Margaritas Are The Move Here
Irving Mall Area · Irving · Mexican · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 27, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Abuelo's is exactly four bottles long — and somehow that still feels generous for what's on offer. This is a margarita restaurant that happens to have a wine section, and it shows. Flip past it fast and order the frozen lime.
Four California wines, zero ambition. Woodbridge, Joel Gott, Sea Glass, and two others that wouldn't look out of place in a grocery store endcap. There's no regional diversity, no Old World representation, no rosé, no sparkling — just a flat row of inoffensive crowd-pleasers that exist to satisfy the table that forgot to order a margarita. The Archetype Pinot Noir is at least a step above gas station fare, but the list as a whole feels like it was set up in 2014 and nobody's touched it since.
All four bottles are available by the glass, which is convenient because you're not going to want a whole bottle of any of them. The $9.25 glass pour is the only price that makes any sense here — at that entry point you're not expecting Burgundy, and Woodbridge delivers exactly what Woodbridge always delivers. The rest jump straight to bottle-only territory.
Woodbridge Cabernet — $9.25/glass
It's Woodbridge. You know what you're getting. At under $10 a glass, it's the only wine on this list priced for what it actually is — a casual pour to survive chips and salsa.
Archetype Pinot Noir
Most people at Abuelo's are drinking margaritas, which means the Archetype Pinot Noir gets ignored entirely. It's a legitimate step up from the rest of this list — Central Coast Pinot that drinks lighter and actually works against the kitchen's sauces better than the Cabs do.
Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon
Joel Gott 815 retails for around $13-15. At $38 a bottle here, you're looking at a 2.5x markup on a supermarket staple. That's a lot to pay for a wine you can grab at Kroger on the way home.
Archetype Pinot Noir + Chile Relleno
The lighter body and red fruit of the Pinot Noir won't bulldoze the subtle heat and roasted pepper flavor of the chile relleno the way a Cab would. It's the one pairing on this list that actually makes sense.
❌ The Bottom Line
Abuelo's wine program is an afterthought in a restaurant built around cocktails, and there's no shame in that — just order the margarita. If someone at your table insists on wine, point them at the Archetype Pinot and call it a night.
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Crowd Pleasers
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Basic Stemmed
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Crowd Pleasers
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Crowd Pleasers
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Greenbrier · Chesapeake · Mexican
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Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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Acceptable
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One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.