Panama City Beach

The Grand Marlin is a solid, reliable wine stop for a beach town — not groundbreaking, but thoughtfully curated enough that you won't feel like the list was an afterthought. Send your friends here for the view, the grouper, and a glass of Sonoma-Cutrer; just don't expect them to discover anything new.

Firefly isn't going to surprise you with its wine list, but it earns its Award of Excellence by doing the fundamentals right in a market where most restaurants phone it in. Show up on a Tuesday, drink half-price Jordan Cab with your filet, and you'll leave happy.

Capt. Anderson's is the kind of place that earns its Wine Spectator hardware quietly — no flashy natural wine program, no tableside theater, just a deep, well-maintained list with a sommelier who actually knows it. For Panama City Beach, this is as good as it gets, and it would hold its own in far more competitive dining markets.