Alaska Views, Surprisingly Earnest Wine Program
Downtown · Anchorage · Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 11, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Simon & Seafort's Saloon & Grill’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
You're looking at Cook Inlet and the Alaska Range through floor-to-ceiling windows, and the wine list lands on the table like a curveball — it's not the generic steakhouse pour-anything situation you'd expect at a saloon-branded seafood spot in Anchorage. There are actual producers here with identities. Someone made choices.
The list leans hard on three producers — Orin Swift, Gérard Bertrand, and Willamette Valley Vineyards — which keeps things tight but coherent. California dominates with Orin Swift's glossy, crowd-pleasing lineup (Blank Stare, Mannequin, Palermo, Abstract), while the Bertrand selections bring a French counterweight via Languedoc-Roussillon, from the Crémant de Limoux to the Château l'Hospitalet La Clape. Oregon shows up via Willamette Valley Vineyards with solid representation across sparkling, white, and red. The gaps are real — no Old World reds beyond Bertrand, no Burgundy, no Riesling for the fish — but for a destination seafood restaurant in downtown Anchorage, this is a more considered list than most places within a thousand miles.
By-the-glass specifics aren't published, but the wine dinner lineups suggest these producers rotate through pours in some form. If the Gérard Bertrand Gris Blanc Rosé or the Willamette Valley White Pinot Noir make it to the glass program, those are the ones to ask about. Don't count on a long pour list — this feels more like a bottle-first operation.
Willamette Valley Vineyards Founder's Reserve Chardonnay — null
WVV consistently overdelivers for the price point, and a Founder's Reserve Chard next to fresh Alaskan seafood is a no-brainer. Without published pricing we can't confirm the markup, but if it's in a reasonable range it beats anything from Orin Swift for pure food-friendliness.
Gérard Bertrand Château l'Hospitalet 'La Clape'
Most tables are going straight to the Napa Cab or the WVV Pinot Noir — fine choices, but La Clape is the sleeper. It's a Languedoc blend from one of Bertrand's flagship estates, with the kind of savory, sun-baked complexity that actually works against richer fish dishes and prime beef alike. Most diners skip anything French that isn't Burgundy or Bordeaux.
Orin Swift Palermo Cabernet Sauvignon
Palermo is a perfectly decent Napa Cab, but it's also one of the most-marked-up labels in the Orin Swift lineup nationwide. At a restaurant at this price point in a high-cost market like Anchorage, you're almost certainly paying a painful premium for a wine you could find at a Total Wine for around $35. Save the Napa Cab budget for something less ubiquitous.
Gérard Bertrand Gris Blanc Rosé + Fresh Alaskan seafood
Bertrand's Gris Blanc is a pale, dry, Grenache Gris-driven rosé from the Languedoc — lean, mineral, and not sweet. Against whatever's coming off the docks fresh that day, it stays out of the way and lets the seafood do the talking, which is exactly what you want.
The Bottom Line
Simon & Seafort's is doing more with wine than you'd guess from the name, and the wine dinner program shows real intent — but the list is narrow, the pricing is Anchorage-expensive, and there's no depth beyond three curated producers. Go for the views and the seafood, let the Bertrand or WVV selections guide your pour, and keep expectations calibrated to where you are.
Downtown · Anchorage · New American
The Marx Brothers Café is the kind of place that makes you reconsider your assumptions about where serious wine lives. In a historic Anchorage bungalow, they've built a list that would hold its own in San Francisco — and that earns every bit of the Wild Card badge.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown / G Street corridor · Anchorage · Wine Bar / Bistro
Crush earns its Wild Card badge not by being perfect, but by being genuinely surprising — a 600-bottle cellar and 40+ glass pours in Anchorage is an achievement worth acknowledging out loud. If you're passing through or living here, this is where you go when you actually care what's in your glass.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Girdwood · Anchorage · Winery Restaurant / Taproom
Bear Creek Winery Loft earns its Wild Card badge honestly — it's not trying to be a serious wine destination and doesn't need to be. If you're in Girdwood and you skip this in favor of a hotel bar pour, you've made a mistake you'll regret when you're back home explaining why you didn't try the rhubarb wine made in Alaska.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Anchorage · Modern Mexican / Latin Fusion
Tequila 61° is a genuinely fun downtown Anchorage spot — but the wine list is not the reason to come. Order the tequila, drink the margaritas, and if someone at the table insists on wine, steer them toward the Pinot Grigio and move on.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown · Anchorage · Brazilian Steakhouse (Churrascaria)
Texas de Brazil Anchorage is a reliable enough wine stop if you calibrate expectations to match the format — this is a chain steakhouse, not a wine destination, and the list behaves accordingly. Grab the Catena, eat a lot of picanha, and don't overthink it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown / Spenard · Anchorage · Mexican / Pub / Pizza
Bear Tooth Grill is a legitimately great spot for beer, margaritas, pizza, and a movie — the wine list is just a formality. Order a craft beer, skip the wine entirely, and you'll have a fantastic time.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Carmel · Carmel By The Sea · Seafood
Catch is a dependable wine stop for a seafood dinner in Carmel — nothing here will disappoint you, but nothing will surprise you either. If you go in with calibrated expectations and order the Schramsberg with your crab, you'll leave happy.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Hood River · Hood River · Seafood
Votum is operating a world-class wine program in a town most people only stop through on the way to a hike — the depth of this cellar belongs in a major city restaurant, and the sommelier presence means you're not navigating it alone. The markups on the prestige bottles will sting, but find your entry point and this list rewards serious attention.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Bowen's Wharf · Newport · Seafood
The Lobster Bar isn't a wine destination, but it's a perfectly competent list for what the restaurant is — a casual waterfront spot where the lobster is the star. Order the Sancerre, eat the oysters, watch the boats.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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