Standard Beer & Food
A beer bar that moonlights as a wine gem
Unknown · Raleigh · Gastropub · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed March 17, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
You walk into a place called Standard Beer & Food and you're not expecting much from the wine list — maybe a Kendall-Jackson and a house Cabernet if you're lucky. Instead, you find Schiava, Txakolina, and a Vinho Rosa from Galicia staring back at you. Someone here actually cares.
Selection Deep Dive
The list is short — don't expect a tome — but every bottle feels like it was chosen with intention. Italy and Spain do most of the heavy lifting, with supporting roles from Slovenia and even a rogue Grüner Veltliner from Austria. You'll find Alois Lageder's food-friendly Schiava sitting next to Ercole Barbera and a Castello di Neive Arneis, which is a quietly serious trio for a spot that also sells beer flights. The gaps are real — no depth on aged bottles, no prestige pours — but that's not what this list is trying to do, and it's better for admitting it.
By the Glass
At $12–$14 a glass, the by-the-glass program punches above its price point. There are at least five options rotating through, and the rosé section alone — Iyazio Txakolina Rosé, Jules & François 'From The Tank', Anne Pichon Sauvage 'Gris Montagne', Boho De Luar Vinho Rosa — shows more range than most full wine bars in this city. Whether the pours rotate regularly or just change when bottles run out is unclear, but the current lineup earns respect.
Ercole Barbera — $36
A 100% markup sounds like a lot until you realize this is a genuinely good Barbera d'Asti at bottle prices that would embarrass most Italian restaurants. Bright acid, medium body, goes with everything on the menu. This is the move.
Iyazio Txakolina Rosé
Most people gloss right past Txakolina because they can't pronounce it. That's their loss. This Basque rosé is bone dry, slightly effervescent, and weirdly compelling in a way that a Provence rosé just isn't. At $36 a bottle it's a steal.
Bodega Santa Julia 'La Vaquita' Malbec Blend
A 160% markup on a $15 retail wine is the one place this list loses the plot. The Malbec is fine — it's just a grocery-store-tier bottle priced like it has something to prove. There are better bottles on this same list for the same money.
Alois Lageder Schiava + Charcuterie or cured meat board
Schiava is light, slightly herbal, low tannin, and has just enough cherry fruit to make it endlessly snackable alongside cured meats and hard cheeses. It's the kind of wine that disappears fast and never gets in the way.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Standard Beer & Food is a beer bar with a wine list that has no business being this interesting — and that's exactly why we'd send you there. It's not a wine destination, but it's proof that a small, thoughtful list at fair prices beats a sprawling lazy one every single time.
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