Fine Wine at the Top of the World
Downtown Anchorage · Anchorage · American
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 5, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Crow's Nest’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
You're sitting 20 stories above Anchorage with Cook Inlet out the window and the Alaska Range glowing in the distance — and somehow the wine list actually belongs in this room. A Best of Award of Excellence since 2016 is no small thing, and the list reads like they earned it: California, Burgundy, Oregon, Champagne, all the grown-up regions accounted for. It's a serious list in a place most people don't expect a serious list.
The 300-500 bottle range covers the pillars confidently — Napa Cabernet leads the charge with names like Caymus, Jordan, Stag's Leap, and Kistler holding down Chardonnay. Burgundy fans get Louis Jadot as a gateway and Domaine Drouhin Oregon as a smart Pacific Northwest bridge. Germany and Italy show up, which is more than most Alaskan restaurants can say. The list isn't adventurous — you won't find natural wine or anything that requires explanation — but it's executed well and the breadth is genuinely impressive given that everything has to be flown or shipped to a city with no direct wine country access.
Twenty to thirty-five options by the glass is a strong program, and the $12–$25 range reflects the ambition of the list rather than padding it with cheap pours. Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling anchors the approachable end and Veuve Clicquot is almost certainly on there for anyone who needs a reason to celebrate the view. We'd like to see more rotation, but what's here does the job.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling — $12
At the low end of the by-the-glass range, this is the smart order with the halibut or king crab. Ste. Michelle's Columbia Valley Riesling punches well above its price point and the bright acidity is exactly what you want against rich Alaskan seafood.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir
Most tables here are reaching straight for the Napa Cabs, and we get it — the dry-aged beef is right there. But Drouhin's Oregon Pinot is a quietly serious bottle, made by a Burgundy family who relocated to the Willamette Valley, and it's the kind of find that makes the list worth exploring past the first page.
Veuve Clicquot Champagne
Veuve is fine — it's always fine — but it's also available at every airport lounge in America and marked up accordingly. If you're in the mood for bubbles to toast the view, your money goes further almost anywhere else on this list.
Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay + Wild-caught Alaskan halibut
Kistler is one of the benchmark California Chardonnay producers — full, textured, with enough weight to stand up to a meaty halibut fillet without bulldozing it. It's a straightforward call that happens to be exactly right.
The Bottom Line
A proper wine list in a genuinely unexpected place — if you're going to splurge on dinner in Anchorage, the Crow's Nest is where the wine program actually warrants it. The markups sting a little, but you're also drinking Kistler with a view of the Alaska Range, so maybe that's fine.
Downtown · Anchorage · New American
The Marx Brothers Café is the kind of place that makes you reconsider your assumptions about where serious wine lives. In a historic Anchorage bungalow, they've built a list that would hold its own in San Francisco — and that earns every bit of the Wild Card badge.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown / G Street corridor · Anchorage · Wine Bar / Bistro
Crush earns its Wild Card badge not by being perfect, but by being genuinely surprising — a 600-bottle cellar and 40+ glass pours in Anchorage is an achievement worth acknowledging out loud. If you're passing through or living here, this is where you go when you actually care what's in your glass.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Girdwood · Anchorage · Winery Restaurant / Taproom
Bear Creek Winery Loft earns its Wild Card badge honestly — it's not trying to be a serious wine destination and doesn't need to be. If you're in Girdwood and you skip this in favor of a hotel bar pour, you've made a mistake you'll regret when you're back home explaining why you didn't try the rhubarb wine made in Alaska.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Anchorage · Modern Mexican / Latin Fusion
Tequila 61° is a genuinely fun downtown Anchorage spot — but the wine list is not the reason to come. Order the tequila, drink the margaritas, and if someone at the table insists on wine, steer them toward the Pinot Grigio and move on.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown · Anchorage · Brazilian Steakhouse (Churrascaria)
Texas de Brazil Anchorage is a reliable enough wine stop if you calibrate expectations to match the format — this is a chain steakhouse, not a wine destination, and the list behaves accordingly. Grab the Catena, eat a lot of picanha, and don't overthink it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown / Spenard · Anchorage · Mexican / Pub / Pizza
Bear Tooth Grill is a legitimately great spot for beer, margaritas, pizza, and a movie — the wine list is just a formality. Order a craft beer, skip the wine entirely, and you'll have a fantastic time.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Eagle Ranch · Vail · American
The Wild Sage is your dependable neighborhood spot in Eagle Ranch — the wine list won't blow your mind, but it won't embarrass you at dinner either. Watch the markups on the top-shelf Napa bottles and stick to the mid-range, and you'll be fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Waterfront · Traverse City · American
Warehouse Kitchen + Cork won't win any awards for depth or ambition, but it plays its hand honestly — fair prices, solid local representation, and a full by-the-glass program that respects your wallet. If you're in Traverse City and want a glass of something local with a water view, this works.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Truckee · Truckee · American
Sunnyside is a casual lodge restaurant wearing a serious wine list under its flannel — the markup is steep and it won't win any awards for staff expertise, but the producer lineup is legitimately impressive for where you're sitting. If you're already at the lake, this is absolutely worth ordering a real bottle.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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