Smoky Mountain steakhouse that gets wine right
Newman Road / Hillside · Gatlinburg · Upscale Steakhouse & American Fine Dining · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 29, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed The Greenbrier Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into The Greenbrier, you get the full mountain lodge fantasy — dark wood, firelight, the smell of dry-aged beef in the air. The wine list arrives looking confident, a well-curated but predictable selection that leans hard into Napa Cabernet territory. It's not trying to surprise you, and honestly, in Gatlinburg, that restraint is almost admirable.
The list sits somewhere between 50 and 100 labels, anchored almost entirely in California and the Pacific Northwest, with a token nod to Bordeaux. The heavy hitters are all here — Caymus, Jordan, Stag's Leap — which tells you exactly who this list is written for: the steak-and-Cab crowd who wants a recognizable name on the table. The Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling is the lone curveball and a legitimately smart call for a menu that features trout and seafood specials. Don't come looking for Burgundy, Italian varietals, or anything that came from a cave in the Jura.
The glass program runs 8 to 15 options at $12 to $20 a pour, which is serviceable for a fine dining room in a tourist-heavy mountain town. There's no evidence of any active rotation or weekly updates — what you see is what you get, probably for the entire season. That said, if Jordan or Stag's Leap is available by the glass on a given night, you won't hear us complaining.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling — $45
In a room full of $80-plus Napa reds, this Washington State Riesling likely sits at the lower end of the bottle list and earns every dollar. It's the right call for the trout or scallops, and most tables will overlook it in favor of a Cab. Their loss, your gain.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling
It's sitting quietly at the bottom of a list dominated by Napa Cabernet, and almost no one ordering a ribeye is going to look at it twice. But if you're splitting the table between the steak and the seafood special, this bottle is the bridge — and it's almost certainly the best value per dollar on the entire list.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is a fine wine. It's also a wine you can find at Costco for around $80. In a restaurant setting it'll run you significantly more, and you're essentially paying a premium for the comfort of a label you already know. Jordan does the same job for less, and Stag's Leap does it with more finesse.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon + Dry-Aged Ribeye
Jordan's Sonoma Cab has enough structure to cut through the fat on a well-marbled dry-aged ribeye without the jammy bomb that Caymus brings. It's the more elegant choice for the restaurant's flagship cut, and the slightly lower price point compared to Caymus makes it the smarter order.
The Bottom Line
The Greenbrier is doing exactly what a fine dining steakhouse in a national park tourist corridor should do with wine — keeping it approachable, stocking names people recognize, and not getting too weird about it. It's not a wine destination, but it won't embarrass itself either; send a friend who wants a solid Cab with a great steak and a mountain view.
· Gatlinburg · Brewery and Pub
Smoky Mountain Brewery is a beer destination that happens to have a functional wine list — and that's not a knock. The pricing is fair across most of the menu, the by-the-glass selection is broad, and the familiar producers mean no one at the table is guessing. If you're here for wine first, you're in the wrong building. If you're here with a group and need something other than a pint, you'll be fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Gatlinburg · Winery and Tasting Room
Hillside Winery earns its Wild Card badge because it's doing something genuinely unexpected in the middle of Gatlinburg's tourist corridor — making Italian-style wines in Tennessee and inviting you to taste them for free. We can't verify specific bottles, pricing, or how deep the cellar actually goes, so treat this as an adventure rather than a sure thing. If you're in the Smokies and curious about American regional wine outside the usual suspects, this is worth an hour of your afternoon.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
· Gatlinburg · Brewery and Pizza
This is a brewery that serves wine the way a steakhouse serves veggie burgers — technically available, clearly not the point. At $7 flat, the pricing is painless, but with zero producer information and a list built entirely from generic varietals, there's no reason to come here for wine. Grab one of their beers, enjoy the Smokies, and save your wine curiosity for somewhere that returns the favor.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Gatlinburg · German
Hofbräuhaus Gatlinburg is here to sell you a liter of beer in a giant mug, and honestly, that's the right call. The wine program is six unlabeled varietals with no pricing transparency and zero evidence of anyone tending to it with care. Order the Märzen, skip the wine.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Gatlinburg · Seafood
Chesapeake's Gatlinburg isn't trying to win a wine award, and it doesn't need to — the list is honest, the pricing is fair for what it is, and the white wine depth is genuinely appropriate for a seafood restaurant. If you're in Gatlinburg and want a bottle that won't break the bank or embarrass you, you can do a lot worse than landing on that Dry Creek Chenin Blanc.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Gatlinburg · Southern American
Ole Red is a concert venue and bar that happens to have wine on the menu — and it shows. If you're in Gatlinburg for live music and cold beer, this place probably delivers. If you're looking to drink well, skip the wine entirely and order a cocktail or a local beer. There are better uses for your $10.
Grocery Store
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.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
