Miami Beach

Smith & Wollensky Miami Beach earns its Best of Award of Excellence — this is a deep, well-managed list with a real sommelier and a Wednesday half-price program that makes serious bottles suddenly accessible. The markups on the trophy wines are steep, but if you know where to look, you can drink very well here.

Prime 54 is the real deal — a cellar that earns the award on its wall, a sommelier who actually knows the list, and enough depth to reward repeat visits at multiple price points. Just go in with eyes open on the markup, pick your battles, and let Eugenia steer you past the obvious choices.

Makoto is a genuinely surprising wine list hiding inside a beautiful Japanese restaurant by the ocean — the France and California depth is real, the Wednesday half-price night is a gift, and the Puligny from Leflaive alone is worth the detour. Just know that the markups climb fast once you move into trophy territory, and there's no dedicated sommelier to guide you through it.

JAYA is a serious wine destination wearing a beach hotel's clothes — the cellar is deep, the sommeliers know their stuff, and Wednesday half-price bottles make one of Miami Beach's best lists suddenly accessible. Markup is steep across the board, but if you pick smart, you'll drink very well here.

Hakkasan is one of the few places in Miami Beach where the wine list is genuinely worth your attention — not just as an afterthought to the food, but as a program with real ambition. The markups are steep, but when Erica Lozano is steering the ship and the kitchen is firing on all cylinders, you'll find it hard to care.

Carbone Miami is exactly what it's supposed to be: an Italian-American power room with a wine list to match, staffed by sommeliers who actually know what they're selling. The markups are steep, but the depth and pedigree here are real — if you're going to splurge on wine in Miami, this is the place to do it.