Amarillo's Most Serious Wine List, Period
Downtown · Amarillo · Italian Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 11, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Barfield’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
Walking into a hotel restaurant in Amarillo, Texas, you'd be forgiven for bracing yourself for a wall of Kendall-Jackson and house Pinot. The Barfield surprises. The list reads like someone actually thought about it — California heavyweights sit next to serious Italian reds, and France gets a real seat at the table.
Sixty to a hundred labels is ambitious for this market, and The Barfield leans into California and Italy with enough conviction that it lands. You've got Caymus and Jordan holding down the Napa end, Tignanello flying the Italian flag with authority, and Far Niente rounding out the Chardonnay side for those who want their white wine to mean business. The French presence is harder to gauge without a full list, but the framework here is clearly built for steak-night spending, not adventurous exploration — there's no natural wine, no obscure regional picks, and the by-the-glass roster stays squarely in the crowd-pleaser lane.
Ten to sixteen pours is a respectable glass program for a downtown Amarillo steakhouse, and they've got enough range to keep a table from arguing over a bottle. That said, don't expect anything left-field — this is a by-the-glass list built around approachability and upsell, not discovery. Rotation appears limited; the list feels like it changes when the menu does, not before.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — null
Jordan consistently over-delivers for its tier — it's not cheap, but in a room where the default ask is Caymus at a significant markup, Jordan gives you Alexander Valley elegance and structure that actually suits the dry-aged ribeye without requiring a second mortgage. If the price gap between the two is meaningful, this is where you put your money.
Marchesi Antinori Tignanello
Most tables at an Italian steakhouse in Amarillo are going to anchor on the California Cabs and never look left. Tignanello — a Sangiovese-Cabernet blend from one of Tuscany's great houses — is exactly the kind of wine that rewards the curious. It's got the structure for red meat, the Italian soul for the osso buco, and a story worth telling across the table.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is fine. It's also the most-ordered, most-marked-up, most-recognizable Napa label in American steakhouses, which means the restaurant knows it can charge a premium and people will pay it without blinking. You're not getting a bad wine — you're getting an overpriced one. Order Jordan instead and use the difference for dessert.
Marchesi Antinori Tignanello + Osso buco
Tignanello's Sangiovese backbone — bright acidity, cherry and leather, firm tannin — cuts right through the richness of braised veal shank without overwhelming it. This is the pairing that makes the Italian half of 'Italian steakhouse' actually mean something.
The Bottom Line
The Barfield is doing more with a wine list than most restaurants in its zip code bother to attempt, and for Amarillo, that alone earns it some respect. Just know you're paying hotel-restaurant prices for the privilege, so point your order toward Jordan or Tignanello and away from the obvious bottles they know you'll grab without questioning.
Downtown Amarillo · Amarillo · Italian Steakhouse
Toscana is doing the most with wine in a city that doesn't ask much of its restaurants on that front. The markups sting and the list plays it relatively safe, but if you're eating in Downtown Amarillo and want a real wine experience, this is your spot.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
South Georgia / Soncy · Amarillo · American
Send a friend here for wine? Only if they lost a bet. Order a margarita, enjoy the riblets, and save the wine night for somewhere that's actually trying.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
I-40 West · Amarillo · Southern / Country
Cracker Barrel is doing exactly what it set out to do — serve comfort food at highway speed — and wine is an afterthought by design. Come for the biscuits, skip the wine list entirely, and nobody gets hurt.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
I-40 East · Amarillo · Southern / Country
Would we send a friend here for wine? Only if that friend had wronged us. Order the sweet tea, enjoy the rocking chairs, and revisit the wine question at your next stop.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Amarillo · New American / Fine Dining
OHMS is doing real cooking, and the wine list hasn't kept up — steep markups on grocery-store names don't match the ambition on the plate. Go for the duck confit, order a cocktail, and save the wine night for somewhere that's actually trying.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Amarillo · Cajun & Creole, Seafood
The Drunken Oyster is a genuinely fun place to drink wine with oysters in a city that doesn't offer a ton of alternatives — just go in knowing the markup is working against you on the bubbles. Stick to the still wines, order something from California, and let the French Quarter vibes do the rest.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Liberty/Belmont Corridor · Youngstown · Italian Steakhouse
Station Square Ristorante is the wine list Youngstown doesn't know it has — deep Italian selections, prestige California anchors, and 450+ bottles that would turn heads in any city. The markups are real and there's no dynamic specials program to soften them, but if you're willing to invest in a bottle of Barolo or a Super Tuscan, this place delivers.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Owen Ayres Court · Eau Claire · Italian Steakhouse
Johnny's is doing the most with a crowd-pleasing formula — 160 bottles, a Wine Spectator nod, and a list that won't offend anyone. Markups on the trophy bottles are hard to defend, but if you know where to look, there's a solid night of wine here for a reasonable bill.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Waterfront / Cabrillo Blvd · Santa Barbara · Italian Steakhouse
Ca' Dario Steakhouse is a reliable wine destination for anyone who wants serious Italian bottles with their steak without having to navigate a 300-label monster list. The markups trend steep, especially on the celebrity bottles, but the Santa Barbara Syrah and Sicilian options give value-hunters a legitimate path.
Solid Range
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
