Morton's The Steakhouse Bethesda

Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley 2017 — null

In a list full of four-figure trophy bottles, Cakebread is the most approachable premium Cab on the menu — a producer with real pedigree that doesn't require a corporate expense account to justify. It's a reliable, well-made wine that punches above what most people expect from a recognizable name.

E. Guigal 'Brune et Blonde,' Côte-Rôtie 2016

Nearly everyone at this table is going to order a Napa Cab, which means Guigal's Brune et Blonde is sitting there largely ignored. That's a mistake. Côte-Rôtie Syrah from one of the Northern Rhône's most respected producers is a genuinely different and arguably more interesting choice than the fifth Cab on your shortlist — and in a room dominated by Napa groupthink, it actually makes you look like you know what you're doing.

Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Napa Valley 2017

Caymus Special Selection has become the house wine of expense accounts everywhere, which has done nothing good for its price-to-quality ratio at restaurants. You're paying a significant premium for a label that every table in the room is also ordering. The wine is fine — it's just wildly overexposed and overpriced relative to better options on this same list.

Shafer 'Relentless,' Syrah, Napa Valley 2018 + USDA Prime-Aged NY Strip

Shafer's Relentless is a dense, structured Napa Syrah that has enough weight to stand up to a well-marbled prime strip without the sweetness that can flatten a big Cab against beef fat. It's an unexpected but genuinely great call — the peppery backbone of the Syrah cuts through the richness while the fruit holds up to a serious piece of meat.