Spoon and Stable

The wine list at Spoon and Stable lands with the kind of weight you feel before you've even read a label — this is a program someone genuinely cares about. It's organized with intention, heavy on France, and peppered with just enough left-field picks to signal that the person building this list isn't just ticking boxes. You're in a converted horse stable in the North Loop, and somehow it has one of the most considered wine programs in the Twin Cities.

France is the backbone here — Burgundy, Alsace, Beaujolais, and the Rhône all show up with real depth, not just the usual suspects. The Alsace section alone earns respect, with Domaines Schlumberger's Riesling Les Princes Abbés representing a category most Minneapolis lists ignore entirely. Italy gets its due too: Ar.Pe.Pe.'s Rosso di Valtellina is the kind of inclusion that tells you the buyer has actually done their homework beyond Barolo and Chianti. California and Spain round things out, with producers like Ridge Vineyards Geyserville, Lieu Dit Cabernet Franc, and the Raül Pérez Ultreia Godello from Bierzo adding genuine range. The Cruse Wine Co. 'Monkey Jacket' Red Blend — a Valdiguié, Carignan, and Tannat field blend from the North Coast — is a fun outlier that keeps the list from feeling too buttoned-up.

The by-the-glass program runs 10 or more options spanning $19–$37, which is a solid range for a fine dining room at this level. Rotation appears intentional rather than accidental — the list reflects the same Old World lean as the bottles, so you're not stuck choosing between a grocery store Chardonnay and a grocery store Cab. We'd love to see a more aggressive BTG rotation or a dedicated half-bottle program, but what's here is respectable.