RFK Rankings · Washington DC
Best Wine Lists in Washington DC 2026
Restaurant cellars & sommelier programs · Washington DC · 6 lists ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 14, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Eleven thousand bottles sit behind Fiola in Penn Quarter, and that single number is the quickest way to understand wine in Washington: the capital drinks seriously, led by the only Wine Spectator Grand Award cellar in the District. Around it runs a tight bench of rooms, a Georgetown waterfront, a Dupont Circle townhouse, a Navy Yard kitchen with an award-winning sommelier, where the list is the reason to book rather than an afterthought. Here is who each table suits, what to expect walking in, and how to reserve it. Six, ranked on depth, the by-the-glass program and value rather than big labels alone.
1.Fiola
The capital's only Grand Award cellar, deep in Italy and France. Book it when the wine is the whole evening.
Fiola is Fabio Trabocchi's Penn Quarter flagship and the wine anchor of Washington, holding the city's only Wine Spectator Grand Award against a cellar of more than 11,100 bottles and a 2,405-selection list shaped by wine director Casper Rice. The strength is Italy, with verticals from Piedmont, Sicily and Tuscany, plus serious France, the depth to pull an aged Barolo or a quiet grower to drink with the lobster ravioli. This is the city's grand wine occasion, a couple marking something should book here and let the floor build the night around a bottle with age. The Michelin-starred tasting runs about $185 before wine. Reserve two to three weeks ahead and tell Rice's team your grape and your number.
Book on the Fiola site; ask the floor for an aged Italian bottle in your range.
2.Bourbon Steak
Michael Mina's Four Seasons steakhouse, a sommelier team holding its award since 2009. Reserve ahead for a big red.
Bourbon Steak sits inside the Four Seasons in Georgetown, Michael Mina's polished steakhouse whose wine program, led by head sommelier Winn Roberton, has carried Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence every year since 2009. The list runs deep in California Cabernet and Bordeaux, built to drink with the duck-fat fries and butter-poached lobster and a serious bone-in cut. This is the booking for a celebration or a deal that wants hotel-grade calm and a recognizable great bottle. Plan on a top-end spend, with prime steaks from about $62 before wine. Reserve two to three weeks ahead through the hotel, tell Roberton's team your budget for the bottle, and ask what is drinking best from the older California verticals.
Book through the Four Seasons; name a budget and let the floor pick the red.
3.Annabelle
A 2,400-bottle Dupont cellar leaning French and Californian. Pencil it in for a grown-up dinner led by the floor.
Annabelle, chef Frank Ruta's refined room on the edge of Dupont Circle, holds Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence on the strength of a cellar of more than 2,400 bottles and a 410-selection list weighted to France and California, run by wine director Gary Russell. This is the thoughtful, less showy end of Washington wine, built to drink with Ruta's precise European-American cooking rather than to flex on points, which makes it the room for a couple who want taste over trophies. Walk in expecting hushed elegance and a floor that loves a good grower Champagne. Dinner runs about $90 to $130 before wine. Reserve two to three weeks ahead and let Russell steer you off the beaten path.
Book on the Annabelle site; let the floor lead you to a grower Champagne.
4.The Capital Grille
A reliable Penn Quarter steak-and-Cabernet bench near the arena. Try it once for a recognizable bottle before a game.
The Capital Grille's Penn Quarter location is the steady performer on this list, a clubby steakhouse a block from Capital One Arena that holds Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence with a broad list strong in California Cabernet and Bordeaux. This is not the city's deepest cellar, but it is the dependable one, built to drink with the dry-aged bone-in ribeye and the lobster mac and cheese, which makes it the easy booking for a group or a pre-event dinner that wants a recognizable great bottle without a treasure hunt. Plan on an upper-end spend, with steaks from about $54 before wine. Reserve a week ahead, ask for a quieter table away from the bar, and tell the server your number for the bottle.
Book on the Capital Grille site; set a budget and let the server pick the Cabernet.
5.Fiola Mare
Trabocchi's Georgetown waterfront room, Italian whites and Champagne by the river. Save it for an anniversary on the water.
Fiola Mare is Fabio Trabocchi's glamorous Italian seafood room on the Georgetown waterfront, the sibling to Fiola and the most romantic booking here, with the Potomac through the glass and a wine list built around Italian whites, grower Champagne and serious reds to drink with the seafood plateau and the branzino. The floor can pour a mineral Italian white with crudo or a Barolo with the whole fish, which makes it the room for a couple who want an occasion with a view and a cold, serious bottle. Plan on a top-end spend, with seafood mains from about $48 and more for caviar service. Reserve two to three weeks ahead, ask for a table on the water, and tell the floor what you are eating.
Book on the Fiola Mare site; ask for a waterfront table and a white to match the seafood.
6.Albi
A Michelin star and an award-winning sommelier behind Levantine fire in Navy Yard. Settle in for wine matched to smoke.
Albi is chef Michael Rafidi's Michelin-starred Levantine room in Navy Yard, and its wine is the quiet surprise of this list: sommelier William Simons took the Michelin Guide Washington DC 2024 Sommelier Award for a program built to drink with hearth and char rather than with French classics. The list leans into Mediterranean, Lebanese and orange wines chosen to stand up to the wood-fired lamb and the msabbaha, the most original wine night in the city for a couple who want something beyond Cabernet. Rafidi took the James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic award in 2023. The set Levantine menu runs about $135 before wine. Reserve two to three weeks ahead and let Simons pour the pairing.
Book on the Albi site; take Simons's pairing with the hearth menu.
Avoid for a wine night
A name on old lists, not on the door
Komi. Johnny Monis's tasting-menu room is still listed as a wine destination on plenty of older guides, but it closed in 2021, so any 2026 ranking pointing you there is out of date. Book Albi or Annabelle for the same care with an interesting pairing instead.
A brasserie, not a cellar
Le Diplomate. The 14th Street brasserie is one of the best rooms in town for a night out, but its wine is a smart French bistro list by the glass rather than a deep cellar. Go for the steak frites and a carafe, and keep your wine night for Fiola or Fiola Mare.
How to drink well in Washington
Name a number and let the floor work inside it. At Fiola, Bourbon Steak and Annabelle 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 rare verticals on request. Book the destination rooms two to three weeks ahead through their own sites or the hotel, where the best weekend tables go first, and for anything rare at Fiola call a day ahead so the bottle is confirmed, pulled and standing up before you sit down.
Match the room to the night. If a view is driving it, book Fiola Mare on the water; if you want something beyond Cabernet, take Simons's pairing at Albi; if you want hotel-grade calm for a deal, sit at Bourbon Steak. Wherever you go, if you are celebrating, say so when you reserve so the room can make a night of it, and tell the sommelier what you are eating before you choose the bottle.
Frequently asked
Which Washington DC restaurant has the best wine list?
Fiola in Penn Quarter holds our top spot. Fabio Trabocchi's flagship carries the District's only Wine Spectator Grand Award, with a cellar of more than 11,100 bottles and a 2,405-selection list shaped by wine director Casper Rice, deep in Italy and France. It has the depth to pull an aged Barolo or a quiet grower to drink with the lobster ravioli. Reserve two to three weeks ahead and name your grape and budget.
Which DC restaurant has the best sommelier program?
Albi in Navy Yard has the most decorated floor: sommelier William Simons won the Michelin Guide Washington DC 2024 Sommelier Award for a Levantine-minded list built to drink with chef Michael Rafidi's hearth cooking. For a classic cellar, Bourbon Steak's team under Winn Roberton has held a Wine Spectator award since 2009. Both reward letting the sommelier lead the pairing.
Where can I find a rare or collectible bottle in Washington DC?
Fiola is the deepest cellar in the city for rare and aged bottles, with more than 11,100 bottles and real old-vintage depth in Italy and France, and Bourbon Steak runs serious California and Bordeaux verticals. For either, call a day ahead with the bottle you are chasing so the sommelier can confirm it and have it pulled and ready before you arrive.
How much does a good bottle cost at DC restaurants?
Plan on 70 to 150 dollars for a genuinely good bottle at most of these rooms, with the ceiling far higher at Fiola and Bourbon Steak, whose lists run into rare and aged territory. The smart move everywhere is to set a number with the floor and let them find the interesting bottle inside it; a good DC list reads a budget as a brief rather than a ceiling.
Do you need a reservation for these DC wine restaurants?
Yes for all of them, and well ahead for the destination rooms. Fiola, Fiola Mare, Bourbon Steak and Annabelle release tables ahead and the best weekend tables go first, so book two to three weeks out. For a rare or aged bottle at Fiola, call a day ahead so it is confirmed, pulled and standing up before you sit down. If you are celebrating, say so when you book.
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