Casino Strip Surprise: Natural Wine in the Loud Room
· Atlantic City · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · August 14, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Palm Atlantic City’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
Walking into a Palm on the Atlantic City casino strip, you brace for a wall of Caymus and Silver Oak at three times retail. What you find instead is a six-bottle list that reads like a natural wine bar in Brooklyn accidentally took a wrong turn on the Garden State Parkway. It's small, it's weird, and against all odds, it's interesting.
Six bottles is not a list — it's a conviction. Whoever curated this ignored the obvious and went straight for the left-field picks: Puzelat Bonhomme from the Loire, Clos du Gravillas Minervois, Ferrando's Canavese Rosso doing its Nebbiolo-meets-Barbera thing in Piedmont, and a Ruth Lewandowski 'Feints' from Utah of all places. The anchor is Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011, which gives the list some Rhône muscle to balance all the natural-leaning curiosities. There are no Napa Cabs, no Malbecs from Mendoza, and nothing that would feel at home at a hotel minibar — which is either a bold statement or a clerical error, but we're choosing to believe in the vision.
One option by the glass: the Lucien Crochet 'Le Chêne' Sancerre 2013 at $23, which is a legitimately good pour — a single-vineyard Sancerre from one of the appellation's best houses. The problem is there's exactly one choice, full stop. If you don't want Sancerre, you're buying a bottle.
Ferrando 'Canavese Rosso' 2013 — $44
Ferrando is a legendary Piedmontese producer known for Carema, and this Canavese blend is the entry point into their world. At $44 in a casino steakhouse, you're getting serious Alpine-inflected northern Italian red at a price that doesn't insult you.
Ruth Lewandowski 'Feints' 2013
Almost nobody at this table is ordering a wine from a Utah producer, and that's exactly why you should. Ruth Lewandowski makes small-batch, skin-contact, low-intervention wines from California fruit — 'Feints' is strange and compelling and the kind of thing you'd wait a year to get an allocation of at a natural wine shop. It's sitting here on a list in Atlantic City. Order it.
Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011
Not a bad wine by any stretch, but at $90 it's the list's one concession to conventional steakhouse pricing. The 2011 vintage in Châteauneuf is solid but not exceptional, and you can find this bottle at retail for significantly less. The Ferrando or the Clos du Gravillas will serve you better for the money.
Clos du Gravillas Minervois 2012 + Prime Ribeye
Languedoc Grenache Blanc and Maccabeu-based blends from Clos du Gravillas have enough savory, herbal depth to stand up to a heavily marbled ribeye without the oak and tannin overload of the usual steakhouse red. It's the unconventional call that actually works.
The Bottom Line
We wouldn't fly to Atlantic City for this wine list, but if you're already here, this is the last thing you expected and the best reason to sit down. Six bottles, zero safe choices — someone cares, and it shows.
Tennessee Avenue · Atlantic City · American / Beer Hall
Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall is exactly what it sounds like — come for the beer, and come for the atmosphere. If your crew insists on wine, the Bezel Pinot is a worthy pour, but don't come here expecting a wine program that keeps up with the rest of the experience.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Boardwalk/Park Place · Atlantic City · Steakhouse, Seafood, Contemporary American
Park Place Prime is exactly what a casino steakhouse wine list should be — familiar, functional, and tilted toward the crowd writing checks. It won't thrill anyone looking for discovery, but if you want a solid Cab with your dry-aged steak and don't mind paying casino prices for the privilege, it gets the job done.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Ocean Casino Resort · Atlantic City · Italian-American
Superfrico is a reliable wine program in a setting designed to get you to spend money — and it mostly delivers without being a total shakedown. Send a friend here for a fun night, not a wine education.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Chelsea · Atlantic City · Italian
Boca Coal Fired Bistro is a reliable neighborhood Italian with a wine list to match — nothing you haven't seen before, but nothing to embarrass yourself with either. Stick to the Chianti Classico, enjoy the pizza, and don't come here expecting to be wowed by what's in the glass.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
The Walk/Tanger Outlets · Atlantic City · Steakhouse
Ruth's Chris Atlantic City is a reliable, well-executed steakhouse wine program that does exactly what it says on the label — deep California Cab selection, competent staff, proper storage, steep prices. Send a friend here if they want a sure thing, not if they're looking to be surprised.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Boardwalk (Claridge area) · Atlantic City · Steakhouse and Seafood / Raw Bar
Dougherty's won't convert anyone to wine obsession, but it charges fair prices, pours everything by the glass, and hides a decent Pouilly-Fuissé and a good Provence rosé in a list most people will scroll past without looking. For a Boardwalk steakhouse, that's enough to earn a recommendation.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
· Boston · Steakhouse
STK Boston has the square footage, the lighting, and the noise level of a place that should have a serious wine program — instead it has 142 labels of stuff you've already tried. Order a cocktail, or pick the most interesting bottle you can find and move on.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Chicago · Steakhouse
This is not the wine list you expect to find at The Palm, and that's exactly why it earns attention. Six bottles, zero filler, genuinely fair pricing — if someone's tending this list, they deserve a raise.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Las Vegas · Steakhouse
The Palm Las Vegas is an unlikely wine discovery — a six-bottle natural and old-world-leaning list tucked inside a steakhouse institution, priced like someone forgot they're on the Strip. Don't sleep on it.
Small but Thoughtful
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.
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