Passionfish

The wine list at Passionfish feels like it was built by someone who actually eats here — French classics and California coastal producers that make sense next to a bowl of Dungeness crab or a plate of wild king salmon. It's not trying to be a wine bar, but it's clearly not an afterthought either. The $35–$150 bottle range keeps things accessible without feeling cheap.

France and California split the list evenly and sensibly: Burgundy anchors the Old World side with Jadot and Drouhin doing the heavy lifting, while the Rhône Valley adds some spice and textural interest. On the California side, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and Monterey County Chardonnay are the obvious picks given the zip code, and Santa Barbara Pinot adds a warmer, riper counterpoint. Loire Valley whites — think Muscadet or Sancerre territory — round out the list with the kind of crisp, mineral options that were made for oysters and calamari. Gaps exist: South America is thin, Italy barely shows up, and there's no real deep-cellar action for collectors.

Twenty to thirty by-the-glass options is genuinely strong for a restaurant this size, and the $10–$18 price range is honest for the Monterey Peninsula. We'd expect the glass pours to skew toward the French whites and California Pinots that anchor the bottle list — which is exactly what you want when you're ordering off a seafood-heavy menu. Rotation isn't confirmed, but the breadth of the program suggests you won't be stuck choosing between two Chardonnays.