Texas terroir takes flight at the old terminal
Easterwood Airport Area · College Station · American Steakhouse / Bar & Grill · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 5, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Gate 12 Bar & Grill’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You're eating inside an actual airport terminal — that alone earns points for atmosphere. But then the wine list surprises you: this isn't a grab-bag of Kendall-Jackson and Meiomi on autopilot. There's a clear, deliberate lean into Texas High Plains producers that makes you sit up a little straighter.
Gate 12 splits its list between a Texas-forward bloc and a California safety net, and the Texas side is where the personality lives. Lost Oak, Pebble Rock Cellars, 12 Fires, and Hye Meadow represent a genuine commitment to Aggie-country producers — finding a Dolcetto from the Texas High Plains or a Hye Meadow Tempranillo on a bar & grill list is genuinely uncommon. The California side is more predictable: Varner's Foxglove Chardonnay and J. Lohr's Arroyo Vista are solid picks, but they share shelf space with the usual suspects — Meiomi, Decoy, Kim Crawford — that you could find anywhere. The list is small, around 20-30 wines, but it has more intention behind it than the room would suggest.
Eight to twelve by-the-glass options give you real choices without overwhelming anyone. Prices run $10–$17 per glass at standard rates, but the happy hour program — $5/glass on select wines Monday through Saturday from 4–7pm, and all day Sunday — genuinely changes the math here. Hit the right window and this list transforms from "steep" to "steal."
12 Fires Winery and Vineyards Dolcetto, Texas High Plains 2021 — $14/glass, $50/bottle
A Dolcetto from the Texas High Plains is not something you see every day, and $14 a glass for a wine this regionally interesting is a fair ask. Order it during happy hour at $5 and you're essentially drinking a curiosity for free.
Hye Meadow Winery Tempranillo, Texas High Plains 2018
At $88/bottle it's the priciest thing on the list, and most tables will scroll right past it. Don't. A 2018 Texas Tempranillo with a few years on it is a rare find in a steakhouse, and Hye Meadow knows what they're doing with the variety.
Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay
At $12/glass and $44/bottle on a wine retailing for $13, this is a 238% markup on something you've had a hundred times before. The Texas Chardonnay options a few lines up are more interesting and priced more honestly.
Lost Oak Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Texas High Plains 2020 + Steak
A Texas Cab with a Texas steak is not a complicated equation. Lost Oak's High Plains fruit tends to run dark and structured — exactly what you want cutting through a mesquite-scented char. At $16/glass it's an easy call.
Monday–Saturday 4–7pm & All Day Sunday — $5/glass and $24/bottle on select wines during happy hour
The Bottom Line
Gate 12 is a genuine Wild Card: an airport terminal bar & grill with enough Texas wine ambition to make you look twice. The markup on the mainstream bottles is hard to defend, but if you stick to the Texas producers and time your visit for happy hour, you're eating and drinking well in a room that has no business being this interesting.
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Urban Table keeps prices honest, and there's one genuinely interesting bottle buried in the list — but six labels is not a wine program, it's a wine afterthought. Order the Aglianico if you're staying for wine; otherwise, look to the bar.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· College Station · Italian
Amico Nave is a reliable neighborhood Italian with a wine list that's serviceable but won't knock your socks off — great for a date night when the food is the star, less great if you're there for the wine. Order something Italian, keep it simple, and enjoy the room.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· College Station · Winery restaurant
This is what a confident regional winery tasting room looks like — totally committed to its own identity, priced fairly, and stocked with grapes most Texas visitors won't expect. If you're anywhere near College Station and you're even mildly curious about what Texas wine actually tastes like, this is where you find out.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· College Station · Texas Regional / New American
Campfire's wine list is the vinous equivalent of a hotel fitness center — technically present, clearly an afterthought. Order the cocktails, or bring your own bottle and ask about corkage.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· College Station · Italian Steakhouse
The wine list here is an afterthought dressed up with four surprisingly good dessert wines. Come for the steak, order water or a cocktail through dinner, then let the back half of this list redeem itself.
Grocery Store
Acceptable
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Christopher's is doing real wine work in a market that rarely demands it — the Champagne program alone earns respect, even if the markups take some of the shine off. If you're eating in College Station and want an actual bottle with dinner, this is where you come.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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