Texas Hill Country's Most Unexpected German Wine List
Downtown · New Braunfels · Bavarian / German with Austrian and Swiss influences · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 6, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Alpine Haus Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You're in New Braunfels, Texas, sitting inside a historic building, and someone just handed you a wine list with Silvaner and Spätburgunder on it. That's not something you see every day in the Texas Hill Country. The list is tight — maybe 35-50 labels — but the focus is sharp and the intent is clear: drink what the food was made for.
The German, Austrian, and Swiss regional focus is genuinely rare for a Texas restaurant at this price point, and it earns real credit. Multiple Riesling styles (Kabinett and Spätlese) anchor the list and make obvious sense alongside schnitzel and rouladen. Silvaner and Spätburgunder round things out as thoughtful, food-forward choices that most Texas diners have never tried. The weak spot is the intrusion of crowd-pleasers like The Prisoner Cab and Belle Glos Pinot Noir — both priced at $90 — which feel like they wandered in from a steakhouse list and have no business being here.
The by-the-glass program runs roughly 8-12 options in the $9-$15 range, which is reasonable for the format. The Mönchof Sweet Riesling at $15/glass is the obvious anchor and the right call for the table. We'd love to see more rotating glass pours from the German core of the list, but what's here is functional.
Mönchof Sweet Riesling — $45/bottle
A proper German Riesling at a fair bottle price for a restaurant setting — especially one that actually fits the menu. Order a bottle, not just a glass, and let it run through the whole meal.
Silvaner
Most people walk right past it without knowing what it is. Silvaner is earthy, dry, and quietly great with savory German food — it's the kind of wine that makes you feel like you're actually eating in Bavaria, not a restaurant in Texas.
The Prisoner Cabernet
Ninety dollars for a bottle you can grab at any H-E-B wine aisle. It has zero connection to the food, zero connection to the concept, and is a straight-up markup play. Ignore it entirely.
Spätburgunder + Rinder Rouladen
German Pinot Noir with braised beef rouladen is exactly what this list was built for. The Spätburgunder's restrained red fruit and earthy backbone cut right through the richness of the beef and sauce without bullying the dish the way a California Cab would.
The Bottom Line
Alpine Haus is doing something genuinely surprising — a focused, thematically coherent German wine list in the middle of Texas — and mostly pulling it off. A few misfit bottles and some markup missteps hold it back, but if you order from the German core of the list, you'll drink better than you expected.
· New Braunfels · Wine bar and bottle shop
A deliberately small list that earns your trust with fair prices and genuine variety — this is what a neighborhood bottle shop wine program should look like. If you're passing through New Braunfels and want a real glass of wine without paying restaurant-markup prices, this is the move.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New Braunfels · Tex-Mex
Chuy's is a genuinely great time if you surrender to the margaritas and queso — but the wine list is a placeholder, not a program. Send your friends here for the fajitas, not the Cabernet.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New Braunfels · Wine bar / lounge
The Clubhouse on Castell is a legitimate wine bar doing real work in a market that doesn't demand it, and that's exactly why it deserves your attention. Send your wine-curious friends here — they'll leave having drunk better than they expected.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Creekside / IH-35 Corridor · New Braunfels · Steakhouse
Saltgrass Creekside is not a wine destination, and it doesn't pretend to be — the list exists to sell bottles alongside steaks, and it does that competently enough. If you stick to Jordan or Stag's Leap and skip the grocery-store bottles, you'll drink fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Creekside / IH-35 Corridor · New Braunfels · American Casual
We wouldn't send anyone to BJ's Creekside specifically for the wine list — but if you're already there for the Pizookie and a Tuesday lands on your calendar, those half-price bottles are a legitimate deal. Come for the beer, and if you must drink wine, come on a Tuesday.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Creekside / I-35 Corridor · New Braunfels · Steakhouse
Saltgrass New Braunfels serves a wine list that was assembled by a committee in Houston and hasn't been questioned since. It functions — you'll find something drinkable — but if wine matters to you tonight, manage expectations before you sit down.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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