Ribs Are the Star, Wine Is the Understudy
Mall del Norte Area · Laredo · American steakhouse / ribs · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 26, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Tony Roma's Laredo’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Tony Roma's Laredo reads like the shelf at a grocery store checkout — familiar labels, zero surprises. It's functional, it's inoffensive, and it tells you exactly where wine ranks on this restaurant's priority list: somewhere between the coleslaw and the extra napkins.
Fifteen to twenty-five bottles deep, the list leans hard on California and Washington State workhorses — Kendall-Jackson, Columbia Crest, Mark West, Apothic. There's no adventurous regionality here, no small producers, no Old World presence whatsoever. Washington State gets a nod via Chateau Ste. Michelle and 14 Hands, which is about as far off the beaten path as this list gets. If you've seen the wine wall at a Chili's, you already know this list.
Eight to twelve pours by the glass at $8–$12 is actually a reasonable range for a mall-adjacent steakhouse in Laredo. The problem is the options are all greatest hits from the mainstream New World playbook — nothing rotates, nothing surprises. You're not discovering anything here, but you're also not getting gouged.
Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon — $32
Columbia Crest Grand Estates punches above its bottle price. It's a legitimate Washington Cab that can actually hold up to the baby back ribs and steak on the menu — and at the lower end of the bottle range here, it's the most wine for your money on the list.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay
Most people in this room are grabbing the Kendall-Jackson out of habit. Chateau Ste. Michelle's Chardonnay is the better wine — slightly less oaky, better acid structure, and comes from one of Washington's most consistent producers. It flies under the radar because the KJ label is just more recognizable.
Apothic Red Blend
Apothic Red is a supermarket wine dressed up in moody packaging. It's sweet, soft, and built for people who don't really want to taste wine. At restaurant markup, you're paying extra for a bottle you could grab at H-E-B for $9. Pass.
Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon + Baby Back Ribs
The smokiness and char on Tony Roma's ribs needs a wine with enough structure to stand up to it. The Columbia Crest Cab brings dark fruit and just enough tannin to cut through the sauce without overwhelming the meat. It's the obvious call and it works.
The Bottom Line
Tony Roma's Laredo is here to serve ribs, and the wine list knows its place in the pecking order. Nothing wrong with it, nothing exciting about it — if wine matters to you tonight, manage expectations accordingly.
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Willing but Green
Set & Forget
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