Permanently closed · Reported closed at the end of August 2024 (Anchorage Daily News)
Alaska's Best Wine List Is in a Bungalow
Downtown · Anchorage · New American · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed June 21, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed The Marx Brothers Café’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You're in Anchorage, Alaska, sitting in what feels like a converted historic house, and someone hands you a wine list with 200-plus selections anchored by Burgundy, Bordeaux, and serious West Coast producers. It's disorienting in the best possible way. This is not the list you expect to find at the edge of the continent.
The list leans heavily on California and Oregon, with Cristom and Kosta Browne representing the Pacific Northwest Pinot contingent and Duckhorn and Chateau Montelena flying the California flag for Merlot and Chardonnay respectively. Burgundy and Bordeaux show up as credible pillars, not just token Old World filler. At 200-plus bottles, there's real depth here — not just famous names padded with bulk-production fillers. The gaps you'd expect from a remote Alaska operation (limited natural wine, sparse southern hemisphere representation) exist, but they don't define the list.
An estimated 10-16 pours by the glass is a healthy number for a fine-dining room this size, and the $12-$22 range suggests they're not just pushing house wine on unsuspecting tourists. We'd expect the glass program to reflect the bottle list's California-Oregon axis, which means drinkable options at most price points. Rotation details are unclear, but the overall program confidence suggests these pours are curated, not accidental.
Cristom Pinot Noir — $45–$65 (bottle est.)
Cristom is a Willamette Valley benchmark producer that rarely gets the credit it deserves outside of wine circles. If it's sitting anywhere near the lower end of the bottle range here, you're getting serious Oregon Pinot at a price that would embarrass most Portland restaurants.
Patz & Hall Chardonnay
Patz & Hall doesn't get the flashy press of some Sonoma Coast Chardonnay producers, but they're consistently precise and worth every dollar. Most tables will gravitate toward the Chateau Montelena on name recognition alone — that's your opportunity to grab this instead.
Kosta Browne Pinot Noir
Kosta Browne is good wine. It's also the most requested, most allocated, and most marked-up Pinot on every upscale American restaurant list. You're almost certainly paying a premium here for the brand cachet. The Cristom delivers comparable pleasure without the hype tax.
Chateau Montelena Chardonnay + Alaskan halibut
Montelena's Chardonnay is structured and restrained — real acidity, real weight, none of that tropical-fruit softness that buries delicate fish. It holds up to the halibut without steamrolling it, and frankly it's the most logical bottle on this list for the thing Alaska does better than anywhere.
The Bottom Line
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.
Girdwood · Anchorage · Cajun and Steakhouse with Alaska Seafood
Double Musky Inn's official notice lists a planned reopening on December 10, 2026. Do not treat the former wine choices on this page as current availability while the restaurant is temporarily closed. Check the date and current wine list directly before making plans.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Anchorage · Fine Dining
A wine-bar list with real range: 29 pours with glass and bottle prices, and 73 bottles from $31 to $1,200. Start with the Dr. Loosen Red Slate Riesling at $38 or the Chateau Recougne Bordeaux Superieur at $40, and step up to the Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir at $84 (or the 375 mL half at $46) if you want something to build the dinner around. Confirm prices, since neither list shows a date. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Downtown · Anchorage · Craft Brewery & Wood-Fired Cuisine
A brewhouse with a real two-column wine list: 40 wines, 18 by the glass at $9.95 to $14.95, and bottles up to $155.95. Start with the $9.95 Mionetto Prosecco or the $11.95 Rainstorm Pinot Gris by the glass, or order the $65.95 Hugel with the halibut, and confirm prices because the dinner menu carrying the list is printed June 11 - 24. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Anchorage · Anchorage · American
A very large list with real range: 18 glass pours and bottles from $41 to $13,000. Order the $51 Kermit Lynch 'Terra Viva' or the $66 Marcel Lapierre Morgon if you want a red that won't wreck the check, and confirm availability because the wine page is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Midtown / Spenard · Anchorage · Mexican / Pub / Pizza
A compact nine-wine list that mixes Washington, Chile and Argentina with a Portuguese Vinho Verde and a Spanish Cava. Try the Vidigal Vinho Verde or the Cordorniu Cava before defaulting to the Chardonnay, and confirm what the unlabeled prices mean, since the page carries no date. This unrated guide covers the posted Grill bar menu, not service, storage or markups.
Downtown · Anchorage · Japanese, Fusion
Whisky & Ramen's wine list is short but practical for a ramen bar, with 13 glass pours and bottles from $36 to $680. Order the $58 Los Chuchaquis pét-nat with The Hook, or go the glass route with the $14 Riesling. Confirm current availability and prices before you go; this unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
· Round Rock · New American
Whiskey Cake Round Rock isn't a wine destination, but it's not trying to be — the all-by-the-glass format keeps things approachable, the pricing is honest, and there are a couple of genuinely good pours hiding in a short list. If wine is your priority tonight, look elsewhere; if you're here for the vibe and want something decent in your glass, Chehalem and Altocedro have you covered.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Columbia · New American
Motor Supply Co. Bistro appears to put its energy into the kitchen, and that may be the right call — but three wines is not a wine program. Until this list gets a serious rethink, order a cocktail or call ahead to ask about corkage.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · New American
THREE isn't trying to be a wine destination, and the list makes that abundantly clear. If you're here for cocktails or the bar scene, you're probably in the right place — but if wine matters to you even a little, this four-item lineup isn't going to do much for you. Order the House Champagne at $5, accept the situation for what it is, and move on.
Grocery Store
Fair
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
