A Wine Dinner List Masquerading as a Program
· Norcross · American Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed September 22, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed J. Alexander's Restaurant Peachtree Corners’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
What we're working with here isn't really a wine list — it's a five-bottle lineup built around a Caymus wine dinner, and it reads exactly like that. Two Caymus labels, one Caymus-adjacent red blend, a Mer Soleil Chardonnay, and a sparkling wine that isn't even named. That's the whole show.
Five wines is a list in the same way a parking lot is a neighborhood. The program leans hard on the Caymus family of brands — Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, the Caymus Suisun 'The Walking Fool' Red Blend, and Mer Soleil 'Reserve' Chardonnay all share the same Wagner Family orbit. The Nurseryman Cabernet Sauvignon rounds out the reds, and whatever sparkling wine is on offer isn't identified by name in the source material. There are no old-world options, no rosé, no meaningful regional diversity — this is a California-only, red-heavy lineup with almost no range.
We don't have confirmed by-the-glass data for this location, so we can't tell you what's pouring by the stem versus the bottle. Given the wine dinner context of the source, this may not reflect J. Alexander's standard ongoing program at all — which is its own problem.
The Bottom Line
The evidence here points to a wine dinner feature list, not an actual wine program — and even by wine dinner standards, five bottles with no pricing and a mystery sparkling wine isn't inspiring. If you're eating at J. Alexander's Peachtree Corners on a regular Tuesday, we genuinely don't know what's on the wine list, and that's not a great sign. Order a cocktail, ask your server what's actually available, and don't plan your evening around the wine.
· Norcross · Gastropub/Tavern
Altona earns its reputation on the burger side — the Spicy Red and the Lucia both show up consistently in guest praise, and the patio sounds genuinely lovely. But if wine is any part of your plan for the evening, this is not the destination. Order a craft beer, enjoy the terrace, and save your wine curiosity for somewhere that returns the interest.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Norcross · New American/Southern
Eighteen70's wine list is a placeholder, not a program. It checks the box — there's wine, it's recognizable, nobody will send it back — but it shows zero ambition and almost certainly charges steep markups on bottles you've seen a hundred times. Stick to cocktails or beer unless someone at the table just needs a glass of something familiar.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Norcross · Norcross · Italian / Pizza
Paizanos doesn't pretend to be a wine destination, but the list earns more respect than the casual dining format might suggest — fair pricing, a thoughtful Italian focus, and enough half-bottle options to keep the evening interesting. If you're heading to downtown Norcross for a weeknight dinner or a low-key date night, you can drink well here without working too hard to find the right bottle.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Norcross · Seafood / Bistro
Pêche at The Forum isn't trying to be a wine destination, and it doesn't pretend otherwise. The list is approachable, fairly priced, and smartly aimed at white wine drinkers who want something to go with their seafood without overthinking it. If you stick to the Pieropan or the Albariño, you'll eat and drink well for a reasonable check.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Historic Norcross · Norcross · Italian
Dominick's isn't trying to be a wine destination, and that's fine — the list is priced fairly, available almost entirely by the glass, and has a few genuinely good bottles mixed in with the crowd-pleasers. If you're in Norcross and want a solid glass of Allegrini with your pasta without paying downtown Atlanta prices, this works.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· McLean · American Steakhouse
We don't fully understand how a six-bottle list this good ended up at The Palm Tysons Corner, but here we are. If you're eating here and care about wine at all, this list deserves your attention — especially that Sancerre at $23. It's a small program, but it's a thoughtful one, and in a category full of lazy steakhouse lists, that counts for a lot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· The Woodlands · American Steakhouse
We're working with event-night evidence, not a full house list, so drawing firm conclusions about Del Frisco's Grille's everyday wine program would be dishonest. What we can say is that a six-wine promotional dinner built around one producer family isn't a reason to make this your wine destination. Come for the steakhouse experience — but don't expect the wine list to be the main event.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
· Ashburn · American Steakhouse
Eddie Merlot's is a dependable upscale steakhouse that delivers on the beef side of the equation. The wine program appears to be functional rather than inspired — a crowd-pleasing list built to sell confidently, not to excite. If you're coming for a business dinner or a straightforward date night and want a Napa Cab with your prime-aged ribeye, you'll be just fine. If you want something to talk about on the drive home, you might need to bring your own bottle or do a little pre-visit homework.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
