The Depot
Southern Charm Meets a Serious Wine Shelf
Auburn · Auburn · American, Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 9, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into a converted train depot in Auburn, Alabama and finding a 100-plus bottle wine list is its own kind of pleasant surprise. The room does the heavy lifting — exposed wood, warm light, the bones of something old and well-kept — and the wine list follows suit. It's not trying to be anything it's not, which is honestly refreshing.
Selection Deep Dive
The list leans hard into California and France, which tracks with the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence the restaurant has held since 2016. You've got the reliable hits — Caymus Cabernet, Jordan Cabernet, Stag's Leap — alongside Louis Jadot anchoring the French side. It's not a deep-dive list for geeks, but for a college town in Alabama, the range is genuinely solid. Gaps show up fast if you go looking for anything outside those two regions, but the core is well-chosen and well-stocked.
By the Glass
With 12 to 20 glass pours in the $8–$14 range, the by-the-glass program covers enough ground to satisfy most tables without overwhelming anyone. Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay and Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc are likely anchoring the white side, which is crowd-pleasing but reliable. Don't expect a lot of rotation here — this feels like a list that changes seasonally at best.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $75
Jordan punches above its price point almost everywhere it shows up, and at a place like this, it likely lands in a range that doesn't gouge. A dependable, food-friendly Cab that holds its own against the Gulf seafood-heavy menu without breaking the table budget.
Louis Jadot Burgundy
Most tables here are ordering Caymus on autopilot, which means the Jadot is sitting quietly on the list waiting for someone to notice. French Burgundy in an Auburn steakhouse-adjacent setting is an underdog — but with grilled fish or crab cakes, it's the right call.
Meiomi Pinot Noir
Meiomi is fine for what it is, but at restaurant markup it's hard to justify when Jordan and Stag's Leap are sitting on the same list. You're paying upscale prices for a grocery store bottle — just move up the shelf.
Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay + Shrimp and Grits
Sonoma-Cutrer's Russian River Ranches is rich enough to stand up to the cream and butter in shrimp and grits without steamrolling the shrimp. It's a California Chard that actually knows when to back off — and this dish needs exactly that.
✔️ The Bottom Line
The Depot isn't reinventing wine culture in Alabama, but it's doing the honest work of maintaining a thoughtful, fairly priced list in a place where that's rarer than it should be. If you're in Auburn and want a real bottle with a real dinner, this is where you go.
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