Zuma
Tokyo Ambition Meets Biscayne Bay Firepower
Downtown Miami · Miami · Japanese · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list arrives like the restaurant itself — confident, international, and not particularly interested in making it easy on you. Four hundred-plus selections at a Japanese izakaya on Biscayne Bay is a statement, and Zuma knows it. The France-California-Italy backbone is serious enough to earn the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence it's held since 2022.
Selection Deep Dive
The French coverage is the heart of this list — Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet, Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin, Domaine Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges, Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill — this is a cellar that respects Burgundy and Champagne without apology. California holds its own with Kistler Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, Opus One, Caymus Special Selection, and Schrader Old Sparky, which gives the high-rollers plenty of runway. Italy steps up with Sassicaia, Tignanello, and Gaja Barbaresco Sori Tildin — the holy trinity of Super Tuscans and Piedmont done right. The one honest gap is the rest of the world: if you're hunting for Iberian bottles, Southern Hemisphere, or anything remotely off the beaten path, you'll need to look elsewhere.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty pours by the glass is ambitious for a restaurant that could easily coast on bottle sales to expense-account diners, and we respect the range. Glasses run $14–$28, which is honest for this ZIP code and this level of program. Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs by the glass is the kind of move that earns loyalty — that's not a throwaway Champagne pour.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir — null
On a list stacked with $300+ bottles, Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir is a smart anchor — serious winemaking pedigree from a Burgundy family that transplanted their obsession to the Willamette Valley. It bridges the French focus of this list and the umami-forward food beautifully, and it won't crater your bill the way a Gevrey-Chambertin will.
Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Most tables at Zuma go straight to the red and white list and miss this entirely. Blanc de Blancs Champagne — all Chardonnay, laser-focused acidity — is a genuinely excellent call with yellowtail sashimi or anything coming off the robata. It's not cheap, but it's the move that makes the whole meal click.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection
Caymus Special Selection is a perfectly fine wine that every steakhouse in America already pours at a 3-4x markup. At Zuma, you're eating Japanese izakaya food in Miami — there are far more interesting bottles on this list that will actually work with the food. This one's here because people recognize the name, which is exactly why you should scroll past it.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet + Black cod marinated in yuzu miso
Leflaive's Puligny has that minerally, tightly wound Chardonnay structure that cuts through the richness of miso-glazed black cod without competing with the yuzu brightness. It's a genuinely great pairing — the kind of thing that makes you put your fork down for a second.
Wednesday — Half-price wine night every Wednesday — applies to bottles from the wine list. One of the better mid-week deals in Miami given the depth of this program.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Zuma is playing in a different league than most Miami restaurants — three named sommeliers, 400+ bottles, and a Wednesday half-price wine night that is frankly absurd on a list with Penfolds Grange on it. The markups are real and the list skews toward the usual suspects, but the depth, the staff, and the sheer ambition of pairing this wine program with a robata grill earn the Rager badge without much debate.
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