Scottsdale

Anhelo Restaurant

· Scottsdale · Restaurant

The Wild Card

Anhelo is doing something quietly ambitious — a focused, considered wine list in a city that often settles for Caymus and a bucket of Whispering Angel. The markups aren't shy, but the curation is real, and the Sauternes library alone is worth a detour.

Frasher's Steakhouse

Old Town Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American

The Reliable

Frasher's isn't reinventing the steakhouse wine list, but it's doing the job with a Wine Spectator credential and a Wednesday half-price night that makes the steep markups a lot easier to live with. Send a friend here if they want a reliable California Cab with their red meat — just tell them to go on Wednesday.

The Living Room

DC Ranch · Scottsdale · American, Small Plates

The Reliable

The Living Room isn't trying to reinvent wine — it's trying to make California Cab and Chardonnay feel like an event, and it mostly succeeds. Send your friends here for a comfortable, well-staffed wine experience; just remind them to drink the Duckhorn.

The Mick Brasserie

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · French

The Reliable

The Mick Brasserie is a dependable, well-staffed wine destination dressed up as a casual neighborhood spot — a genuinely rare combo in Scottsdale. The markups keep it from being a great deal, but the sommelier team and the quality of the list make it worth showing up for.

STK Scottsdale

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American, Steakhouse

The Reliable

STK Scottsdale is a reliable California wine destination — not a discovery, but a dependable one. If you're here for Wagyu and a bottle of Stag's Leap, you will not leave disappointed; just don't expect the list to surprise you.

Marcellino Ristorante

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Italian

The Wild Card

Marcellino is doing something genuinely uncommon in Scottsdale — a disciplined, Italy-first wine program with real producers and a sommelier who clearly cares. Markups tip steep on the prestige bottles, but the depth of the list earns it a spot on your list if Italian wine is your thing.

Fogo de Chão

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Brazilian Steakhouse

The Reliable

Fogo de Chão Scottsdale isn't trying to be a wine bar, and it doesn't need to be — the list is purpose-built for red meat and it delivers. Markups lean steep on the trophy bottles, but the Argentine and Chilean selections give you a real path to drinking well without getting gouged.

Virtu Honest Craft

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Italian, Mediterranean

The Rager

Virtu is one of the most credible Italian wine programs in Arizona — the producers are real, the pricing is honest, and the list has genuine depth in Piedmont and Tuscany. If you care about what's in the glass, this is the restaurant in Scottsdale worth planning your evening around.

The Fat Ox Restaurant

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Northern Italian

The Rager

The Fat Ox is the real deal — a Northern Italian kitchen backed by a wine program that takes Piedmont and Tuscany as seriously as the pasta. Send your most wine-curious friend here and tell them to let Skylar Zapernick steer.

Mastro's City Hall Steakhouse

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Steak House

The Rager

Mastro's City Hall is the steakhouse wine list for people who want the full trophy-hunting experience — deep on California and France, staffed by people who actually know what they're pouring, and anchored by a Wednesday half-price night that softens the otherwise steep markups. Send your friends here if they eat beef and take wine seriously.

Maple & Ash

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American, Steakhouse

The Rager

Maple & Ash is the rare steakhouse where the wine list is as much a reason to show up as the beef. It's expensive — bring your appetite and your credit card — but with a named sommelier team, a 400+ bottle deep list, and the full California-Burgundy-Tuscany trifecta represented at the highest level, it absolutely earns the Rager.

La Zozzona

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Italian

The Rager

La Zozzona is the real deal for Italian wine in Scottsdale — deep list, a sommelier who knows the inventory, and fair pricing across a range that covers Sunday-night pasta and Thursday-night Tignanello alike. Send your friends here, and tell them to skip the cocktail menu.

Café Monarch

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Seasonal

The Rager

Café Monarch is the rare Scottsdale fine dining room where the wine program matches the room's ambition — seven sommeliers, DRC on the list, and half-price Mondays mean this place works for the splurge crowd and the smart crowd equally. If you care about what's in your glass, you owe this one a visit.

Bourbon Steak

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American, Steakhouse

The Rager

Bourbon Steak Scottsdale is the real deal — a deep, California-dominant list anchored by serious sommeliers and the kind of glassware that tells you the kitchen isn't the only thing they take seriously. Markups are steep, as expected at a resort steakhouse, but if you navigate smart, this is one of the best bottles-with-dinner experiences in the Valley.

Anhelo

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American, Seasonal

The Wild Card

Anhelo earns its Wine Spectator hardware — this is a real wine program in a market where that's not guaranteed. The markup keeps it from being a true Rager, but if you know what to order, there's serious juice in this list.

True Food Kitchen

Scottsdale Quarter · Scottsdale · American, Contemporary, Healthy

The Wild Card

True Food Kitchen is not a wine destination, but the below-retail glass pours and thoughtfully sourced list make it a genuinely pleasant surprise for a health-focused chain. If you're already eating here, there's real reason to drink well too.

Rusty Bucket

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Bar & Grill

The Lazy List

Come for the wings, come back on a Tuesday when bottles are half price — that's genuinely the only time this wine list makes financial sense. Any other night, order a beer or a cocktail and call it good.

Andreoli Italian Grocer

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Italian

The Reliable

Andreoli is a genuinely charming spot with a focused, all-Italian list and real producers worth drinking — but the markups are aggressive enough that you'll want to pick your bottle carefully. Come for the atmosphere and the salumi, order the Amarone, and leave the Chianti Classico for someone else.

LDV Winemakers Scottsdale

Pinnacle Peak · Scottsdale · Wine Bar / Tasting Room

The Wild Card

If you think Arizona wine is a novelty act, LDV will change your mind — especially on a Tuesday or Wednesday when every bottle is half price and there's a sommelier in the room to walk you through it. This is a genuine wine destination tucked into a Scottsdale strip, and that's worth going out of your way for.

Sushi Roku

Old Town Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Japanese Sushi

The Reliable

Sushi Roku is a great place to eat and a fine place to drink wine, so long as you're not there for the wine. The list is safe, the markups are real, and the energy of the room will distract you from caring too much — which is probably the intent.

Postino Kierland

Kierland · Scottsdale · American, Wine Bar

The Wild Card

Postino Kierland is the rare strip-mall wine bar where the pricing alone earns a recommendation — markups this honest are genuinely uncommon in Scottsdale. The list won't blow a serious collector's mind, but for a casual weeknight pour or a lazy patio afternoon, we'd send a friend here without hesitation.

The Henry

Camelback Corridor · Scottsdale · American Brasserie

The Reliable

The Henry is a dependable wine stop for anyone who wants familiar, well-sourced bottles without surprises — just know you're paying for the comfort of recognition. If your table loves Napa Cab and isn't looking to be challenged, this list does exactly what it needs to do.

Citizen Public House

Old Town · Scottsdale · American Gastropub

The Wild Card

Citizen Public House is punching well above its gastropub weight class with a genuinely interesting wine list that rewards the curious. Four by-the-glass options holds it back from a higher badge, but if you're willing to commit to a bottle, this list will not let you down.

Eddie V's Prime Seafood

Scottsdale Quarter · Scottsdale · Seafood and Steakhouse

The Reliable

Eddie V's is a reliably good time if you go in knowing what it is: a high-end chain with a capable sommelier, a list built for crowd comfort, and markups that reflect the chandelier overhead. Send your friend here for a special occasion, but tell them to order the Cave de Lugny and avoid the Austin Hope.

The Wine Collective of Scottsdale

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Wine Bar

The Wild Card

If you think Arizona wine is a novelty, The Wine Collective will change your mind — and do it at prices that don't feel like punishment. Send your most skeptical wine friend here first.

Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American Tavern

The Reliable

Rusty Bucket is exactly what it says it is — a neighborhood tavern with a wine list that gets the job done without any fuss. If you're here for the food and want something decent in your glass, you'll be fine; if you're here for the wine, you're at the wrong restaurant.

Spiga Cucina Italiana

Pinnacle Peak · Scottsdale · Italian

The Reliable

Spiga is a reliable neighborhood Italian with a wine list that gets the job done — just go on Wednesday when half-price bottles make the steep markups a non-issue. Show up any other night and drink strategically.

Hash Kitchen

Gainey Village · Scottsdale · American (Breakfast/Brunch)

The Lazy List

Hash Kitchen is a genuinely fun brunch spot that has zero interest in being a wine destination — and that's fine, because neither should you. Order the Bloody Mary, eat the fried chicken, and save your wine curiosity for dinner.

Pizzeria Bianco

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Italian, Pizza

The Wild Card

Pizzeria Bianco has no business having a wine list this interesting. It's a short, scrappy, natural-leaning program that earns its Wild Card badge by simply giving a damn in a city where most pizza spots default to grocery store Chiantis.

Ocean 44

Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Seafood & Steakhouse

The Reliable

Ocean 44 has a genuinely good wine program wrapped in a frustratingly uneven markup structure — some bottles are fair, others are highway robbery. Come on a Sunday, skip the entry-level pours, and lean into the Napa headliners where the pricing at least makes a little more sense.