Victorian Charm With a Serious Cellar Beneath
Downtown Fort Myers · Fort Myers · Southern · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed April 14, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed The Veranda’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into The Veranda — two connected Victorian homes dripping with old Florida character — the wine list lands like a serious statement. It's long, it's organized, and it actually has a separate vintage cellar section, which you don't see at most restaurants in a beach-adjacent market like Fort Myers. This place clearly cares.
The list stretches across Napa, Sonoma, Alexander Valley, Oregon's Willamette Valley, Italy, New Zealand, and Bordeaux, which is more geographic range than you'd expect from a Southern-leaning steakhouse in Southwest Florida. California Cabs anchor the cellar — Caymus, Silver Oak, Cakebread, Stag's Leap — and while those are crowd-pleaser names, they're present in force and priced within reason relative to market. The Château La Gaffelière St. Emilion at $225 is a genuine nod to old-world Bordeaux fans who know what they're looking for. Gaps exist on the natural wine front and there's little presence from Spain or the Southern Hemisphere beyond New Zealand, but for a historic fine-dining room in Fort Myers, the depth is genuinely impressive.
Twelve-plus options by the glass is a solid count, spanning from the $11 house pours up to the Stag's Leap ARTEMIS Cab at $38 a glass — which is a bold but fair ceiling for a list like this. The bang-for-buck standouts are in the $15 range, where Meiomi Pinot Noir and Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio are actually priced at or below retail, a quietly generous move. Rotation is unclear and the program reads more like a fixed menu than a dynamic glass list, but what's there is consistent.
Meiomi Pinot Noir — $15
Retails around $20 and they're pouring it for $15 a glass — that's below retail, which almost never happens. It's an easy-drinking crowd-pleaser that works across the menu, and at this price it's hard to argue with.
Château La Gaffelière St. Emilion
Most tables at The Veranda are going straight for the Caymus or Silver Oak, and that's a shame because this Right Bank Bordeaux — Saint-Émilion, Merlot-dominant — is a more interesting bottle at $225. It rewards anyone willing to stray from the California Cab comfort zone.
Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
At $600 a bottle, Cakebread is doing a lot of heavy lifting on name recognition alone. It's a fine wine, but $600 is a significant premium for a label that retails in the $80-$90 range — the math doesn't hold up when the Silver Oak and Caymus are sitting right next to it at far more defensible prices.
Stag's Leap ARTEMIS Cabernet Sauvignon + Rack of Lamb
ARTEMIS is a structured, dark-fruited Napa Cab with enough grip to stand up to lamb without bulldozing it. At $38 a glass it's a splurge pour, but matched with the rack of lamb it becomes the move — two things the kitchen and cellar are clearly proud of, working together.
The Bottom Line
The Veranda isn't trying to be a wine bar — it's a landmark Southern dining room that happens to have a real cellar worth exploring. The pricing is fairer than you'd expect for the market, the depth is legitimate, and if you're willing to look past the Caymus-and-friends lineup, there are genuinely rewarding bottles hiding in there.
Fort Myers · Fort Myers · Steakhouse
A one-page list of 42 wines where 24 are priced by the 6 oz and 9 oz pour, from $11 to $28, and the rest are bottles up to $499. Start with the $12 Cigar Box Malbec by the 6 oz glass, or step up to the $75 Les Cadrans de Lassègue if you want the one Bordeaux on the list. The PDF is undated, so confirm what's pouring. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Fort Myers · Fort Myers · Mediterranean-inspired small plates and wine bar
A compact, Italian-leaning list with glasses from $10 to $15 and a happy hour board that includes any glass. Order the $10 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo with the $20 board, or the $15 Valle Segreta Super Tuscan with the short rib ravioli, and confirm prices on the day. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
McGregor Boulevard · Fort Myers · New American
A wine list that tells you what is in the glass but not what it costs. For a steak, start with the Chappellet Signature Cabernet or the Gigondas, and ask the server for prices and by-the-glass availability since the list posts none. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Fort Myers · Fort Myers · Italian
A long, Italian-and-Napa-heavy list with 18 glass pours from $10 to $29 and a bottle range from $40 to $2,250. Start with the $12 Castello di Albola Chianti Classico, or order the Laurent Perrier half bottle at $85 if you want Champagne without a full bottle, and confirm current prices. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Bell Tower Shops / South Fort Myers · Fort Myers · Mexican
A compact 13-wine list for a Mexican restaurant, with half-off wine by the glass at the bar on posted days. Start with the Marqués de Cáceres Rosé at 8 | 28, or the Catena Malbec at 10 | 37 if you want a red, and ask which number is the glass. Wine prices are posted without units and the menu is undated, so confirm what the Fort Myers bar is pouring. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Downtown Fort Myers River District · Fort Myers · Gastropub
A short wine list at a craft beer and cocktail bar: nine wines, two price tiers, no regions or vintages. Order the Meiomi Pinot Noir with the You Gouda Try This! mac and cheese, or stay on the house wines at $8 and $30; the page is undated, so confirm current wines and ask which price is the glass before you order. This unrated guide covers the posted drinks menu, not service, storage or markups.
Castleberry Hill · Atlanta · Southern
Paschal's earns its reputation on the plate — the fried chicken alone justifies the trip to Northside Drive. But the wine list isn't doing the food any favors, and there's no evidence of a serious program behind the bar. Order a cocktail, ask for sweet tea, or bring your own if corkage allows — and focus on what this kitchen actually does well.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Greenville · Southern
A broad, easy-to-read bistro list with 29 wines, 15 of them poured by the glass at $8 to $11. Order the $28 Alamos Malbec, or the $34 Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhône for something different, and ask whether the half-price Wine Wednesday bottle offer on the Specials page is running. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
· Atlanta · Southern
SouthernNational is doing something genuinely unusual — running a tight, Europe-forward wine list inside a Southern kitchen, and mostly pulling it off. If you're tired of the same Sonoma Pinot and overpriced Malbec at every restaurant in town, this list is worth your attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
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.
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