RFK Rankings · Chicago
Best Wine Lists in Chicago 2026
Restaurant cellars & sommelier programs · Chicago · 6 lists ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Chicago holds no Wine Spectator Grand Award, and the city's serious cellars run deeper than that scoreboard suggests. The best of them sit behind tasting menus, where a wine director can build a night around an aged Burgundy rather than a wine wall. From Jon Leopold's reserve cellar at Alinea to Aaron McManus's old-world list at Oriole and a 2,400-bottle steakhouse list in the Gold Coast, here is who each room suits, what a good bottle costs, and how to book it. Six, ranked on depth, the pairing program and value.
1.Alinea
The city's deepest reserve cellar and pairing program, behind Grant Achatz's tasting. Save it for a landmark bottle.
Alinea at 1723 North Halsted in Lincoln Park dropped from three Michelin stars to two in November 2025, but its wine program is still the most ambitious in the city. Wine director Jon Leopold, of the Alinea Group, runs a reserve cellar behind Grant Achatz's tour menu, with a reserve pairing at $245 and a top tier at $395. The signature black truffle explosion, a single hot raviolo, is built for an aged red. Book months ahead and tell the floor the bottle you came to drink.
Book on the Alinea site; ask Jon Leopold's team to plan the night around one reserve bottle.
2.Oriole
Aaron McManus pours an old-world cellar behind Noah Sandoval's two-star menu. Reserve ahead for the cellar run.
Oriole, Noah Sandoval's two-star room at 661 West Walnut in the West Loop, pairs a long tasting set at $325 with one of the most thoughtful cellars in town, overseen by wine director Aaron McManus. Pairings run $195 to $350 and lean old-world, Burgundy, Champagne and Germany, chosen to track the menu rather than chase trophies. Sandoval took James Beard Best Chef: Great Lakes in 2025, and the golden Kaluga caviar over cured kampachi sets the tone for the cellar behind it.
Book on the Oriole site; take the pairing and ask Aaron McManus for the standout old-world bottle.
3.Ever
Curtis Duffy's cooking and Michael Muser's wine program, in lockstep. Settle in for a long pairing.
Ever at 1340 West Fulton in Fulton Market is Curtis Duffy's two-star room, but the wine is the work of partner Michael Muser, one of the most respected floor men in the country. The ten-course tasting runs about $325, and the pairing is the natural route through it, strong in Champagne, Burgundy and older bottlings. Duffy's frozen, shaved hamachi over black rice is the dish to drink against, and Muser's floor reads a table before it reaches for a label.
Book on the Ever site; take the pairing and let Michael Muser's floor lead.
4.Smyth
Now Chicago's only three-star, with a deep cellar tied to The Loyalist below. Go for the pairing.
Smyth, John and Karen Urie Shields's room at 177 North Ada Street in the West Loop, became Chicago's only three-Michelin-star restaurant after Alinea's demotion. The farm-driven tasting runs $420 and pours from a deep cellar shared with The Loyalist downstairs, strong in grower Champagne, Burgundy and old-world reds. The lobster gelee with Maine uni is a signature worth a serious bottle. Take the pairing if the menu is the point, and ask the floor what is drinking best from the cellar below.
Book on the Smyth site; take the pairing and ask what The Loyalist cellar has open.
5.Maple & Ash
A 2,400-bottle Best of Award list in the city's loudest steak room. Settle in for a blowout.
Maple & Ash at 8 West Maple in the Gold Coast is Danny Grant's steakhouse, and its roughly 2,400-bottle list won a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, heavy on Burgundy, Champagne and trophy California served at full volume. The wood-fired bone-in ribeye and the chef's-choice spread are built for a big red, and dinner climbs past $150 a head before wine. This is the loud, grown-up blowout, not the quiet cellar dinner, so set a number with the floor and let them find the bottle.
Book on the Maple & Ash site; name a budget and ask the floor for a Burgundy to match the ribeye.
6.Boka
Lee Wolen's broad, fairly priced list and a Michelin star. Pencil it in for date night.
Boka at 1729 North Halsted in Lincoln Park is the most approachable room here, Lee Wolen's one-Michelin-star kitchen behind a broad, intelligently priced list that ranges from Burgundy and Champagne to lesser-known regions without trophy mark-ups. Wolen's black truffle roast chicken is the signature, and the tasting starts at $135, which leaves room for a real bottle. This is the booking for a couple who want a serious wine night without the hush, or the spend, of the rooms above.
Book on the Boka site; ask the floor for the most interesting bottle under three figures.
Avoid for a wine night
Big list, thin depth
The River North trophy floors. Several of the marquee River North steak rooms run long lists built on name recognition and mark-up rather than real depth. Drink the cocktails, but keep a serious wine night for Alinea, Oriole or Maple & Ash.
The Taylor Street red-sauce houses. Loud and fun, with plenty of house Chianti, but the wine is an afterthought to the red sauce. Eat the pasta, then drink properly from one of the lists above.
How to drink well in Chicago
Name a region and a number and let the floor work inside it; at Alinea, Oriole and Ever that conversation reliably turns up a better, often older bottle than the label you would have reached for, and all three are deep enough to pull a vertical on request. Book the tasting-menu rooms weeks ahead through their own sites, and for Alinea plan on months for a weekend seat.
If the night is about the bottle rather than the menu, Maple & Ash has the cellar and the room for it, while Boka is the value play when you want a real list without the tasting-menu spend. Wherever you land, say so when you book if you are celebrating, so the floor can have the wine standing up before you sit down.
Frequently asked
Which Chicago restaurant has the best wine list?
Alinea holds our top spot, largely because of its reserve cellar and pairing program. Wine director Jon Leopold runs a deep reserve list behind Grant Achatz's tasting, with a reserve pairing at $245 and a top tier at $395. It is the city's grand wine room. Book months ahead and tell the floor the bottle you want to drink.
Where can I find a rare or aged bottle in Chicago?
Alinea, Oriole and Maple & Ash hold the three deepest cellars for rare and aged bottles. Alinea's reserve list is the city's most ambitious, Oriole runs deep in old-world Burgundy and Champagne, and Maple & Ash carries roughly 2,400 bottles. Call a day ahead with the bottle you are chasing so the sommelier can confirm it and pull it before you arrive.
How much does a good bottle cost at a Chicago restaurant?
Plan on 80 to 150 dollars for a genuinely good bottle at most of these rooms, with the ceiling far higher at Alinea, Smyth and Maple & Ash. Boka is the value-minded pick. The smart move everywhere is to set a number with the floor and let them find the interesting bottle inside it rather than reaching for a name you already know.
Which Chicago steakhouse has the best wine list?
Maple & Ash in the Gold Coast has the strongest steakhouse cellar, a roughly 2,400-bottle list that won a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, heavy on Burgundy, Champagne and trophy California. It is loud and expensive, with dinner running past 150 dollars a head before wine, but the list is built to put a serious red next to a bone-in ribeye.
Do you need a reservation for these Chicago wine restaurants?
Yes for all of them, and well ahead for the tasting-menu rooms. Alinea, Ever, Oriole and Smyth release tables ahead and the best weekend seats go first, so book weeks out, and months out for Alinea. Maple & Ash and Boka are a little easier but still worth reserving. For a rare bottle, call a day ahead so it is confirmed and ready.
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