Jacksonville's Deepest Cellar, No Contest
San Marco · Jacksonville · Contemporary American with French Techniques · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 24, 2026
Wingman Metrics
When a restaurant in Jacksonville is sitting on 2,000 bottles across 450-plus selections, you notice immediately — this isn't a list assembled by a distributor rep on autopilot. Matthew's has clearly been building this cellar with intention, and the weight of the wine menu in your hands feels appropriately serious. The room matches it: quiet, composed, the kind of place where the wine deserves your full attention.
The list leans heavily into the classics — Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhône, Champagne, and Napa — and executes each with real depth rather than just name-dropping the obvious bottles. Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet anchors a white Burgundy section that actually has something to say, while Ridge Monte Bello and Opus One represent the serious end of California without it feeling like a steakhouse flex. The Rhône presence is a genuine bright spot in a market where most restaurants treat it as an afterthought. If there's a gap, it's the newer-world and natural wine categories, but that's a deliberate editorial choice, not an oversight.
The by-the-glass program runs 15 to 25 options, which is generous for a list this size and shows they're not just hoarding the good stuff for bottle buyers. Expect rotating selections that reflect the broader list's old-world tilt. What's here is well-chosen and well-maintained — you're not getting bottom-shelf pours dressed up in a nice room.
Ridge Monte Bello — null
Ridge Monte Bello at a fine dining restaurant is always worth the ask — it's a benchmark California Cabernet blend that regularly outperforms bottles costing twice as much, and Matthew's carries it with the care it deserves. Exact pricing wasn't confirmed in our research, so ask your server before committing, but it's the bottle we'd point a friend toward first.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet
Most tables here are ordering red, which means the Leflaive often gets overlooked. That's a mistake. Domaine Leflaive is one of the great white Burgundy producers on the planet, and Puligny-Montrachet from them is a serious wine that rewards anyone willing to order the white at a steakhouse-adjacent room.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is fine wine, but it's also everywhere — every hotel bar, every chain steakhouse, every airport lounge. At Matthew's price tier, you're paying a premium for a bottle you could find at Total Wine. With Ridge Monte Bello and a deep Bordeaux section available, ordering Caymus here is leaving serious opportunity on the table.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet + Sea Scallops
The textural richness of perfectly seared scallops needs a white wine with enough weight and minerality to stand up without overwhelming the dish. Leflaive's Puligny-Montrachet brings both — stone fruit, chalk, and the kind of acidity that cuts through the butter and makes you want another bite immediately.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Matthew's is the best wine list in Jacksonville by a comfortable margin, and it would hold its own in most major markets. The markup is real and the list skews traditional, but if you want to drink something genuinely special with a great meal, this is exactly where you should be.
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Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Southside / St. Johns Town Center · Jacksonville · Contemporary American, wood-fired grill
J. Alexander's Jacksonville is a place that takes its steaks seriously and its wine list as an afterthought. If you're here for a business dinner or a reliable wood-fired meal, you'll drink fine — just don't expect to be surprised, and try not to look too hard at the markup on the Kendall-Jackson.
Crowd Pleasers
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
Jacksonville Beach · Jacksonville · Modern Japanese / Sushi
O-Ku Jacksonville Beach is a genuinely nice spot to drink well with sushi, especially if you lean into the sake program where the real effort has been made. The wine list is respectable but unremarkable — and markups across the board mean you'll want to choose your battles.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Jacksonville Beach / Ponte Vedra · Jacksonville · Upscale New American with French and Mediterranean Influences
Restaurant Medure is the best wine list you're likely to encounter between Savannah and Orlando — serious producers, proper storage, a sommelier who knows the cellar, and glassware that respects what's in it. The markups are steep and the list plays it safe stylistically, but if you're celebrating something and want Bordeaux with your filet, this is the room.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Intracoastal West / Beach Blvd · Jacksonville · Contemporary American Seafood
Marker 32 is a beautiful room with a wine list that plays it completely safe — you won't drink badly, but you won't discover anything either. Send a friend here for the scallops and the Intracoastal view, and tell them to order the Chardonnay.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Riverside / Five Points · Jacksonville · Modern American / Southern-influenced
Black Sheep is exactly what a neighborhood restaurant wine list should be — fair prices, enough variety to reward curiosity, and no obvious embarrassments. We'd send a friend here for wine without hesitation, especially if they're sitting on that rooftop.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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