Vancouver

Six Shooter is a Wild Card in the best sense — a rural estate bar where the wine list is short because they're making most of it themselves. If you want depth and variety, look elsewhere; if you want to drink local wine where it was grown, this is the move.

Elements is a better wine list than its size suggests, with a genuinely curious regional spread and a Thursday bottle special that makes the steep markups temporarily irrelevant. Show up on a Thursday, order the Mercer Grenache or the Alain Voge, and you're having a very good night in a city that doesn't always get credit for it.

Coyote Bar & Grill isn't a wine destination, but it doesn't pretend to be one either — fair prices, decent Pacific Northwest representation, and a comfortable room make it a perfectly reasonable place to drink well enough. Send a friend here if they're already going for the food; don't send them here just for the wine.

Maryhill Vancouver is a genuinely good reason to detour into Washington wine country without leaving the city limits — the Klipsun Cab alone justifies a visit. It's not trying to be a destination wine bar, but it earns its place as the best pour on the Vancouver waterfront.

Dediko is a Wild Card in every sense — it's a cozy Georgian café in a strip of downtown Vancouver serving wines most locals have never tasted, and that alone makes it worth a visit. The markups are hard to love, but the experience of drinking actual Georgian wine with actual Georgian food is singular enough that we'd still tell a curious friend to go.

Amaro's Table is the reliable neighborhood wine play — nothing on this list will blow your mind, but nothing will embarrass you either. Send a friend here if they want a decent glass of Oregon Pinot without making a production of it.

Amaro's Table is doing the right things for a downtown Vancouver restaurant — regional focus, reasonable glass selection, food-friendly pours. It's not a destination wine experience, but it's a dependable choice for a solid meal with a bottle you won't regret.

Thai Orchid isn't a wine destination and doesn't try to be — but the pricing is honest, the Riesling is the right call, and the glass count gives you enough to work with. Order the Riesling, skip the Cab, enjoy your curry.

Stack 571 is a genuinely fun spot for whiskey and burgers, and the happy hour wine pricing is hard to argue with — but if wine is your thing, this list will leave you wanting. Order a bourbon.

The Cove is a genuinely lovely spot to eat near the water, but the wine list is an afterthought dressed up in decent pricing on one pour. Come for the view and the food — just don't expect the wine program to keep up.

Frontier Public House isn't a wine destination, but it's a solid neighborhood spot where the wine list won't embarrass you or empty your wallet. Go for the food, grab a glass of Pinot Gris, and call it a good night.

WildFin is a reliable stop for a well-executed Northwest seafood dinner with a wine list that does its job without embarrassing anyone. Just don't come expecting to discover something new — this list is here to keep the table happy, not start a conversation.

This is a legitimately serious wine program wearing a casino steakhouse costume — the depth and cellar quality are real, but the markups reflect the captive audience. Come with a specific bottle in mind, avoid the obvious traps, and you can drink very well here.

Twigs Waterfront is a perfectly decent place to eat pasta and watch the river, but if wine is your reason for going out, keep moving. Order a martini — that's clearly the point.

Heathen is a brewpub first, and the beer is obviously the headline — but a fully estate-grown wine list is a genuinely wild card move that lands more often than it has any right to. Come for a pint, stay curious about the Grenache.

Hudson's is exactly what it promises — a comfortable, polished steakhouse list that will make most tables happy without surprising anyone. Send your friends here for the steak and the DeLille by the glass; just don't expect to fall in love with the wine program.

Burnt Bridge Cellars is a one-winery show in a converted garage, and it works because the wines are priced right and the room has genuine personality. Send a friend here if they want a low-key Washington wine experience without the tasting fee guilt trip.

A single-producer tasting room shouldn't work as a wine destination, but Brian Carter's commitment to obscure European grapes grown in Washington makes it genuinely worth the stop. If you want to drink something you've never had before in a setting that doesn't take itself too seriously, this is your waterfront wild card.

La Bottega is punching well above its weight for a downtown Vancouver bistro — a sommelier-driven list with real range, global ambition, and the best recurring wine deal in the city on Tuesdays. Markups on the trophy bottles are steep enough to sting, but there's enough value in the mid-tier to make this a genuinely exciting place to drink.

Willful Wine at The Grant House is a genuinely surprising find: a winery-run bistro in a historic landmark that takes its wine program seriously and doesn't overcharge you for the atmosphere. If you're in Vancouver and want something more interesting than a chain steakhouse list, this is the move.