Vermont's Best Wine List Hiding in Plain Sight
Downtown Waterfront · Burlington · Seasonal New American, farm-to-table · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 18, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Hen of the Wood hits differently than you'd expect from a Burlington restaurant — this isn't a token afterthought stapled to a farm-to-table menu. At 150–250 bottles deep, it reads like someone actually thought hard about what belongs here, leaning into Loire, Burgundy, Alsace, and new-wave California producers with clear intention. It's the kind of list that makes you want to skip the cocktail and go straight to a glass.
The geographic spread here is genuinely impressive: Loire Valley, Beaujolais, Sicily, Austria, Alsace, Piedmont, and a California contingent that skews decidedly left-of-center. This isn't a list padded with Sonoma Cabs and Willamette Pinots to please the masses — producers like Dirty & Rowdy and Folk Machine signal that whoever built this list has strong opinions and isn't afraid of them. The Domaine Louis Boillot Gevrey-Chambertin is the serious flex, a proper village-level Burgundy that earns its place. Gaps are hard to find; the weak link might simply be that the list is so France-forward that New World drinkers could feel slightly adrift.
Twelve to eighteen pours by the glass is a generous program, and the curation is sharp — Domaine de la Paonnerie from the Loire and Folk Machine Chenin Blanc from California sitting side by side tells you exactly who's running this show. The glass list rotates with the menu (daily changes mean the kitchen and the wine program are actually talking to each other), so what's available tonight might not be here next week. That's a feature, not a bug.
Folk Machine Chenin Blanc, California — null
Folk Machine punches well above its price bracket — bright, textured, and versatile enough to run with almost anything on a daily-changing menu. At by-the-glass pricing in a room this caliber, it's the move if you're not ready to commit to a bottle.
Dirty & Rowdy Sémillon, California
Most people scroll past Sémillon on a wine list because they don't know what to do with it. Dirty & Rowdy makes a case for why that's a mistake — their version is waxy, savory, and built for food. At a restaurant firing wood-roasted vegetables and oysters, this is doing serious work that a Chardonnay simply cannot.
Domaine Louis Boillot Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy
It's a great wine — we're not questioning that. But Gevrey-Chambertin at a restaurant markup in a farm-to-table spot means you're paying a premium on top of a premium. Unless you're celebrating something real, that money goes further elsewhere on this list.
Domaine de la Paonnerie, Loire Valley + Oysters
Loire Valley whites and oysters is one of those combinations that exists because the universe occasionally gets things right. The Paonnerie's minerality and bright acidity cut through the brine and fat of a fresh oyster without overpowering it — this is the glass you order the moment the oysters hit the table.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Hen of the Wood Burlington is the rare restaurant where the wine list is as considered as the food, and that's saying something when the kitchen is this good. If you're driving through Vermont and care about what's in your glass, this is worth a reservation.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.