Time Out Food & Drink Awards 2022: Best Wine Bar

Here is the winner of Best Wine Bar in the Time Out Sydney Food & Drink Awards 2022

Bartender at Wyno
Photograph: Anna Kucera
By Time Out in partnership with Tyro
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Sydney’s love affair with the wine bar deserves to be immortalised on screen, in song or in a book of finely tuned haikus. As Sydney's wine bar scene skyrockets, the passion and fervour with which we quaff, sniff and savour is showing no sign of slowing down and we couldn't be more on board.

But we’ll keep the boasting to a minimum while revving our praise for Time Out’s best wine bar shortlist to a maximum. Celebrating some of the true legends of the industry as well as a smattering of plucky newcomers, it shows that the wine bar is a versatile beast indeed. Whether you’re after a glass of something red, white, orange or pink before heading on your way, or prefer to linger longer and add a meal to the equation, these contenders have you covered.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to their wine collections. Big or small, natural or traditional, from within the state borders, Australian or international: all we ask is that it’s delicious and that the venue makes drinking wine fun. Because a wine bar is about more than dutifully ticking the booze and food boxes. It's all about the vibe.

Our recipe for the perfect wine bar adds a requirement for excellent music, a rocking fitout, a considered drinks list, and friendly service that makes even novice wine drinkers feel welcome. We hope you'll agree, this shortlist is well worth popping a cork for.

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And the winner is...

  • Wine bars
  • Darlinghurst

Giorgio De Maria, Enrico Tomelleri and Mattia Dicati of Vino Mito Wine Imports know a thing or two about hospitality, and the culmination of that is a two-level haunt in a newly revitalised stretch of Oxford Street. An Eden of natural wine, top-notch service and serious snacks, Paski has firmly established itself as both a neighbourhood favourite and something worth travelling for. A sunny afternoon with a book downstairs or a raucous dinner with mates upstairs are two equal and wonderful options here – and if you find a wine you really love, you can grab a bottle to go from the floor-to-ceiling rack. 

We also love...

  • Modern Australian
  • Crows Nest

Annata has been quietly making a statement in Crows Nest since its doors first swung open in mid-2015. The beverage offering at Annata has always been top-shelf; now however you will find a greater focus on wine than cocktails, although a smart list of signature and classics remains. The wine list has plenty to offer from all around the globe and the sommelier is very knowledgeable and happy to chat in as much or as little detail as you require – suggestions of wines to match your food are spot on.

  • Wine bars
  • Surry Hills

Just another Surry Hills wine bar, this ain’t. Sure, Bar Suze – the Scandinavian-inspired, late night snack bar on Foveaux Street - serves up plenty of wines by the glass with plenty of small plate options. But what sets it apart from what you might think of as a wine bar is that it’s fun. Don’t get us wrong, settling into an intimate corner, whispering to a jazz soundtrack while quaffing an obscure Burgundy can be great. In fact, it can be wonderful. But it can also turn into a rather ostentatious, and dare we say, pretentious affair from time to time. The fact the Suze can deliver the goods while also bringing the fun is what makes this venue such a hit. Where there are sleek granite top bars, there’s a bop by Bruce Springsteen in the air. While you’re sitting in a plush, black, high backed booth, you’ve got a view of the mirror ball being hand spun by an excited chef between orders.

  • Bars
  • Surry Hills

The folks that brought us Love, Tilly Devine, Ragazzi and Dear Sainte Èloise have set the standard pretty darn high in terms of Sydney wine bars (and the snacks aren't bad either). Their latest venture is a Catalan-inspired watering hole that isn't taking itself too seriously. La Salut is a joint venture between the Love Tilly Group and newly launched hospitality and accommodation group the people_ (helmed by Paul Schulte and Andrew Taylor). It aims to be a little piece of Catalonia in the heart of Redfern, with all the colour and vibrancy that comes along with it. The 40-seat venue features blushing earthy tones and polished concrete, with outdoor dining along Walker Street. 

  • Darlinghurst
  • price 2 of 4

Love, Tilly Devine is understandably one of the first things that may pop into your head when someone utters the words 'wine bar' in Sydney. This is one of the originals and still one of the best. The Darlinghurst staple has been championing small wine producers for the better part of a decade and is showing no sign of slowing down. An extensive and impressive list is a total globetrot from Georgia to Chile and beyond, with a healthy amount of Aussie representation too. Snack lists don't come much better than those on offer at Love, Tilly Devine and if you can score a laneway table it's the perfect spot to while away an afternoon of dog watching.

  • Wine bars
  • Paddington

Depending on what angle you squint at it from, the Paddington outpost of P&V Merchants puts on a convincing new persona each time. Is it a chic wine bar with a well-stocked bottle shop at the front? Is it a bottle shop with a light-filled courtyard out the back? Is it an addendum to the main event of Porcine, the wood-panelled, French-inspired bistro up top? Maybe. P&V –  which stands for ‘piss and vinegar’ – has always done things a little off-book, anyway. Its Newtown boutique was a key player in bringing the natural wine movement to the mainstream, stocking small-batch, minimal intervention wines from all around Australia and overseas. The Paddington store has stayed true to that goal, with shelves stocked with wines, craft beers and spirits of all sorts, as well as tinned fish, deli goods, spices and sauces.

  • Wine bars
  • Marrickville
  • price 1 of 4

Every now and then, a bar comes along so righteously in tune with its neighbourhood that you wonder how locals ever functioned without it. Where’s Nick is one such watering hole, housed in an unassuming open shopfront on a buzzy strip of Marrickville Road that, despite the lingering signage, is clearly no longer Marrickville Quality Cakes. Picture what Central Perk would look like if Friends were a sitcom about woke millennial share-housers in the Inner West, and you’ve pretty much got the idea. 

  • Spanish
  • Surry Hills
  • price 2 of 4

The bones of Wyno, a tight bar-bottleshop styled on its wine-focused predecessor 121 BC, remain: the long counter, which seats just 27, encourages sharing and conversation; the bottleshop still trades in takeaway; and staff can talk wine with the best of them. Staff might pour whatever they have open, encourage you to grab a bottle from the shop where Italy, France and Spain are the main stops outside the local stuff, or follow your whims on the 300-plus label list. 

Who won the People's Choice Awards?

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