Beer's the Star, Wine's the Understudy
Arlington Highlands · Arlington · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 13, 2026
RagingWine reviewed BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walk into BJ's and the wine list is clearly an afterthought — a laminated one-pager wedged between the craft beer menu and the Pizookie options. This is a beer hall that happens to sell wine, and the list makes no effort to hide that. If you're here for wine, you've either made a wrong turn or you're on a date with a non-beer-drinker.
The list runs 15 to 25 bottles deep, but 'deep' is generous — it's essentially a greatest hits of grocery store California staples. Dark Horse, Apothic, Hess Select, Ecco Domani: these are brands you recognize from the endcap at Total Wine, not bottles that earned a spot on a restaurant list because someone curated them. There's no meaningful regional diversity, no small producers, no interesting varietals. The Italian presence is a single Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio, which is about as adventurous as the list gets.
Eight to twelve pours on any given visit, all pulled from the same shallow pool of national brands at $7–$12 a glass. There's no rotation to speak of — this is a set-and-forget program that changes when corporate says so, not when a new vintage arrives. Credit where it's due: the pricing is honest, and Wednesday half-price wine night brings most glasses down to the $3.50–$6 range, which is hard to argue with.
Hess Select Chardonnay — $9
Hess Select punches above its weight for a chain list — it's a real winery making real wine, not just a label on a bulk blend. On Wednesday half-price night, you're drinking it for around $4.50 a glass. That's the move.
Hess Select Chardonnay
Most people ordering wine here reach for the Apothic Red out of habit, but the Hess Select Chardonnay is the only bottle on this list from a producer that actually cares about the wine in the bottle. Skip the blend, order this.
Apothic Red Winemaker's Blend
Apothic Red is engineered to taste like dessert — it's sweet, heavy, and built for people who don't really like wine. At full price it's not embarrassing, but there's simply no reason to order it when the Hess Select exists on the same list.
Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon + Deep Dish Pizza
Dark Horse Cab is fruit-forward and soft-tannined enough to handle a saucy, cheesy deep dish without fighting it. It's not a transcendent pairing, but it works — and sometimes working is enough.
Wednesday — BJ's runs a national Wednesday Daily Brewhouse Special with half-off wine where legally available. Some locations also report $5 beer and wine during weekday happy hour (4–7 pm Mon–Fri), but this has not been confirmed specifically for the Arlington location.
The Bottom Line
BJ's is a brewhouse, full stop — order the beer, enjoy the Pizookie, and don't overthink the wine list. If wine is your priority on a given night, this is not your destination; if you're here anyway and want a glass, Wednesday half-price night makes the Hess Select Chardonnay a perfectly reasonable call.
· Arlington · Italian / Pizza
Cane Rosso Arlington's wine list is the restaurant equivalent of a reliable wingman — not the most exciting person in the room, but it shows up, it's priced honestly, and it won't let you down. Send a friend here for pizza and point them toward the San Felice.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Arlington · New American / Bistro
Scutra won't blow a wine nerd's mind, but it's a genuinely solid neighborhood list with a few real finds tucked in. Skip the Josh Cellars, order the Guigal or the Sancerre, and you'll eat and drink well.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Arlington · Arlington · Wine Bar
Chill Coffee and Wine Bar does exactly what it promises — a relaxed, approachable spot to drink something decent without overthinking it. Send a friend here for a casual Tuesday night out; just don't send them expecting a cellar selection.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lamar / Lincoln Square near Entertainment District · Arlington · Wine Bar
Poured is the kind of neighborhood wine bar that Arlington didn't know it needed — fair prices, a rotating BTG board that rewards repeat visits, and zero attitude. We'd send a friend here on a weeknight without hesitation.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Arlington · Arlington · Latin/International
Cafe Americana is a solid spot for a burger and a cold beer, but the wine list exists purely out of obligation. Stick to the Cava, avoid the Champagne at all costs, and save your serious wine night for somewhere that actually cares.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
North Arlington · Arlington · Japanese
If you're here for the hibachi, order a sake and move on — the wine list is an afterthought dressed up as a menu section. The Japanese beverage offerings are the only reason we're not telling you to just drink water.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Bellevue · American
13 Coins Bellevue earns its Wild Card badge by being a late-night diner that actually cares enough about wine to stock a geographically diverse list — not groundbreaking, but genuinely unexpected for the format. If Sunday happy hour is your move, this place becomes a legitimately fun spot to drink Washington wine over a Caesar salad at 11pm, which is a sentence we didn't think we'd be writing.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
· Newport News · American
Cheddar's is a casual comfort-food chain, and the wine list reflects exactly that level of ambition — none. Order a beer or a cocktail and save the wine conversation for somewhere that wants to have it.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Union Square · San Francisco · American
The Rotunda is a lunch experience first and a wine destination a distant second — the list is safe, the markup is real, and you're largely paying for the address and the atmosphere. Come for the crab salad and the occasion, order something bubbly, and don't go in expecting a serious wine program.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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