Myrtle Beach

Crave punches above its Myrtle Beach zip code on the Italian side of the list, but the markups are beach-town steep and the by-the-glass program needs more ambition. If you're here, dig into the Italian bottles and leave the California brand parade alone.

Abuelo's wine program is an afterthought dressed up as a wine list — four California bottles, grocery-store-level selection, and markups that don't reward curiosity. Order a margarita and don't look back.

Rioz is a genuinely fun place to eat — the meat service is relentless and the energy is high — but the wine program is an afterthought in a room that deserves better. Order the Malbec, enjoy the picanha, and don't come here expecting anything from the wine list.

Boardwalk Billy's is a fun spot to eat and drink a cold beer on the water — lean into that. The wine list is an afterthought stocked with recognizable labels that require zero effort from anyone involved, and the markup doesn't justify the selection. Order a cocktail or a local draft and save the wine night for somewhere that cares.

Drunken Jack's isn't a wine destination — it's a great seafood spot on a beautiful stretch of South Carolina coast that happens to have a wine list that won't embarrass itself. Order the Macon-Villages or Pine Ridge blend, watch the marsh at sunset, and stop overthinking it.

Wicked Tuna's wine list is a reliable, unfussy companion to a genuinely fun waterfront dining experience — it won't wow anyone, but it won't let anyone down either. Come for the sushi, the sunset, and the $2-off happy hour pours; just don't come expecting to geek out over the cellar.

Wicked Tuna is a great place to watch the sun drop into the Atlantic with something cold in your hand — just don't expect the wine list to match the view. It's a reliable, uninspired pour with a beautiful backdrop, and sometimes that's exactly what you need.

Liberty Tap Room is a solid spot for cold beer, a burger, and a game on the screen — but the wine list is an afterthought and the pricing reflects zero effort to earn your wine dollars. Come for the beer, skip the bottle.

Carolina Roadhouse isn't a wine destination, but it's not an embarrassment either — the all-BTG setup and a handful of solid Napa producers make it a workable option for a steakhouse on the tourist strip. Just skip The Prisoner, order the Riesling, and keep your expectations calibrated to the zip code.

Ruth's Chris Myrtle Beach is a reliable wine-with-steak machine — nothing about the list will surprise you, and the markups will sting if you're paying attention, but the bottles they've chosen are competent and the setting at Grande Dunes is genuinely nice. Send a friend here for a celebratory ribeye and a bottle of Faust, not a wine discovery.

The Melting Pot Myrtle Beach is not a wine destination, and it's not pretending to be — the list exists to serve the fondue experience, and for that narrow purpose it's adequate. Order the Riesling, skip the Josh Cab, and let the cheese do the talking.

The Cypress Room is a perfectly acceptable place to drink wine if you're already staying at Island Vista and don't feel like going anywhere else. We wouldn't drive across town for this list, but we wouldn't send a friend away thirsty either.

Waterscapes is a perfectly acceptable place to drink wine if you're already staying at the Marina Inn — it won't hurt you, but it won't thrill you either. If wine is a priority on your Myrtle Beach night out, temper expectations and stick to the white end of the list.

Gio's is a dependable neighborhood Italian with a wine list that covers the bases without taking many risks — and marks up the familiar names accordingly. If you steer toward the Italian bottles and away from the reflex Caymus order, there's a solid dinner to be had here.

Thoroughbreds is doing the right things for a Myrtle Beach steakhouse — solid BTG count, recognizable producers, and enough depth to satisfy a table of Napa loyalists without embarrassing anyone. It's not a wine destination, but if you're here for the prime rib, it's got your back.

Bin 2004 is the Wild Card of the Myrtle Beach dining scene — a genuinely ambitious wine list wearing a strip mall address like a disguise. Markups lean steep on the trophy bottles, but the by-the-glass depth makes this worth the trip if you know what to order.

Greg Norman's list punches above its beach-town weight on the Australian side, and if you're willing to pay resort-town markups to drink proper Barossa Shiraz with a waterfront view, there are worse ways to spend a vacation dinner. Just stay in your lane and order the Aussie wines — that's the whole reason this list exists.

New York Prime is a classic steakhouse wine list done competently: deep on Napa Cabs, respectful of Champagne, and priced for an audience that's already committed to spending money. If you're here for a special occasion and someone else is paying, order the Barolo and don't look at the receipt.

The Library is the rare Myrtle Beach restaurant where ordering a real bottle of wine isn't an act of faith — the list has depth, the setting demands it, and the food matches up. Markup is on the steep side, so pick wisely, but this is absolutely worth a visit if you want fine dining and a bottle that means something.

Bistro 90 is a genuinely pleasant room with serious food, but the wine list is five bottles deep in a steakhouse that deserves fifty. Order the steak, pick whichever bottle offends you least, and hope they've expanded the program by your next visit.

SeaBlue is a genuine wine destination wearing beach-town clothes — the depth of the cellar and the quality of the staff would hold up anywhere. Markups keep it from perfection, but if you're eating prime steak on the Grand Strand and you care about what's in your glass, there's nowhere else to go.

Aspen Grille is the most credentialed wine destination in Myrtle Beach by a wide margin — a real sommelier, a Wine Spectator award, and white linen service in a beach town that mostly wants frozen cocktails. It's not a deep cellar, but it's the right call when you want wine that was actually chosen by someone who knows what they're doing.