Trophy Bottles in a Beaux-Arts Throne Room
Midtown · New York · American Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 8, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Charlie Palmer Steak IV’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Charlie Palmer Steak IV arrives the way the room itself does — with intent. You're on the fourth floor of the Knickerbocker Hotel, surrounded by Beaux-Arts bones, and the list in your hands runs 400-plus bottles deep with Burgundy, Bordeaux, and California heavyweights staring you down. This is not a wine program that apologizes for itself.
The list is built around the holy trinity of serious steakhouse wine: Champagne, Burgundy, and Bordeaux, with a California Cab chapter that reads like a greatest-hits album. You'll find Château Margaux and Lynch-Bages anchoring the Bordeaux side, Louis Jadot and Joseph Drouhin covering approachable Burgundy, and then Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate for those who want to drop serious money without blinking. Italy gets a respectable cameo — Gaja Barbaresco and Sassicaia show up and earn their place. The gaps are real: New World outside California is thin, and if you're hunting for anything outside the classic power regions, you're going to feel the walls close in quickly.
With 20-35 by-the-glass options, the pour program is legitimately one of the better ones in the Times Square corridor — not hard to achieve, but still worth noting. Expect Bollinger and Krug Champagne by the glass alongside Caymus Special Selection and Silver Oak on the California side. Rotation feels minimal — this list has the energy of something that gets updated seasonally at best.
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon — $100
Silver Oak punches above its retail price in restaurant settings, and at a venue where the ceiling is Screaming Eagle, it lands as the most accessible entry point into serious California Cab without completely wrecking your evening financially.
Château Lynch-Bages
Most tables at a steakhouse like this gravitate toward the California names they already know. Lynch-Bages is a Pauillac powerhouse — fifth growth in classification, but first growth in personality — and it absolutely sings next to a dry-aged ribeye. Most people skip past it. Don't.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus Special Selection is a fine wine, but it's also one of the most marked-up bottles in the American restaurant system. You will pay a significant premium for a label that does most of its heavy lifting through brand recognition. The money is better spent going a little deeper into the Bordeaux or Burgundy section.
Gaja Barbaresco + Prime dry-aged ribeye
Gaja Barbaresco brings the kind of tension — tart cherry, iron, dried roses, structural tannins — that cuts through the fat of a well-marbled dry-aged ribeye without steamrolling it. It's the pick for anyone who wants to feel like they know something the rest of the table doesn't.
The Bottom Line
Charlie Palmer Steak IV earns its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence honestly — the list is deep, the trophy names are real, and the setting makes every pour feel like an occasion. Just know going in that you're paying Manhattan steakhouse prices, and budget accordingly.
NoHo · New York · Italian
Il Buco has one of the most compelling Italian wine lists in New York City — deep, principled, and staffed by people who actually care. The markup is real, so budget accordingly, but this is a room worth splurging in.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown · New York · Steakhouse
STK Downtown is a place where people order Champagne to celebrate, not to drink — and the wine program is built accordingly. If you're here for the vibe and someone else is paying, pop the Dom and enjoy it; if you actually care about what's in your glass, you're in the wrong room.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown · New York · Upscale Seafood & Steakhouse
Three happy hour wines do not a wine program make. Ocean Prime is a place you eat well and drink safely — but if wine is a priority, this list will let you down before the bread basket arrives.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
Midtown · New York · Steakhouse
STK Midtown is a great place to see and be seen, but the wine list is there to pad the check, not to excite you. If you're here for the experience, lean on the cocktails or grab a glass of Bonanza at the bar — don't expect the bottle list to reward any real curiosity.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown West · New York · Russian-American
The Russian Tea Room treats wine as an afterthought dressed up in Champagne flutes — five famous labels at punishing prices with no range, no by-the-glass program, and no apparent curiosity about wine beyond what looks impressive on a table. Go for the spectacle, order the caviar, but don't come here expecting a wine list.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
David Burke Tavern's list is a Chardonnay lover's comfort zone with a solid sparkling section propping up the top — but the narrow focus and steep pricing mean you're paying for familiarity, not discovery. Send a friend here if they want California whites and a glass of Champagne; send them somewhere else if they want to explore.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Norcross · American Steakhouse
The evidence here points to a wine dinner feature list, not an actual wine program — and even by wine dinner standards, five bottles with no pricing and a mystery sparkling wine isn't inspiring. If you're eating at J. Alexander's Peachtree Corners on a regular Tuesday, we genuinely don't know what's on the wine list, and that's not a great sign. Order a cocktail, ask your server what's actually available, and don't plan your evening around the wine.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Rochester · American Steakhouse
CHAR makes it easy to try Finger Lakes wine alongside the steakhouse standards. Our move is Hosmer Cabernet Franc at $16/glass, with Panizzi Vernaccia at $14 for anyone leaning white. Check the per-ounce pricing before ordering a Coravin pour.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Fort Worth · American Steakhouse
Del Frisco's Grille Fort Worth has a wine list the same way an airport newsstand has a wine section — technically true, practically limiting. Order the Tokaji for dessert, drink cocktails with dinner, and don't expect anyone to help you navigate the difference.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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