Order a Beer. Seriously, Order a Beer.
Downtown Champaign · Champaign · Bar/Restaurant · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 11, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Esquire Lounge’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The Esquire Lounge is a genuinely good neighborhood bar — cold beer, pool tables, daily food specials, and a patio worth sitting on. The wine list, however, reads like an afterthought someone added to the online ordering system at 11pm on a Tuesday. Eight options, no producer information, no regional identity, and a Prosecco you can grab at Walgreens for $12.
The list is built around generic house pours — Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Moscato, a Cab/Carmenere blend — with no indication of who actually made them. The only named producers are two Proseccos, which tells you everything you need to know about where wine ranks on the priority list here. There's no regional focus, no old-world anchor, no interesting domestic producers, nothing to suggest anyone spent more than thirty minutes curating this. If you're hunting for a hidden Rhône or a punchy Ribera del Duero, keep hunting.
Eight by-the-glass options exist, which sounds like a reasonable number until you realize the list is essentially the entire wine program. There's no bottle-only tier with anything interesting lurking beneath the surface. What you see is what you get, and what you get is a rotating cast of generic pours with no rotation to speak of.
House Cabernet/Carmenere Blend — Unknown
If you're committed to ordering wine here, the red blend is your safest bet — Carmenere at least brings some character to the table, and a blend format is harder to completely ruin than a varietal pour from an unnamed producer.
Engagement Prosecco
Look, it's not a gem. But if you're at a bar celebrating something and bubbles are non-negotiable, this at least has a name and a purpose. Just know you're paying bar markup on a budget bottle.
Tina & Kristy Prosecco NV
Thirty-four dollars for a bottle that retails at $12. That's a 183% markup on a Prosecco you've seen in grocery store end caps. There is no version of this that makes sense.
House Moscato + Italian Beef Sandwich
Moscato's sweetness and low alcohol are actually not terrible against the salty, fatty richness of an Italian beef — the contrast does some work. It's the most defensible wine order on the menu with the most interesting thing in the kitchen.
❌ The Bottom Line
Esquire Lounge is a solid bar doing solid bar things — the wine list is not one of them. Stick to whatever's on draft and revisit the wine question somewhere else.
South Champaign · Champaign · Farm-to-Table / American
Harvest Market Farmhouse is a perfectly fine neighborhood wine program that punches above its weight exactly once a week — on Mondays, when half-price bottles turn a predictable list into a genuinely good deal. The rest of the week, it's a reliable pour with fair markups, just don't come here looking for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
South Champaign · Champaign · Italian
Napoli's isn't a wine destination, but it's not trying to be — the list is honest, the prices are fair, and the Italian bottles genuinely complement the food. Send a friend here for dinner without hesitation; just don't send them expecting to discover anything new.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Champaign · Champaign · Diner / Cafe
Lazy Daisy has no business having a wine list this thoughtful, and that's exactly why it earns a Wild Card. Four bottles, zero pretension, and at least two genuinely interesting pours — we'd absolutely tell a friend.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Champaign · Champaign · Mexican
Fiesta Café is a genuinely fun spot for margaritas and big burritos, but the wine list is purely ceremonial — it exists so they can say they have one. Come for the drinks menu, not the wine list.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Champaign · Champaign · Steakhouse
LongHorn Champaign has a wine list that exists so you can say you had wine with dinner — not much more than that. If you're here for the steak, grab the J. Lohr and move on; if you came for the wine list, recalibrate your evening immediately.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Unknown · Champaign · Steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse is a perfectly good place to eat a steak and destroy a basket of rolls — just do yourself a favor and drink a beer or a bourbon instead. The wine list is grocery-store inventory at chain-restaurant markups, and no amount of country music can dress that up.
Grocery Store
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.