Red Lobster - Wichita East

The wine list at Red Lobster Wichita East reads like a grocery store shelf that someone laminated and stuck between the kids' menu and the dessert options. Every name on here is a brand you've seen at a gas station checkout — Kim Crawford, Meiomi, Kendall-Jackson — and the list hasn't evolved much since the chain discovered people would pay for wine with their popcorn shrimp. There's no curiosity here, no attempt to do anything interesting.

Twenty-something wines, all of them familiar to anyone who's browsed the $10-and-under section at Total Wine. California and New Zealand do the heavy lifting, which means you're looking at a lot of mass-market Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc — nothing wrong with those grapes, but these are the workhorse commercial versions of each. There's no real regional exploration, no small producers, no old world representation to speak of. The list exists to check a box, not to enhance your dinner.

Eight to twelve pours, all familiar brand names, priced between $8 and $13. The glass program is essentially the whole list — there's no compelling reason to order a bottle over the glass here since everything is the same tier of wine. Rotation appears nonexistent; this is a set-it-and-forget-it situation.