A beer bar that moonlights as a wine gem
Unknown · Raleigh · Gastropub · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · March 17, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Standard Beer & Food’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
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.
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.
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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Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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The Players Retreat is the Wild Card because nobody walks in expecting a legitimate wine program at a beloved Raleigh neighborhood bar — and yet, here we are. Matt Fern keeps things credible, the California and French anchors are well-chosen, and as long as you steer past the grocery-store staples, you're drinking better than the room suggests.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Raleigh · Raleigh · Italian
Cucciolo Terrazza is a genuine surprise in Raleigh's dining scene — a neighborhood Italian with a wine list that earns its Wine Spectator badge and actually makes you want to explore beyond the first familiar name you recognize. Send your friends here and tell them to skip the Napa Cab.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Azitra is doing something genuinely unusual — running a Wine Spectator-caliber list at an upscale Indian restaurant in Raleigh — and largely pulling it off. The Wednesday half-price program alone makes it worth putting in your rotation; the Bollinger and the Drouhin make it worth telling your friends about.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Proper
Unknown · Raleigh · Pizza
Ruckus Pizza is a solid spot for a casual pizza night — just don't come for the wine. Order a beer or a cocktail, or grab a bottle from the shop next door if they'll let you bring it in.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Cloer is a Wild Card in the best sense: it's a real working vineyard producing honest North Carolina wine at fair prices, and the vibe alone is worth the trip out of Raleigh. Bring food, bring friends, and give the Muscadine a real shot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Wichita · Gastropub
Sheet's Creek is a reliable pour in a landlocked city — nothing here will surprise a seasoned wine drinker, but it won't embarrass you either. Send your friends if they like California reds and don't want to think too hard about it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Union Street · Traverse City · Gastropub
7 Monks is a beer bar first and a wine program somewhere around fourth, but the short list is priced fairly, includes a local Michigan pour worth ordering, and doesn't try to be something it's not. Send a wine-drinking friend here if they're cool with keeping it simple.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown / Oak Street · Ashland · Gastropub
The Noble Fox is a brewpub, and you should drink like it — order a house beer and enjoy the atmosphere. If you're committed to wine, stick to the Collet or the Provence rosé and set your expectations accordingly.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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