The Capital Grille
Eight Hundred Bottles Deep in the Desert
Biltmore · Phoenix · American Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 5, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list lands on the table like a small novel — dense, California-forward, and clearly meant to impress. Between the white tablecloths and dark wood paneling, this is a room that takes wine seriously, even if your wallet is about to take a hit. The Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator is not decorative here; the list earns it.
Selection Deep Dive
Eight hundred to twelve hundred selections sounds like a flex, and mostly it is — California and France dominate in all the right ways, with a murderers' row of Napa Cabernets anchored by names like Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select, Joseph Phelps Insignia, Opus One, and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. France holds its own with Château Margaux and Château Lafite Rothschild for the big spenders, plus Louis Jadot covering the Burgundy base. The list skews toward the trophy-wine crowd, which means natural wine seekers and Rhône nerds will find this list a little one-note — but within its lane, it runs deep.
By the Glass
The by-the-glass program runs roughly 20 to 30 options, which is solid for a steakhouse format. You're not going to find anything adventurous or left-field here — expect familiar, crowd-pleasing pours that match the room's energy. Wednesday's half-price wine night is the move if you want to explore the glass program without a second mortgage.
Jordan Vineyard & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon — null
Jordan is the quiet achiever on a list full of heavy hitters. It drinks above its station — structured, food-friendly, and priced below the Caymus and Silver Oak crowd. At a steakhouse table full of people ordering on someone else's expense account, this is the bottle that actually makes sense for the wine.
Louis Jadot Burgundy
Most people at a steakhouse walk straight past Burgundy toward the Napa Cabs, but Louis Jadot is a legitimate detour. It's a producer with range and reliability, and in a list this Cal-heavy, finding honest French Pinot is a minor victory. Order it while everyone else is fighting over the Caymus.
Château Margaux 2018
At $1,250 a bottle, this is a wine that deserves a proper cellar-temperature dinner built around it — not a side note to a dry-aged strip and lobster mac. You're almost certainly paying a steep restaurant premium on top of an already elite price. If you're celebrating something life-changing, fine. If not, that money covers a lot of better-value bottles on this same list.
Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select + Dry-Aged NY Strip Steak
Hillside Select is one of Napa's most structured Cabs — dense tannins, dark fruit, real concentration. A dry-aged NY strip has the fat and char to stand up to every bit of it. This is the pairing the list was built for, and it delivers.
Wednesday — Half-price wine night every Wednesday — applies to select bottles and makes exploring the deeper end of the list significantly more reasonable.
🔥 The Bottom Line
The Capital Grille Phoenix is a serious wine destination dressed up as a steakhouse — the list is deep, the storage is proper, and the Wednesday half-price program makes it occasionally accessible. Markups run steep across the board, but if you know where to look, there are real wines worth ordering here.
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