Cork and Flame
Evans' Best Wine List Is Here, Full Stop
Evans · Evans · American, Seasonal · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
You're in Evans, Georgia — not exactly where you'd expect to find Chateau Margaux and Sassicaia sitting on a wine list together. Cork and Flame hands you something that looks more like a downtown Atlanta restaurant's program than a suburban American spot, and that's a compliment. Wine Spectator called it a Best of Award of Excellence, and we're not here to argue.
Selection Deep Dive
The 250-350 bottle list leans hard into California and the French classics, which is exactly what the Wine Spectator credential suggested — Caymus, Opus One, Silver Oak, Stag's Leap, Jordan on the California side, Chateau Margaux and Louis Jadot holding down France. Italy shows up strong too, with Sassicaia and Antinori Tignanello making sure Tuscany gets its seat at the table. Duckhorn Merlot rounds out a collection that feels curated by people who actually drink wine rather than people who just order off a wholesaler sheet. The gaps are real — if you want natural wine, Grüner Veltliner, or anything from the Southern Hemisphere, you're probably out of luck — but for what this list is trying to be, it delivers.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty options by the glass is genuinely impressive for a restaurant this size in this market, and the $12-$22 price window suggests they're pouring wines worth drinking rather than offloading whatever's been open too long. With sommeliers Gonzalo Moraga and Rhyan Hirst running the floor, there's real knowledge behind the pours. Rotation details aren't fully clear from the outside, but a list this deep usually means the glass program moves.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $40s-$60s
Jordan consistently punches above its price point as one of California's most reliable Cabs — elegant, food-friendly, and usually marked up more aggressively elsewhere. Finding it at a fair price on a list next to Opus One is the kind of move that tells you this program isn't just trying to impress you with trophy bottles.
Louis Jadot Burgundy
Everyone at the table is eyeing the California reds and the Bordeaux marquee names, which means the Jadot gets overlooked — and that's a mistake. Burgundy at a place like this can be quietly well-priced relative to what you'd pay at a dedicated wine bar, and staff who actually know the list will steer you toward the right bottling for what you're eating.
Opus One
Opus One is a showpiece bottle and the markup at restaurants is almost always punishing — you're paying for the name and the table theater, not a wine that overdelivers at its restaurant price. If you want Napa Cab at this caliber, the Jordan or Stag's Leap will do more for your wallet without making you feel like you donated to a Napa Valley branding exercise.
Antinori Tignanello + Wood-fired beef or grilled steak
Tignanello — Sangiovese blended with Cabernet — is built for fire-kissed red meat. The name is Cork AND Flame, so we're going to assume they know how to cook over heat. The wine's dried cherry and tobacco character cuts through char and fat in a way that makes both the food and the bottle taste better than they would apart.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Cork and Flame is doing something genuinely rare for the Augusta suburbs — a wine program with real depth, real staff, and a Best of Award of Excellence to back it up. Yes, send your friends here for wine, and tell them to ask Gonzalo what he's excited about.
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