Burlington

Foam Brewers

Waterfront · Burlington · Craft Brewery with Bar Snacks

The Wild Card

Foam is a brewery first, but the wine program punches way above its weight class — it's small, local, and priced like they actually want you to drink it. If you're on Burlington's waterfront and want something interesting in your glass that isn't a hazy IPA, this is your spot.

The Daily Planet

Downtown · Burlington · New American with Vegan Options

The Wild Card

The Daily Planet isn't a wine destination, but it has the instincts of one — a thoughtful natural wine pick, Monday half-price bottles, and fair pricing in a casual room that doesn't take itself too seriously. Send a friend here on a Monday and tell them to ask about the orange wine.

The Gryphon

Downtown · Burlington · New American Bistro

The Reliable

The Gryphon is a reliable neighborhood bistro with a wine list that matches its ambitions exactly: familiar, functional, and forgettable. Come for the burgers and brick walls, but don't expect the wine to be the highlight of your night.

Pizzeria Verità

Downtown · Burlington · Neapolitan wood-fired pizza and Italian cuisine

The Reliable

Pizzeria Verità isn't trying to be a wine destination and it doesn't need to be — it's a smart, Italy-focused list with honest markups and a few genuinely interesting bottles tucked in among the crowd-pleasers. Go for the pizza, order the Nebbiolo or the Cirò, and leave happy.

EB Strong's Prime Steakhouse

Church Street Marketplace · Burlington · Upscale American Steakhouse

The Reliable

EB Strong's has a wine list that does the job well and occasionally surprises you — especially if you look past the Caymus and dig into the European picks. Wednesday's half-price bottle program makes it one of the better wine-value nights in Burlington, full stop.

Hen of the Wood – Burlington

Downtown Waterfront · Burlington · Seasonal New American, farm-to-table

The Rager

Hen of the Wood Burlington is the rare restaurant where the wine list is as considered as the food, and that's saying something when the kitchen is this good. If you're driving through Vermont and care about what's in your glass, this is worth a reservation.

Pascolo Ristorante Italiano

Church Street Marketplace · Burlington · Italian

The Reliable

Pascolo's wine list won't win any awards for ambition, but it's curated with more care than most Italian spots bother to show. If you're eating house-made pasta in Burlington and want to drink something Italian that actually means something, this gets the job done.

Leunig's Bistro

Church Street · Burlington · French

The Wild Card

Leunig's earns its Wild Card status by doing something Burlington doesn't do enough of — putting Vermont wine front and center on a real list, in a real bistro, without making it feel like a novelty. Send a friend here if they think Vermont wine isn't worth ordering.

Red Rooster

Woodstock · Burlington · American

The Reliable

Red Rooster is resort wine done competently — a sommelier, a real list, and proper storage go a long way, even when the selections play it safe and the markup stings. Send a friend here knowing they'll drink fine, not that they'll drink memorably.

Switchback Brewing Co.

South Burlington · Burlington · Southern-inspired BBQ and Smokehouse

The Lazy List

Switchback is a brewery first, second, and third — the wine list is purely ceremonial. Order a beer, it's what they do, and they do it well.

Stone Corral Brewery

Richmond · Burlington · Pub Food (Mexican Style)

The Wild Card

Stone Corral is a brewery first, a wine destination never — but for a taproom, the wine list punches well above its weight on both quality and price. If your crew splits between beer and wine, you won't be sending anyone home unhappy.

Electra's

Shelburne · Burlington · Mediterranean

The Reliable

Electra's wine program won't make a sommelier's pulse race, but it's thoughtful enough to make dinner genuinely enjoyable — especially at these prices. If you're eating the duck or the pork chop, someone in the kitchen thought about what you'd be drinking, and that counts for something.

Original Skiff + Oyster

Waterfront · Burlington · Seafood

The Wild Card

Original Skiff is a waterfront oyster spot with a wine list that has no business being this interesting — and that's a compliment. If you're in Burlington and care about what's in your glass, this place deserves a detour.

Bistro de Margot

South End · Burlington · French

The Reliable

Bistro de Margot has the wine instincts right — France-focused, regionally honest, with some genuinely smart picks buried in the list. The markup on the Crémant is a speed bump, but if you navigate toward the Savoie and the Aligoté, you'll eat and drink like someone who planned ahead.

Sotto Enoteca

Downtown · Burlington · Italian

The Wild Card

Sotto Enoteca is punching well above its weight for a mid-size Vermont city, with a focused Italian list that rewards curiosity and a Wednesday half-price night that practically dares you not to show up. Send your wine-curious friends here without hesitation.

Martini's Grille

Burlington · Burlington · Steak House

The Reliable

Martini's Grille isn't trying to be a wine destination — it's a solid Iowa steakhouse with a California list that earns its Wine Spectator badge year after year. Send a friend here knowing they'll drink well without getting weird about it.

Paradiso Hifi

Downtown · Burlington · New American

The Wild Card

Paradiso Hifi is the kind of wine list that makes you trust the room — it's small, it has a clear identity, and the markups are honest enough that you don't feel punished for ordering well. If you're in Burlington and want to drink something that didn't come off a distributor's top-40 sheet, this is your spot.

Pascolo Ristorante

Downtown Burlington · Burlington · Italian

The Wild Card

Pascolo is punching above its weight with an all-Italian list that actually knows Italy, at prices that feel like a genuine gift. If you're eating on Church Street and care about what's in your glass, this is your spot.

Dedalus Wine Bar

Downtown Burlington · Burlington · Wine Bar

The Rager

Dedalus is the rare wine bar that earns its reputation without inflating its ego — a 400-bottle list with real producers, fair pricing, and staff that actually knows the inventory is worth a detour to Burlington on its own. Send your most wine-obsessed friend here and let them figure out the rest.

Cafe Escadrille

Burlington · Burlington · American

The Rager

Cafe Escadrille is a proper, old-guard wine list doing exactly what it set out to do — give serious diners serious California and French bottles to drink with serious food. No sommelier on staff and steep markups keep it from being flawless, but the depth and pedigree here are real.

Farmhouse Tap & Grill

Downtown · Burlington · Gastropub

The Reliable

Farmhouse Tap & Grill is a great place for a burger and a local beer — the wine list is an afterthought that charges you accordingly. Come on a Wednesday, grab a half-price bottle, and keep your expectations calibrated to 'fine.'

The Windjammer Restaurant

South Burlington · Burlington · Seafood

The Wild Card

The Windjammer shouldn't have a wine list this thoughtful, and yet here we are. It's not going to wow a serious collector, but for a reliable seafood dinner in South Burlington with a Cruvinet keeping your glass honest, it punches well above its zip code.

Honey Road

Church Street Marketplace · Burlington · Mediterranean

The Wild Card

Honey Road is doing something genuinely rare: building a wine program with a real point of view in a mid-sized New England city, and the Eastern Mediterranean focus earns it a Wild Card badge without question. The markups are steeper than we'd like — a few bottles tip into hard-to-justify territory — but the sheer ambition and regional coherence of the list make it worth the trip.

Breakwater Cafe & Raw Bar

Waterfront · Burlington · Seafood

The Lazy List

Wednesday's half-price bottle deal is the only real reason to engage with this wine list — at full price, you're overpaying for brands that peaked in 2015. Grab a Weinbach on a Wednesday, eat the oysters, enjoy the lake view, and don't look too hard at the rest.

Hen of the Wood

Downtown · Burlington · New American

The Rager

Hen of the Wood is the best wine list in Vermont and earns its place on any short list of serious wine programs in New England. Send your friends here, and tell them to ignore the safe choices — the whole point of this list is to go somewhere unexpected.

The Lower Deck at the Windjammer

North End · Burlington · Steakhouse and Seafood

The Wild Card

The Lower Deck is a genuine Wild Card — a casual Vermont bar quietly running a Cruvinet and stocking Cakebread and Far Niente next to your clam chowder. Markups hold it back from greatness, but the ambition alone makes it worth a detour.