Waco's Most Unexpected Wine List, Full Stop
Downtown · Waco · New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 15, 2026
Wingman Metrics
You're in Waco, Texas — not exactly the first city that comes to mind when you're hunting for a Louis-Antoine Luyt natural wine from Chile or an Egon Müller-adjacent Grüner Veltliner. But here we are. Milo's list is short enough to read in under a minute and curated well enough to make you do a double-take.
Eight by-the-glass options covering Italy, Austria, California, France, and Chile — that's five countries on a list that probably fits on one page. The Matthiasson Tendu wines (both the Vermentino and the Red Blend) signal that someone here is paying attention; Matthiasson doesn't end up on lists by accident. The Louis-Antoine Luyt Pepino Laja from Chile is a genuine outlier — a natural wine producer with serious credibility, showing up in downtown Waco. The Clovis Grenache from Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence rounds out the Provençal presence alongside Chateau D'Aquaria, giving the list a Southern French lean on the red side that feels deliberate rather than random.
Eight pours by the glass is lean but respectable, and the quality-to-quantity ratio here is genuinely high. Happy hour drops prices to $7 a glass, which for the Matthiasson Tendu Vermentino is an outright steal. We'd like to see more rotation, but what's here is better than most of what you'd find at restaurants charging twice as much.
Matthiasson Tendu Vermentino, California — $7
Matthiasson is a beloved Napa producer and the Tendu label is their fresh, low-alcohol everyday line — bright, aromatic, genuinely interesting. At $7 during happy hour, this is a near-absurd deal. Order two.
Louis-Antoine Luyt Pepino Laja, Chile
Luyt is a French-born winemaker working with old-vine País in Chile and making some of the most compelling natural wines in South America. Most people will scroll past this one without recognizing the name — don't be that person.
Montelvin Prosecco, Italy
Nothing wrong with a Prosecco, but it's the one totally predictable, crowd-pleaser entry on an otherwise adventurous list. If you're already here and drinking this, you've missed the point.
Chateau D'Aquaria Grenache, France + Ask your server for the current protein — the Grenache from Roussillon is medium-bodied with warm red fruit and earthy backbone
Southern French Grenache was basically built for roasted or herb-forward meat dishes. Whatever Milo is running as a protein that evening, this is the move.
Wednesday — Halfway Social Wednesdays from 5pm: half off selected bottles of wine, apps, and selected cocktails
🎲 The Bottom Line
For Waco, this list is genuinely surprising — and in a wider context it still holds up as a thoughtful, fairly priced selection that rewards anyone willing to look past the Prosecco. Wednesday's half-price bottle program makes it a no-brainer return visit.
Central Waco / Richland Mall area · Waco · American gastropub / brewery fare
BJ's wine list exists because it has to, not because anyone loves it — this is a beer destination first and everything else is an afterthought. If you're here on a Wednesday during happy hour, grab the $5 Dark Horse and call it honest; otherwise, just drink the beer.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Central Waco / Loop 340 · Waco · Casual Chain Italian-American
Olive Garden Waco's wine list is a corporate afterthought dressed up with Italian flags — gouge-level markups on supermarket bottles, no staff expertise, and zero ambition. Order the cocktails, drink the endless coffee, or BYOB if they'll let you. The breadsticks don't need wine anyway.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Southwest Waco / I-35 corridor · Waco · Steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse is a great place for a hand-cut steak, cold beer, and line-dancing servers — but the wine list is essentially a placeholder. Come for the food, order a Lone Star, and leave the wine ambitions at home.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Central Waco / Valley Mills Drive · Waco · Steakhouse
Outback Waco's wine program is what happens when a corporate chain treats wine as a line item instead of an experience — overpriced grocery store bottles with zero staff expertise and zero reason to explore the list. Order the beer, order the cocktail, or BYOB if they'll let you.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Central Waco / near Richland Mall · Waco · Steakhouse
Saltgrass is here for the steak, and the steak is genuinely good — but the wine program is an afterthought wearing a price tag. Order the ribeye, split a bottle of Decoy if you must, and don't expect anyone on staff to help you think beyond that.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Woodway / Marketplace area · Waco · Steakhouse
135 Prime is doing more with a wine list than Waco has any right to expect from its steakhouse scene, and the weekly specials show genuine curiosity. Just keep your guard up when the dessert wine list arrives — that's where the house cashes in.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Broadway corridor · Fort Wayne · New American
Rune is doing something genuinely rare for its zip code: building a wine list with a real identity. Come on a Wednesday, order the Ovum, and feel good about finding a place like this.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
West Plano · Plano · New American
CraftWay Kitchen isn't trying to be a wine destination and doesn't pretend to be — but the markups are fair, the glass program is wide, and there's enough on the list to drink well with a solid meal. Send your friends here for dinner; just don't send them here for a wine education.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Clemmons · Winston Salem · New American
Sixty Vines is a solid, reliable wine stop in Winston-Salem — the by-the-glass breadth is real and the staff knows their stuff, but the list reads like a greatest hits album rather than anything adventurous. Come for the volume, stay for the pizza, but don't expect to have your mind changed about wine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.