Fort Worth's Big-League Wine List Plays for Real
Downtown Fort Worth · Fort Worth · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 9, 2026
Wingman Metrics
You open the wine list at Grace and immediately understand this is not a restaurant that treats wine as an afterthought. Four hundred to six hundred bottles across California, France, and Italy, anchored by names that would make a collector sit up straight — this is a serious program wearing a warm downtown Fort Worth smile. Junior Lindamood runs the floor with the kind of ease that keeps the experience from feeling stuffy.
The California presence is the spine of this list — Opus One, Dominus Estate, Caymus Special Selection, Shafer Hillside Select, Kistler Chardonnay, and the occasional bottle of Screaming Eagle when the stars align. France holds its own with Chateau Margaux and Chateau Latour anchoring the Bordeaux section, while Italy answers back with Sassicaia from Tenuta San Guido and Gaja Barbaresco doing the heavy lifting. The list has earned a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence every year since 2011, which is not a trophy you collect by accident — that's sustained institutional commitment to a real cellar. If there's a gap, it's the lack of a more adventurous edge: this is a list built to impress, not to surprise.
With 20 to 35 options by the glass, Grace gives you genuine range without forcing you into a bottle commitment — a smart move for a menu that runs from foie gras to dry-aged prime beef. The program skews toward the same power players that anchor the bottle list, so expect Napa Cabs and French classicists to dominate the pour options. We'd love to see more rotation and a few wilder picks in the glass lineup, but what's here is well-chosen and well-kept.
Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay — $Under $100
Kistler is one of California's benchmark Chardonnay producers, and finding it on a list loaded with $200-plus bottles at a relatively accessible price point is the move. It drinks like something that should cost considerably more and holds up brilliantly against the seared diver scallops.
Gaja Barbaresco
On a list where Napa Cabs and Bordeaux get all the attention, the Gaja Barbaresco sits quietly in the Italy section waiting for someone with good taste to notice. Angelo Gaja's Barbaresco is one of the great wines of Piedmont — complex, age-worthy, and utterly different from everything else on this list. Most tables walk right past it. Don't be most tables.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus Special Selection is a crowd favorite and a reliable wine, but at a fine dining restaurant with Dominus, Shafer Hillside Select, and Opus One all in the same neighborhood price-wise, you're paying a premium for a label that's been riding its reputation for years. The markup here likely punishes you for its name recognition. Your money works harder elsewhere on this list.
Dominus Estate + Dry-aged prime beef
Dominus is a Napa Valley Cabernet-dominant blend with the structure and dark fruit to stand up to one of the richest cuts on the menu. The dry-aged beef brings an intensity and savory depth that Dominus was essentially built to meet. This is the pairing you come to Grace to have.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Grace is the real deal — a Fort Worth restaurant that has built and maintained a wine program worthy of the city's best table. The markups run steep and the list plays it safer than adventurous, but when the caliber is this high and the service is this dialed in, we're still sending every wine-serious friend through the door.
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Fort Worth · Fort Worth · Italian
61 Osteria earned its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence and then some — this is the most serious Italian wine list in Fort Worth by a significant margin. Markups aren't shy, but the depth of selection and the knowledge on the floor justify the room.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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Buena Vida's wine list isn't going to win any awards, but Wednesday's 50% off bottle deal turns a steep, pedestrian selection into a genuinely fun night out. Come for the tacos, drink on a Wednesday, and don't overthink it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown Fort Worth · Fort Worth · Steakhouse
Ruth's Chris Fort Worth is exactly what it advertises: a reliable, well-run steakhouse wine list that will not surprise you, disappoint you, or make you think too hard. Order the Gruet, skip the Dom, and let the ribeye be the star of the evening.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Proper
Fort Worth · Fort Worth · Italian
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Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Otay Ranch Town Center · Chula Vista · American
BJ's is a fine place to drink a craft beer and eat a Pizookie. It is not a place to drink wine. Order a Brewhouse Blonde, skip the wine list entirely, and save your wine night for somewhere that cares.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SanTan Village · Gilbert · American
The Cheesecake Factory is a perfectly fine place to eat — the wine list just isn't a reason to go. Order a cocktail, split a bottle of Santa Margherita if you must, and save your wine curiosity for somewhere that earned it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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