Selby's
Old Hollywood Glamour, Cellar to Match
Atherton · Atherton · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 5, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at Selby's arrives like a small novel — and reads like one too. With somewhere between 1,500 and 2,500 selections, this is not a list you browse casually over cocktails. The room already signals that wine is serious business here: old-school Peninsula glamour, a staff that moves with quiet confidence, and stems on the table that tell you exactly where the priorities lie.
Selection Deep Dive
California and Burgundy anchor the list with genuine depth — we're talking Harlan Estate, Screaming Eagle, Colgin, and Kistler alongside Domaine Leroy and Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet. Bordeaux checks in with Château Pétrus and Château Margaux, Italy shows up with Gaja Barbaresco, and the Rhône gets proper respect via E. Guigal La Landonne. Germany and Austria round things out, with Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling representing at the top tier — this is a list built by people who actually know what they're doing, and Wine Spectator's 2025 Grand Award backs that up. The one honest note: this list skews heavily toward the prestige end, so if you're hunting under $100, you'll work for it.
By the Glass
The by-the-glass program runs 20 to 35 options, which is robust for a room of this caliber — most Grand Award lists lean bottle-forward and make you commit. We'd expect the pours to rotate around the same blue-chip regions that define the bottle list, which means quality is high even if the prices per glass will reflect the zip code. Ask the sommelier team — Caleb McArthur, Nile Schneider, Sam Cooper, or Pamela Fawson — what's open and pouring well; they'll steer you right.
Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay — $75
At the entry end of the bottle range, Kistler is a legitimate California Chardonnay icon — rich, precise, and regularly commands serious secondary market prices. Catching it near floor pricing here is the move if you want to drink well without breaching triple digits.
Egon MĂĽller Scharzhofberger Riesling
In a room full of Cabernet royalty and Burgundy trophies, most tables walk right past the German section. That's a mistake. Egon MĂĽller is one of the most singular producers in the world, and his Scharzhofberger is the kind of wine that stops conversation cold. At a place like Selby's it deserves more attention than it gets.
Caymus Special Selection
Caymus Special Selection is a perfectly fine Napa Cabernet, but on a list that includes Harlan, Colgin, and Screaming Eagle, it's the safe default order for someone who hasn't looked past page two. You're at a Grand Award restaurant — you can do better, and probably for a similar or lower markup on something more interesting.
E. Guigal La Landonne + Roasted rack of lamb
La Landonne is one of the Northern Rhône's most savage, iron-fisted Syrahs — dark fruit, smoke, and enough structure to handle lamb that's been given serious heat and time. It's a classic combo, but Guigal's single-vineyard version elevates it well beyond the obvious.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Selby's earns its Grand Award the old-fashioned way — with a cellar that goes deep, a sommelier team that actually engages, and a room that makes you want to spend the evening working through a serious bottle. Prices reflect the Peninsula's appetite for luxury, but if you're willing to lean in, this is one of the better places to drink wine in the Bay Area.
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