Neon Lights, Napa Cabs, No Apologies
Downtown / Mill Avenue · Tempe · Cocktail Bar · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 29, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Filthy Animal’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
You're not walking into Filthy Animal expecting a leather-bound wine list and hushed reverence — you're walking into neon signs, themed shots, and a crowd that's firmly here for a good time. So when you flip past the cocktails and actually find Silver Oak and Stag's Leap on the menu, it catches you off guard in the best possible way. For a late-night party bar on Mill Avenue, whoever put this list together actually gave a damn.
The 24-label list leans hard into California — Napa, Alexander Valley, Russian River, Paso Robles — with a few nods to France and a single interesting outlier in the Embruix de Vall Llach from Priorat. It's not a deep cellar by any stretch, but it's curated for people who want something real rather than just house wine in a plastic cup. The Orin Swift Slander and Frog's Leap Flycatcher are solid crowd-pleasers that don't embarrass the list, and the Davis Bynum Russian River Pinot Noir is a legitimate bottle in a room where it has no business being this accessible. The gap here is obvious: no skin-contact wines, no low-intervention stuff, and the Old World representation is thin — France shows up mostly via Veuve and a Pascal Jolivet Sauvignon Blanc.
Nineteen of the 24 labels are available by the glass, which is genuinely impressive for a bar this size — it means you can actually explore without committing to a bottle while your friends are doing tequila shots. Pours run $11–$18, which is fair for the market if not exactly a deal. There's no obvious rotation or seasonal program in play; this reads as a set-it list that doesn't change much.
Pascal Jolivet 'Attitude' Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc — $17/glass
At $55/bottle, the Jolivet Attitude is a legitimately good Sauvignon Blanc from a producer who knows the Loire better than most American bars know France altogether. The $17 glass pour is reasonable for what you're getting — bright, precise, and a world away from whatever generic white the person next to you is drinking.
Embruix de Vall Llach Priorat Red Blend
Nobody comes to a Home Alone–themed cocktail bar in Tempe looking for Priorat, which is exactly why you should order it. Vall Llach is a serious producer in one of Spain's most demanding appellations — all old-vine Garnacha and Cariñena grown on steep slate slopes. It's the most interesting bottle on a list that otherwise plays it pretty safe.
Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
At $325/bottle, you're paying a significant premium for a wine that retails around $70–$80. Silver Oak is a great bottle, but not $325 great — and in a loud bar environment where nuance gets lost to the bass line, that markup stings. If you want the splurge Cab, the Stag's Leap Fay is the more interesting story anyway.
Austin Hope Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon + Themed Shot
Look, Filthy Animal's food program is basically non-existent, so we're playing within the rules of the room. The Austin Hope is a big, fruit-forward Paso Cab that's built to hold its own against bold flavors — including whatever sweet-and-sour shooter you just watched five people order. It resets your palate and reminds you that you are, in fact, an adult.
The Bottom Line
Filthy Animal is the last place you'd expect to find a real wine list, which is precisely what makes it a Wild Card — the selection punches above the bar's party-school energy, and if you know what to order, you can drink well while everyone else is doing kamikazes. Just don't come here for the value; come for the vibe and the pleasant surprise.
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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