FishBones
California Classics Done Right by the Water
Lake Mary · Lake Mary · Seafood, Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 13, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at FishBones reads like a greatest-hits album of California wine — Caymus, Jordan, Rombauer, Far Niente. If you grew up drinking Napa Cab and buttery Chard, you're going to feel right at home. It's polished, it's purposeful, and it tells you exactly what kind of restaurant this is before you've looked at a single menu item.
Selection Deep Dive
With 150-250 bottles anchored almost exclusively in California, FishBones isn't trying to surprise you — it's trying to satisfy you, and largely succeeds on those terms. The Cabernet lineup alone gives you a tour of Napa's greatest hits: Stag's Leap, Jordan, and Caymus cover the spectrum from elegant to full-throttle. Chardonnay gets equal love with Rombauer, Cakebread, Sonoma-Cutrer, and Far Niente all showing up for duty. What's missing is any meaningful detour into Burgundy, Champagne, or even domestic Pinot Noir — if you're hoping to explore beyond California's borders, this list will feel narrow.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty-five by-the-glass options is genuinely impressive for a suburban seafood spot, and at $10–$18 a pour you're working in a reasonable range for this style of restaurant. The glass list appears to mirror the bottle program — California-forward, crowd-pleasing, and consistent. There's no obvious rotation or discovery program here, but the depth of options means you can build a full dinner just from the glass list without repeating yourself.
Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Ranches Chardonnay — $15/glass (est.)
Russian River Ranches is one of the more serious Chardonnays on the list — crisp, less overtly buttery than Rombauer, and genuinely food-friendly with the seafood tower or grilled salmon. If it's priced at the lower end of their glass range, it's the smart pour.
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
In a lineup that includes Caymus — which tends to dominate tables by name recognition alone — Stag's Leap gets overlooked. It's a more restrained, structured Napa Cab that actually handles a filet mignon better than the bigger, jammier options on this list. Most tables will order around it. Don't be most tables.
Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is everywhere, which means restaurants can charge whatever they want for it because people will pay. It's a reliable wine — but at a steakhouse markup, you're almost certainly overpaying versus what you'd spend at retail. The brand does the selling here, not the value.
Far Niente Chardonnay + Lobster Bisque
Far Niente's Chardonnay has enough richness and oak to stand up to a cream-based bisque without getting lost in it — the wine's bright acidity cuts through the fat while the body mirrors the soup's luxurious texture. It's an easy call and a genuinely good one.
✔️ The Bottom Line
FishBones has held a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence since 2010 for good reason — sommelier Matthew Howell keeps a well-managed, California-focused list that delivers reliably for the steakhouse-and-seafood crowd. It won't challenge your palate, but it will take care of you, and that counts for something in Lake Mary.
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