Natural Wine Nerdery in Winston-Salem
· Winston Salem · Wine Bar / Market · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · August 20, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Little Pep’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Thirteen labels sounds like a short menu, but every single one of them is by the glass — so this is less a wine list and more a curated flight waiting to happen. Little Pep isn't trying to be everything; it's trying to be specific, and it mostly succeeds. Loureiro pet nat from Portugal next to a Guiberteau rosé from the Loire? That's not an accident.
The list reads like someone who travels with a Moleskine and strong opinions did the buying. You've got Galician bubbles, Italian field blends, a Savoie oddity in the Yves Duport Mondeuse-Jacquère, and a Sicilian orange wine sitting quietly at $12 a glass. The geographic spread is genuinely impressive for 13 bottles — Portugal, France, Italy, Spain, Germany — and the producers lean natural without making a performance of it. The only real gap is depth within any single region: if you want to nerd out on Loire whites or Sicilian reds, you're going to max out fast. But for a market-format wine bar in Winston-Salem, this is a legitimately surprising program.
Every bottle on the list is available by the glass, which is the right call for a list this focused on variety. Glass pours run $10–$18, with the house pours anchoring the low end and most of the interesting stuff clustering around $12–$15. There's no rotation listed, so what you see is what you get — but what you see is worth seeing.
Yves Duport Le Marginal Mondeuse/Jacquère — $56
Savoie doesn't show up on many lists in North Carolina, full stop. Mondeuse and Jacquère is a funky, high-acid combo that usually costs more than this when you can find it at all. At $56 a bottle, you're getting Alpine character for a price that makes sense.
Finca Parera Vermell Litrona Xarel-lo
Most people see Xarel-lo and think Cava. This isn't that. Finca Parera makes low-intervention stuff from old vines in Catalonia, and the Litrona format (liter bottles) usually means the wine is meant to be drunk, not analyzed. It's the kind of bottle that surprises people who came in thinking they don't like Spanish whites.
Vincent Couche Voulez Vous Couche Avec Moi? Pinot Noir + Chardonnay
The name is doing a lot of work here. At $72 it's the most expensive bottle on the list, and while Vincent Couche makes solid Champagne-adjacent fizz, that price tag leaves you wondering if you're paying for the label copy. Other bottles on this list give you more discovery per dollar.
Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Rosé Cabernet Franc + Market charcuterie board
Guiberteau's Saumur rosé has the structure and Loire earthiness to cut through cured meat fat without bulldozing anything delicate. It's a Loire Valley rosé built on Cab Franc, which means it's got enough backbone to actually be interesting next to a charcuterie spread, not just a pretty pink thing to sip.
The Bottom Line
Little Pep is doing something genuinely uncommon for Winston-Salem: a short, confident, all-by-the-glass natural wine list with real producer cred and fair prices. Send a curious friend here; skip sending someone who wants a Napa Cab.
· Winston Salem · Wine Bar / Small Plates
Manolo's is a genuine surprise for Winston-Salem — a focused, serious wine program that gives you by-the-glass access to bottles most restaurants lock behind full-bottle commitments. The markup is not subtle, but you're paying for curation and access, and if you pick smart, the experience delivers.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Winston Salem · Winery Restaurant / Small Plates
Medaloni Cellars is doing something genuinely interesting in Winston-Salem: building a single-producer list that doesn't bore you into ordering a cocktail. If you have any curiosity about what North Carolina wine can actually do, this is the place to test it.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
· Winston Salem · Wine Bar / Taproom
Four house wines does not a wine bar make. Unless you're here for the hops side of things, the wine program at Carolina's Vineyards & Hops isn't worth centering your evening around — order a beer and call it a night.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Winston Salem · Winery Restaurant / American
End Posts is a single-producer list by design, and if you're good with that — and in the mood to dig into what one North Carolina winery can actually do — it delivers a genuinely fun afternoon. Don't come expecting a broad cellar; do come expecting to leave with a new favorite local label.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
· Winston Salem · Neapolitan Pizza
Cugino Forno isn't trying to be a wine destination, and the five-bottle list makes that abundantly clear. The prices are fair enough that you won't feel ripped off, but if wine matters to you on a night out, this is a BYOB situation — check their corkage policy.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Winston Salem · Lodge-style American / Seafood & Grill
River Birch Lodge's wine list isn't a wine list — it's a mimosa station with a port chaser. Order a cocktail with dinner and save the Tawny for the end.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Newberg · Newberg · Wine Bar / Market
Social Goods is not a wine destination, but it's a wildly pleasant surprise — a pizza and beer joint in the middle of Oregon wine country that's actually paying attention to the glass pours. At these prices, with these producers, it earns a visit even if you came just for the trivia night.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Mesilla · Las Cruces · Wine Bar / Market
If you're in Mesilla and you want to actually drink New Mexico wine instead of just hearing about it, this is your stop. It's casual, it's affordable, and it's doing something genuinely regional in a state that doesn't get nearly enough wine attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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