Seattle's Steakhouse Wine List Actually Delivers
South Lake Union · Seattle · Regional, Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed April 9, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed The Butcher's Table’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at The Butcher's Table hits you like the menu itself — serious, deliberate, and not messing around. Four hundred to six hundred selections anchored by France, California, Washington, and Italy tells you this room was built for people who want to drink well alongside their dry-aged prime. The Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator, held since 2017, isn't wallpaper here — the list actually earns it.
Washington state gets its proper showcase — Quilceda Creek and Leonetti Cellar sit alongside DeLille Cellars, giving locals and visitors a genuine Pacific Northwest education without forcing you into mediocrity. California is handled confidently with Caymus, Chateau Montelena, Opus One, and Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay covering the prestige tier without relying solely on the obvious blockbusters. France shows up with Chateau Margaux anchoring the Bordeaux section, and Italy brings Sassicaia for the Super Tuscan crowd. The list leans heavily toward red-meat-friendly bottlings — which makes total sense — but lighter, seafood-adjacent options feel slightly underrepresented given the restaurant's Pacific Northwest seafood rotation.
With 20 to 35 by-the-glass options, The Butcher's Table doesn't make you commit to a bottle if you're still deciding who you are tonight. The range covers enough ground to satisfy a table with mixed instincts — a Chardonnay for the hesitant, a Washington Cab for the curious, something with heft for whoever ordered the ribeye. We'd like to see more rotation and adventure here, but for a steakhouse BTG program, this is well above average.
DeLille Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon — $80–$100 est.
DeLille punches at a level that justifies its price in any room, and in a steakhouse setting it's exactly what the beef ordered. Washington Cab at this tier regularly outperforms California equivalents that cost significantly more — this is the move if you want to drink smart without telegraphing it.
Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay
Everyone in this room is scanning for Cabernet, which means Kistler gets overlooked. That's a mistake. It's one of California's best Chardonnay producers and it holds its own against serious French white Burgundy at a fraction of the import premium. Order it before the wagyu arrives and thank us later.
Opus One
It's excellent wine — nobody's arguing that — but Opus One is the most marked-up label on menus like this across the country. You're paying for the logo as much as the liquid. The Washington options on this very list deliver comparable pleasure at meaningfully lower prices, and they're more interesting in this context anyway.
Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon + Whole Roasted Bone-In Ribeye
Quilceda Creek is Washington's benchmark Cabernet — structured, dark-fruited, with the tannin backbone to handle the fat and char of a whole bone-in ribeye. It's also a conversation piece for anyone at the table who hasn't encountered it. This is the pairing that makes the meal a memory.
The Bottom Line
The Butcher's Table is one of the few steakhouses in the Pacific Northwest where the wine list is genuinely worth your attention — not just a backdrop for the beef. Sommelier Kyle Knaus keeps this thing credible, and the Washington state representation alone makes it worth the trip if you care about what's in your glass.
Downtown · Seattle · Brazilian Churrascaria
The real headline here is the half-price South American bottles — available Monday through Thursday, all day, on bottles under $150 — which turns a polished steakhouse into a legitimately reasonable wine night. The list won't excite anyone who came for the wine, but if you came for the meat and want a solid regional bottle at a fair price, this deal is worth planning around.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Active Program
Acceptable
Ballard · Seattle · Italian
A short, Italian-leaning list with most of its bottles in the Old World red section. Order the $11 Montepulciano by the glass, or the $69 Travaglini Gattinara if you want to splurge a little, and confirm prices on the day. This unrated guide covers the posted wine menus, not service, storage or markups.
Downtown · Seattle · Pacific Northwest / New American
A hotel wine list with a Pacific Northwest page up front, Champagne, Bordeaux and Italian sections behind it, and a separate glass list on the drink menu. Start with the $12 Treveri Blanc de Blancs at happy hour or the Mark Ryan 'Goldfinch Tavern Red Blend', and check the current list before you go, since the restaurant says menus are subject to change. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list and drink menu, not service, storage or markups.
Lake Union · Seattle · Steakhouse
A long, Northwest-first steakhouse list with plenty of bottles under $100 as well as a $300-to-$550 tier of Leonetti and Quilceda Creek Cabernets. Start with the $20 Five Star Cellars “Prime” Cabernet by the glass, or the same wine at $55 on the bottle pages, and confirm prices because the list says vintages and availability change. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Capitol Hill · Seattle · Italian
An all-Italian list that is easy to navigate: 11 wines by the glass from $13 to $30, a bottle list sorted by region, and $8 house wine during Apericena. Order the Soave at $13 or the $17 Kerner by the glass, or the Villa Venti Sangiovese with the tagliatelle al ragu, and confirm prices because the page says they are subject to change. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Central District · Seattle · Seafood
A mostly natural, mostly French bottle list that stretches from $60 Muscadet to a $455 Champagne, with a deep run of Jura, Savoie and Loire bottles. Start with the $60 Hautplanty Muscadet or the $72 Laurent Herlin Cabernet Franc, and ask about the list’s ◆ and ◉ key if you want help choosing between classic and wild. This unrated guide covers the posted drinks selection, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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