Big Cabs, Bigger Steaks, Predictable Glory
Union Square · San Francisco · Steak House · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list lands on the table feeling exactly like the room — dark, confident, and expensive. Four hundred-plus selections weighted heavily toward California Cabernet and Italian stalwarts tells you immediately who this list is for: the expense-account diner who already knows what they want. There's nothing surprising here, but there doesn't need to be.
California and Italy dominate every page, and Morton's leans into that without apology. The California side reads like a greatest-hits compilation — Caymus, Silver Oak, Jordan, Opus One, Far Niente, Stag's Leap, Paul Hobbs — all the names your client across the table will recognize and nod at approvingly. Italy holds its own with serious Super Tuscans like Antinori Tignanello and Sassicaia anchoring the list. What's missing is anything outside the comfort zone: no Rhône, no Burgundy depth, no interesting by-the-bottle discoveries for anyone who already owns these wines at home. Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence since 2020 is deserved for sheer breadth and execution, even if the list plays it safe.
The glass program runs roughly 15-25 options, which is respectable for a steakhouse format. Expect the usual suspects — a Cabernet or two, maybe a Merlot, a Chardonnay — all serviceable, none surprising. There's no evidence of active rotation, so what you see is likely what you've been seeing for a while.
Jordan Vineyard & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon — $60
Jordan punches well above its price point on a list where bottles can drift into the hundreds fast. It's a crowd-pleaser that actually delivers — Alexander Valley fruit, polished tannins, and enough structure to hold up against a ribeye without asking you to refinance anything.
Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot
Everyone at the table is ordering Cabernet. Meanwhile, Duckhorn's Napa Merlot sits there being genuinely excellent and mostly ignored. It's plush, structured, and handles a filet better than half the Cabs on this list — and it's probably the most underordered bottle in the room.
Opus One
Opus One is a genuinely great wine, and Morton's is charging you a genuinely great premium for the privilege of ordering it at a restaurant. The markup on trophy bottles like this is where the steakhouse model really shows its teeth. Drink it at home where it costs half as much.
Antinori Tignanello + Prime dry-aged bone-in ribeye
Tignanello's Sangiovese-Cabernet blend brings enough acidity to cut through the fat on a bone-in ribeye while the Tuscan savory notes play off the dry-aged funk. It's the one moment on this list where things get genuinely interesting — and it makes the steak taste like you planned it.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Morton's SF does exactly what it promises: a deep, polished list of California and Italian heavyweights in a room built for closing deals and celebrating milestones. It's not where you go to discover wine — it's where you go to drink reliably well without having to think too hard about it.
Nob Hill / Van Ness Corridor · San Francisco · American Steakhouse
House of Prime Rib is one of San Francisco's great dining institutions and the wine list knows its assignment — California Cabs to drink with California beef, no fuss. It won't thrill anyone looking for adventure, but it won't embarrass anyone either, and for a night built around tableside carving and Yorkshire pudding, that's probably enough.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Noe Valley · San Francisco · Sardinian Italian
La Ciccia is the rare neighborhood restaurant where the wine list is genuinely part of the experience, not an afterthought stapled to a food menu. If you care about Italian wine — especially anything off the beaten Tuscany-Piedmont path — you should be making reservations here.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
SoMa · San Francisco · Steakhouse with Japanese influence
Alexander's is a serious wine destination dressed up as a steakhouse — the list is deep, the staff knows it, and the room supports it. Just go in eyes open: this is a splurge-or-go-home situation, and the markups reflect exactly where you are.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Steakhouse, American
EPIC Steak is a reliable, well-executed steakhouse wine program that earns its stripes with real depth, a sommelier who cares, and a few smart curveballs buried in the list. The markups will sting, but if you know where to look — and now you do — there's genuinely good drinking to be had with that view.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Seafood, Coastal American
Waterbar is doing the work — a genuinely broad list with smart coastal instincts, fair happy hour pricing, and a dessert wine program that most full-service wine bars would envy. Send your friends here; just make sure they stay through dessert.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Mission District · San Francisco · Californian-Mediterranean
Foreign Cinema is doing something most San Francisco restaurants aren't — pairing a genuinely thoughtful, terroir-driven wine list with an atmosphere that could've easily gotten away with phoning it in. The markups sting a bit, but the selection earns the trip.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Hartland · Hartland · Steak House
Palmer's is a reliable steakhouse wine list that delivers exactly what its suburban clientele wants — well-known California names, solid execution, and nothing too weird. If you're a wine adventurer, you'll want to temper expectations; if you're celebrating with a ribeye and a Jordan Cab, you'll leave satisfied.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Town Square · Jackson · Steak House
The Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse has a sommelier, a Wine Spectator credential, and a list that knows its audience — which is Jackson tourists who want great steak and great Napa Cab, full stop. Send a friend here if they want a proper California red with a serious piece of beef; just warn them to skip Opus One and let Jordan do the work.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown Milwaukee · Milwaukee · Steak House
Ward's House of Prime is exactly what it says it is: a classic Milwaukee steakhouse with a wine list built to match big cuts of beef. The Wine Spectator Award of Excellence is well-earned, but don't come looking for adventure — come looking for a great California Cab and a slab of prime rib.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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