Big Steaks, Small Wine Ambitions
East Amarillo · Amarillo · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 24, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The wine list at the Big Texan exists the way a side salad exists at a steakhouse — technically there, not really the point. You're walking into a Route 66 landmark famous for a 72-oz steak challenge, and the wine program reflects exactly that level of priority. It's an afterthought dressed in a cowboy hat.
Twenty-plus labels sounds like a start, but the list leans hard on California crowd-pleasers with zero surprises: Duckhorn, Cakebread, Robert Mondavi, Kim Crawford. There's no real range here — no Rhône, no Spanish, no anything that suggests anyone spent more than an afternoon building this list. The Big Texan House Red anchors the bottom of the list, and Beringer White Zinfandel is right there next to it, which tells you everything about the ambition level. If you came for discovery, wrong zip code.
Six pours by the glass in the $8–$12 range, which is inoffensive pricing but the selection is about as adventurous as a gas station fridge. There's no indication of rotation or curation — these feel like they've been the same six options since the George W. Bush administration.
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 — $85
It's the least-bad markup on the list at 55% over retail, and it's a genuinely good Cab that can hold its own against a serious steak. On a Wednesday, that $85 drops to around $42 — and at that price it's legitimately a good bottle.
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
On Wednesday's half-price night, this becomes one of the better wine deals in Amarillo. Most people are ordering beer or the house red — if you know to ask for the Duckhorn on a Wednesday, you're eating a legendary steak with a proper Napa Cab for less than $45. That's actually a win.
Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2023
A 111% markup on a $18 retail bottle is embarrassing. Kim Crawford is fine wine — for $10 at the grocery store. Paying $38 for it at a steakhouse in Amarillo is the wine list's least defensible ask. Hard pass.
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 + 72-oz Steak Challenge
Look, if you're committing to 72 ounces of beef, you might as well commit to the one wine on the list built for exactly that moment. The Duckhorn's structure and dark fruit don't flinch at a slab of Texas ribeye. Go big or go home — ideally on a Wednesday.
Wednesday — Half-price bottles of wine every Wednesday night
The Bottom Line
The Big Texan is a bucket-list experience for the steak, the spectacle, and the sheer Texas-ness of it all — but the wine list is a bystander, not a participant. Come for the challenge, drink the Duckhorn on Wednesday, and lower your expectations for everything else in the glass.
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
· Salem · Steakhouse
Best Little Roadhouse isn't going to make a wine lover's shortlist, but it's not ripping anyone off either — fair prices, local representation, and everything available by the glass makes this a solid steakhouse wine program that doesn't embarrass itself. Come for the steak, order the WVV Pinot, and leave happy.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Chula Vista · Steakhouse
Skip the wine list and order a cocktail or a beer — the wine program here is an afterthought dressed up in a long menu. If someone insists on a bottle, reach for the Rodney Strong and don't look too hard at the markup.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Plano · Steakhouse
Steve Fields clearly puts its energy into the kitchen, not the cellar — and at these price points, that imbalance is hard to ignore. Order the Evesham Wood if it's still there, and otherwise come for the steak, not the wine list.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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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