A Big Sur favorite has a wine program that continues to impress.

For some, the meal selection comes before the wine selection. For others, the food follows the wine. Yet Aengus Wagner, the man behind the wine list for Big Sur star Nepenthe, takes a different approach.

“For me, any wine with good conversation trumps a ‘perfect pairing,’” Wagner says. The list is geared to a patio with an unparalleled view over the cliffs of the Big Sur coastline, and a steady stream of customers from all over the world.

Today’s wine list at Nepenthe rises from a foundation General Manager Kirk Gafill began building in 2000. Over the decades since, the list has made a point to brag on California’s winemaking prowess. Wagner, who took over the wine list in 2015, says he seeks out the work of small vintners from throughout the state – or from Europe, where he says value can be more common.

Wagner says Nepenthe is careful to never underestimate what guests are willing to spend. Two of Wagner’s favorite wines by the glass right now include a $36 Chardonnay from Kongsgaard in Napa, and a $24 Patrina from Alban Vineyards in Arroyo Grande. Don’t forget the European and experimental touch, though. Recently, Wagner introduced a 2020 Friedrich Becker Pinot Gris, from Germany (for $12.50). The grapes are fermented with extended skin contact. Such whites are called orange wines, or, for those who wish to avoid the confusion with the citrus fruit, skin-contact whites. The result is a bolder tannic structure more akin to a red wine, with a deep and sweet finish similar to the effect of honey pulled straight from a local hive.