Gianni's Steakhouse

The wine list arrives and it's immediately clear this isn't a steakhouse that phoned it in with a Cab and two whites. Three hundred-plus selections in a white-tablecloth room on Lake Minnetonka tells you something. The restaurant takes the bottle program seriously, and Wine Spectator has been handing it a Best of Award of Excellence every year since 2018 — that credential isn't honorary.

California, France, and Italy form the backbone, and all three columns hold up. On the California side you've got the heavy hitters — Caymus, Silver Oak, Far Niente, Chateau Montelena, and Opus One for those who want to celebrate or impress — but there's enough depth beyond the trophy shelf to reward a curious diner. Italy brings Sassicaia, serious Barolo from the likes of Gaja and Giacomo Conterno, and Brunello di Montalcino selections that most Minnesota restaurants wouldn't bother sourcing. France shows up with Chateau Lynch-Bages and Burgundy from Côte de Nuits producers, which is the kind of commitment that earns that Wine Spectator badge. The list skews classic and collector-friendly rather than adventurous, but when the bones are this good, that's not a knock.

Twenty to thirty-five options by the glass is an unusually generous spread for a steakhouse of this size. That range means you can work through a proper meal without committing to a full bottle — useful if two people are ordering wildly different proteins. We'd want to know how frequently those pours rotate, but the depth of the bottle list suggests the kitchen isn't pouring from bottles left open too long.