Third Wave Cafe and Wine Bar
Coastal tapa spot punching above its weight
New Smyrna Beach · New Smyrna Beach · Mediterranean, Tapas · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 12, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into Third Wave on Flagler Ave, you half-expect a glorified beach bar wine list — house red, house white, done. What you get instead is a 75-to-120-bottle list with actual California and French ambition, which earns it a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence it's been holding since 2019. It's a genuinely pleasant surprise for a coastal Florida strip.
Selection Deep Dive
The list leans hard into California and France, which is exactly where it should be given what it does well. You've got Caymus and Jordan anchoring the Cab side, Duckhorn covering Merlot for the crowd that still orders Merlot without apology, and Louis Jadot representing Burgundy with reliable, if not adventurous, credibility. The French side could use more depth beyond Jadot — there's room to push into Rhône or Loire — but for a beach town tapas bar in New Smyrna, this is a list that actually thinks about what it's doing. Gaps exist, but the bones are right.
By the Glass
Twelve to eighteen pours by the glass in the $10–$18 range gives you real options at the table, which matters when a group can't agree on a bottle. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and Meiomi Pinot Noir show up as the crowd-pleasers, and they'll move fast on a warm Florida evening. We'd love to see more rotation here — the glass list feels like it hasn't changed much since the Obama administration — but the pricing is fair enough that you won't feel punished for exploring.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling — $35
At the low end of the bottle range, this Washington Riesling is consistently underpriced relative to its versatility. Off-dry, bright, and cut with enough acidity to handle the Mediterranean-leaning menu — it's the bottle that does the most work for the least money on this list.
Louis Jadot Burgundy
Most tables at a Florida beach spot are reaching for Caymus before they even read the full list. Jadot doesn't have the name recognition to stop them, but a Jadot Burgundy at a fair price is a far more interesting glass with the lighter tapas plates — earthy, structured, and a completely different experience than another California Cab.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is fine. It's also on every wine list between here and Napa, it's priced accordingly, and it's rarely a value play at a restaurant. You're paying for the label recognition at this point, and this menu doesn't particularly need that much oak and weight. There are better calls on this list.
Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc + Gluten-free Mediterranean pizza
Kim Crawford's herbaceous, citrus-forward profile cuts right through the richness of a flatbread-style pizza without competing with olive oil, roasted vegetables, or whatever the kitchen is loading on top. It's an easy, clean pairing that works and won't overthink itself on a humid Florida evening.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Third Wave is the rare beach-town wine bar that actually earns its Wine Spectator hardware — thoughtful California and French anchors, fair glass pricing, and a vibe that makes you want to linger over another pour. It's not a destination wine list, but for New Smyrna Beach, it's genuinely the best game in town.
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