Big Steaks, Small Wine Ambitions
East Amarillo · Amarillo · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 24, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at the Big Texan exists the way a side salad exists at a steakhouse — technically there, not really the point. You're walking into a Route 66 landmark famous for a 72-oz steak challenge, and the wine program reflects exactly that level of priority. It's an afterthought dressed in a cowboy hat.
Twenty-plus labels sounds like a start, but the list leans hard on California crowd-pleasers with zero surprises: Duckhorn, Cakebread, Robert Mondavi, Kim Crawford. There's no real range here — no Rhône, no Spanish, no anything that suggests anyone spent more than an afternoon building this list. The Big Texan House Red anchors the bottom of the list, and Beringer White Zinfandel is right there next to it, which tells you everything about the ambition level. If you came for discovery, wrong zip code.
Six pours by the glass in the $8–$12 range, which is inoffensive pricing but the selection is about as adventurous as a gas station fridge. There's no indication of rotation or curation — these feel like they've been the same six options since the George W. Bush administration.
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 — $85
It's the least-bad markup on the list at 55% over retail, and it's a genuinely good Cab that can hold its own against a serious steak. On a Wednesday, that $85 drops to around $42 — and at that price it's legitimately a good bottle.
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
On Wednesday's half-price night, this becomes one of the better wine deals in Amarillo. Most people are ordering beer or the house red — if you know to ask for the Duckhorn on a Wednesday, you're eating a legendary steak with a proper Napa Cab for less than $45. That's actually a win.
Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2023
A 111% markup on a $18 retail bottle is embarrassing. Kim Crawford is fine wine — for $10 at the grocery store. Paying $38 for it at a steakhouse in Amarillo is the wine list's least defensible ask. Hard pass.
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 + 72-oz Steak Challenge
Look, if you're committing to 72 ounces of beef, you might as well commit to the one wine on the list built for exactly that moment. The Duckhorn's structure and dark fruit don't flinch at a slab of Texas ribeye. Go big or go home — ideally on a Wednesday.
Wednesday — Half-price bottles of wine every Wednesday night
❌ The Bottom Line
The Big Texan is a bucket-list experience for the steak, the spectacle, and the sheer Texas-ness of it all — but the wine list is a bystander, not a participant. Come for the challenge, drink the Duckhorn on Wednesday, and lower your expectations for everything else in the glass.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.