5 Chain Restaurants with the Best Wine List, According to Bartenders
Enjoying a glass of wine with your meal is a way to elevate the dining experience, complement your food and unwind after a long day. While chain restaurants are often associated with casual fare, many offer thoughtfully curated wine lists that impress diners and industry pros. To find out which chains have the best wine lists, Eat This, Not That! turned to bartenders and wine experts who shared their top five picks.
What Makes a Great Wine List
A good wine list makes wine approachable, enjoyable and a natural part of the meal, whether you’re a wine enthusiast or beginner. It should also offer a variety of wines at different price points, not just promotional wines, “pushed by distributors,” says Sanwar Mal Khokhar, Mixologist & Beverage Program Leader, Sanjh Restaurant & Bar, Irving, Texas. According to Khokhar, an excellent wine list should have three things.
-How many by-the-glass options they serve
-The price range should vary from approachable to adventurous
-Built to complement the food
“If a chain restaurant gets all three things right, it changes the entire dining experience,” he says.
Olive Garden
Olive Garden may get a bad rap for not being an authentic Italian restaurant and feeling too much like a generic chain, but it serves tasty food at a great value, and Paige Comrie, certified wine expert and social media personality, calls the wine list “impressive.” “They truly have something for everyone,’ she says. “The Chianti Classico, for one (the perfect Italian wine, in my mind) and even a Riesling from Chateau St. Michelle.” Comrie adds, “They have a relatively wide selection of options and varietals, which you don’t typically see at chains: Riesling, Merlot, Chianti (Sangiovese), Pinot Grigio, Sauv Blanc. Even Pink Zinfandel.” Khokhar agrees and says the wine program has a wonderful reputation. “They import directly from the Italian producers, which gives them direct access to bottles that do not always show up on casual dining lists,” he explains. “Some of the genuine producers like Fini Pinot Grigio, Ruffino Chianti.” He adds, “For the guest who wants to drink Italian wines with the Italian food without spending fine dining prices, Olive Garden actually delivers that.”
Texas de Brazil
For meat lovers with a healthy appetite, Texas de Brazil offers a unique, interactive dining experience centered on all-you-can-eat churrasco. Guests enjoy tableside service from gaucho chefs who carve a variety of perfectly seasoned meats at the table, offering a sense of theater and indulgence. Plus, the nationwide chain has a great wine list that matches the format of big, bold, South American-forward selections that were mainly chosen to hold their own against fifteen different cuts of meat coming to your table all night,” says Khokhar.
He explains, “The Malbecs from Argentina and Brazilian reds on this list are not filler. They are purposefully chosen. For a chain running a high-energy, high-protein focused dining experience, this is the most food-focused wine list in the category.”
The Cheesecake Factory
Known for its expansive menu that offers something for everyone, and of course, decadent cheesecake, The Cheesecake Factory is always a hit. But the food isn’t the only thing that stands out. Khokhar says the wine list is “thoughtfully curated.” “Guests can choose the old world wines or new world wines by the glass and across multiple price points.” He adds, “For a menu as broad as their pastas, steaks, seafood and salad and then a well prepared wine list from multiple countries, that is a solid work of art.”
Bonefish Grill
Bonefish Grill combines fresh, high-quality seafood with a polished yet approachable dining experience and a desirable wine list. “The thought process behind food and wine pairing at Bonefish Grill treats wine as a genuine part of the dining experience, not a secondary thought,” says Khokhar. “Their list skews toward food-friendly whites and lighter reds that work beautifully with the seafood-forward menu, and the staff is actually trained to talk about it. When a server at a chain can confidently recommend a Pinot Gris over a Chardonnay based on what you ordered, that is a wine program with real investment behind it.”
LongHorn Steakhouse
LongHorn Steakhouse is the place to go for an affordable, high-quality steak meal and a nice glass of wine. “This restaurant chain built their wine list around one thing–red meat–and they did a pretty good job in that,” says Khokhar. “The full-bodied reds like Cabernet and Malbec selections are chosen on purpose to complement the meat selections.” He says, “The different varieties that they offer to the guest, from lighter red to the white selections, are the real backbone of the wine program. LongHorn Steakhouse is the true example of how the Steakhouse wine program should be.”