Wilderness Lodge, Serious Wine, No Apologies
Darby · American · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 8, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Triple Creek Ranch’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You're in a log cabin in the Bitterroot Mountains, an hour from the nearest stoplight, and someone just handed you a wine list with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Screaming Eagle on it. That dissonance is the whole point. Triple Creek Ranch plays the long game — the kind of place where the remoteness is a feature, not a bug, and the wine program is dead serious about earning your trust.
The 300-500 bottle list leans hard into California and France, which is exactly what the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence crowd expects — and they deliver. Shafer Hillside Select, Opus One, Kistler Chardonnay, and Peter Michael anchor the California side with real conviction, while Burgundy gets proper respect via Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet and the kind of DRC presence that most urban restaurants wouldn't dare stock. Italy earns its seat at the table with Antinori Tignanello and Gaja Barbaresco — not afterthoughts, actual choices. If there's a gap, it's adventurous natural wine and anything from the Southern Hemisphere, but that's not who Triple Creek Ranch is trying to be.
With 15-25 options by the glass, the pour program is unusually generous for a remote ranch resort. Sommelier Guido Da Pieve appears to be the driving force here — this isn't a by-the-glass list built from whatever's leftover. Expect solid California Cabernet and Chardonnay representation alongside something from Burgundy if you're lucky enough to catch the rotation.
Antinori Tignanello — $120
In the context of a list that regularly tips into four figures, Tignanello is the move — it's a Super Tuscan benchmark that routinely retails for $70-90, and at this price point in a luxury Montana ranch setting, you're getting a lot of wine for the relative markup. It holds its own against the bison tenderloin and doesn't require a second mortgage.
Peter Michael Winery
Everyone reaches for the Kistler or the Opus One because they know the name. Peter Michael sits in the shadow of the celebrity bottles but consistently punches above its weight — the Chardonnays in particular are hauntingly good and get overlooked by guests hunting trophies. Don't be that guest.
Screaming Eagle
Look, Screaming Eagle is a great wine. It's also a trophy purchase with a secondary market price that makes any restaurant markup feel offensive. Unless you're celebrating something that will be told at your grandkids' weddings, you're paying a premium for a label here. The Shafer Hillside Select is half the ego and just as good in the glass.
Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon + Bison Tenderloin
Bison is leaner and more intensely flavored than beef — it doesn't need a fruit-bomb wine, it needs structure and depth. Shafer Hillside Select brings the dark fruit, firm tannins, and enough Stags Leap backbone to meet bison at its level without drowning it. This is the pairing the list was built for.
The Bottom Line
Triple Creek Ranch has no business having a wine list this good this far from anywhere — and that's exactly why we respect it. If you're making the trip out to the Bitterroot, the wine program is reason enough to stay an extra night.
· Yountville · American
RH Yountville is a genuinely beautiful place to drink wine — the room earns that much on atmosphere alone, and the California-forward list will keep most guests happy without any friction. But in Yountville, where the competition includes some of the most serious wine programs in the country, 'happy without friction' isn't the same as memorable. Go for the experience, order confidently by region, and don't expect the list to surprise you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Bakersfield · American
Yard House Bakersfield is a beer hall that happens to sell wine, and the list makes no effort to hide that. Markups are aggressive, selections are safe to the point of being anonymous, and the only reason to open a bottle here is if your table voted against another round of IPAs. If you're wine-focused, redirect your budget to the Jean-Luc Colombo Rosé by the glass and call it a night.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Yountville · American
The Kitchen at Priest Ranch is a one-winery show, and that's exactly the point. If you want to spend an evening exploring what a single Napa estate produces across whites, rosé, Zinfandel, Merlot, and multiple Cabernet expressions — including older large-format bottles — this is a genuinely interesting way to do it. Just don't come expecting breadth or outside discovery. Send a friend here if they love Priest Ranch or want to.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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