Wine List as Much as the Mesquite
East / Broadway · Tucson · Barbecue and Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 19, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Horseshoe Grill’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The Horseshoe Grill is unapologetically a BBQ and steak joint — sports on the screens, smoke in the air, cold beer on the bar. The wine list feels like it was assembled from a Costco run and never revisited. It does the job if you don't ask too much of it.
This is a California and Washington State greatest hits compilation — Kendall-Jackson, Apothic, Robert Mondavi Private Selection, J. Lohr. Safe, familiar labels that no one will complain about and no one will remember. There's no regional intrigue here, no small producers, no nod to anything outside the grocery store shelf. If you're hoping for something with a little dirt under its fingernails to match the mesquite smoke, you're going to be disappointed.
Expect six to ten pours hovering in the $10–$15 range, rotating through the same familiar suspects on the bottle list. There's no real by-the-glass program to speak of — more of a 'we opened a bottle, want some?' situation. Wine Wednesday does bring some relief: selected bottles at half price, though the specific labels change week to week.
J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon — $32
It's the most legitimately food-friendly bottle on the list — a solid, fruit-forward Paso Robles Cab that can actually stand up to a smoked brisket. Not exciting, but it earns its place at the table more than anything else here.
Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio
Yes, it's a corporate workhorse, but at $38 it carries the lowest markup on the entire list — under 81% over retail. In a room full of 140–167% markups, that relative restraint makes it the closest thing to a fair deal here.
Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio
A $9 retail bottle priced at $24 — a 167% markup on a wine that belongs in a grocery checkout line. There is no version of this purchase that makes sense when better options exist on the same list.
J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon + Mesquite-smoked brisket plate
The dark fruit and soft tannins in the Seven Oaks won't fight the smoke and char the way a leaner wine might — it leans into the fat and bark on the brisket and comes out looking better than it has any right to.
Wednesday — Wine Wednesday: selected bottles offered at half price. Specific labels rotate weekly — worth calling ahead to see what's featured.
The Bottom Line
The Horseshoe Grill is a legitimately good BBQ spot that treats wine as an afterthought — overmarked supermarket labels with no story and no soul. Come for the brisket, order a beer, and save the wine for somewhere that cares.
Catalina Foothills · Tucson · New American
Commoner & Co. is a dependable neighborhood wine list in a city that doesn't always prioritize the bottle program — fair pricing, reasonable range, and a Monday half-off special that makes it genuinely worth planning around. Not a destination for wine geeks, but a solid place to drink well without thinking too hard about it.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
· Tucson · Beer & Wine Bar
Broadway Beer & Wine Bar earns a Lazy List badge not because the wines are bad, but because the list represents zero effort beyond calling an Edgefield distributor. If you're here for beer, you're probably fine — but if you came for wine variety, keep walking.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Tucson · Bar with Wine
Good Oak is exactly the kind of place that surprises you — a casual Congress Street bar that happens to have a sommelier and a wine list that leans into Italy and Portugal instead of defaulting to the usual suspects. If you're in Tucson and want a glass of something interesting without the pretense, this is the move.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Acceptable
· Tucson · New American
Maynards Kitchen is a charming spot inside a genuinely iconic Tucson hotel, which makes the wine list feel like an especially lazy afterthought. Skip the wine, order a cocktail, and hope whoever curates this program eventually decides to care.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
East Tucson · Tucson · Italian/New American
Zio Peppe is a solid neighborhood spot where the wine list won't blow your mind but won't let you down either — stick to something California and light, order the Sausage and Mushroom pizza, and enjoy the patio. Send your friend here for dinner, not for the wine.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Tucson · Wine Bar
Sunshine Wine is doing something genuinely uncommon for Tucson — leaning hard into the borderlands wine identity and making it feel cool instead of gimmicky. If you're curious about what Arizona and Sonora actually taste like in a glass, this bungalow on Santa Rita is the place to find out.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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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