Indy's Old Guard Still Swings Big
Downtown Indianapolis · Indianapolis · American Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed April 7, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed St. Elmo Steak House’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at St. Elmo lands like the restaurant itself — heavyweight, unapologetic, and dressed for the occasion. White tablecloths, tuxedoed servers, and a list pushing close to 1,000 bottles send a clear message: this place takes wine seriously. It's the kind of list you want to sit with for a few minutes before anyone brings bread.
California, France, and Italy are the three pillars here, and each one is built with intention. Napa is the star — Caymus, Silver Oak, Far Niente, Stag's Leap, Chateau Montelena, and Jordan all show up with serious depth across vintages. France punches in with Bordeaux royalty: Château Margaux, Château Latour, and Pétrus if your credit card can handle the weight. Italy holds its own with Sassicaia, Tignanello, and Barolo from Gaja and Giacomo Conterno — names that belong in any credible cellar program. The gaps are real though: if you're hunting Burgundy, Rhône, or anything from the Southern Hemisphere, you're going to feel the list's Old World-meets-Napa tunnel vision.
Twenty to thirty-five pours by the glass is a strong program for a steakhouse of this format, and the selection skews toward the crowd-pleasing Cabs and bold reds that make sense next to a strip steak. Rotation isn't aggressive — this feels more like a curated standing roster than a weekly-changing board. Still, the depth means you can drink well by the glass without committing to a full bottle.
Dominus Estate 2021 — $280
In a list where bottles routinely climb past $500, Dominus at $280 is the move. It's a Napa Cabernet-dominant blend from one of the valley's most consistent producers, and it belongs in the same conversation as bottles priced $150 higher on this very list.
Giacomo Conterno Barolo
Most tables here are locked onto Napa Cabs, which means the Conterno Barolo gets overlooked. That's a mistake. Conterno is one of Barolo's defining producers — traditional, age-worthy, complex — and it's a genuinely different experience from the California-heavy default mode of this list.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
At $225, you're paying a steep premium for a wine that retails widely and drinks more like a crowd-pleaser than a special-occasion bottle. With Dominus and Far Niente both on the list, there's no reason to land here.
Sassicaia 2020 + New York Strip
Sassicaia's Cabernet Sauvignon-forward Tuscan structure — grippy tannins, dark fruit, cedar — is built for red meat. The New York Strip's fat and char cut right through it. This is the kind of pairing that makes a $450 bottle feel earned.
Monday — Half-price wine bottles on Mondays — one of the better recurring wine deals in the city, and a legitimate reason to plan your week around a steakhouse dinner.
The Bottom Line
St. Elmo is the rare steakhouse that earns its Best of Award of Excellence without feeling like it's trying to impress anyone — the list is deep, the wines are real, and Monday half-price night is genuinely one of the best deals in Indianapolis. The markups can sting, but the bones of this program are excellent.
Downtown Indianapolis · Indianapolis · American Steakhouse
Prime 47 is a dependable, California-forward steakhouse list that earns its Wine Spectator Award of Excellence — not because it takes risks, but because it executes the classics reliably and keeps the Cabs flowing. Send a friend here if they want a good bottle with a great steak; just don't send them expecting to discover anything new.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Indianapolis · Indianapolis · French, Japanese
Vida is the kind of wine program that makes you wish more mid-sized American cities had a Jared May running their lists — deep Burgundy, serious California, and a dining concept that actually justifies both. Yes, you'll pay for it, but this is a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner for real reasons.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Herron-Morton Place · Indianapolis · Fine-Casual American
Tinker Street is the wine list that Indianapolis shouldn't have yet somehow does — globally curious, genuinely deep in spots, and anchored by a few pours that would feel at home at a serious wine bar in any major city. The markups on entry-level bottles keep it from being a full Rager, but the ambition earns a trip.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Mass Ave · Indianapolis · Southern, American, Brew Pub
The Eagle is a genuinely great place to eat fried chicken — the wine list, however, is an afterthought dressed up in a menu. Drink the beer, order the bubbles if you must, and save your wine curiosity for somewhere that reciprocates.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Indianapolis · New American
Cerulean is exactly what a serious restaurant in a mid-sized American city should be doing with wine — real producers, fair pours, a sommelier who actually knows the list. Send your friends here, especially if they're doing the tasting menu.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown Indianapolis · Indianapolis · American Tavern
Pippin's Tavern is the rare Indianapolis neighborhood spot where the wine list actually makes you stop and look twice. It's not deep, it won't impress a collector, but it's curated with a point of view — and that counts for a lot in a tavern setting.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· McLean · American Steakhouse
We don't fully understand how a six-bottle list this good ended up at The Palm Tysons Corner, but here we are. If you're eating here and care about wine at all, this list deserves your attention — especially that Sancerre at $23. It's a small program, but it's a thoughtful one, and in a category full of lazy steakhouse lists, that counts for a lot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· The Woodlands · American Steakhouse
We're working with event-night evidence, not a full house list, so drawing firm conclusions about Del Frisco's Grille's everyday wine program would be dishonest. What we can say is that a six-wine promotional dinner built around one producer family isn't a reason to make this your wine destination. Come for the steakhouse experience — but don't expect the wine list to be the main event.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
· Ashburn · American Steakhouse
Eddie Merlot's is a dependable upscale steakhouse that delivers on the beef side of the equation. The wine program appears to be functional rather than inspired — a crowd-pleasing list built to sell confidently, not to excite. If you're coming for a business dinner or a straightforward date night and want a Napa Cab with your prime-aged ribeye, you'll be just fine. If you want something to talk about on the drive home, you might need to bring your own bottle or do a little pre-visit homework.
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.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
