Fogo de Chão

The wine list at Fogo de Chão Emeryville reads exactly like what you'd expect from a high-volume Brazilian churrascaria — hits you want, priced accordingly. It leans hard into California Cabs and South American Malbecs, which is a sensible call when gaucho chefs are roaming the room with skewers of picanha. Wine Spectator handed them an Award of Excellence in 2024, and the list earns it, though not with room to spare.

The 150-plus bottle list is built around three pillars: California, Argentina, and Chile — and that focus holds up well against a menu that is, at its core, a parade of grilled red meat. You'll find Catena Zapata and Achaval Ferrer repping Mendoza, Concha y Toro's Don Melchor and Santa Rita Casa Real flying the Chilean flag, and Napa heavyweights like Cakebread, Jordan, Caymus, and Opus One anchoring the California side. What you won't find is much white wine ambition, a Burgundy rabbit hole, or anything that would make a curious drinker lean forward — this list is built to sell, not to surprise. For what it is — a temple of fire and flesh — it does its job.

The by-the-glass program runs 12 to 20 options in the $12–$18 range, which is reasonable for Emeryville and for a place where people are mostly pre-occupied with a gaucho standing tableside. Expect pours to skew red and South American, which tracks. Rotation appears limited — this feels like a set-and-forget program rather than one where the BTG list gets refreshed with any urgency.