Boise's best excuse to order Cabernet
Downtown Boise · Boise · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Chandlers Prime Steaks + Fine Seafood’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The wine list lands on your table with the confidence of a place that has held a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence since 2013 and knows it. Four hundred to six hundred bottles deep, with California and Washington headlining alongside serious French and Italian representation — this isn't the list some steakhouse chain prints once and forgets. Someone here actually cares.
California is the obvious anchor: Caymus Special Selection, Stag's Leap CASK 23, Opus One, Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel single-vineyard Cabs — the hits are all here and the depth behind them is real. Washington gets its proper due with Quilceda Creek and Leonetti Cellar, two bottles that routinely disappear fast at restaurants that stock them. France shows up with Chateau Margaux and Chateau Lynch-Bages for the splurge crowd, while Italy brings Barolo credibility via Gaja and Giacomo Conterno. The main gap is the Southern Hemisphere and anything remotely natural or skin-contact — this is a list built for the person who knows exactly what they want and wants the best version of it.
With 20 to 35 pours available by the glass, Chandlers punches well above the steakhouse average here — most places in this category give you eight options and call it a day. The rotation leans predictably toward big Cabs and buttery Chardonnays, which honestly is exactly what you're here for. Monday's half-price wine night means those by-the-glass pours become genuinely great value, and that changes the calculus considerably.
L'Ecole No. 41 (Washington) — Not listed
In a list stacked with four-figure trophies, L'Ecole No. 41 is where you find serious Washington Cabernet or Merlot without the Leonetti or Quilceda Creek price tag. It's a producer that earns its place on any list and consistently overdelivers for what it costs relative to its neighbors here.
Chateau Lynch-Bages
Everyone eyes the Margaux and immediately moves on when they see the price. Lynch-Bages is the Pauillac that serious Bordeaux drinkers know delivers the goods — dark fruit, cedar, structure — at a fraction of what the first growths command. On a list this California-forward, it's the bottle most tables walk right past.
Rombauer Chardonnay 2022
At $135, you're paying a significant premium for one of the most aggressively oaked, butter-forward Chardonnays in existence — a wine that retails around $35-40. Rombauer has its fans, but at this markup you can do considerably better on this list.
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars CASK 23 + Prime ribeye
CASK 23 is built for exactly this moment — a structured, age-worthy Napa Cab with the weight and dark fruit to stand up to a well-marbled prime ribeye without either one bullying the other. This is the pairing Chandlers was designed around.
Monday — Half-price wine night every Monday — applies to bottles and is the best reason to make Chandlers a weeknight tradition rather than a special-occasion-only destination.
The Bottom Line
Chandlers is the real deal for Boise — a legitimately deep list, a credentialed sommelier team, and a Monday half-price program that makes the steep markups much easier to forgive. If you're drinking wine in Idaho, this is where you go.
North End / State Street · Boise · Russian/Eastern European
Alyonka is a neighborhood gem doing Russian comfort food right, and the wine list is sensible enough to stay out of the food's way. Send a friend here for the pelmeni and borscht — the wine is just fine for the occasion.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Boise · Boise · Wine bar with Italian-influenced small plates and brunch
Acero is a great spot for a social evening out in downtown Boise — the atmosphere delivers, the happy hour pricing is legit, and the boards give you something to drink against. Just don't come expecting a revelatory wine list, and definitely don't spring for the Dom.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Garden City · Boise · Boutique Winery Tasting Room
Split Rail is doing something Idaho wine needs badly — taking the state seriously without taking itself too seriously. If you've written off Idaho as a wine region, this is your corrective.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Garden City · Boise · Urban wine bar and tasting room
Coiled is the kind of place that makes you feel good about drinking local — not because it's a novelty, but because the wine is actually good and the pricing is mostly honest. Send your adventurous friends here; tell your Napa loyalists to stay home.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Garden City Greenbelt · Boise · Winery Tasting Room / Snacks
Telaya is a legitimate Wild Card: a single-producer tasting room that somehow doesn't feel limited, with markup fairness that should embarrass most full-service restaurants in town. If you're skeptical that Idaho wine belongs in a serious conversation, this is where you get corrected.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown · Boise · Fondue / American
The Melting Pot Boise won't win any awards for its wine program, but it's a functional, inoffensive list that pairs reasonably well with an inherently indulgent dining experience. Send your friends here for the fondue and just steer them toward the Sonoma-Cutrer or the Jordan — they'll be fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Steakhouse
Hal's delivers a competent, Napa-forward bottle list that does exactly what a steakhouse wine program is supposed to do — just without much surprise or value mercy. Send a friend here if they want a reliable big-red experience; warn them to leave the credit card breathing room.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Houston · Steakhouse
Perry's is a reliable steakhouse wine list — nothing that'll make you rethink your palate, but enough to drink well with red meat if you know where to look. The fortified and dessert wine section is genuinely worth your attention; the rest is competent but forgettable.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Steakhouse
New York Prime's wine list is exactly what it needs to be for its audience — safe, recognizable, and priced for expense accounts. If you know what you want and don't mind paying for it, you'll be fine; just don't come looking for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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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