A bourbon temple with a wine list that quietly holds its own
Roswell · Atlanta · New American / Gastropub · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · February 22, 2026
RagingWine reviewed 1920 Tavern’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walk into 1920 Tavern expecting a speakeasy cocktail bar with Pappy Van Winkle dreams and you are not wrong — 39 bourbons and a Smoked Old Fashioned with rosemary lead the charge. But scan past the bourbon wall and you will find a wine list that is more thoughtful than it has any right to be. Interesting Reds and Interesting Whites categories signal a buyer with curiosity, and the inclusion of South African Pinotage is the tell — the Aronowitz family brought their heritage from Cape Town to Canton Street.
The wine list is organized by varietal with enough breadth to cover a globally influenced menu. Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir anchor the reds with multiple tiers running from $42 to $125 a bottle. The Interesting Reds section is where the personality lives — this is the buyer stepping outside the safe zone. Whites follow the same pattern with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc as the anchors and an Interesting Whites category for the adventurous. The Pinotage is the headline — South Africa's signature grape rarely appears on Atlanta-area wine lists and its presence here is a direct nod to the owners' roots.
By-the-glass pours run from $12 to $18 with solid varietal coverage across reds and whites. Nothing flashy, but the range means you can match wine to a menu that swings from Peri Peri Chicken to Lobster Spaghetti to Fried Green Tomatoes without feeling boxed in. The sweet spot is the $14 to $16 range where most of the interesting pours live.
Any $12 glass from the core lineup — $12/glass
At twelve dollars a glass in a restaurant that positions itself as fine dining, you are getting a fair deal. The entry-level Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc both overdeliver at this price point.
Pinotage
South Africa's signature grape on a Roswell wine list is the kind of detail that makes you look twice. The Aronowitz family is from Cape Town and this is their heritage in a glass — bold, earthy, and unlike anything else you will find on Canton Street.
The default Cabernet if you are not looking at the Interesting Reds
The standard varietal lineup is solid but forgettable. The whole reason to drink wine at 1920 Tavern is the stuff in the Interesting Reds and Interesting Whites sections — that is where the buyer's personality comes through.
Pinotage + Peri Peri Chicken
South African wine meets South African-inspired chicken. The Pinotage has enough rusticity and dark fruit to handle the peri peri heat while the earthy undertones echo the roasted corn and red bean pilaf. This is a pairing the kitchen was born to serve.
Monday — Wine Night — weekly wine specials and featured pours
The Bottom Line
1920 Tavern is a bourbon bar that happens to have a wine list worth exploring. Monday Wine Nights, a globally influenced menu that creates real pairing opportunities, and a South African Pinotage hiding on a Canton Street wine list make this a wildcard worth playing. Come for the Smoked Old Fashioned, stay because the wine surprised you.
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Midtown · Atlanta · Southern European
Start with the $14 Vostinic-Klasnic Ikons if you want to explore beyond familiar grapes, or the $16 chilled La Galoche Gamay if that's your lane. Lyla Lila's posted glass list makes trying something different a one-glass decision, not a whole-bottle commitment.
· Atlanta · New American
Siren has a wine list that punches above its weight in a few key areas — particularly the by-the-glass whites and the Champagne bottle program — but the markup structure means you're spending real money to access it. If you're the kind of diner who wants to order Furmint on a Tuesday night in Atlanta, this is one of the few places that makes that possible, and that alone earns it a spot on the shortlist.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Regional Italian
Make Monday your bottle night at Indaco: half off bottles priced up to $100, then $50 off above that. Ask for the current bottle list before choosing; the discount has a ceiling, even if your wine budget doesn't.
Atlanta · Atlanta · Vietnamese
NAM Kitchen is doing something genuinely unexpected: running a thoughtful, fairly priced 68-label wine list inside a Vietnamese restaurant, anchored by a strong sparkling section and some legitimately food-smart white wine choices. If you're the kind of person who wants a real glass of wine with your bún bò Huế, this is worth knowing about.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Steakhouse
Il Premio is a steakhouse that took its wine list seriously enough to skip the obvious plays, and the result is one of the more interesting Italian-focused lists in Atlanta right now. It's compact, priced fairly across the board, and built for exploration — whether you're going glass by glass through the Italian regions or just need a solid bottle of Chianti Classico at $72 to make a steak dinner feel right. We'd send a friend here specifically for the wine.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Johns Creek · New American / Gastropub
Citizen Soul's wine program is a solid suburban effort — it won't embarrass you on a date night, and the all-glass-pour format makes grazing through the list genuinely easy. The markups lean steep and the list plays it safe, but the Muga and Chenin Blanc alone prove someone put at least a little thought into this. If you're eating in Johns Creek and want a decent glass without a lecture, you could do a lot worse.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Livermore · New American / Gastropub
Rebel Kitchen's wine list doesn't rebel against anything — it's eleven safe bottles with steep markups in a region that's literally surrounded by wineries. Order a cocktail, which is clearly what they actually care about.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Abilene · New American / Gastropub
Cork & Pig Tavern is doing more with wine than Abilene probably demands, and we respect the effort — the by-the-glass program alone is worth the stop. If you're passing through West Texas and need a legit glass of something interesting, this is your place.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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