Laredo's Best Steakhouse Plays It Safe With Wine
North Laredo / Del Mar · Laredo · Steakhouse and Seafood, Upscale American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 26, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Border Foundry Restaurant & Bar’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Border Foundry reads like a greatest hits album from Napa Valley — Caymus, Jordan, Duckhorn, Rombauer. You know every track, you've heard them a thousand times, and honestly, they still hold up. It's not going to surprise you, but for a destination steakhouse in Laredo, it's doing the job it was hired to do.
The list runs 60-120 bottles with a heavy lean into Napa and Sonoma, a nod to Washington State, and a few Argentine options for when someone at the table wants a Malbec. The producers are reliable crowd-pleasers — Caymus and Jordan for the cab drinkers, Rombauer for the Chardonnay crowd, Duckhorn holding down the Merlot corner. There's nothing adventurous here: no Willamette Pinot, no interesting Rhône varietals, no skin-contact anything. If you came looking for a discovery, you're eating at the wrong place; if you came for a ribeye and a glass of Napa Cab, you're exactly where you should be.
The by-the-glass program runs 10-16 options, which is a solid count for a steakhouse in this market. Expect the usual suspects represented — Chardonnay, Cab, maybe a token red blend. There's no sign of a rotating program or any particular effort to keep the glass pours exciting, so what you see is what you get, month after month.
William Hill Cabernet Sauvignon — null
William Hill is the quiet workhorse of the Napa Cab lineup — less hyped than Caymus, less expensive, and totally underestimated. If it's on the list, it's almost certainly the best dollar-for-quality play on the red side. Order it instead of reaching for the famous labels.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon
Jordan doesn't get the flashy restaurant hype that Caymus commands, but it's the more nuanced bottle — more structured, more restrained, with actual aging potential. Most tables at a steakhouse walk right past it to grab the Caymus. Don't be those people.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is everywhere, and restaurants know they can charge a premium because people recognize the name. At a $$$-$$$$ steakhouse markup, you're paying a significant hospitality tax on a wine you could find at any well-stocked grocery store. The juice is fine — the price at a restaurant is not.
Duckhorn Merlot + Hand-cut ribeye
Duckhorn's Merlot is plush and fruit-forward with enough structure to stand up to a well-marbled ribeye without overwhelming the beef. It's the move for anyone who finds the big Napa Cabs too aggressive with a fatty cut.
The Bottom Line
Border Foundry is a reliable steakhouse wine list in a city that doesn't have many alternatives — it's not going to excite you, but it won't embarrass you either. Send your business-dinner crowd here; send your natural-wine friends somewhere else.
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Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
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Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Fair
Basic Stemmed
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· Laredo · Contemporary bistro
Lolita's Bistro is doing more with a 19-bottle list than most Laredo restaurants would bother attempting — the Domaine Delaporte Sancerre, the Barbaresco, and the Bolgheri Rosso tell you someone cares. Markups run steep across the board, especially at the top of the list, so bring a budget or lean toward the Albariño and Pinot Noir by the glass. Worth stopping in, worth ordering wine — just go in with eyes open on price.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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The Tack Room isn't trying to be a wine destination, and it succeeds at being exactly what it is — a dependable hotel steakhouse list with some solid bottles hiding among the Cab parade. Order the Spanish or Argentine options, avoid the trophy-bottle markups, and you'll eat and drink just fine.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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