Nice Room, Wine List Needs Work
Ballston Lake · Saratoga Springs · Upscale American, Steak & Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 20, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Lake Ridge Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The room feels like a proper upscale night out — white tablecloths, good steaks, the whole deal. Then you open the wine list and reality sets in: 18 labels, heavy on grocery store staples, priced like someone is paying off a boat. It's the kind of list that makes you wish you'd grabbed a bottle on the way in.
Eighteen bottles is thin for a restaurant at this price point, and the range leans hard on recognizable labels over interesting ones. There are a few bright spots — the Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhône and the Rose Rock Pinot Noir from Eola-Amity Hills show someone at least glanced beyond California. But for every Rose Rock, there's a Woodbridge Cab and an Apothic Red sitting on the list at markups that would make a steakhouse blush. The Joseph Phelps Cab and the Investor Red from Stag's Leap add some upscale credibility, but the overall picture is a list built for comfort, not curiosity.
By-the-glass options aren't clearly published, which is never a good sign — it suggests the program isn't something they're actively proud of. If the bottle list is any indication, expect the same reliable crowd-pleasers in glass form. Don't count on a rotating selection or anything that'll surprise you.
Famille Perrin Réserve Côtes du Rhône 2018 — N/A (bottle list pricing not published per pour)
The most honest wine on the list. Grenache-forward with real southern Rhône character — it's built for red meat and doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. At a restaurant where everything else feels inflated, the Perrin is the one bottle that might actually deliver on the promise.
Rose Rock Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills 2018
Most tables at a place like this are going straight for the Napa Cab or defaulting to something they recognize. The Rose Rock, from one of Oregon's best Pinot Noir sub-appellations, is genuinely good wine and the most interesting red on the list by a wide margin. Skip the Meiomi and spend your attention here.
Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon
At $28 a bottle, you're paying nearly 3.5x retail for a wine that retails for $8.49 at your local grocery store. There's nothing wrong with Woodbridge at home — but at a restaurant charging upscale prices, ordering it here feels like paying steakhouse rates for a drive-through burger.
Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2019 + Steak entrée
Phelps Cab is a classic Napa build — structured tannins, dark fruit, enough weight to stand up to a properly seared steak. It's the most natural match on the list for the restaurant's signature protein, and while the markup stings, it's at least the right bottle for the right moment.
❌ The Bottom Line
Lake Ridge has the dining room and the food to support a genuinely good wine program — it just doesn't have one yet. Steep markups on grocery-aisle brands, a thin list with no by-the-glass clarity, and zero sense of curation make this a place to eat well and drink carefully.
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
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Basic Stemmed
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Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
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Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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Solid Range
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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