Grand Award royalty on the Texas-New Mexico border
Santa Teresa · American, Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 5, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Billy Crews Dining Room’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
A wine list of 800-plus selections at a steakhouse on the New Mexico-Texas border is not what you expect when you pull off Country Club Road — but Billy Crews has been holding a Wine Spectator Grand Award since 1986, which means this program has been serious longer than most of its customers have been drinking. The room feels like the list: deliberate, grown-up, not in a hurry to impress you with flash.
California and Bordeaux are the twin engines here, and they run deep — Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, and Opus One anchor the California cult side while Chateau Margaux and Chateau Latour represent Bordeaux at its most canonical. Italy shows up with genuine muscle in Sassicaia and Tignanello, and Penfolds Grange makes sure Australia doesn't get left out of the conversation. The list skews toward collector-friendly names rather than discovery-focused producers, which is exactly right for this crowd and this room.
Twenty to forty pours by the glass is a legitimate program, not a token gesture, with pricing running $15 on the approachable end up to $50 for the bigger names. Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon and Silver Oak are likely workhorses on the glass list — recognizable, food-friendly, and appropriate for a table that came in for prime rib. Rotation cadence isn't confirmed, but a list this size usually means the glass program gets real attention.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $15-$20 by the glass
Jordan is the kind of wine that looks unpretentious on a list full of cult bottles, but it's consistently well-made Alexander Valley Cab that holds up against a serious steak. In a room where the glass pours can run $50, this is where you get the most wine for your dollar.
Tignanello
Everyone at this table is ordering Napa Cab. The Tignanello — Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon from Antinori, one of the wines that rewrote Italian wine history — is sitting right there and most people walk past it. It's a more interesting bottle than half the California names on this list and it works beautifully against a charred, fatty piece of prime rib.
Screaming Eagle
Look, the bottle exists and Bernie Rocha will sell it to you with a straight face. But Screaming Eagle at a restaurant is a four-figure exercise in paying double what you'd pay at auction for the privilege of drinking it here. If you have to ask the price, spend that money on two exceptional Bordeaux instead.
Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon + Prime rib
Beringer Private Reserve is Napa Cab at its most classically structured — dark fruit, firm tannins, enough weight to stand up to a thick cut of prime rib without steamrolling the beef. It's the kind of pairing that makes you wonder why anyone orders anything else.
The Bottom Line
Billy Crews is the real thing — a decades-deep wine program in an unlikely zip code that takes California and Bordeaux as seriously as anywhere in the country. The markups are what they are at this tier, but sommelier Bernie Rocha and a list that's been Grand Award-caliber since Reagan's first term make this worth the drive from El Paso.
National Park Corridor / Parkway · Gatlinburg · American, Steakhouse
The Park Grill is a reliable dinner stop if you're winding down after a day in the Smokies and want a solid glass of California wine with your steak — just don't expect the list to reward curiosity or spare your wallet. Send your friends here for the food and the vibe; tell them to drink the Sonoma-Cutrer and not overthink it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Stowe Village · Stowe · American, Steakhouse
Harrison's is the kind of reliable neighborhood anchor that Stowe regulars and ski-weekend visitors can count on — the wine list won't blow your mind, but it won't let you down either. Send a friend here knowing they'll drink fine; just don't send them expecting a deep dive.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Denver · Denver · American, Steakhouse
Range is a confident, well-kept steakhouse list that won't surprise you but absolutely won't let you down — especially if California Cabs are your language. Just come in with your eyes open on pricing, and let Dan steer you toward the Jordan.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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