My Favorite Wine Lists

Six wine lists from restaurants and wine bars around Milwaukee that read like poetry.

by

Eat/Drink

Being the beverage director of a restaurant sounds like a glamorous job, doesn’t it? You meet with all kinds of distributors and importers, winemakers and estate representatives. You taste wines, beers, spirits, ciders, sake—all kinds of fermented beverages from all around the world. You write your restaurant’s wine lists. Your lists read like poetry. They cultivate a following for you and your exquisite palate. You collaborate with your chefs to create harmony with their menus. You recommend wines to your followers. You pour their wines. You make them happy.

A restaurant beverage director who curates a great wine list is assiduously, indefatigably, devotedly and exhaustively exploring the world of wine. But being beverage director is just one of the two, or three, or four, or five or more titles and sets of responsibilities a restaurant depends on them for. All of which makes a restaurant with a great wine list—whether it’s an epic or a sonnet, a ballad, an elegy, or an ode—an extraordinary anomaly.

In the city of Milwaukee, these are my favorite restaurant and wine bar wine lists.

Bacchus

  • 925 E. Wells St.

Why its wine list is poetry: The list at Bacchus is an epic of more than 700 wines. It hues to convention, but every palate can find joy among its labels. If you want to appreciate the list, arrive an hour before your reservations, sidle up to the bar, and pour over it with a glass of Champagne.

Who curates the wine list?: Jared Salisbury, certified sommelier and manager.

What else does he do at the restaurant?: He assists with all of the day-to-day duties of managing the restaurant.

Birch

  • 459 E. Pleasant St.

Why its wine list is poetry: Birch has a pitch-perfect, Eurocentric wine list replete with fashionable, benchmark producers, many of whom have recently graduated from avant-garde to modern classic (e.g., Frank Cornelissen, Arnot-Roberts, Domaine Comte Abbatucci). The restaurant favors wines of elegance and balance, a sensibility matched to its cuisine.

Who curates the wine list?: Kyle Knall, chef and co-owner.

What else does he do at the restaurant?: Among his exhaustive list of responsibilities as chef and co-owner, he shops for produce at the West Allis Farmers’ Market.

Strange Town

  • 2101 N. Prospect Ave.

Why its wine list is poetry: Strange Town is one of the city’s two great champions of natural wine. Its list is relatively small, but it’s edgy, inspired, and ever-changing.

Who curates the wine list?: Mia LeTendre, chef and owner.

What else does she do at the restaurant?: “Aside from buying the wine," says LeTendre, “I’m also the general manager, prep cook, food menu creator, et cetera. I oversee all aspects of the restaurant, from daily operations and staff management to menu development and financial planning. It's a hands-on role! I’ve learned to be a jack of all trades.” She notes she’s also the restaurant’s plant mother.

Nonfiction Natural Wines

  • 2563 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.

Why its wine list is poetry: The sole wine bar on the list, and the second of the city's great natural wine champions, Nonfiction features a constantly rotating selection of fairly priced wines by the glass. Customers can pay a modest corkage fee to enjoy wonderfully eccentric bottles from its wine shop.

Who curates the wine list?: Bradley Kruse, owner.

What else does he do at the wine bar?: “Aside from the food, which is mainly handled by Allie Kruse, pretty much anything and everything else that needs to be done.”

Bavette La Boucherie

  • 217 N. Broadway

Why its wine list is poetry: In the Third Ward, Bavette consistently offers a terrific, bistro-style list that strikes a smart balance between classic producers and wildly fun contemporary ones from around the globe. A glass of Manzanilla Sherry with their glorious charcuterie board makes day drinking hard to resist.

Who curates the wine list?: Karen Bell, owner.

What else does she do at the restaurant?: “My responsibilities cover the gamut,” says Karen. “I am hands on with both the food and beverage menu, as well as the day-to-day operations.”

Story Hill BKC: Bottle - Kitchen - Cocktail

  • 5100 W. Bluemound Road

Why its wine list is poetry: Story Hill BKC deserves recognition for its discreet in-restaurant bottle shop, where diners can purchase wines at retail prices and enjoy them with their meal for a modest corkage fee.

Who curates the wine list?: Jason Kerstein, director of operations and beverage director.

What else does he do at the restaurant?: His lists of responsibilities include, but aren’t restricted to, staff management, financial management, menu development and promotion and marketing.