Steakhouse Hiding a Natural Wine Secret
Unknown · Atlanta · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 6, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Palm Atlanta’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Six bottles. That's the whole list. At a steakhouse chain known for its jumbo lobsters and celebrity caricatures on the walls, you'd expect a wall of Napa Cabs and a token Chardonnay — instead, you get Puzelat-Bonhomme Loire and a Ruth Lewandowski skin-contact wine from Utah. We did a double take too.
Whoever curated this tiny list clearly has opinions, and they're good ones. You've got the Lucien Crochet Sancerre for your white drinkers, the Clos du Gravillas Minervois for something earthy and southern French, and the Ferrando Canavese Rosso for Nebbiolo lovers who don't want to drop $100 on Barolo. The Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape anchors the list with some gravitas. The gap? Almost no breadth for guests who want something in between crowd-pleasing and adventurous — if you don't vibe with natural or low-intervention, you may feel stranded.
One option by the glass. One. At $23 a pour, whatever they're pouring better be worth your while — and with a list this focused, it probably is — but a single BTG option at a full-service steakhouse is borderline indefensible. If you're not buying a bottle tonight, you're basically making a blind bet.
Ferrando 'Canavese Rosso' 2013 — $44
Ferrando is a legendary producer in Piedmont and their Canavese Rosso — a Nebbiolo-Barbera blend — typically trades well above this price point at retail. Getting it at $44 a bottle at a restaurant is legitimately rare. Order it.
Puzelat Bonhomme Loire 2014
Thierry Puzelat is one of the founding figures of the natural wine movement in the Loire, and most guests at a steakhouse will walk right past this without a second glance. That's a mistake. It's weird, alive, and nothing like the polished Sauvignon Blancs this crowd usually reaches for.
Lucien Crochet 'Le Chêne' Sancerre 2013
Lucien Crochet makes great Sancerre, but 'Le Chêne' is their top-tier single-vineyard bottling, and a 2013 at a steakhouse raises serious questions about storage conditions and how long this bottle has been sitting. At $90 you're taking a real gamble on a wine that needed proper cellar care to still be singing.
Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011 + Prime NY Strip
Bois de Boursan makes a structured, Grenache-forward Châteauneuf that has the weight and dark fruit to go toe-to-toe with a well-marbled strip steak without getting lost in the fat. It's the move on this list if you're eating red meat.
The Bottom Line
We'd never send someone to The Palm specifically for the wine list — six bottles and one glass pour isn't a program, it's a mood board. But whoever chose these six bottles deserves credit, because they're all genuinely interesting picks that punch well above the chain steakhouse average.
· Atlanta · Modern Latin
Botanico isn't trying to out-depth the wine bars — it's building a short, intentional list that mirrors its Modern Latin identity, and mostly it works. The by-the-glass availability is excellent, the producers are genuinely interesting, and the Vale de Bomfim and Monte Xanic chenin blanc alone are worth the detour. Markups keep this from being a steal, but if you're here for the food and want a wine that actually makes sense with it, you won't be left stranded.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Buckhead · Atlanta · Italian
Cucina Baci earns its place as a reliable neighborhood Italian — the kind of spot where the wine list won't blow your mind but it won't embarrass you either. If you're going for the pizza, the pasta, and the warm room energy, order something Italian and red and let the evening do the work. We'd want a full look at the list before calling it anything more than that.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · New American / Tasting Menu
Choose your courses, then choose your glasses. Bacchanalia's posted pairings give you concrete options: Carl Loewen Riesling at $24 with crab, or Ca' La Bionda Ripasso at $27 with duck. Ask which suggestions match tonight's menu before committing to the wine bill.
Midtown · Atlanta · Southern European
Start with the $14 Vostinic-Klasnic Ikons if you want to explore beyond familiar grapes, or the $16 chilled La Galoche Gamay if that's your lane. Lyla Lila's posted glass list makes trying something different a one-glass decision, not a whole-bottle commitment.
· Atlanta · New American
Siren has a wine list that punches above its weight in a few key areas — particularly the by-the-glass whites and the Champagne bottle program — but the markup structure means you're spending real money to access it. If you're the kind of diner who wants to order Furmint on a Tuesday night in Atlanta, this is one of the few places that makes that possible, and that alone earns it a spot on the shortlist.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Regional Italian
Make Monday your bottle night at Indaco: half off bottles priced up to $100, then $50 off above that. Ask for the current bottle list before choosing; the discount has a ceiling, even if your wine budget doesn't.
· Atlanta · Steakhouse
Il Premio is a steakhouse that took its wine list seriously enough to skip the obvious plays, and the result is one of the more interesting Italian-focused lists in Atlanta right now. It's compact, priced fairly across the board, and built for exploration — whether you're going glass by glass through the Italian regions or just need a solid bottle of Chianti Classico at $72 to make a steak dinner feel right. We'd send a friend here specifically for the wine.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Steakhouse
Stark's is the rare steakhouse that treats wine as something other than an afterthought or a cash grab. The list is compact but genuinely considered, markups are fair across the board, and the full bottle-to-glass availability is a policy every restaurant should copy. If you're eating in Healdsburg and want to drink well without overpaying, this is a legitimate stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Albany · Albany · Steakhouse
Order by the glass and explore: the posted menu gives you Riesling, Chablis, Cahors and Rioja without a bottle commitment. Pentimento at $16 is our price-conscious red starting point. Check the current list before ordering; the complete cellar, service and storage haven't been independently verified.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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