Four Wines, Zero Apologies, All Attitude
· Irving · New American / Wine Bar · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed September 11, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Bacchus Kitchen + Bar’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Four bottles. That's the list. Before you close the tab and order a cocktail, hear us out — because these four are not what you expect from a cozy Grapevine brunch spot. Whoever curated this tiny card has a point of view, and that point of view is weird in the best possible way.
Bacchus isn't trying to cover the globe — they've picked a lane and committed hard. You've got a sparkling Glera-Pinot Nero blend, a rosé built from obscure Portuguese grapes (Vinhão, Borraçal, Espadeiro), an orange wine made from Sicilian Inzolia and Zibibbo, and a chilled red that layers Syrah, Merlot, Cab, Tintilla de Rota, and Petit Verdot into something that sounds like a dissertation but probably drinks easy. There are zero concessions to the Chardonnay crowd, which is either brave or reckless depending on your Sunday mood. Tintilla de Rota alone — a nearly extinct Spanish grape — showing up on a list in Irving, Texas is genuinely shocking. The gaps are obvious: no white Burgundy, no Champagne, no Nebbiolo, no anything for someone who just wants a Cab they recognize. But that's not the game here.
One glass option is listed at $17, which we assume is the Glera-Pinot Nero sparkling — the most approachable entry point on the card. It's thin coverage for a place that calls itself a wine bar, and if the other three bottles aren't available by the glass, that's a real miss. A rotating by-the-glass program would do wonders for a list this adventurous.
The Bottom Line
Bacchus has no business being this interesting with only four bottles on the list, but here we are. If you're open to drinking outside your comfort zone over brunch in suburban Texas, this tiny, weird card is worth the trip.
· Irving · Southern Brazilian Churrasco
Fogo de Chão Irving is a reliable call for wine if you go in with calibrated expectations — you're not discovering anything new here, but a South American red alongside a carved Picanha is a perfectly sound plan. The Wednesday half-price wine night rumor is worth investigating before you book; if it holds up, it dramatically improves the value proposition on a list that otherwise skews steep.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Las Colinas · Irving · Italian
Italian Cafe is a reliable neighborhood option for a low-key dinner with wine that won't embarrass itself alongside the food. The wine program isn't the reason to come here — the lakeside atmosphere and comfort Italian cooking are — but it should hold its own for a casual weeknight out. If you're a serious wine drinker, temper expectations; if you just want something decent in the glass with your lobster ravioli, you'll be fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Las Colinas · Irving · Italian, steak, seafood
This is not the lazy hotel wine list you're bracing for. Someone made real choices here — Timorasso, Grignolino, Etna Rosso, Vajra — and priced most of them fairly for the setting. It earns the Wild Card badge because nothing about 'Ritz-Carlton in Irving, Texas' prepares you for a list this considered. If you're in Las Colinas for any reason, it's worth sitting down for a glass.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Varietal Specific
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Proper
Deep Ellum · Irving · Bar / Entertainment
Electric Shuffle is genuinely a fun night out — just don't make wine the reason you go. Grab a cocktail, dominate at shuffleboard, and save the bottle hunt for somewhere that actually wants to be in that conversation.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Irving · Wine Bar
Mercy is punching way above its weight for Irving, Texas — a 14-bottle list that somehow covers natural wine, skin contact, sparkling, and old-world obscurities without a single safe-harbor Cab in sight. If you're anywhere near this zip code and you're tired of the same old list, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Irving · Spanish / Wine Bar
Barcelona Wine Bar in Irving shouldn't be this good, and yet here we are — a 48-bottle all-by-the-glass list with real depth, fair prices, and a genuine point of view. If you're anywhere near this part of Dallas, it's worth a detour just for the wine.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Belmont Heights · Long Beach · New American / Wine Bar
Taste is doing something genuinely uncommon in Long Beach: a neighborhood wine bar with a Baja California identity, a sommelier who presumably knows why that matters, and a food menu built around dishes that actually want wine next to them. We'd send a friend here with one instruction — skip the menu and ask the staff what they're excited about right now.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lincoln · New American / Wine Bar
Art & Soul is doing something that most restaurants in cities twice Lincoln's size wouldn't attempt: a by-the-glass program anchored by a 1975 Austrian white and a biodynamic Joly Chenin Blanc, at prices that don't make you wince. We don't have enough intel on the food menu or service to give this the full Rager treatment, but if you're in Lincoln and you care about wine, this is the room you want to be in.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlantic City · New American / Wine Bar
The Iron Room is the kind of wine-forward bar Atlantic City doesn't know it needs — cozy, staffed by people who care, and refreshingly serious about what's in the glass. If you're in AC and want something other than $14 Pinot Grigio at a casino bar, this is your move.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
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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