Napa's Cathedral of Cabernet, With a Price Tag to Match
St. Helena · Napa · Contemporary American Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 13, 2026
RagingWine reviewed PRESS Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
When the wine list lands on the table, it's less a menu and more a phone book — 2,700 selections deep, heavy in your hands, and immediately humbling. This is a place that takes Napa Cabernet seriously, like, library-vertical-of-Heitz-Martha's-Vineyard seriously. The room backs it up: warm, wood-fired, and built for people who want to drink great wine with great meat.
The list is essentially a greatest-hits archive of Napa Valley Cabernet, with Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Colgin IX, and Stag's Leap Cask 23 all accounted for — plus deep verticals that go back decades on some of the Valley's most important bottles. Beyond the Napa Cab fortress, there are Burgundy library selections including Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which signals that whoever built this list wasn't just chasing local pride. Spottswoode, Far Niente, Shafer Hillside Select, and Opus One round out a roster that reads like a Napa Hall of Fame ballot. If you're looking for adventurous natural wine detours or Old World diversity beyond Burgundy, you won't find much of that here — this list has a point of view and it commits hard.
The by-the-glass program runs approximately 20 to 35 options, which is a respectable range for a restaurant of this caliber. We'd expect rotating selections that mirror the strength of the bottle list, though the program doesn't appear to spotlight any specific rotation or weekly refresh. For a list this deep, the glass program is the entry ramp for guests who aren't ready to commit to four-figure bottles — and it's worth exploring before diving into the cellar.
Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley — $245
At 48% over retail, Far Niente is as close to a fair deal as this list gets. It's a polished, age-worthy Napa Cab from a legendary estate, and $245 for a bottle that retails around $165 is the most defensible spend on a list where some bottles are marked up over 100%. Relative to its neighbors on this list, it's practically a bargain.
Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena
Spottswoode doesn't get the tabloid attention of Screaming Eagle or Harlan, but it's one of the most consistently elegant and terroir-driven Cabernets in Napa. Organically farmed, St. Helena grown, and built to age — this is the bottle for the table that actually knows wine, not just wine prices. At 48% markup, it's also among the more reasonably treated gems on this list.
Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley
A 144% markup on a bottle that retails for $45 is hard to justify anywhere, and especially hard at a restaurant where you could redirect that $110 toward something genuinely special. Duckhorn Merlot is a perfectly nice wine — it's just not a $110 wine, and on a list full of legendary producers, this is the bottle you order when you've stopped paying attention.
Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon + Wood-fired steak
Hillside Select is a big, structured Stags Leap Cab with the kind of dark fruit intensity and firm tannins that were essentially engineered to meet charred beef. The smoke from the wood-fired grill softens Hillside's edges while the wine's backbone cuts through the fat. It's the most obvious pairing on this list — and obvious in this case is correct.
The Bottom Line
PRESS is a bucket-list wine destination if Napa Cab is your religion and you've got the budget for the tithe — 2,700 bottles, proper cellar, and a staff that can navigate all of it. Just go in clear-eyed: markups are real, the Duckhorn is a trap, and the magic here lives in the verticals and library selections, not the familiar names.
St. Helena · Napa · Wine Bar
Elsewhere is doing something genuinely useful in St. Helena — keeping the lights on after dinner and keeping the list interesting enough to justify the detour. We need more time with the actual list before we'd call it a must, but the bones are right.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Napa Valley · Napa · Hotel Restaurant / New American
The Elene is doing something genuinely uncommon for a Napa hotel restaurant: it's built a wine list with a real perspective. Pricing is fair, the whites and sparkling section is worth the visit on its own, and if you're tired of being handed the same Napa Cab lineup every time you sit down, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Napa Valley · Napa · Hotel Bar / Lounge
In the heart of Napa Valley, this hotel lounge has assembled a seven-bottle list with zero local wines and markups that would make a Vegas pool bar blush — order a cocktail and wait until dinner. There are better places to drink wine within walking distance of almost anywhere in this region.
Plays It Safe
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
St. Helena · Napa · Resort Restaurant / Contemporary American
Meadowood's wine program is doing exactly what it should at this price point — a focused, deeply intelligent list with real range and the staff to back it up. The markups are steep because the room is expensive, but if you're already here, drink well and don't second-guess it.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Napa · Wine Bar / Contemporary American
Napa Kitchen & Wine earns its place as a solid, unfussy option for anyone who wants a wide glass selection and fair pricing without committing to a bottle — just don't come here expecting to discover anything. It's a reliable pour, not a destination.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Napa · Napa · California / Hotel Restaurant
BANK is a reliable spot to drink well enough in a comfortable setting — the sommelier presence and Napa-forward list keep it from being a lazy hotel afterthought. Just don't expect to be surprised, and don't be shocked when the markup reminds you this is a Westin.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Talking Stick Resort · Scottsdale · Contemporary American Steakhouse
A resort list with real range: 24 glass pours from $10 to $32, numbered bins for Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Napa Cabernet, and a short Arizona red section. Start with the $10 Savino Pinot Grigio or the $15 Merkin 'Chupacabra', and look at the Dos Cabezas Tempranillo at $62 if you want a bottle. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Texas Corners · Kalamazoo · Contemporary American Steakhouse
Bold is a reliable neighborhood steakhouse with a wine list that matches the room — safe, familiar, and priced like they know you're here to celebrate. If you're chasing something adventurous in the glass, keep hunting; if you just want a decent pour with a great steak, it gets the job done.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Colorado Springs · Contemporary American Steakhouse
Cowboy Star is a dependable steakhouse wine list done right — sommelier on staff, proper storage, and enough depth to keep serious wine drinkers busy. Just don't expect to find anything that will make you forget your dinner conversation; this list is here to serve the steak, not steal the show.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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