The Best Wine Bars In the U.S.

It’s bubbles and nothing but at this intimate Portland bar. Sommelier-owner David Speer has amassed over 100 bottles between his regular and reserve lists at Ambonnay. With only three exceptions, all are genuine Champagne. You’ll find familiar names like Roederer and Billecart-Salmon alongside numerous grower Champagnes, all at remarkable values—by-the-glass pours are $14 and under, bottles start at $70. ambonnaybar.com

Though Michael Ireland and John Vuong both served as sommeliers in California’s fine dining world, they grew tired of what could feel like snobbishness and pretension. This led them to open the stripped-down, lower-key High Treason in 2016. Here, the focus is on the drinks, not the ceremony. The dynamic list has something for every palate—wine, sherry, vermouth, sake—with 80 options by the glass and twice that by the bottle. “Selfishly, we need to keep ourselves interested as well,” says Ireland, “so things evolve at a rapid pace.” facebook.com/hightreasonsf

While the Napa wine scene can prove intimidating, Colleen Fleming and Aubrey Bailey sought to open a bar that was much more approachable, “Where you would feel comfortable spending $6 on a pint or $40 on a bottle of obscure California Verdelho,” describes Fleming. Their sleek, modern bar splits its list 50/50 between Northern California producers and imports, with equal appeal to master sommeliers and Napa neophytes. Adding to Cadet Wine’s sense of community is “Guest Bartender Nights” on Wednesdays, featuring a different producer pouring their selections each week. cadetbeerandwinebar.com

The menu at this sliver of a tapas bar is an embarrassment of riches. Where do you start your evening, Txakoli on tap or a rare palo cortado sherry? Vermut and soda or a Basque cider? Donostia is a paradise for any devotee of Spanish drinking, but their sherry collection is the true standout. Whether you’re downing a bottle of easy-drinking fino alongside white anchovies, or sampling a range of styles from a boutique producer, there’s nowhere better in New York to understand these beautiful wines—or to simply just enjoy them. donostianyc.com

While there are many friendly, affordable neighborhood bars out there, not many are as sophisticated as Winebelly. Ryan Fulmer’s wide-ranging list—around 40 wines by the glass and another 150 by the bottle—includes both big-name wineries and smaller boutique labels. It also spans Old World and New, with no price straying over $99…not even Napa Cabs or genuine Champagnes. austinwinebelly.com

This friendly wine bar represents the best of Portland drinking, thanks to an extremely modestly priced list that embraces Oregon wine along with the Old World. Randy Goodman, who owns Bar Avignon with wife Nancy Hunt, constantly updates the list alongside sommelier Robert Huston. Together, they shape a collection that’s fun and educational—a bit challenging, but not willfully obscure and always delicious. A restaurant-caliber, seasonally driven food menu just adds to the appeal. baravignon.com

Nowhere but New Orleans could be home to this quirky wine bar-meets-garden party. Choose a bottle from Bacchanal’s racks and fridges and the staff will uncork it, hand over an ice bucket (if necessary), and direct you to the garden courtyard that features trees festooned with lights and live music every afternoon and evening. With an emphasis on small Old World producers, the wine selection is as sophisticated as any local restaurant’s list and served in the most idyllic setting imaginable. bacchanalwine.com

“Adventurous, experimental, irreverent and carefree” is how wine director and owner Liz Vilardi characterizes her ever-changing wine list. The Cambridge wine bar, recently reopened after a 2015 fire, offers 20 to 25 wines by the glass. Their two ounce and five ounce pours invite exploration and experimentation. Belly Wine’s sixty-odd bottle list encompasses both familiar regions and varietals in addition to lesser-known options. bellywinebar.com

Here’s how owner Bradford Taylor characterizes natural wines: “We like when a wine tastes like a human made it—sometimes that means it’s challenging, perplexing, incomprehensible. Most of the time it means it’s vibrant and delicious. Sometimes it means it is transcendent.” Such wines, from France in particular, are the focus of this idiosyncratic bar, which is relaxed in demeanor but serious in its devotion to unusual bottles. Serving around 15 wines by the glass, Ordinaire stocks another thousand—set out on shelves and sheltered in the cellar—all available for retail purchase or to be opened at the bar for an eminently reasonable $10 corkage fee. ordinairewine.com

Over decades spent working with French food and drink, David Butler grew to love not only French wine, but the bar-à-vins of Paris and Lyon—the “warm, inviting joints without pretense, where admirable ‘everyday’ wines are sold,” he says. That’s what he sought to recreate at Le Caviste, with around 55 wines scrawled on its chalkboard menus. (They’re all French, no West Coast in sight.) Additional bottles are available for retail purchase or to uncork right at the bar. The food menu encompasses both cheese and charcuterie and bistro classics. lecavisteseattle.com

Humboldt Park was not the most likely neighborhood for a sophisticated wine bar back in 2009, but Rootstock has thrived over the years under the stewardship of Tonya Pyatt, Johnny Hap and Jamie McLennan. “Old World in style though not always in origin,” says proprietor Tonya Pyatt. McLennan’s list focuses on organic and biodynamic growers who create wines that best reflect their local terroir. Twenty by-the-glass wines and 100 additional bottles anchor the list, which is backed by a kitchen that’s open six nights a week until 1 a.m., featuring a grass-fed cheeseburger that never goes off the list. rootstockbar.com

It’s fair to call Tria an institution. The beloved wine and cheese bar dates back to 2003 and now boasts three locations and a taproom. Every one of Tria’s almost 40 wines is available by the glass and the list encompasses everything from familiar Italian varietals to lesser-known wines from Israel, Austria or even New Jersey. With weekly training sessions that school servers in every wine on the list, wine director and partner Michael McCaulley says that “the staff is the sommelier.” triaphilly.com/tria-cafe

A spinoff of the venerable Le Bernardin, Aldo Sohm is the eponymous project of the Austrian-born sommelier. Far more relaxed than its pedigree might suggest, the bar serves around 40 wines by the glass with another 250 wines by the bottle, all of which focus on, but are not limited to, France and Austria. For a chance to taste wines that most would find cost prohibitive, Sohm offers a 9 p.m. pour from a different magnum each night—a by-the-glass experience of something new or unusual. aldosohmwinebar.com

Those in search of boutique Pacific Northwest wines should seek out Bottlehouse. Henri Schock’s popular Seattle wine bar has built relationships with many limited-allocation small producers, which allows them access to bottles that are difficult to obtain elsewhere. Serving more than 50 wines by the glass allows guests to taste quite a few of them. The list also embraces natural wines from Europe, with both Old and New World wines that “use mostly natural processes and, of course, tell a story,” says Henri Schock. In-house cheesemongers source Bottlehouse’s 20-plus cheeses—pairings are essential. bottlehouseseattle.com

Owner-sommelier Bodhi Freedom’s wine bar is housed in a historic 1885 Victorian, but takes plenty of cues from the 1960s—post-war furniture, a vinyl soundtrack. The wine list is heavy on the Old World, with particular emphasis on Riesling and red Burgundy. Even without a stove, 20 Spot manages a sophisticated food menu that includes cured trout with seasonal citrus, steak tartare and even duck confit. 20spot.com

Don’t look for an extensive wine list at this popular Los Feliz bar. Instead, tell the bartender what appeals to you—white or red? Light and funky or mineral and high-acid?—and allow him to pour a few samples from their rotating collection of 150-plus bottles. In this way, guests are perfectly matched with a glass, thanks to a staff thoroughly versed in every wine. Co-owners Matthew Kaner and Dustin Lancaster choose bottles from personal passion and their let-us-guide-you approach ensures that many drinkers fall in love with a grape or region they might not have discovered otherwise. barcovell.com

Named for the optimal wine cellar temperature, 13 Celsius is inspired by the wine bars of Europe, housed in a 1920s-era, Mediterranean-style Midtown structure. The open-air courtyard and 40-foot antique Carrera marble bar are equally charming places to taste your way through a wide-ranging collection that spans the globe. Thanks to a Coravin preservation system, 13 Celsius can offer dozens of wines by the three-ounce or six-ounce glass, with hundreds more by the bottle, all helpfully laid out on the menu according to their character, for instance distinguishing light and earthy reds from the full-bodied and fruity. An equally thoughtful cheese and charcuterie list doesn’t hurt. 13celsius.com

With nightly live music and a spacious outdoor courtyard, Lagniappe would be a beloved Miami bar even without its compelling wine selection. Working with small-scale distributors and boutique winemakers from across the world allows for a diverse and extremely well priced list. Among the options available are bottles produced by family farms in places as varied as Chile, the Canary Islands and Mallorca—far-flung regions with a rich winemaking history. lagniappehouse.com

It’s all Old World at this Logan Circle wine bar, which opened in 2008. Cork rotates its lists seasonally, with husband-and-wife owners Diane Gross and Khalid Pitts maintaining a consistent focus on smaller producers and sustainable growing practices. Generally offering around 50 wines by the glass and 250 more by the bottle, Cork also features four different wine flights each month to call attention to lesser known grapes and regions. A seasonal menu of small plates completes the picture.  corkdc.com