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 →
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
· Cumming, GA · American
The real headline here is Friday: half-price bottles under $250, which is a legitimately good deal in any zip code. Add a sommelier in a neighborhood grill context and Tin Cup earns a look that most Cumming restaurants don't. We'd go in on a Friday, ask for a recommendation, and let the staff do their job — that's what they're there for.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Active Program
Acceptable
· Wichita · American
Dave & Buster's Wichita is not a wine destination — and the list makes no attempt to pretend otherwise. Fourteen labels of grocery-store standbys, no pricing transparency, and a venue where the primary business is flashing screens and redemption tickets means the wine program is essentially decorative. Order the cocktail, feed the machine, save the bottle for literally anywhere else.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Augusta Road · Greenville · American
A 51-wine list: 20 white and sparkling, 31 red, with 14 wines posted as two-price pairs like 10/40 and the rest at a single price up to 140. Start with the 10/40 Alta Vista Malbec, or the Musset-Roullier Chenin Blanc at 55 if you want the list's only Chenin Blanc, and ask what the pairs mean before you order. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
