Chain Wine At Chain Prices, Chain Expectations
North Avenue · Grand Junction · American · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 17, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Applebee's Grill + Bar – Grand Junction’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
The wine list here is essentially a shelf pull from your nearest supermarket — Barefoot, Ecco Domani, Clos du Bois, Robert Mondavi Private Select. There's no mystery, no surprise, and no ambition. What you see is exactly what you get, and what you get is a chain doing chain things.
The list is purely domestic and built for frictionless ordering — the kind of wines people already know from grocery runs, not from actual exploration. Cabernet, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Merlot — the four horsemen of the casual dining apocalypse. There's no regional Colorado representation, no Old World anchor, and no variety beyond the broadest possible crowd-pleasing categories. If you showed up hoping for something interesting, you took a wrong turn.
Glass pours run $6.99 to $8.49, which is honestly the most defensible thing about this wine program. The selection rotates exactly never — the same familiar names are always on the board. Count on four to six options max, all of them safe, none of them exciting.
Robert Mondavi Private Select Cabernet Sauvignon — $8.49
It's not exciting, but Mondavi Private Select is a competently made wine and the price is hard to argue with if you're splitting a pitcher and need something red in your glass.
Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio
Nobody orders Pinot Grigio at Applebee's on purpose, but on a warm Grand Junction patio with a basket of boneless wings, it's light, cold, and unoffensive in all the right ways. Low bar, cleared.
Barefoot Chardonnay
This is a $7 bottle at Walmart. Even at $6.99 a glass it feels like a bad deal. There's no world in which Barefoot Chard is the move.
Clos du Bois Chardonnay + Riblets
Clos du Bois Chardonnay has enough residual sweetness and oak to stand up to sticky barbecue sauce without completely falling apart. It's not a pairing worth writing home about, but it works better than anything else on this list with the riblets.
The Bottom Line
We're not here to pile on a chain restaurant — Applebee's knows exactly what it is. But if wine matters to you even a little, order a cocktail and save your wine night for somewhere that's actually trying.
Hotel Maverick / Horizon Area · Grand Junction · Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service
Devil's Kitchen is a genuine Wild Card — a hotel bar with a wine list that actually tried, anchored by local Colorado producers you won't find anywhere else and backed up by some smart Old World picks. Pricing data wasn't available to confirm fair value, but if the markups are reasonable, this is the best wine story in Grand Junction.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Mesa Mall / Rimrock Avenue · Grand Junction · Italian Chain
The wine list at Olive Garden Grand Junction is a corporate afterthought dressed up in Italian branding — fair prices save it from being a total disaster, but there's no ambition, no discovery, and no reason to think hard about what you order. Stick with the Chianti, enjoy the breadsticks, and save your wine curiosity for somewhere that earned it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
North Avenue / Highway 6 & 50 Junction · Grand Junction · Steakhouse
Outback Grand Junction isn't a wine destination — it was never trying to be — but the list is priced fairly, built around dependable producers, and broad enough that you won't be stuck ordering blind. Send a friend here for dinner? Yes. Send them specifically for the wine list? No, but they won't suffer.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Mesa Mall / Rimrock Avenue · Grand Junction · Steakhouse
The wine program at Texas Roadhouse Grand Junction exists to check a box, not to enhance your dinner. Order the steak, eat the bread, and if you need wine, grab the Cab — but don't come here expecting anyone to care about what's in your glass.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
North Avenue Corridor · Grand Junction · Steakhouse / American
Wendy's GJ Chop House cooks a solid steak, but the wine list is an afterthought dressed up with a 300% markup. Order your bourbon neat and save the wine budget for somewhere that cares.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Patterson Road / Medical Center Area · Grand Junction · Gastropub / American
Come for the beer — seriously, come for the beer. The wine list is eight grocery-store bottles propped up by a Wednesday half-price deal that's the only real argument for ordering wine here at all.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Eagle Ranch · Vail · American
The Wild Sage is your dependable neighborhood spot in Eagle Ranch — the wine list won't blow your mind, but it won't embarrass you at dinner either. Watch the markups on the top-shelf Napa bottles and stick to the mid-range, and you'll be fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Waterfront · Traverse City · American
Warehouse Kitchen + Cork won't win any awards for depth or ambition, but it plays its hand honestly — fair prices, solid local representation, and a full by-the-glass program that respects your wallet. If you're in Traverse City and want a glass of something local with a water view, this works.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Truckee · Truckee · American
Sunnyside is a casual lodge restaurant wearing a serious wine list under its flannel — the markup is steep and it won't win any awards for staff expertise, but the producer lineup is legitimately impressive for where you're sitting. If you're already at the lake, this is absolutely worth ordering a real bottle.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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