Clarendon's Dependable Pour, No Drama Included
Clarendon · Arlington · American Gastropub · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed June 27, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed The Liberty Tavern – The Liberty's Bar’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at The Liberty's Bar lands exactly where you'd want it for a busy Clarendon tavern — broad enough to satisfy a table with opinions, focused enough that you're not scrolling for ten minutes. It's not trying to be a wine bar, and that honesty actually works in its favor. The price points are accessible and the range covers enough ground to make a real choice rather than defaulting to the house pour.
The list leans pan-European with a healthy domestic backbone — you've got a Mirafiore Barolo from Serralunga d'Alba alongside a Pico Maccario Nizza Barbera, a Red Tail Ridge Riesling from the Finger Lakes, and a Red Newt Cabernet Franc from the same region. The restaurant even has a house Pinot Noir under its own label. What genuinely surprises is the fortified and dessert wine section: Blandy's Bual Madeira, a Gonzalez Byass Oloroso, two expressions of Pedro Ximenez and Cream Sherry, plus Portal Tawny at 10 and 20 years — that's not something you typically find at a gastropub in Clarendon. The Château de Crézancy Sancerre and Peitan Albariño round out the whites with solid, crowd-pleasing credibility. Gaps exist — no serious Burgundy, no German Riesling depth — but for what this place is, the range punches above its weight.
Glass pours run $12–$20, with options like the Beatrice Pinot Grigio at $12, the Château de Crézancy Sancerre at $20, the Mirafiore Barolo at $20, and Roederer Estate Brut at $20. That's a genuinely strong pour-by-the-glass lineup — getting a Barolo or an Anderson Valley Brut by the glass at $20 in a neighborhood tavern is not nothing. The list doesn't appear to rotate frequently, but the anchors are well-chosen.
Mirafiore Barolo Serralunga d'Alba 2021 — $20/glass
A Barolo from Serralunga d'Alba — one of the most respected crus in Piedmont — at $20 a glass is the kind of deal that makes you order a second pour before finishing your first. This is the pick, full stop.
Gonzalez Byass Alfonso Oloroso Sherry
Nobody at a Clarendon tavern is ordering Oloroso Sherry. That's their loss. Dry, nutty, and complex in a way that makes most red wines look one-dimensional, this is the adventurous move that will make you look very smart to anyone at your table.
Di Lenardo 'Pass the Cookies' Verduzzo 2019
At $48 for a 375mL of sweet Friulian white, you're paying full-bottle prices for a half-bottle of a niche dessert wine. The Portal 20 Year Tawny or the Vin Santo are better dessert finishers for your money here.
Pico Maccario Nizza Barbera 2021 + Tuscan Grilled Steak
Barbera's high acidity and dark cherry fruit cut through the fat of a grilled steak without overpowering the char. The Nizza designation means this is a more serious, structured Barbera — it can handle a proper piece of beef, and it makes the whole thing taste like you're eating in Piedmont instead of Arlington.
The Bottom Line
The Liberty's Bar isn't going to win any awards for adventurousness, but a Barolo and an Oloroso Sherry on a gastropub list in Clarendon at fair prices? We'd send a friend here without hesitation. Order the Barolo by the glass and let everyone else drink the house red.
National Landing · Arlington · Asian street food
Hawkers gets credit for leaning aromatic and lighter on the whites, which at least shows someone thought about what people are actually eating. But with no pricing data, an unclear by-the-glass situation, and a red wine section that reads like a filler order, this list doesn't inspire confidence. Order the Crémant or the Alvarinho and move on — the food is doing the heavy lifting here anyway.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Crystal City · Arlington · Wine Shop / Tasting Bar
Crystal City Wine Shop is the kind of low-key, staff-driven wine spot that most neighborhoods desperately want and rarely get — especially one with the nerve to stock Ukrainian bottles in the shadow of the Pentagon. We'd send a curious friend here without hesitation; just don't come in expecting a full restaurant experience.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Clarendon · Arlington · New American
CIRCA Clarendon isn't trying to be a wine destination and doesn't pretend otherwise — but the all-BTG format, fair prices, and a few genuinely interesting whites make it a solid call when you want wine that works without overthinking it. Send a friend here, just steer them away from the Unshackled.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Arlington · Wine Bar / Bottle Shop
Flight Wine Shop is doing something genuinely rare in the DC suburbs: a tightly curated, fairly priced bottle shop that treats obscure regions and natural producers as the main event, not a novelty section. If you're tired of the same ten wines and want a shop that will actually teach you something, this is your spot.
Deep & Eclectic
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
· Arlington · Wine Bar / Café
Oby Lee is not a destination for serious wine drinkers, but it is a genuinely fun, low-pressure spot where the prices are fair and the vibe is unapologetically playful. Send your friends who think they don't like wine — they'll order a mango slushy and have a great time.
Plays It Safe
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Ballston · Arlington · Neapolitan Pizza
Pupatella isn't trying to be a destination wine program, and it doesn't need to be — it's a pizza place with a focused, fairly priced, Italian-centric list that actually makes sense with the food. Send a friend here for the pizza and tell them to order the Lambrusco.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Round Rock · American Gastropub
Cover 3 Round Rock is a solid gastropub doing a lot of things right — just not wine. The list is undocumented, almost certainly underdeveloped, and not the reason anyone is walking through the door. Order a local craft beer or a cocktail, enjoy the Chicken Fried Chicken, and save your wine curiosity for a restaurant that earned it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Old Town · Scottsdale · American Gastropub
A long wine list that mixes Arizona and California bottles with Italian, French and Spanish wines, posted as pairs like 14 / 44 and single prices like 86. Start with the 13 / 48 Les Hauts Plateaux Rosé, or the 101 Scythians Red if you want the one Cucamonga Valley wine, and ask what each number in a pair covers. The restaurant's menus page and its linked PDF differ on some wines, so confirm before you go. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
The Loop · Chicago · American Gastropub
A glass list that tags every pour by style, with 18 wines from $15 to $25 and a 128-line bottle list from $50 to $550. Start with The Gage Brut at $15 or the Troupis 'Ekato' orange Moschofilero at $16, and confirm prices because the menu is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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