Clarksville's Sexiest Wine List Just Got Serious
Clarksville · Austin · Mediterranean, Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed April 9, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Aris’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The list lands with the same confidence as the room — terracotta walls, candlelight, and a wine program that clearly has a point of view. Three hundred to five hundred bottles deep, anchored in California, France, and Italy, this is not a list someone assembled by calling the first distributor who picked up the phone. Wine Spectator handed them a Best of Award of Excellence in 2025, and honestly, the list earns it.
California gets the headline treatment — Caymus, Opus One, Silver Oak Alexander Valley, Dominus, and Kistler all show up, which tells you the kitchen and the cellar are both thinking about big, food-forward reds and whites. France holds its own with Chateau Lynch-Bages and Chateau Margaux on the Bordeaux side and Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet representing Burgundy's white game. Italy is the quiet overachiever here: Gaja Barbaresco, Sassicaia, and Antinori Tignanello together in one list is a minor flex. The gap is anything outside these three regions — if you're hunting for Rhône, Iberian, or Southern Hemisphere bottles, you may be on your own.
Twenty to thirty-five by-the-glass options is an ambitious pour program, and with Derek Mizell on staff as sommelier, there's at least one person in the building who should be curating it with intention rather than just defaulting to what moves. We'd want to see more rotation and some adventurous pours mixed into what is likely a crowd-pleasing glass lineup, but the sheer volume of options means you're not stuck choosing between two sad Chardonnays.
Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon — $120–$150 (estimated bottle range)
In a list that goes deep into Napa and beyond, Silver Oak Alexander Valley is the Goldilocks pick — recognizable enough that you feel good ordering it, serious enough that it holds up against dry-aged beef, and priced below the full Napa tier. It's the bottle that works hardest for the money in this room.
Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet
Everyone at Aris is eyeing the steaks and reaching for Cabernet. Meanwhile, Puligny-Montrachet is sitting there ready to do something spectacular with the fresh fish and vegetable-forward dishes on the menu. Jadot's version is a reliable, elegant expression of white Burgundy — and in a steakhouse context, it's practically invisible on the order sheet, which means your table gets to feel smart.
Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Look, Caymus is fine. But it's also on every steakhouse list in America, marked up to the moon, and you can find it at a wine shop for a fraction of what you'll pay here. With Dominus and Chateau Lynch-Bages on the same list, spending your money on Caymus is like going to a great record store and buying a greatest hits compilation.
Antinori Tignanello + Prime Dry-Aged Steak (tableside sliced)
Tignanello is a Super Tuscan built on Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in the blend — structured, dark-fruited, with enough acid to cut through fat and enough muscle to match the intensity of dry-aged beef. The tableside presentation of the steak deserves a wine with some theater to it, and Tignanello delivers.
The Bottom Line
Aris is the rare Austin steakhouse where the wine list is as considered as the beef program — an anchored, deep cellar with real Italian and French range, a sommelier who can guide you through it, and a room that makes drinking well feel like the whole point. The markups aren't shy, but if you pick smart, you'll leave impressed.
· Austin · Steakhouse
Perry's is a competent steakhouse wine program that won't embarrass you, but it won't thrill you either. The by-the-glass breadth is the real story here — 37 options gives you room to explore without committing to a bottle. Just don't come expecting adventurous picks or fair markups across the board; come expecting a list that gets the job done for a celebratory dinner without too much fuss.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Austin · Seafood Steakhouse
Truluck's Austin runs a by-the-glass program that genuinely outperforms what most standalone seafood houses manage, with producers like Markus Molitor and Drouhin-Vaudon sitting next to the expected California lineup. Pricing is fair without being flashy. If you're eating seafood and want to drink well without committing to a bottle, this list has you covered — just work through the whites and bubbles and don't let the Napa trophy bottles at the top drain your wallet.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Austin · Upscale American Seafood and Steakhouse
Eddie V's is a reliable wine destination in the sense that a well-pressed suit is reliable — it won't let you down, but it won't make anyone's year-end list either. If you're on a date, celebrating something, or just need a wine program that won't embarrass you in front of a client, this is a safe and comfortable call. Just don't expect to find anything that makes you pull out your phone to take a note.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Austin · Brazilian Steakhouse
Fogo de Chão Austin is not a destination wine list, but it's a legitimately fair one — South American focus, honest prices, and a couple of genuine steals hiding in plain sight. If you're here for the espeto corrido experience, grab a VIK blend at $30 and don't overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Austin · Steakhouse
ALC Steaks plays it safe and plays it competently — this is a wine list that serves the room without challenging it. If you know what you're looking for, there are smart picks buried in here; if you don't, you'll still drink fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Austin · Austin · American, Italian
Sammie's is a genuinely fun room with a wine list that's earned its Wine Spectator hardware — the Italian depth is real, the sommelier knows her stuff, and Monday half-price bottles might be the best deal in Austin. Just go in knowing the markups lean steep, and let Jenny point you toward the plays that aren't on the tourist track.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Active Program
Proper
River North · Chicago · Mediterranean, Steakhouse
A Napa-heavy bottle list with a real Greek section and a short, priced glass board. Start with the $10 happy-hour Vermentino or, if you are staying for dinner, the AA Sigalas Assyrtiko at $75, and confirm prices and availability when you sit down. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Ringwood · Ringwood · Mediterranean, Steakhouse
Artemio's is the kind of wine program that makes you reconsider your assumptions about Northern Jersey — serious depth, a credentialed list, and enough ambition to justify the drive. The markups lean steep and the staff leans knowledgeable-adjacent rather than expert, but a Best of Award of Excellence doesn't lie: this place cares about what's in your glass.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Summerlin · Las Vegas · Mediterranean, Steakhouse
Vintner Grill is the best wine list in a neighborhood restaurant that Las Vegas mostly ignores in favor of the Strip — it's earned over a decade of Wine Spectator recognition and that's not an accident. If you live in Summerlin and you're not eating here regularly, you're leaving good wine on the table.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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