Big steaks, bigger bottles, predictable picks
Power & Light District · Kansas City · Upscale Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 6, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at 801 Chophouse lands exactly where you'd expect it to: heavy on Napa Cabs, Bordeaux heavyweights, and Champagne for the celebration crowd. It's a list built to impress corporate cards and anniversaries, not to surprise you. That's not a knock — it just means you know what you're walking into.
The list runs 400 to 600 bottles deep, anchored by the usual Napa royalty — Caymus Special Selection, Joseph Phelps Insignia, Opus One — with a respectable nod to Bordeaux via Château Lynch-Bages and supporting coverage of Burgundy and Champagne. Sonoma shows up too, with Silver Oak Alexander Valley holding down the 'slightly more accessible Cab' slot. What's missing is any real adventure: no natural wine, no interesting Southern Hemisphere picks, no deep-cut Italian to speak of. This is a greatest-hits list, executed with care.
The by-the-glass program reportedly runs 20 to 30 options, which is generous for a steakhouse and gives solo diners and mixed-preference tables real flexibility. We'd expect the pours to skew toward crowd-pleasing Cabs and Chardonnay, consistent with the bottle list's personality. Rotation doesn't appear to be a priority — this feels like a static program rather than something that evolves with the seasons.
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley — $120
In a list where bottles can sprint well past $300, Silver Oak Alexander Valley is the sweet spot — a recognizable, genuinely good Cab that drinks better than its steakhouse markup suggests. It's the move if you want quality without ordering off the trophy shelf.
Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac
Most tables here are ordering Napa on autopilot, which means Lynch-Bages sits underordered relative to how good it is. A classified Pauillac with more complexity and terroir than anything in the Napa heavy-hitter section — and it belongs on a table with a ribeye more than most people realize.
Opus One Napa Valley
Opus One is a great wine, but it's also the most marked-up bottle in the house at a place like this. You're paying a significant premium over retail for the prestige of ordering it in a steakhouse. The wine itself isn't the problem — the price tag in this context is.
Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley + USDA Prime Ribeye
Insignia is a Bordeaux-style Napa blend built for exactly this moment — rich, structured, with enough dark fruit and tannin to stand up to a heavily marbled prime ribeye without getting lost. It's the kind of pairing this list was designed around, and it delivers.
✔️ The Bottom Line
801 Chophouse is a well-run, properly stocked steakhouse wine program that does exactly what it promises and nothing more. Send your friends here for a celebratory bottle of Phelps or a Lynch-Bages — just don't expect to be surprised.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.