2,400 Bottles Deep in Downtown Chattanooga
Downtown · Chattanooga · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 3, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Hennen's’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walking into Hennen's, the 2,400-bottle wine cellar isn't just a flex — it's the centerpiece of the dining room, and it sets the tone immediately. This is a place that takes wine seriously, or at least takes the appearance of taking wine seriously. The question, as always with a list this size in a steakhouse setting, is whether the depth is real or just wall-to-wall Cabernet.
The list leans hard into California — Opus One, Caymus, Silver Oak, Jordan — which will feel like home turf for the steak-and-Cab crowd and a bit predictable for anyone looking to wander. Bordeaux and Burgundy get a seat at the table, which is the right call for a cellar this size, and Washington State gets a nod too. The bones are solid: the regions make sense for the format, and with 2,400 bottles there's presumably some interesting depth hiding behind the marquee names. We'd love to see more from Rhône, Italy, or even domestic alternatives to the Napa hits, but this is a steakhouse, not a wine bar, and it doesn't pretend otherwise.
By-the-glass specifics aren't readily available, which is a small frustration for a list this ambitious. A cellar of 2,400 bottles with a sommelier on staff should have a thoughtful pour program — we'd hope to find more than the usual suspects on the BTG list, but we can't confirm what's actually pouring. Worth asking your server before you commit.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — null
Jordan is consistently one of the most food-friendly Cabs in the game — structured, not overbuilt, and almost always more fairly priced on a restaurant list than its flashier Napa neighbors. If the markup is reasonable here, it's the move over the Caymus or Silver Oak at twice the price.
Washington State selections
Most people at a place like this beeline for Napa. The Washington State bottles — whatever Hennen's has tucked in from Walla Walla or Columbia Valley — are where the adventurous drinker can find real quality at a less inflated price point. Ask the sommelier what they're excited about from up north.
Opus One
Opus One is a trophy bottle, not a value play, and steakhouse markups on it are notoriously brutal. You're paying for the name at that point. The wine is good — it's just never worth what a restaurant charges for it when there are better-value Bordeaux blends on the same list.
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon + Certified Angus ribeye
Silver Oak is built for exactly this moment — it's plush enough to match the fat in a well-marbled ribeye without the tannins going to war with the char. It's the crowd-pleasing answer to a crowd-pleasing cut, and at a steakhouse with a cellar this size, sometimes the obvious call is obvious for a reason.
The Bottom Line
Hennen's is doing the steakhouse wine thing as well as anyone in Chattanooga — 2,400 bottles, a sommelier, proper storage, and a list that covers the right regions. The pricing skews expensive and the list plays to the mainstream, but for a special-occasion steak dinner in downtown Chattanooga, this is where you want to be.
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The Rosecomb isn't a wine destination, but it's a genuinely good wine surprise — especially on a Tuesday when the whole bottle list goes half-price. Come for the burger, stay for the País.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Ringgold (Greater Chattanooga Area) · Chattanooga · Southern Coastal (Seafood, Steaks, Southern Sides)
1885 Grill Ringgold won't change how you think about wine, but it won't embarrass you in front of your dinner date either. It's the reliable neighborhood option in a part of Greater Chattanooga where that actually counts for something.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Ooltewah · Chattanooga · Southern Coastal (Seafood, Steaks, Southern Sides)
1885 Grill is a solid neighborhood spot where the wine list does its job without doing much more. The selection is approachable, the BTG count is surprisingly high, but watch the markups on the low end — some of those glass pours are doing a lot of work for the house.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
St. Elmo · Chattanooga · Southern and Coastal
1885 Grill St. Elmo isn't a wine destination, but it doesn't need to be — it's a reliable neighborhood spot with fair prices, a comfortable patio, and a list that won't embarrass anyone. Send a friend here for dinner and tell them to order the Trapiche; don't send them here to geek out on wine.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Northshore · Chattanooga · Portuguese and Mediterranean
Bela Lisboa is the most interesting wine list you'll find attached to a cozy neighborhood bistro in Chattanooga — the Portuguese focus is real and it works with the food. The markups are too aggressive on several bottles, but the soul of the program is there, and that's not nothing.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lookout Valley · Chattanooga · Winery
DeBarge is the Wild Card Chattanooga deserves — a real working winery in the city's backyard, making honest wine at honest prices, staffed by people who actually care what's in the glass. If you want a Napa blockbuster, go somewhere else; if you want to drink something made twenty minutes from where you're sitting, this is your stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Plano · Steakhouse
Steve Fields clearly puts its energy into the kitchen, not the cellar — and at these price points, that imbalance is hard to ignore. Order the Evesham Wood if it's still there, and otherwise come for the steak, not the wine list.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· San Diego · Steakhouse
Greystone is a reliable, if predictable, steakhouse wine list — the kind where you can always find something decent but you'll rarely be surprised. Skip the Opus splurge, order the Paradigm, and you'll walk out satisfied.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· San Diego · Steakhouse
Morton's San Diego is spending more energy on the wedge salad than the wine list, and it shows. Come for the steak, order carefully, and don't expect much beyond the obvious.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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