Steak Country's Safe, Solid Wine Playbook
Cool Springs · Franklin · Upscale Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 12, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Ruth's Chris Steak House – Franklin’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Ruth's Chris Franklin looks exactly like what you'd expect from a white-tablecloth chain steakhouse in Cool Springs — polished, predictable, and California-forward. You're not going to find anything that surprises you, but you're also not going to find anything that embarrasses the room. It's built to move Silver Oak and Veuve, and it does that job competently.
About 200 labels sounds impressive until you realize roughly half of that real estate belongs to Napa Cabernet and big-name Champagne houses. The French representation is mostly Champagne — Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger, Dom Pérignon, Charles Heidsieck — which is fine for a celebration pour but doesn't tell you much about the Loire or Burgundy. California dominates the reds with names like Silver Oak Alexander Valley and Frank Family Napa Cab anchoring the bottle list, and Pinot Noir coverage leans on crowd-friendly producers rather than anything that would make a wine nerd lean forward. Germany gets a Mosel Riesling nod and New Zealand shows up with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but those feel more like checkbox entries than genuine commitments.
The by-the-glass program runs 25-35 options at $12–$25 a pour, which is a decent spread for a steakhouse. You'll find Sea Sun Pinot Noir and Belle Glos 'Clark & Telephone' on the red side — both reliable, neither revelatory. The sparkling by-the-glass situation leans heavily on Champagne, which is appreciated, though you're paying steakhouse tax on every sip.
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley — $44–$80 (bottle; Wednesday half-price promotion)
On a Wednesday, with 50% off bottles under $100, Silver Oak Alexander Valley becomes a genuinely fair deal for what's in the glass. It's a known quantity — ripe, polished, crowd-pleasing Cab — and at half price it finally earns its place on the table without the usual steakhouse sticker shock.
Charles Heidsieck Brut Champagne
Most tables here gravitate toward Veuve Clicquot on autopilot, but Charles Heidsieck deserves the order more. It's richer, more complex, and genuinely underrated in the context of a steakhouse Champagne list where the obvious names get all the attention.
Dom Pérignon Champagne
Dom Pérignon is great wine, but at a chain steakhouse you're paying a significant premium over retail for the label, not the experience. The markup on prestige Champagne at Ruth's Chris is steep enough that you'd do better saving this one for a wine shop.
Belle Glos Pinot Noir 'Clark & Telephone', California + USDA Prime Filet Mignon
The filet is lean and delicate enough that a big Napa Cab can bulldoze it. Belle Glos 'Clark & Telephone' has the weight to stand up to prime beef but enough fruit-forward lift to let the steak's buttery finish do its thing — a better call than defaulting to Cabernet.
Wednesday — 50% off bottles priced under $100; 25% off bottles priced over $100. Exclusions apply. Confirm current details with the Franklin location directly.
The Bottom Line
Ruth's Chris Franklin is a reliable wine execution at a chain price point — nobody's going home unhappy, but nobody's going home with a story either. Go on a Wednesday, hit the half-price bottle promotion, and drink better than the menu's markup would otherwise allow.
· Franklin · Steakhouse
Char is a genuinely enjoyable steakhouse with a wine list that does the job without doing much more. The room earns its keep; the wine program is still a passenger rather than a co-pilot. If you're coming here for the Prime beef and the atmosphere, you'll eat well — just don't expect the list to take you anywhere the food isn't already going. Worth a visit, but bring your own expectations in check at the wine menu.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Franklin · Asian Street Food
Hawkers Franklin is doing more with twelve bottles than most casual chains do with thirty. The white-heavy, aromatic-leaning list is clearly built with the food in mind — even if it was done at the corporate level rather than by someone in this specific kitchen. If you're eating here, lean into the Gamay or Vinho Verde and skip the impulse to order Cab. It won't change your life, but it'll make dinner better.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Franklin · Seafood
If you're here for wine, you're at the wrong restaurant — but the pricing is honest and the Sauvignon Blanc won't ruin your dinner. Order a cocktail and save your wine energy for somewhere that cares.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Franklin · Italian
This is a chain wine list doing exactly what chain wine lists do — keeping it safe, keeping it recognizable, and marking it up just enough to pad margins. Drink here because you're having dinner, not because you're having wine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Franklin · Franklin · Hotel Restaurant / Southern
1799 is a solid option when you're already staying at The Harpeth or dining for the atmosphere — the Southern food looks genuinely good and the room earns its upscale-casual reputation. But if wine is your reason for going out, Franklin has better options; this list is there to serve the food, not the other way around.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Franklin · Italian
Pelato Franklin isn't going to make wine pilgrims drive down from Nashville, but it's doing more than the Italian-suburban average — an orange wine, some solid regional Italian whites, and a few California names that earn their spot. Come for the food, stay curious about the list.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Marina District (Golden Nugget) · Atlantic City · Upscale Steakhouse
Vic & Anthony's is a perfectly competent steakhouse wine list doing exactly what a casino steakhouse wine list is supposed to do — just don't expect fair pricing or anything off the beaten path. Order the Decoy, enjoy your steak, and pocket the difference.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Beachside/Ocean Walk · Daytona Beach · Upscale Steakhouse
Hyde Park Prime Daytona is a dependable, well-run wine program in a room that knows what it wants to be — and mostly delivers. Markups will sting, but the sommelier, the depth, and the oceanfront setting make it the right call when the occasion calls for a serious bottle and a serious steak.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
South Bend · South Bend · Upscale Steakhouse
Copper Rock is a casino steakhouse that's taken its wine program seriously enough to matter — 200 labels and 28 glass pours in South Bend, Indiana is legitimately impressive. The markups are steakhouse-standard steep and the list plays it safe, but if you're here for a prime cut and a bottle of California Cabernet, you're in good hands.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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