Clubby, Polished, and Serious About the Pour
Tustin/Irvine · Irvine · Steakhouse / Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed September 8, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The name does a lot of work here, and from what we can tell, the list mostly earns it. This is a dressed-up, reservation-required kind of room — the wine program feels like it was built to match the vibe: aspirational, California-forward, and clearly curated with a steakhouse menu in mind. It reads confident, not experimental.
The list leans into the regions you'd expect from a polished OC steakhouse — California anchors things, with meaningful representation from Tuscany, Spain, and the Rhône rounding out the Old World side. That's a sensible combination for a ribeye-and-oysters crowd, and it suggests someone made intentional choices rather than just ordering from a distributor catalog. What we don't know is how deep the cellar actually runs — whether there's real depth in the verticals or just a well-curated shallow pool. The region mix is promising; the execution we have to take on faith.
We don't have a confirmed glass pour count or specific bottles to name, but a restaurant built around this concept and price point almost certainly runs a solid by-the-glass program. Happy hour — marketed as 'Crush Hour' — hints at some intentionality around glass pours, though we couldn't confirm exact deals or which wines rotate through it. If you're going on a weeknight, worth asking what's pouring before you order.
The Bottom Line
The Winery is a reliable date-night pick for wine drinkers who want something beyond generic and don't mind paying for the atmosphere. We'd want more pricing transparency before calling it a destination, but as a polished local option in Irvine, it's doing the work.
· Irvine · Brazilian churrasco (rodizio steakhouse)
The real headline here is the Monday–Thursday deal: half-price South American bottles under $150, available in both the dining room and bar. That's a legitimately good incentive to plan your Fogo visit mid-week. The wine list isn't pushing any boundaries, but at half-price it doesn't need to — grab something from Argentina, let the gaucho do his thing at the table, and call it a win.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
· Irvine · Steakhouse
Fleming's Irvine delivers exactly what it promises: a wide, competent, California-forward wine list that covers all the bases for a steakhouse crowd. The markup is real — this is not a list for value hunters — but the by-the-glass depth is genuinely good and the Loosen Bros. Riesling at $11 is the rare honest deal hiding in plain sight. If you want adventure, look elsewhere; if you want a reliable glass with your ribeye in Irvine, this gets the job done.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Irvine · New American
Benchmark is a genuinely pleasant surprise for Irvine — a short, owner-driven list that punches above its modest size by leaning hard into Paso Robles producers who actually deserve your attention. If you're a Cab-or-nothing drinker, you might feel constrained; if you're willing to follow the owner's enthusiasm toward Law Estate Grenache or a Bodega de Edgar Tempranillo, this list rewards the curious.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Irvine · New American
Reunion Kitchen isn't trying to be a wine destination, and the list proves it. Three by-the-glass pours from mass-market California producers, priced at a premium — this is a wine program on autopilot. Order a cocktail or a beer and save the wine for somewhere that actually thought about it.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Corona del Mar · Irvine · New American and Seafood
CdM is genuinely worth your Wednesday. Half-price wine on an already polished dinner menu is a real offer, and the room alone justifies a reservation. We just can't tell you which bottle to order yet — the wine program is opaque enough that you'd be flying blind without a server who actually knows the list. Come for the Dirty Pasta and the vibe; if the wine follows, consider it a bonus.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Irvine Business Complex · Irvine · Northern Italian Steakhouse
Davio's Irvine is the wine list equivalent of a reliable business-class seat — comfortable, well-organized, and priced at a premium you'll notice. The by-the-glass program is the real strength here; thirty options with some genuinely good producers mixed in means you can eat well and drink reasonably well in the same visit. If you're hoping to geek out on the bottle list or find anything that'll make you lean forward in your chair, keep looking — but for a weeknight dinner or a client meal, this gets the job done without embarrassing anyone.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Wellesley · Steakhouse / Seafood
Black & Blue Wellesley is a reliable if unexciting wine stop — the list covers the crowd-pleaser bases competently, and the Hermann J Wiemer Riesling alone is worth knowing about. If you're in a Cab-and-steak mood with no desire to go hunting for bargains or discovery, you'll be fine. Just don't expect the wine program to keep pace with the check.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Norcross · Atlanta · Steakhouse / Seafood
A compact steakhouse list that bets on Cabernet, with seven of its 24 wines from Mendoza to Napa. Start with the Carnivor Cabernet at 9/12/36 next to your steak, and ask what the three numbers mean before you order. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · Steakhouse / Seafood
Ray's on the River is doing something quietly impressive: running a fair, thoughtful-enough wine list at prices that feel almost out of place at a riverfront destination restaurant in Sandy Springs. It's not a deep cellar, and no one is going to mistake it for a wine destination, but for a bottle of Eroica or a glass of Morgon while watching the Chattahoochee roll by, it earns its keep. Send your friends here and tell them to skip the Moët.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
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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