Drinking and driving in the Motor City: The Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit Golf Club, June 26-29, 2025
Click on image for location details
Ok, that’s a pretty good headline for a golf-oriented wine blog if I say so myself. At this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic let’s make sure that all drinking and driving is done on the golf course.
Wine isn’t the first thing I think about when Detroit comes to mind. While there are a few bright spots, my instincts appear largely on target. I can’t be sure, but once again it seems that distribution and market availability are constraints when you look at what the best places carry, especially when it comes to European wines.
Restaurants
Prime + Proper is a big-league steakhouse with the splurge list in Detroit. They carry some true superstar wines and offer multiple small vertical/horizontal arrays of collectibles. Unsurprisingly California dominates but there are great producers on the list from most everywhere. This is the place for a big night out and nothing else I found comes close. Wine List
Highlands has undergone several changes in the online presentation of its list since I began writing about it, all for the good. Gone are QR codes, most of the bad errors and humble brags. They still apologize for the list’s “conventional structure,” which is entirely meaningless and not even accurate, since no other list I’ve ever seen uses section heads like “Honorable Mention Reds” or “Spanish Explorations.” But let’s not be churlish. It’s still a very worthwhile option with excellent diverse global coverage and prices from everyday to nosebleed for some of the “trophies.” The large California section tends to be a tad stereotypical but then you’ll see a 2005 Pousse D’Or in the small Burgundy section and ask yourself what’s going on here? Maybe it’s the kind of place where you can really have fun if you’re able to engage the somm? Wine List
Vertical has among the most confusing websites I’ve seen yet in my virtual travels. It’s a restaurant and wine bar and a retail store. I’m including them based on the strength of their by-the-glass list, which is all you can see online except for a list of producers they allegedly carry. Their companion retail store, The Fine Wine Source, lists producers, regions and vintages without specifying what’s actually available and without prices. They swear they know wine, but they could use some help demonstrating it.
Tallulah Wine Bar has a good list organized by grape. Prices are all over the lot. There are some high-end gems that will catch your eye as you’re scrolling.
For fun and games try the very compact and highly curated list at Selden Standard. It’s loaded with offbeat, natural-leaning options at great prices. The equally small Reserve List tops out at $264 for 2010 Montelena. Not a lot of choice here but I’ll bet it’s fun discussing your options. Wine List
Retail
I’m always on the lookout for category killers when I hunt retail. If you can get whatever you want at one store you can save a lot of time, especially on a visit/vacation/golf trip. It looks like the closest thing to a local bully is Old Woodward Cellar in Birmingham. It’s a good place to hunt for better wines although the absolute breadth is a little thin. Maybe try Simply Wine for claimed curation of small, exciting producers from around the world. (no online inventory…)
