1885 Grill
Wednesday Saves You, The List Won't Surprise You
Northgate · Chattanooga · Southern Coastal · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 2, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at 1885 Grill reads like a greatest hits album from your local grocery store — Caymus, Kendall Jackson, Meiomi, Cakebread. It's comfortable and familiar, which is either reassuring or a little deflating depending on what you came here for. The good news: this is a Southern coastal spot in St. Elmo, not a Michelin contender, and the list knows its lane.
Selection Deep Dive
Forty to sixty bottles covering California, Italy, Argentina, Germany, and a few other stops, but the depth is surface-level at best. California dominates, with the predictable Napa trophy piece — a $120 Caymus Cab — anchoring the top end, while the mid-tier leans hard on approachable crowd-pleasers like Cooper and Thief and Meiomi. There's a nod to international variety with the Dr. L Riesling from Germany and Trapiche Broquel Malbec from Argentina, which are legitimately decent bottles, but don't come hunting for anything that'll make your heart race. Gaps are obvious: no Burgundy, no Spanish wines, nothing remotely adventurous for the natural wine crowd.
By the Glass
Eighteen-plus by-the-glass options is a genuinely strong number for a casual neighborhood grill, and the $6–$20 range means you can drink well without committing to a bottle. The program leans predictable — house Cab and Chardonnay, the Coppola Prosecco for bubbles — but the sheer volume of pours gives you room to explore within the list's limits. On Wednesday, those $3 house pours for Sips & Dips turn this into a legitimately fun happy hour stop.
Trapiche Broquel Malbec Argentina — $40
A 100% markup is the most restrained pricing on the entire list, and the Broquel is a genuinely good Malbec — dark fruit, firm structure, plays well with the grill-focused menu. Relative to everything else here, this is the bottle to order.
Dr. L Riesling Germany
Yes, it's marked up to $38 from a $12 retail bottle, which stings. But at a Southern coastal spot where most people are ordering Cabs and Chards, a crisp, off-dry German Riesling is genuinely the most interesting thing on the list — and it cuts right through anything fried or spiced on the menu.
Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Napa
At $120, you're paying full trophy-wine markup for a bottle that retails around $85–$90. Caymus is fine wine, but it's also become the Applebee's of Napa Cab — ubiquitous, safe, and wildly overrepresented on lists like this one. Save the splurge for somewhere that earns it.
Dr. L Riesling Germany + Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
The off-dry character and bright acidity in the Dr. L cut through the richness of a sausage-heavy gumbo and handle the heat without flinching. It's the kind of pairing that makes people ask 'wait, why did I ever order Chardonnay with this?'
Wednesday — Half price select bottles of wine at the St. Elmo location from 4pm to close; also $3 house Cabernet and Chardonnay during Sips & Dips Wednesday.
✔️ The Bottom Line
1885 Grill is a great neighborhood spot for food, live music, and a cold glass of something familiar — and if you show up on a Wednesday, the half-price bottle deal makes this genuinely worth a visit. Just don't come expecting the wine list to challenge you.
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