Six Bottles, Zero Predictability, All Personality
· McLean · American Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed October 24, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed The Palm Tysons Corner’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 it. At a national steakhouse chain in the affluent sprawl of McLean, Virginia, you'd expect a wall of Napa Cabs and overpriced Malbecs — instead, you get Minervois, Canavese Rosso, and a Loire natural wine. Someone here is quietly doing something weird, and we mean that as a compliment.
This is not a steakhouse wine list — it's a natural wine shop's weekend picks smuggled onto a Palm menu. Lucien Crochet's Le Chêne Sancerre and a Puzelat Bonhomme Loire anchor the whites with serious Old World credibility. The reds go even further off-script: Ferrando's Canavese Rosso (Nebbiolo and Barbera from Piedmont's lesser-known corner), Ruth Lewandowski's Feints from California's natural wine fringe, and a Clos du Gravillas Minervois from the Languedoc. The lone concession to steakhouse convention is the Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011, which is a legitimate bottle — not a filler pick. The list is tiny but coherent, and that coherence tells you someone with taste built it.
By-the-glass options are not documented in our available data, so we can't confirm what's being poured by the stem. Given the small list of six bottles, the pour program — if there is one — is likely limited. Ask your server directly what's open.
The Bottom Line
We don't fully understand how a six-bottle list this good ended up at The Palm Tysons Corner, but here we are. If you're eating here and care about wine at all, this list deserves your attention — especially that Sancerre at $23. It's a small program, but it's a thoughtful one, and in a category full of lazy steakhouse lists, that counts for a lot.
6 wines captured from the source list, including wines not yet matched to our catalog. Availability, vintages, and prices can change. View source wine list.
Lucien Crochet "Le Chêne" Sancerre FR, 2013 $23
Sauvignon Blanc
$23.00 / bottle
Puzelat Bonhomme Loire FR, 2014 $48
Melon de Bourgogne
$48.00 / bottle
Clos du Gravillas Minervois FR, 2012 $66
Grenache Blanc/Maccabeu
$66.00 / bottle
Ferrando "Canavese Rosso" Piedmont IT, 2013 $44
Nebbiolo/Barbera
$44.00 / bottle
Ruth Lewandowski "Feints" Mendocino CA, 2013 $50
Arneis/Dolcetto
$50.00 / bottle
Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape FR, 2011 $90
Grenache/Syrah Rouge
$90.00 / bottle
· The Woodlands · American Steakhouse
We're working with event-night evidence, not a full house list, so drawing firm conclusions about Del Frisco's Grille's everyday wine program would be dishonest. What we can say is that a six-wine promotional dinner built around one producer family isn't a reason to make this your wine destination. Come for the steakhouse experience — but don't expect the wine list to be the main event.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
· Ashburn · American Steakhouse
Eddie Merlot's is a dependable upscale steakhouse that delivers on the beef side of the equation. The wine program appears to be functional rather than inspired — a crowd-pleasing list built to sell confidently, not to excite. If you're coming for a business dinner or a straightforward date night and want a Napa Cab with your prime-aged ribeye, you'll be just fine. If you want something to talk about on the drive home, you might need to bring your own bottle or do a little pre-visit homework.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Burr Ridge · Burr Ridge · American Steakhouse
Eddie Merlot's is a competent, predictable steakhouse wine program — it'll get the job done for a business dinner or a birthday without embarrassing anyone, but it isn't a destination for serious wine drinkers. The markups at this category of restaurant tend to run steep relative to retail, so go in with calibrated expectations and focus your budget on the steak, where this place clearly puts its heart.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
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.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
