The Bloomin' Onion Deserves Better Wine
Westview / Buckeystown Pike · Frederick · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 13, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Outback Steakhouse - Frederick’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 wine list at Outback Frederick is exactly what you'd expect from a chain that built its identity on blooming onions and Aussie kitsch — a laminated insert of familiar names that doubles as a greatest hits of supermarket wine. There's no surprise here, no curiosity, no sense that anyone spent more than 20 minutes curating this. It's wine as an afterthought, appended to a menu that's really about the steak.
Twenty bottles is a small room, and Outback furnishes it entirely with New World crowd-pleasers: California stalwarts like Mirassou, La Crema, Clos du Bois, and Apothic, a lone Argentine Malbec from Alamos, and token Australian representation via Jacob's Creek and World's Edge — brands that lean more on shelf recognition than actual quality. There's no Burgundy, no Rhône, no Spanish Tempranillo, no Riesling, nothing that would make a curious drinker pause. The regional sweep sounds broader than it drinks: California, Washington, Argentina, and Australia are all represented, but the selections within each are the most ubiquitous, low-risk options available. Gaps are enormous — no sparkling, no rosé of note, nothing from Italy or Europe that would actually hold up against a slab of red meat.
Twelve of the twenty bottles are available by the glass, which is genuinely the right call in a list this shallow — no reason to commit to a bottle. Pours run $7–$13, which sounds reasonable until you realize these are wines that retail for $10–$18 a bottle, putting most pours at a 3–4x markup. Rotation is nonexistent; this is a corporate list set from HQ and it doesn't change.
Alamos Malbec — $9
Alamos is a legitimately decent Mendoza Malbec that holds its own against red meat. At $9 a glass it's still marked up, but it's the one pour on this list that actually makes sense with a steak in front of you and doesn't feel like a punishment.
La Crema Pinot Noir
La Crema is the only producer on this list with any real winemaking intention behind it. Sonoma Coast fruit, actual structure — it's overpriced here like everything else, but if you're skipping the red meat and going Alice Springs Chicken, this is the one bottle worth asking about.
Apothic Red
A blended California red engineered in a lab to hit the sweetest possible mass-market note. It's everywhere for a reason, and that reason is not quality. At chain restaurant markup, you're paying premium prices for a wine designed to be inoffensive, not interesting.
Alamos Malbec + Melbourne Porterhouse
Malbec and a big cut of beef is one of the more reliable combinations in casual dining. The Alamos has enough dark fruit and grip to stand up to the char without drowning the meat — and it's the closest thing to a sensible wine choice this list offers.
The Bottom Line
Outback Frederick's wine list is a corporate checkbox, not a wine program — safe brands, steep pours, zero personality. Order the Malbec with your steak, or honestly, just get a beer.
Downtown Frederick · Frederick · Wine Bar
If you've never had Black Ankle and you're anywhere near Frederick, this is the easiest yes we can give you — a rare chance to taste one of Maryland's genuinely great producers in a focused, unpretentious setting. The single-producer format is a limitation, but when the producer is this good, it barely matters.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Westview / Buckeystown Pike · Frederick · Peruvian
Mayta's isn't a wine destination, but Wine Down Wednesday makes it a genuinely fun, affordable place to eat and drink well enough. Come for the Lomo Saltado, grab the Malbec at half price, and don't overthink it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Route 85 corridor · Frederick · Japanese
Miyako's wine list exists to check a box, and it does that — nothing more. Order the sake, order a cocktail, or make peace with a Canyon Road pour and focus on the hibachi show.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Frederick · Frederick · Mediterranean / Meze
Ayse is the kind of place that surprises you — a Frederick meze lounge with a genuinely considered Italian-leaning wine list that punches above its weight class, even if markups and a static program hold it back from true greatness. Send a friend here, but tell them to skip the Amarone and ask for the Moschofilero.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Route 85 retail corridor · Frederick · Seafood / Grill
Bonefish Grill Frederick is a fine place to eat seafood, but the wine list is pure chain-restaurant autopilot — low risk, low reward, and no one in the kitchen or behind the bar is losing sleep over it. Order the Riesling at Social Hour, enjoy your salmon, and save the wine exploration for somewhere that's actually trying.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
Westview · Frederick · Italian
Carrabba's Frederick isn't a wine destination, but it's a chain that actually tried — Italian-leaning list, credible producers, food-friendly pours. Send your friend here if they want a decent Chianti with their pasta and don't want to think too hard about it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Waikīkī · Honolulu · Steakhouse
Ruth's Chris Waikīkī is a dependable splurge for steak night, but the wine list is corporate comfort food — Napa-forward, markup-heavy, and unlikely to surprise you. If wine is the point of your evening, this isn't your destination; if steak is the point, it'll get the job done.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Proper
Houston · Houston · Steakhouse
Doris Metropolitan's wine list is quietly one of the more interesting steakhouse lists in Houston — fair pricing, a globe-trotting selection with actual personality, and a dessert wine program that embarrasses most dedicated wine bars. We'd send a friend here with confidence.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
San Francisco · San Francisco · Steakhouse
STK San Francisco has the bones of a wine program and the ambition of a hotel minibar. With only three by-the-glass pours, a list built entirely around safe brand names, and steep markups baked into the concept, this is a place to order a cocktail or splurge on a specific bottle you already know you want.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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