South American Beef, South American Bottles — It Tracks
The Star / Warren Parkway · Frisco · Brazilian Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 28, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse - Frisco’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Fogo de Chão Frisco feels exactly like the restaurant itself: polished, reliable, and designed to move quickly through a crowd that's more focused on the next cut of picanha than what's in the glass. You get a tightly curated South American lens with some California support — no surprises, no left turns. It's a corporate wine program done competently, which is more than most chains manage.
Argentina and Chile anchor the list, which makes obvious sense given the concept, and the producers they've chosen aren't embarrassments — Catena Zapata and Concha y Toro Don Melchor are legitimate names that belong on a serious table. Bodega Caro's Aruma Malbec fills the approachable mid-tier slot. The gaps show up in range: you're not finding anything from Mendoza's high-altitude outliers, nothing from Brazil's Serra Gaúcha that might actually tell a story, and California appears to exist mostly as a fallback for guests who won't cross the hemisphere mentally. Depth beyond the anchor bottles is thin.
Ten to sixteen options by the glass at $12–$20 is a reasonable spread for a steakhouse of this caliber, and the price ceiling won't shock anyone sitting next to a platter of wagyu. The problem is rotation — this feels like a static list that gets refreshed maybe once a year at the corporate level, not something a floor team is actively curating. What you see is what you get, and what you get is pretty much always the same.
Bodega Caro Aruma Malbec — $12–$15/glass (est.)
Bodega Caro is a joint venture between Lafite Rothschild and the Catena family — that's serious Mendoza pedigree at an entry-level price point on this list. If you're doing the churrasco experience and want something that can actually stand up to charred beef without breaking your bill, this is where you land.
Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon
Most tables here order Malbec on autopilot, but Don Melchor from Puente Alto is one of Chile's most serious Cabernets — routinely compared to mid-tier Napa in blind tastings. In a room full of people reflexively reaching for Argentine red, this one gets overlooked, and it shouldn't.
Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard
Look, Adrianna Vineyard is genuinely great wine — but at a Frisco churrascaria markup on a bottle that's already commanding high retail, you're paying a premium to drink something great in a context that won't do it justice. The gaucho tempo and tableside chaos aren't exactly ideal for meditating on high-altitude terroir. Save this one for a quieter room.
Bodega Caro Aruma Malbec + Picanha (top sirloin cap)
Picanha is the star of the churrasco circuit — rich, fatty, and hit hard with coarse salt — and Malbec's dark fruit and soft tannins are built for exactly this. Aruma keeps it in the accessible lane without being thin, and the Mendoza origin makes the pairing feel intentional rather than accidental.
The Bottom Line
Fogo de Chão Frisco isn't trying to be a wine destination, and the list makes that clear — but it's doing enough of the right things with legitimate South American producers to avoid embarrassment. Drink the Malbec, skip the markup on the prestige bottles, and stay focused on why you actually came here.
Stonebrook & Tollway (Frisco border) · Frisco · American with Caribbean-Influenced Dishes & Craft Cocktails
Bottled In Bond is not a wine destination — but Wednesday's half-price bottles turn a modest list into a genuinely good deal, and the Poet's Leap Riesling alone justifies a glass order. Come for the cocktails, stay for the Wednesday wine math.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Eldorado Parkway · Frisco · Tex-Mex, Mexican
Salsa Tex-Mex is a solid neighborhood spot for tacos and a great margarita — the wine list, however, tells you exactly how much thought went into it. Come for the food, skip the wine, and let a frozen cocktail do the heavy lifting.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
Historic Downtown / Rail District · Frisco · Steakhouse
Randy's is a legitimate steakhouse with a wine list that respects the room — 150 bottles, some genuine regional character, and a happy hour that makes the glass pours worth arriving early for. The markups sting, but if you navigate toward the Bordeaux and Texas sections, you'll drink better than the average table next to you ordering on autopilot.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
The Star / Lebanon Road · Frisco · Neapolitan Pizza
Cane Rosso Frisco isn't a wine destination, but the Tuesday and Wednesday half-price program turns a grocery-store-safe list into a genuinely compelling reason to show up mid-week. Come for the pizza, come back on a Tuesday, and don't overthink the wine.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Stonebriar Centre · Frisco · Asian-fusion, Chinese-inspired
P.F. Chang's Frisco isn't trying to impress anyone with its wine program, and it shows — this is a list built for familiarity, not discovery, with pricing to match. Eat the Mongolian Beef, maybe grab a cocktail, and save your wine curiosity for somewhere that returns the favor.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Stonebriar · Frisco · American grill and sushi, contemporary Asian-American
Kona Grill Frisco won't surprise you, and that's kind of the point — it's a reliable, crowd-pleasing wine program built for a busy suburban bar crowd, not serious wine exploration. Come for happy hour, order the Craggy Range, and leave the $145 Caymus for someone else.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
· San Jose · Brazilian Steakhouse
Fogo de Chão San Jose is a meat destination, full stop — the wine list exists as a formality, not a feature. Order the Salton sparkling to start, grab the Malbec for the meat parade, and don't expect anything more than that.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Albuquerque · Brazilian Steakhouse
Fogo de Chão Albuquerque won't win any awards for wine creativity, but as a corporate steakhouse list goes, the South American focus is thematically solid and the VIK selections give wine-curious diners something to actually get excited about. Bring a Malbec drinker, skip the Casillero, and consider ordering up into the VIK range if the occasion calls for it.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
East Provo · Provo · Brazilian Steakhouse
Come to Tucanos for the meat parade — it's genuinely fun and the churrasco is the whole point. But skip the wine list entirely and order a caipirinha instead; the wine program is a missed opportunity that no one on staff seems bothered by.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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