RFK Rankings · Phoenix
Best Restaurants for Wine-List in Phoenix (2026)
Serious wine lists · Phoenix and Scottsdale · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published February 20, 2024 · Updated June 10, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
The Phoenix metro's best wine lists run deep, from a Paradise Valley inn with a 7,000-bottle cellar to a French institution that has held a Wine Spectator award since 1997 and a Scottsdale steakhouse with the largest sommelier bench in Arizona. The six below span Phoenix proper, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, and one trades a giant cellar for the most distinctive all-Arizona list in the country, so a wine-led dinner has somewhere to land whatever the bottle.
1.Lon's at the Hermosa
The metro's deepest cellar; a roughly 7,000-bottle program at a historic inn with a named lead sommelier and 30 years of Wine Spectator awards.
Lon's at the Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley has the deepest physical cellar in the metro, a program cited at around 7,000 bottles in a historic adobe inn. Wine Spectator has recognised it continuously since 1996 and at the Best of Award of Excellence level since 2015, and lead sommelier Brian Downey runs a floor with certified sommeliers nightly.
The modern American and Southwest farm-to-table cooking is built to pair, and the setting, a luxury inn rather than a hotel dining room, makes it the most complete wine-destination experience in the area. It is the upper price tier, but for a wine-led dinner with a real cellar and a named somm to guide it, it is the first booking. Note the Paradise Valley address, just outside Phoenix proper.
2.Vincent on Camelback
Phoenix proper's wine institution; a Best of Award of Excellence every year since 1997 and 500-plus French and California selections.
Vincent on Camelback is the wine institution of Phoenix proper, a classic French room from chef-owner Vincent Guerithault that has run for nearly 40 years. It has held the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence every year since 1997, the longest such streak in the city, with a list of 500-plus individual selections, cited as high as 650 bottles and weighted toward France and California.
The duck tamale with Anaheim chile and raisins is the signature starter, and the kitchen blends French technique with Southwest accents, with mains around 32 to 36 dollars and up. It was named best French wine selection in the 2025 PHOENIX Magazine awards. For the city proper rather than the resort corridor, this is the wine list to book.
3.Bourbon Steak
Arizona's largest sommelier bench; a Michael Mina steakhouse with 600-plus selections and a 2025 Wine Spectator award.
Bourbon Steak at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in north Scottsdale pairs a Michael Mina steakhouse with what the resort calls the largest sommelier staff in Arizona, a bench of around 13 sommeliers across the floor at varying certification levels. The wine list runs from 600 to more than 900 selections with deep by-the-glass options, and it took a 2025 Wine Spectator Restaurant Award.
It is repeatedly billed as Arizona's best wine list, and the modern steakhouse cooking is built to match a serious bottle. Pricing is luxury-resort, so it is a special-occasion wine dinner rather than a casual one. For depth of list and depth of staff to navigate it, few rooms in the state compete. Note the Scottsdale location.
4.Cafe Monarch
An Old Town prix-fixe room with a Best of Award of Excellence; a benchmark cellar strong in California, France and Italy.
Cafe Monarch in Old Town Scottsdale is a contemporary American prix-fixe room that carries the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, with a list of around 485 labels recognised by the magazine and a restaurant cellar it promotes as several thousand labels strong, anchored by benchmark producers from Opus One to Jean-Louis Chave. The multi-course menu changes regularly and is built to pair.
It leans special-occasion, named Yelp's most romantic restaurant in the country in early 2026, so it suits a wine dinner with a sense of theatre. Pricing is the upper tier for a prix-fixe evening. For a deep cellar across California, France and Italy in a polished Old Town room, it is a strong call. Note the Scottsdale location.
5.J&G Steakhouse at The Phoenician
A Jean-Georges steakhouse with a Best of Award of Excellence and ongoing wine dinners; a resort cellar built for pairing.
J&G Steakhouse, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's room at The Phoenician on Camelback Road, carries the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence and runs an ongoing programme of wine dinners and wine classes that signals a serious cellar rather than a token list. The steakhouse cooking is the Jean-Georges template, refined and pairing-friendly.
It opens daily from 5 to 9pm, and the resort setting at a Luxury Collection property puts it firmly in the special-occasion tier. For a wine dinner with a steakhouse spine and a programme that actively pours and teaches, it earns its place. Note the Scottsdale location, on the Phoenician estate.
6.FnB
The most distinctive list in the state; one of the first all-Arizona wine programs, a James Beard beverage nominee from Pavle Milic.
FnB on Craftsman Court in Old Town Scottsdale is the wine list that does something no giant cellar can: one of the first all-Arizona wine programs in the country, built by beverage director and co-owner Pavle Milic, who also produces Los Milics Vineyards wine poured at the restaurant. The program earned a James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Beverage Program.
Chef Charleen Badman, a 2019 James Beard Best Chef Southwest, cooks vegetable-forward seasonal Arizona food that the local list is built around, and a March 2026 feature confirmed the room thriving after more than 15 years. It is the more affordable pick here, framed as the best Arizona wine program rather than the deepest bottle count. For a genuinely local cellar, nothing matches it. Note the Scottsdale location.
Not for a serious wine list
Big cellars, smaller credentials, and one local caveat
Two well-known rooms come with a wine asterisk. Steak 44 in Phoenix has an impressive 3,000-bottle walk-through vault, from Caymus to Screaming Eagle, but we could not verify a Wine Spectator award, so treat it as a notable cellar rather than an awarded list. Eddie V's in Scottsdale carries only the entry-level Wine Spectator Award of Excellence with around 300 wines, a solid corporate list but not a deep-cellar destination on the level of Lon's or Vincent.
No Phoenix-metro restaurant holds Wine Spectator's top-tier Grand Award as of 2025, so be wary of any room that claims one. The metro's strength is a deep bench of Best of Award of Excellence holders, not a Grand Award.
And a note on FnB: if you want a giant multi-region cellar, it is not the room for you. Its list is intentionally all-Arizona, the best local program rather than the biggest bottle count, so match it to the kind of wine night you want.
How to book a wine dinner in Phoenix
Reserve ahead at the resort rooms, and lean on the sommeliers, since several of these programs are built to be navigated rather than browsed; Lon's has a named lead somm in Brian Downey, and Bourbon Steak fields the largest sommelier bench in the state. Watch the locality, as only Vincent on Camelback sits in Phoenix proper while Bourbon Steak, Cafe Monarch, J&G and FnB are in Scottsdale and Lon's is in Paradise Valley.
For the deepest cellar, start with Lon's at the Hermosa; for Phoenix proper, Vincent on Camelback; for a genuinely local list, FnB. Browse the full Phoenix dining guide and compare tasting rooms in the Phoenix chef's-table ranking before you decide.
Frequently asked
What restaurant has the best wine list in Phoenix?
For Phoenix proper, Vincent on Camelback is the institution, holding a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence every year since 1997 with 500-plus French and California selections. For the deepest cellar in the wider metro, Lon's at the Hermosa in Paradise Valley runs a program of around 7,000 bottles with a named lead sommelier.
Which Scottsdale restaurants have Wine Spectator awards?
Several Scottsdale rooms were 2025 Wine Spectator winners, including Bourbon Steak at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Cafe Monarch in Old Town and J&G Steakhouse at The Phoenician. Cafe Monarch and J&G carry the Best of Award of Excellence, and Bourbon Steak runs the largest sommelier bench in Arizona.
Which Phoenix-area restaurants have a sommelier?
Lon's at the Hermosa has a named lead sommelier, Brian Downey, with certified sommeliers on the floor nightly. Bourbon Steak fields a bench of around 13 sommeliers across its staff, the largest in Arizona, and Eddie V's in Scottsdale keeps an Advanced Sommelier on its team.
Where can I find an all-Arizona wine list near Phoenix?
FnB in Old Town Scottsdale is the answer, one of the first all-Arizona wine programs in the country, built by beverage director and co-owner Pavle Milic, who also makes Los Milics Vineyards wine poured at the restaurant. The list earned a James Beard nomination for Outstanding Beverage Program.
Which Phoenix-area restaurant has the biggest wine cellar?
Lon's at the Hermosa in Paradise Valley runs the deepest program, cited at around 7,000 bottles. Steak 44 in Phoenix has a notable 3,000-bottle walk-through vault, though without a verified Wine Spectator award, so it is a big cellar rather than an awarded list.
Related rankings
More from RFK
Browse the full Phoenix dining guide, read the Lon's at the Hermosa profile and the Vincent on Camelback profile, compare tasting rooms in the Phoenix chef's-table ranking, plan a client night with the Phoenix impress-clients ranking, see the world's best cellars in the worldwide wine-list ranking, or open the full RFK rankings index.
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