The best wine bars in Melbourne

The City Wine Shop makes for a great long fancy lunch, however, the price tag here is incredibly reasonable for a place whose neighbours include Melbourne institutions The Supper Club and The European. The staff here are wine connoisseurs and they want to talk wine. It’s a great spot for an outside lunch or an indoor wine haunt when you want to hide from the elements.

This classic Andrew McConnell venue has some natural advantages over any competitors. For one thing, sharing the vast cellar of Cutler & Co means Marion can lay claim to being the best-stocked wine bar in the 'hood, but in reality, there’s no need to venture beyond the shorter list purpose-built for Marion, stuffed with all kinds of vinous excitement by the glass.

Manzé (Creole for 'eat') is a stylish Mauritian wine bar in North Melbourne with contemporary degustation offerings, creative dishes and a stunning natural wine list that puts local and sustainable producers in the spotlight. Chef Nagesh Seethiah opened Manzé’s doors in November 2021 to strong interest, with tables booking out completely in its debut month and often since then. It’s arguably Australia’s highest profile culinary representation of Mauritian cuisine, and a beautiful spot for a sunny terrace vino or a taste of some of the team's fantastic impressive selection.

Find Bourke Street’s Midcity Centre – a tired-looking arcade mixing retail shops with hair salons, phone repair stores and a ramen joint or two – and take the escalator to level one. Look immediately to your right and spot a singular circular sign floating next to a fluorescent ceiling light and fire hose reel. In its previous life, Pearl was a nail salon – now, it's a luxury wine bar dedicated to the perfect pairing that is chablis and oysters. It features the largest wine list of the Burgundy white in the world, a carefully curated selection of Australian oysters and plenty of other bougie snacks (see: caviar served in a lobster).

Swan Street has undergone a facelift in recent years, and let's face it, it was overdue. Reliably busy on weekends with convivial pub-goers, for those who prefer their lubrication with a side of bangin' food, it's historically been wiser to head further north or south in search of greener pastures. But there's a sea change in the air, and Richmond has a re-awakened sense of excitement because Swan Street is, well, she's looking good. One of the most gratifying spots to rise from the COVID-ashes is Clover, a casual but sleek wine bar from the team behind The Alps, Milton Wine Bar and The Moon. 

To drink at Liberty is to revel in the best of all booze. The only rule about each drop here is that it must be a superlative example of its style. Whether it’s wine, cider, cocktails, whisky, vermouth or even housemade soda, every item on the long menu is carefully curated, the variety and quality on offer hard to overstate.

As much a restaurant as it is a wine bar, Carlton Wine Room comes to you from three industry veterans who have worked under the McConnell and Bartholomew empires. Upstairs is reserved for serious diners, but the front bar and street seating is open for you to drop in for a glass or a cocktail. It gets a little hairy once the sun sets, so strategise or you could be left waiting for a seat.

Bahama Gold started out as a liquor delivery service in the dark days of lockdown, but has since transformed into a public bar and wine shop for the discerning explorer. The first thing you’ll notice upon walking into the cosy 12-seater is its warm golden lighting and generous outlook out onto the quietly hip Brunswick East end of Lygon Street. Here, it’s all about funky bottles, like pét nats and orange wines, and a bar-curated vinyl collection that will have you opening your Shazam app all night long. Malaysian-born head chef Jane Low also puts on a rotating menu of small plates that mark Bahama Gold as an interesting dining destination in its own right.  

At this modern, azure-walled restaurant and bar, a small team and intimate setting foster a sort of meditative dining experience where you can devote your full focus to the offering, sans distraction. And a produce-driven menu with an air of Scandi minimalism means attention to detail is paramount. With a wall full of all Victorian wines, what to drink is one of the few decisions you’ll have to make over the course of the night – and the host will gladly guide you through. 

Well over a decade since its inception, this snug bar still sets the benchmark for neighbourhood boozing, with charismatic staff, handpicked imports by the glass and a menu that, like the wine list, draws heavily from Europe. Ask any Melburnian their favourite wine bar and we'd bet about one in every five folks would point at ol' Gerald. In 2018, we crowned it as a Legend of the Year – and it's since stood the test of time. The team gleefully admits on their website: "Sometimes the music is too loud, sometimes the wine flows too freely, sometimes the food runs out, but have no fear, we'll do it all again tomrorow and the next day and the day after..." And we damn well love you for it, Gerald's Bar. 

Much fuss is made about Collingwood eatery Commis’ connections to Gerald’s Bar, but even if you didn’t know its trio of co-owners’ were alumni at the Carlton North perennial crowd favourite, you’d be able to distinguish its pedigree. Stepping into Commis’ warm confines is like crossing the threshold of a friend’s house – service is effortlessly affable, laidback and jovial without being effusive or overbearing. Framed artwork depicting fresh produce pepper the walls, and seating is ample – you can choose between leather booths, standalone tables and a generously proportioned courtyard in the event of good weather. 

Melbourne is awash with excellent wine bars and high-end casual dining. In most places, the menu can be predictable, with reliable stalwarts like burrata (slowly being phased out by stracciatella), tartare (tuna or beef), raw kingfish and oily fish on bread sure to make an appearance. But Lilac in Cremorne feels different. Presentation and flavour are all swanky  Melbourne wine bar, but the surreptitious use of offal hints at a refreshing audaciousness. Equal parts eclectic and stylish, Lilac sits in the bones of a warehouse glammed up with a floor-to-ceiling glass entrance, Persian rugs and dusty lavender couches. Slip in for a drop and swoon.

There was a time when Brunswick East threatened to throw itself into a positive feedback loop of mince and suds. Wouldn’t have sucked. Alas, it’s now more likely to be a loop of polished neighbourhood wine bars – probably the better outcome –skippered by Hannah Green’s pick-of-the-litter Etta: the handsome 70-seater ex-fish shop that epitomises the maturation of the area and whose sharing-is-caring menu is about as date night as it gets. Brunswick East is no longer bereft of polished diners, but Etta continues to do it better than the rest.

For some of the finest bar snacks in Geelong and one of the most impressive wine lists in Victoria, look no further than Archive Wine Bar. This narrow hole-in-the-wall was started by Ray Nadeson and Maree Collis (owners of Lethbridge Wines) and partners Graham and Ingrid Sutherland. It boasts a 170-strong list of wines by the glass, and Graham can often be spotted at the bar armed with a trusty Coravin. Barolo, Burgundy, Yarra Valley, you name the region, they’ve got it. 

At Auterra, excellence is charmingly unassuming. Here, easy going neo soul plays and light streams in from the heritage shop windows over a beautiful but unfussy room in tones of white and deep red with accents of copper. It’s an inviting space, made more so by the warm greeting of the staff. The food is designed with wine in mind, and with some real imagination boot. Bottom line: almost every critic agrees that for stellar vino and pairings, Auterrra ranks sky-high among Melbourne's best. 

Owners Almay Jordaan and Simon Denman are describing their East Brunswick wine bar spinoff, Old Palm Liquor, as a pub. We’ve never been to a pub that serves over 300 low-intervention and biodynamic wines alongside 12 tap beers and a super-slick menu cooked over coals with a South African inflection before, but we like it.

Is Embla a wine bar? That’s a quintessentially Melbourne question of existential proportions. Anyone wanting to humour their assertion could simply point to a wine list that changes like a chameleon and where low-interventionism is the north star. It’s the kind of list where the words “organic” and “bio-dynamic” are only a sommelier away, but fear not: the strike rate here is far higher than at similarly ethosed places.

Heading to Peter Gunn’s tiny Collingwood bar (a post-lockdown neighbour to his illustrious restaurant Ides), you might fret you’re in for a rather stuffy excursion. A small swish bar can feel a little formal at the best of times, but a small swish bar adjoined to a fine diner? Surely, a mere sneeze will feel out of place. Gratefully, we discovered March to be nothing of the sort. Though the sleek womb-like space naturally smoulders with a sense of occasion, it dodges the pomp factor by taking its cues from izakayas and casual tapas bars. The wine's nothing short of top-notch, meaning that although March plays a mean cocktail game, it also moonlights as one of our fave wine bars in Melbourne. Cheers!

Ben Luzz, managing director of the cocktail bar Gin Palace, opened up Bijou Bottle Store relatively recently in the heart of the CBD. Here, guests can expect to find a boutique bottle store amidst a teeny bar loaded with cocktails, locally and internationally sourced spirits and wines, and exceptional bar eats (don't sleep on the terrine). 

Is there anything quite as heavily contested in 2021 as 'natural' wine? We think not. At Public Wine Shop 'sulphur dioxide' is the enemy, and shows its audience you can opt to compromise on chemicals and maintain flavour. The venue is helmed by seasoned sommelier Campbell Burton and his wife Charlotte Ryan and offers an extensive array of local and internationally sourced organic wine. It's a cosy affair with seats for up to 20 people and chef Ali Currey-Voumard (who has navigated her way through Hobart's culinary scene) puts on an Italian-French leaning menu full of hits.

Amid all the mediocre pasta and manhandling, the warm glow of Kirk’s Wine Bar shines extra bright. Years have passed, but it feels as essential as ever, proving that a classic wine bar, done well, never goes out of fashion. Their list is as deep as it is broad, paying respect to all the old-world staples before giving equal ardour to trailblazing makers like Radikon and local innovators like Memento Mori.

The Moon feels more like the VIP room of a nightclub or a sleek cocktail lounge than a wine bar, but that's part of its charm. Along one long wall, beautifully labelled take-away bottles are lit like art in a gallery. The list of wines by the glass is a good balance of approachable and more out-there natural stuff, with a slant towards Alsatian styles.

Climb the stairs to the first-floor bar and restaurant to discover a clubby, handsome space of vintage bar stools, tapestry and brass. Take your time perusing a 20-page wine list, peppered with natural beauties, impressive imports and little-known locals. Minimal-intervention, biodynamic and organic wines form the backbone of this commendable selection.

Mark Hopkinson and Lyndon Kubis have worked their magic on an old milk bar on Commercial Road, turning the skinny terrace into a sexy slip of a wine bar. Along the wall, some 400 wines, largely boutique Australians and interesting importsare available for you to drink in or take away.

It’s a brave thing to open a wine bar across the street from Neighbourhood Wine, and a couple of blocks from Gerald’s Bar. But Little Andorra in Carlton North has proven itself worthy, carving out its own identity and nailing the cosy neighbourhood style in an area heavy on options.

Care is the number one factor in this quaint little wine bar. Atlas Vinifera has invested money in its compelling and incredibly well-stocked shelves, it has invested time in staff training, and it has a highly functional space while remaining entirely independent. It operates as a retail store as well, so expect a lot of foot traffic, an inordinate amount of regulars and even more cheers.

A wine cellar in a terrace house sounds better suited to the leafy back streets of Fitzroy or East Brunswick, but Milton Wine is smack, bang in the middle of the high-priced burbs. The tram stops right out front, casually ushering you into a library of wines from Australia and Europe (with a bit of a skew towards Italy).

Local wines, cheese toasties and hyper-local beers are trademarks of this seductive, wine bar championing all-Australian wines in the inner north. Slight and moody, it's easy to miss it if you blink, but don't overlook this St Georges Road gem if you're a fan of small and local producers.

This low-lit, Iberian-style wine bar keeps things deceptively simple and very comfortable, so it is easy to find yourself glued to a stool all night or talking to a regular who makes you feel like you've just walked into their lounge room. Drink from a wine list that reads like an 18 year-old’s gap year hit list with most of Central and Western Europe getting a look in, plus a whole lot of Victorian drops leading the local charge.