Scottsdale's most serious wine room, full stop
Scottsdale · Seasonal · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed April 5, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Café Monarch’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Café Monarch lands on the table with the quiet confidence of a place that doesn't need to prove anything — and then immediately proves everything. We're talking 400-600 bottles anchored by Burgundy, Bordeaux, California, and Piedmont with the kind of depth that makes you want to cancel your next reservation somewhere else. A Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator since 2019 isn't window dressing here; it's earned.
The list reads like a collector's cellar that someone actually opened to the public. DRC, Screaming Eagle, Pétrus, Harlan Estate, Giacomo Conterno Monfortino — these aren't name-drops, they're cornerstones of a program built for people who take this seriously. The California section leans into the prestige tier hard, with Kistler Chardonnay and Opus One anchoring a Napa-heavy showing that Wine Spectator specifically flagged as a strength. Burgundy gets equal love with Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet and the full weight of what that appellation means, and Piedmont shows up with Gaja Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo sitting alongside Conterno — two of the most important producers in Italy on one list is not an accident. The one honest note: this list skews heavily prestige, so if you're hunting for sub-$80 hidden value, you'll be doing more digging than usual.
Twenty to thirty-five pours by the glass is a serious commitment, and with seven sommeliers on staff the rotation is clearly managed with intention rather than inertia. Monday's half-price wine night turns the by-the-glass program into one of the best wine deals in Scottsdale — come in on a Monday and drink things you'd normally only order on an anniversary. We'd push staff for what's open and interesting before defaulting to the printed list.
Opus One 2020 — $325
At $325 in a restaurant context, Opus One 2020 is as close to fair as you'll find for a Napa icon with this kind of pedigree. It's not cheap, but relative to what's around it on this list — and what it costs to track down a recent vintage elsewhere — it's the move if you want to impress without venturing into four-digit territory.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet
In a room full of big red names, the Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet gets overlooked by anyone scanning for Screaming Eagle or DRC. It shouldn't. This is one of the benchmark white Burgundy producers on earth, and ordering it here against Café Monarch's seasonal seafood dishes is a quietly brilliant call that most tables at your neighboring four-top won't make.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus Special Selection is a perfectly fine wine that has been perfectly fine for decades — and restaurants everywhere charge a premium for the name recognition. On a list this deep, with Harlan Estate and Screaming Eagle as the genuine power moves, paying restaurant markup for Caymus feels like ordering the lobster at a steakhouse. The room deserves better from you.
Giacomo Conterno Monfortino Barolo Riserva 2014 + Wagyu Beef Tenderloin
Monfortino is one of the longest-lived, most structured Barolos made — massive tannin, tar, roses, the full Nebbiolo drama. The Wagyu Beef Tenderloin has the fat and weight to actually stand up to it, and the pairing turns into a conversation between two things that are both, individually, a lot. This is the order that makes the table go quiet.
Monday — Half-price wine night every Monday — applies to the by-the-glass program and makes the whole list significantly more accessible.
The Bottom Line
Café Monarch is the rare Scottsdale fine dining room where the wine program matches the room's ambition — seven sommeliers, DRC on the list, and half-price Mondays mean this place works for the splurge crowd and the smart crowd equally. If you care about what's in your glass, you owe this one a visit.
Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Italian, Mediterranean
A short, Italian-leaning wine list with a note that the full list is available on request. Start with the Planeta Grillo at 12/40 or the Noussan Petit Arvine at 23/80, ask which number is the glass price, and confirm everything, since the files are linked with 2024 dates in their names. This unrated guide covers the posted wine PDF, not service, storage or markups.
Old Town · Scottsdale · Modern Latin
A 32-wine list that mixes 26 two-price pairs, like 11/39, with six single prices from 90 to 155. Start with the 11/39 Pinot Grigio, or the 15/53 Trimbach Pinot Blanc if you want the one Alsace wine, and ask what each number in a pair covers before you order. This unrated guide covers the posted Old Town wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Italian
An Italian list dated 06.17.26 with 18 glass pours at 15 to 19 and full bottles from 60 to 970. Start with the Barbera d’Alba La Gemella at 15 a glass, or the Fontanavecchia Aglianico del Taburno from the chef’s Campania hometown at 17, and confirm prices because the list says they are subject to change. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Old Town · Scottsdale · American Gastropub
A long wine list that mixes Arizona and California bottles with Italian, French and Spanish wines, posted as pairs like 14 / 44 and single prices like 86. Start with the 13 / 48 Les Hauts Plateaux Rosé, or the 101 Scythians Red if you want the one Cucamonga Valley wine, and ask what each number in a pair covers. The restaurant's menus page and its linked PDF differ on some wines, so confirm before you go. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
North Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American Brasserie
A California-led list with a real glass tier under the big Cabernet bottles: 20 wines carry labeled 6 oz, 9 oz and bottle prices, starting at $13. Start with the Thomas Schmitt Riesling Kabinett at $13 for 6 oz or the Massican Sauvignon Blanc at $18 for 6 oz, and confirm prices because the menu is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted beverage menu, not service, storage or markups.
North Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Prime Steakhouse
A producer-by-producer list with 43 glass pours from $10 to $45, most of them $19 or less. Start with the $18 Pascal Jolivet Sauvignon Blanc, or pair the Daou Vineyards Cabernet ($18 glass, $72 bottle) with the 35 oz Prime Tomahawk at $147, and ask which bottling is pouring. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
St. George · St. George · Seasonal
Painted Pony is the best wine program in the room — literally, for miles around — and John Delaney's presence keeps it from becoming just another hotel-lobby Cab list. The markups sting and the selection won't surprise anyone, but in Southern Utah, this is where you go when you want a real bottle with a real dinner.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Plymouth · Plymouth · Seasonal
Five Steakhouse is a dependable, well-kept California list that plays to its audience without apology — fair enough for a resort steakhouse in Plymouth, even if adventurous drinkers will want to look elsewhere. Send your Cab-loving friend here without hesitation; send the natural wine nerd with a cocktail recommendation instead.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Havre de Grace · Havre de Grace · Seasonal
The Vineyard Wine Bar is doing something genuinely surprising for a small Maryland waterfront town — a real wine list with real producers at fair prices, and a Wine Spectator stamp that's held since 2012 for good reason. Send a friend here, especially if they think good wine stops at the Baltimore city limits.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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