Your passport to wines you've never heard of
Β· Washington Β· Middle Eastern / North African Β· Visit Website β
Reviewed June 11, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Maydan stops you cold β in the best way. This isn't the usual parade of Chardonnay and Cabernet; instead, you're looking at Georgian Saperavi, Lebanese skin-contact, Armenian sparkling, and a Palestinian white grape most Americans couldn't name on a bet. It's a curated statement, and the statement is: your comfort zone is boring.
Nineteen labels, every single one poured by the glass, and almost all of them tethered thematically to the restaurant's Middle Eastern and North African identity. Georgia shows up with Baia's Wine Tsolikouri and Dakishvili Family Saperavi. Lebanon brings Mersel's skin-contact Phoenix and their collaboration rosΓ©, Love Letter by Laila. Armenia checks in with Keush's mΓ©thode traditionnelle bubbly. The one outlier β te PΔ Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand β sticks out like a tourist who wandered into the wrong neighborhood, but it's there as a safe harbor for the unadventurous. The gaps are real: no deep cellar, no vintage depth, and the bottle ceiling of $105 means this is a by-the-glass program wearing a full wine list's hat.
Here's the actual superpower: every wine on the list is available by the glass, ranging from $8 to $22. That means you can run a personal tasting flight across three continents without committing to a bottle β and at a place this food-forward, that flexibility is exactly right. The amber and skin-contact category is a particular standout; the Mersel Phoenix Skin Contact 2022 and the Monemvasia Tsimbidi Kydonitsa are wines most people will never encounter anywhere else in DC.
Dakishvili Family Saperavi 2021 β $14/glass
Georgian Saperavi at this price point is a steal β the grape delivers dark fruit and serious structure that would cost you twice as much if it carried a French label. Order it with anything coming off the fire.
Keush 'Origins' MΓ©thode Traditionnelle Brut
Armenian sparkling wine made in the traditional method β most tables walk right past it for the Cremant, which is a mistake. Keush is a serious producer working at high altitude in the Areni region, and this bottle is a genuine conversation starter that also happens to drink extremely well.
te PΔ Sauvignon Blanc 2023
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is a fine wine in the right context, but here it reads as the list's one concession to guests who won't take a risk. You came to Maydan β if you're ordering the most predictable white on the menu, you're wasting your evening.
Alain Graillot-Thalvin Syrocco 2021 + Lamb from the wood fire
Graillot's Moroccan Syrah β yes, that Graillot β was practically engineered for smoke and char. The wine's dark olive, dried herb, and pepper notes lock into spiced roasted lamb in a way that makes the whole table pay attention.
π² The Bottom Line
Maydan's wine list is one of the most geographically coherent and genuinely adventurous in Washington, DC β it matches the kitchen's ambition and then some. If you're willing to let go of the familiar, this is one of the best by-the-glass programs in the city for opening your eyes to what the wine world looks like beyond Europe.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.