Corporate Autopilot, Breadsticks Beat the Wine List
Multiple Henderson Locations · Henderson · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 24, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list here is a laminated afterthought tucked behind the pasta specials. It exists to say it exists — a tight roster of familiar names designed to move bottles without requiring anyone to think too hard, staff or customer alike.
Twenty-odd bottles covering California and Italy, and 'covering' is generous — it's more of a light dusting. You've got Ruffino holding down the Italian side with the Chianti Classico and Moscato d'Asti, Santa Margherita flying the Pinot Grigio flag, and a California contingent of crowd-pleasing reds and whites that could double as grocery store endcap displays. There are no surprises here, no regional deep cuts, no small producers — just the brands that booked the most rep lunches. If you came hoping to find something interesting, the breadsticks will console you.
Eight to twelve pours on any given visit, priced $7–$11, which sounds reasonable until you realize these are corporate-portioned four-ounce pours of wines retailing for $10–$15 a bottle. The list rotates exactly never — what's on today was on six months ago and will be on six months from now.
Ruffino Chianti Classico — $32
If you're drinking wine here, lean into the Italian theme and grab the Chianti Classico by the bottle. It's the most food-appropriate thing on the list and at least has the Sangiovese structure to cut through a plate of Chicken Alfredo without completely disappearing.
Ruffino Moscato d'Asti
Nobody orders this and everybody should — it's low-alcohol, slightly fizzy, and genuinely good with dessert. At a table full of people who ordered Tour of Italy and need something fun to close out the meal, this is the right call and costs almost nothing.
Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio
At $40–$45 a bottle, Santa Margherita is a 3–4x markup on a wine you can find at every supermarket in Henderson for $12. It's the most recognizable name on the list, which is exactly why they charge what they charge. Don't reward the laziness.
Ruffino Chianti Classico + Tour of Italy
The Tour of Italy sampler hits lasagna, chicken parmigiana, and fettuccine alfredo all at once — a lot of tomato, a lot of fat, a lot of cheese. Chianti Classico's acidity and earthy cherry fruit are basically built for this kind of Italian-American abundance. It won't transform the meal, but it'll hold its own.
❌ The Bottom Line
Olive Garden's wine program is a corporate checkbox, not a destination — the markup is real, the selection is frozen in time, and no one on staff will steer you anywhere interesting. Order the Chianti, enjoy the unlimited breadsticks, and save the serious drinking for somewhere else.
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