Atlanta

The Optimist isn't just a great seafood restaurant with a wine list. It's a wine destination that happens to serve incredible fish. Trust this restaurant to choose your wine for you.

Staplehouse is for the diner who wants to be surprised. The wine list is an adventure, not a safety net. Come with an open mind and let the staff guide you.

South City Kitchen has a wine list that does its job without trying to impress. Fair prices, safe picks, and nothing that'll embarrass you on a date. It just won't make your night either.

H&W Steakhouse is the Buckhead wine destination for anyone who thinks steak and Cabernet is a love story worth telling. 500+ selections with real depth in Napa and Bordeaux.

Atlanta Fish Market delivers exactly what Wine Spectator recognition promises: a well-organized list with fair pricing and enough depth to keep a seafood dinner interesting. Reliable in the best sense.

Atlas has the deepest wine program in Atlanta. 900 selections, 75 by the glass, Wine Spectator Best of Award. This is the city's wine destination for serious drinkers.

Bones is the most decorated wine program in Atlanta, full stop. 35+ years of Wine Spectator recognition, 7,000 bottles, and a staff that treats every pour like it matters. A Buckhead institution.

Canoe pairs a 370-bottle wine list with one of the best restaurant settings in Atlanta. The list is reliable, the pricing is fair, and the riverfront patio sells itself.

Le Bilboquet is the deepest French wine program in Atlanta. 2,000+ bottles, serious Burgundy and Bordeaux depth, and a bistro kitchen that earns every cork pulled.

Le Bon Nosh is the most philosophically committed wine program in Atlanta. 500+ bottles, all French, many biodynamic. This is where you go when you want wine to mean something beyond the glass.

Marcel bridges French elegance and California muscle across 465 selections. One of the most balanced wine programs in Atlanta, backed by a kitchen that deserves every bottle.

White Oak Kitchen pairs 450 labels with a glass wine cellar and a downtown location that deserves more attention. One of Atlanta's most visually striking wine programs with the depth to back it up.

Aria is the biodynamic fine dining wine program Atlanta did not know it needed. Star Wine List recognition, low-intervention focus, and a chef who has kept this restaurant excellent for over two decades.

Bacchanalia is Atlanta's Michelin-starred wine experience. The program is built for the tasting menu format, and the sommelier pairing is one of the best values in Atlanta fine dining.

La Grotta is the deepest Italian wine program in Atlanta. 400+ labels, four decades of expertise, and a staff that knows every corner of the list. If Italian wine is your thing, this is mandatory.

Sotto Sotto delivers a solid Italian wine program in one of Atlanta's most beloved neighborhood restaurants. Reliable picks, fair pricing, and the kind of energy that makes Tuesday feel like Friday.

Miller Union has the most qualified wine staff in Atlanta. Five certified sommeliers, a James Beard-nominated kitchen, and a list built on the same farm-to-table principles as the food. Trust the team here.

Ray's on the River stocks 3,000+ bottles at prices that make Buckhead look expensive. A reliable wine program with value pricing and a riverfront setting. The smart choice for a nice dinner that does not punish your wallet.

Ray's in the City holds one of only two Wine Spectator Best of Awards in Atlanta. Deep list, strong service, and a downtown location that makes it the go-to for serious wine with surf or turf.

Kyma is the Greek wine education Atlanta needed. 90% Greek list, expert staff, and seafood that demands these wines. The most regionally unique wine program in the city.

Le Colonial has a wine list built to solve one of the hardest pairing challenges in dining: matching wine to Vietnamese flavors. 200 selections, French-leaning, and smarter than most lists twice its size.

Capolinea is the Italian wine Wild Card in Atlanta. 175 labels, personal buying, and a neighborhood vibe that makes exploration feel natural. Smaller list, bigger discoveries.

Madeira Park is the most exciting wine program in Atlanta right now. An 11-page list, a secret rare-wine book, century-old fortified wines, and a James Beard-winning team behind it. This is not just a wine bar. This is a wine destination.

Fawn Wine & Amaro is the most conceptually bold wine program in Atlanta. Volcanic-soil wines, 40 amari, and a James Beard-winning chef behind the food. If you want to discover something genuinely new, this is where you start.

Commune is where wine meets vinyl and both get better. James Beard-nominated sommelier, natural wine focus, and a listening-room format that makes every visit different. The most creative wine experience in Atlanta.

Cooks & Soldiers has the deepest Spanish wine program in Atlanta, made accessible by Coravin pours that let you taste rare bottles by the glass. Basque pintxos, Iberian wines, and a format built for exploration.

Barcelona Wine Bar has one of the largest Spanish wine programs in the country, Star Wine List recognition, and a $13.50 flight that should be mandatory for anyone who drinks wine in Atlanta. A Rager hiding in plain sight.

Stem Wine Bar is the best-kept wine secret in metro Atlanta. An Advanced Sommelier, Enomatic rare pours, and a program that would be a destination in Buckhead. The fact that it is in a Marietta strip mall just makes it a better story.

Side Saddle is Atlanta's natural wine gateway. Tight personal list, all low-intervention, and the best patio on the BeltLine. If pet-nats and orange wines are your thing, or if you want them to be, start here.

Little Bear is a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant with a wine program that punches above its weight and a $25 Booze Pack that makes exploration effortless. Alpine whites, low-intervention reds, and farm-to-table food that earns every pour.

Lyla Lila is the most uncompromising wine program in Atlanta. 43-page beverage book, 100% organic and biodynamic, James Beard-nominated, and a kitchen that shares the same values as the cellar.

Postino hides a serious reserve wine list behind one of the best value deals in Atlanta. $25 for a board and a bottle on Monday and Tuesday, and a vintage list that goes deeper than you expect. Reliable and rewarding.

El Vinedo Local is Atlanta's only South American wine destination. Organic Argentine and Chilean wines, flight options, and food that pairs perfectly at prices that make this accessible to everyone.

VinoTeca is the Inman Park wine bar where the staff remembers what you liked last time. Small-production, natural focus, daily tastings, and a retail shop that lets you take your discoveries home.

Taste Wine Bar puts 50 wines on self-service taps and lets you pour your own tastings. Zero pressure, rotating discoveries, and a market with 100+ bottles to take home. The most interactive wine experience in Atlanta.

Larakin is the tiniest wine bar in Atlanta and one of the most charming. Natural European wines on a chalkboard, coffee in the morning, and a vibe that makes Midtown feel like a European side street.

3 Parks Wine Shop is where Atlanta goes to learn about wine without pretense. Educational flights, organic focus, two locations, and a community-first approach that makes everyone feel like a regular.

Indaco puts an all-Italian wine program on the BeltLine with handmade pasta and approachable pricing. Reliable, well-curated, and perfectly located for a casual Italian evening.

CRU Food & Wine Bar brings 350 wines and two decades of wine-bar expertise to Alpharetta. Structured flights, rooftop patio, and the most serious wine program in the north Atlanta suburbs.

Petite Violette is a 50-year Atlanta institution with a personally curated French wine collection that money alone cannot build. Burgundy, Bordeaux, affordable French cuisine, and live music. A hidden Rager in Brookhaven.

Marietta Proper is a James Beard semi-finalist wine bar with a speakeasy downstairs and small-batch wines from around the world. The most exciting wine newcomer outside the city limits.

The Vibrary combines organic wine, curated books, and genuine community in Stone Mountain Village. Black women-owned, scholarship-supporting, and proof that the best wine experiences are about more than what is in the glass.

B&W Burgers is a fantastic burger-and-beer spot with award-winning smash burgers, 20+ craft taps, free live music, and a rooftop patio. But the wine list is a dozen grocery-store labels at steep markup. Stick with the Tropicalia, bring your own bottle, or order the Blanton's.

di Paolo is a 30-year-old scratch Italian kitchen in a strip mall with an 80+ bottle wine list, half-price Sundays that make Barolo affordable, and one of the best bartenders in Atlanta behind the bar. Zagat's former No. 1 Italian for a reason.