Small-town steakhouse that earned its stripes
Granbury · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 28, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Eighteen Ninety Grille and Lounge’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Downtown Granbury isn't exactly Napa Valley, so walking into Eighteen Ninety and finding a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence list — held since 2015 — is a genuine surprise. The list reads like a confident California greatest hits compilation: recognizable names, no curveballs, and prices that don't make you wince. For a historic Texas Hill Country town, this is overachieving in the best way.
The list runs 80 to 120 bottles deep with a clear California bias — Jordan, Stags' Leap, Duckhorn, Beringer Private Reserve — covering the Napa and Sonoma stalwarts most guests already know and trust. Don't expect Willamette Pinot Noir or anything from the Loire Valley; this list was built to match ribeyes and filets, not to challenge anyone's comfort zone. The $30 to $120 bottle range keeps things accessible without completely ignoring quality, and the top-end selections like Beringer Private Reserve give the list a little ceiling. If you're a California Cabernet loyalist eating a prime ribeye in Central Texas, this list was essentially written for you.
Twelve to eighteen pours by the glass is a solid count for a restaurant of this size, running $8 to $14 — reasonable enough that you won't feel penalized for ordering a single glass. Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Ranches Chardonnay and Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve are almost certainly anchoring the white side of the program. The glass list mirrors the bottle list's California-first philosophy, so don't expect anything too adventurous, but what's there is dependable.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $60
Jordan is the kind of bottle that routinely shows up at $80–90 elsewhere. At Eighteen Ninety's fair markup, it's the sweet spot between quality and value on this list — polished Sonoma Cabernet that holds its own against the prime ribeye without demolishing your bill.
Stags' Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
Most diners here reach for Jordan on name recognition alone, but Stags' Leap Winery — not to be confused with Stag's Leap Wine Cellars — produces structured, age-worthy Napa Cab that often gets overlooked in favor of flashier labels. Worth the upgrade.
Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay
Nothing wrong with it, but K-J Vintner's Reserve is a $14 grocery store bottle. At restaurant markup it represents the worst value on the list — you can do meaningfully better for just a few dollars more with the Sonoma-Cutrer.
Duckhorn Merlot + Pan-seared salmon
Duckhorn Merlot's plush fruit and restrained tannins don't bully salmon the way a full-throttle Cab would. It's the move when you want red wine but you're not ordering beef — and it works better with salmon than most people expect.
The Bottom Line
Eighteen Ninety is doing exactly what a neighborhood steakhouse should do with wine: keep it California, keep it fair, and don't overthink it. It won't dazzle wine geeks, but it'll absolutely take care of your table on a Friday night in Granbury.
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Solid Range
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Acceptable
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Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
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