one to pick.
Brut Sparkling Wine (house bottling)
Nobody comes to a sandwich café expecting bubbles, which is exactly why this is the most interesting order on the list. Pop it with a pastry at brunch and it suddenly makes a lot more sense than anything else here.
Undurraga Cabernet Sauvignon
At $15 a bottle with a retail price of $8.99, you're paying a 67% markup for a Chilean house Cab that you could grab at any grocery store on the way over. Hard pass.
Cora Pinot Grigio + Market Salad
A light, simple Pinot Grigio won't fight the bright, fresh ingredients in a market salad — it just gets out of the way, which is probably the most you can ask from this list.
❌ The Bottom Line
Foster's Market is a genuinely lovely café, and the wine program seems to know it's playing second fiddle — six house-label bottles at flat $15 pricing isn't a wine program so much as a courtesy. Order the coffee, eat the baked goods, and save your wine night for somewhere else.
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