Idaho's Most Surprising Steakhouse Wine List
McCall · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Narrows Steakhouse’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You're in McCall, Idaho — a mountain lake town better known for snowmobiles than Stag's Leap — and the wine list runs 200-plus bottles with a Best of Award of Excellence to its name. That alone earns a double-take. The list lands with more ambition than you'd ever expect from a lodge steakhouse this far off the beaten path.
The backbone is exactly what you want with a dry-aged bison cowboy steak: California Cabernet country, with Jordan, Silver Oak, Caymus, and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars all present and accounted for. Washington gets proper respect too — Chateau Ste. Michelle and L'Ecole No. 41 are smart inclusions that nod to the regional story without feeling like tokenism. France shows up through Louis Jadot Burgundy, which keeps things honest for the crowd that doesn't want to go full New World. The gaps are real though — no serious Italian, no Rhône depth, and the list skews heavily toward the same West Coast hits you'd find at any steakhouse with a budget.
With 12-20 pours on offer, the by-the-glass program is genuinely useful for a table that can't agree on a bottle. Expect the California usuals to dominate — this isn't a by-the-glass program built for adventurous drinkers. Rotation appears minimal; don't count on anything surprising showing up mid-season.
L'Ecole No. 41 (Washington) — $50-$70
L'Ecole consistently punches above its price class, and in a list full of California trophy bottles, it's the sleeper pick that actually delivers complexity without the ego markup.
Louis Jadot Burgundy
Most tables here are locked in on Cab, so the Jadot Burgundy sits quietly on the list, largely ignored. That's a mistake — with the dry-aged bison or the seared ahi, a solid Burgundy reads the room better than any Napa Cab.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is everywhere, and lodge restaurants love to mark it up knowing guests recognize the label. You can do better on this list for the same money — or less.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon + Dry-aged bison cowboy steak
Jordan is structured enough to stand up to the bison's intensity without the showboat tannins of something like Caymus — it lets the meat do the talking, which is the whole point of ordering a cowboy steak in Idaho.
The Bottom Line
The Narrows is a genuine outlier — a mountain lodge steakhouse in central Idaho that takes wine seriously enough to hold a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, and mostly backs it up. Pricing runs steep and the staff isn't guiding you through a Burgundy master class, but if you're already driving to McCall for the lake, this list is reason enough to make a reservation.
· Yountville · American
RH Yountville is a genuinely beautiful place to drink wine — the room earns that much on atmosphere alone, and the California-forward list will keep most guests happy without any friction. But in Yountville, where the competition includes some of the most serious wine programs in the country, 'happy without friction' isn't the same as memorable. Go for the experience, order confidently by region, and don't expect the list to surprise you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Bakersfield · American
Yard House Bakersfield is a beer hall that happens to sell wine, and the list makes no effort to hide that. Markups are aggressive, selections are safe to the point of being anonymous, and the only reason to open a bottle here is if your table voted against another round of IPAs. If you're wine-focused, redirect your budget to the Jean-Luc Colombo Rosé by the glass and call it a night.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Yountville · American
The Kitchen at Priest Ranch is a one-winery show, and that's exactly the point. If you want to spend an evening exploring what a single Napa estate produces across whites, rosé, Zinfandel, Merlot, and multiple Cabernet expressions — including older large-format bottles — this is a genuinely interesting way to do it. Just don't come expecting breadth or outside discovery. Send a friend here if they love Priest Ranch or want to.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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