Santa Ana

Baci di Firenze isn't building a wine destination — it's building a neighborhood restaurant that happens to have the right Italian bottles for its Italian food, at prices that won't make you wince. Send a friend here for a low-key date night and tell them to order the Vernaccia.

Antonello is the real deal for classic Italian fine dining wine in Orange County — deep list, proper cellar, staff who know what they're talking about. Just go in knowing that the prestige pricing is part of the deal, and steer toward the mid-tier gems rather than the trophy bottles if you want to walk out feeling smart.

Orange County Mining Co. is a special-occasion spot that leans hard on its setting and its steaks — the wine list is along for the ride, not leading the charge. Come for the view and the prime rib, order the Jordan, and don't overthink it.

Vaca is the best Spanish wine list in Orange County and it isn't particularly close — a sommelier-driven program with real range, fair pricing on serious bottles, and a sherry selection that alone justifies the trip. Send your friends here, especially the ones who think they don't like Spanish wine.

The Ranch is doing something genuinely impressive: a 600-bottle program with a real sommelier, proper storage, and varietal-matched glassware inside what is technically a saloon. Markups on the trophy bottles are what they are, but the depth and care here put it ahead of most steakhouses twice the size.

Knife Pleat is the rare restaurant where the wine program earns its Michelin-starred company — deep French list, a somm who knows it, and a pairing format that actually delivers. The markups are what they are at this level, but if you're coming here, you already knew this wasn't going to be cheap.