The Capital Grille

The Capital Grille's wine book lands with a thud—350+ labels sounds impressive until you flip through and realize it's a greatest hits compilation of Napa cult cabs and crowd-pleasing Chardonnays. This is corporate steakhouse wine programming at its most predictable: heavy on recognizable names, light on adventure, priced for expense accounts.

The list leans hard into California comfort zones—Napa and Sonoma dominate the reds with the usual suspects like Duckhorn, Orin Swift, and a parade of $200+ cabernets that all taste vaguely similar. There's token representation from Champagne (Moët, Schramsberg) and some Columbia Valley presence, but don't expect any Burgundy depth, interesting Italian producers, or natural wine detours. It's built for clients who want Rombauer Chardonnay with their bone-in filet, and it delivers exactly that. The depth is more vertical than horizontal—lots of vintage variation on the same producers rather than exploring different regions or styles.

Eighteen by-the-glass options spanning $13-$42 is decent range for a steakhouse, and they cover the bases: bubbles, white Burgundy-style, Napa cab, a token Merlot. The Rombauer Chardonnay is here, naturally, along with Orin Swift Palermo (a Zin blend that works with char). But the pours feel static—no sense of seasonal rotation or staff excitement about new arrivals, just the same reliable lineup that's been there since 2019.