Solid Pours Where the Oysters Are Cold
Southside · Chattanooga · New American, Seafood & Raw Bar · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 14, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at STIR comes in with the same energy as the room — lively, approachable, and not trying too hard to impress you. It's not small, running 80-plus bottles, and the price ceiling stays honest enough that you won't feel mugged on a Tuesday night out. For a cocktail-forward spot inside the Chattanooga Choo Choo complex, the wine program holds its own.
The list leans coastal — Loire Valley whites anchor the top end, with Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé doing the heavy lifting for anyone who wants to drink well alongside oysters. Pacific Northwest shows up with Willamette Valley Pinot Gris, which is a smart call for a raw bar menu. California rounds things out predictably, with Meiomi Pinot Noir signaling that the list is keeping one foot firmly planted in crowd-pleaser territory. There's no real deep cellar or old-world adventure here, but the bones are right for the format — seafood-driven fare needs crisp, acid-forward whites, and that's where the list puts its energy.
Twelve to sixteen options by the glass is genuinely generous for a Chattanooga restaurant that isn't strictly a wine bar, and the $10–$16 price range keeps things accessible. The glass program skews white and approachable, which tracks with the raw bar focus — you're not hunting for aged Barolo here, and that's fine. We'd like to see more rotation and a few more adventurous pours in the mix, but what's here gets the job done.
Willamette Valley Pinot Gris — $35–$45
Oregon Pinot Gris at this price point in a bottle format is the move for a table splitting oysters and shrimp and grits. It's textural enough to handle the richness but crisp enough not to fight the brine.
Pouilly-Fumé
Most tables here reach for Sancerre on autopilot, but the Pouilly-Fumé is the smarter order — same Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc DNA, often less markup, and a little more flint and smoke that works brilliantly against a cold half-shell.
Meiomi Pinot Noir
Meiomi is fine wine if you're watching Netflix, but at restaurant markup it's grocery store juice priced like a dining experience. There are better ways to spend your bottle budget at this table.
Sancerre + Oysters on the Half Shell
Classic for a reason. The Sancerre's razor-sharp acidity and citrus-mineral edge cuts right through the salinity of a cold half-shell — this is what Loire Sauvignon Blanc was built for, and STIR's raw bar gives it a proper stage.
✔️ The Bottom Line
STIR isn't a wine destination, but it's a reliable, fairly priced list that's been matched intelligently to the food — and in a city where that's not always a given, that counts for something. Send a friend here knowing they'll drink well if they stick to the whites.
Northshore · Chattanooga · American / Southern
The Rosecomb isn't a wine destination, but it's a genuinely good wine surprise — especially on a Tuesday when the whole bottle list goes half-price. Come for the burger, stay for the País.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Ringgold (Greater Chattanooga Area) · Chattanooga · Southern Coastal (Seafood, Steaks, Southern Sides)
1885 Grill Ringgold won't change how you think about wine, but it won't embarrass you in front of your dinner date either. It's the reliable neighborhood option in a part of Greater Chattanooga where that actually counts for something.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Ooltewah · Chattanooga · Southern Coastal (Seafood, Steaks, Southern Sides)
1885 Grill is a solid neighborhood spot where the wine list does its job without doing much more. The selection is approachable, the BTG count is surprisingly high, but watch the markups on the low end — some of those glass pours are doing a lot of work for the house.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
St. Elmo · Chattanooga · Southern and Coastal
1885 Grill St. Elmo isn't a wine destination, but it doesn't need to be — it's a reliable neighborhood spot with fair prices, a comfortable patio, and a list that won't embarrass anyone. Send a friend here for dinner and tell them to order the Trapiche; don't send them here to geek out on wine.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Northshore · Chattanooga · Portuguese and Mediterranean
Bela Lisboa is the most interesting wine list you'll find attached to a cozy neighborhood bistro in Chattanooga — the Portuguese focus is real and it works with the food. The markups are too aggressive on several bottles, but the soul of the program is there, and that's not nothing.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lookout Valley · Chattanooga · Winery
DeBarge is the Wild Card Chattanooga deserves — a real working winery in the city's backyard, making honest wine at honest prices, staffed by people who actually care what's in the glass. If you want a Napa blockbuster, go somewhere else; if you want to drink something made twenty minutes from where you're sitting, this is your stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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