1920 Tavern

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.