Madison's Old Guard Still Holds Its Own
West Madison · Madison · Steakhouse, Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed March 28, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Delaney's reads exactly like you'd expect from a 50-year-old Madison steakhouse — heavy on California, comfortable with itself, and not particularly interested in surprising you. It's a safe list for a safe crowd, which isn't a knock so much as an honest description of what they're going for.
The 150-300 bottle list leans hard into Napa and Sonoma, with Bordeaux making a token appearance to signal seriousness. You'll find the usual suspects — Caymus, Jordan, Rombauer — doing their reliable thing, and a nod toward Willamette Valley for the Pinot crowd. There's no real adventurousness here: no natural wine, no grower Champagne, nothing from the Southern Hemisphere or Old World outside of France. If you want to go off-script, this isn't your list.
With 15-25 options by the glass, there's enough breadth to find something that works without committing to a bottle. The pours skew predictable — expect Rombauer Chardonnay and Meiomi Pinot Noir to anchor the white and red sides respectively. Rotation appears minimal; this looks like a set-it-and-forget-it BTG program rather than anything dynamic.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $80
Jordan consistently punches above its price point as a producer, and in a steakhouse context where everything around it is marked up aggressively, it's the most defensible bottle on the list. It's a known quantity that won't let you down next to a ribeye.
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Most tables here are ordering Cabs, which means any Willamette Valley Pinot on the list gets overlooked. If Delaney's is sourcing from a decent Oregon producer, it's often the most interesting and food-versatile bottle in a list this California-centric — worth asking the server what they've got.
Meiomi Pinot Noir
Meiomi retails around $18-20 at your local grocery store. At steakhouse markups, you're paying three to four times that for a mass-market, sweetened-up Pinot that doesn't belong at these price levels. It's a crowd-pleaser that crowds can please themselves with at home.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon + Prime Rib
Look, Caymus is built for exactly this moment — a big, plush Napa Cab with enough fruit and oak to stand up to a thick cut of prime rib. It's not subtle, but neither is a $50 slab of beef, and the two make sense together in a way that's hard to argue with.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Delaney's is exactly what it is: a dependable, old-school Madison steakhouse where the wine list serves the food rather than the other way around. You won't discover anything new here, but you won't be embarrassed by what you order either — just watch the markup and steer toward the California heavy-hitters they clearly know best.
South West Side / Arbor Gate · Madison · Contemporary American
Bonfyre is a reliable neighborhood grill that happens to have Wine Down Wednesday, and that promotion does more for this wine program than anything on the list itself. Come on a Wednesday, order the Riesling or the Malbec with your steak, and you'll leave happy — just don't expect the list to dazzle you on a Tuesday.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown / Capitol Square · Madison · Sushi / Japanese
Red Sushi isn't a wine destination, and it doesn't pretend to be — but the fortified and dessert options give it more credibility than most comparable spots downtown. Come for the sushi, stay for the Madeira.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Far West Side / Greenway Station · Madison · Casual Italian
Biaggi's is a chain, the markups are steep, and nobody on staff is going to geek out over Nebbiolo with you — but the Wine Wednesday promotion (50% off bottles $75 and under) genuinely changes the math. Come on a Wednesday, order a bottle of Santa Margherita or a Chianti Classico at half price, and you'll have a perfectly solid dinner without any regrets.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Downtown · Madison · Seafood and Steak
Tempest is a reliable downtown option for wine with your oysters — the list has genuine highlights and the glass count is respectable, but the markups are steep and the program isn't pushing itself. Go for the Sancerre, go for the Riesling, and don't overthink it.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Side / Junction Road · Madison · Wine Bar & Bistro
Eno Vino West is the dependable neighborhood wine bar Madison's west side needs — not flashy, not adventurous, but genuinely well-stocked and fairly priced. Show up on a Monday or Tuesday, grab a half-price bottle, and stop overthinking it.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Near West Side / Monroe Street · Madison · Californian-style, veggie-forward American
Everly's list is more thoughtful than most neighborhood spots its size, with a few genuinely exciting bottles mixed in with the safe pours. We'd send a friend here for wine, but we'd tell them to go in with eyes open on the markup — you're paying a premium for the atmosphere as much as what's in the glass.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
St. Johns Town Center · Jacksonville · Steakhouse, Seafood
The Capital Grille Jacksonville is a dependable, well-run wine program that plays it safe at every turn — if you came here for discovery, you're at the wrong restaurant. But if you came for a proper steak, a knowledgeable server, and a California red that won't embarrass you in front of a client, this place delivers.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Heart of Amarillo · Amarillo · Steakhouse, Seafood
Cellar 55 is doing something genuinely interesting with its Spanish-leaning wine program in a city that didn't ask for it — and that takes guts. The markups keep it from true glory, but if you're eating steak in Amarillo and want something more thoughtful than the usual suspects, this is your place.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Fort Myers · Fort Myers · Steakhouse, Seafood
Connors is a reliable steakhouse wine list that handles the basics with confidence but never asks you to think too hard. Send your parents here — just steer them toward the Roederer and away from the Dom.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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