Best Wine Lists in North Carolina

The Palm Charlotte

· Charlotte · Steakhouse

The Wild Card

The Palm Charlotte's wine list is a six-bottle natural wine curio hiding inside a chain steakhouse, and it's more interesting than it has any right to be. The Crochet Sancerre at $23 alone is worth the detour. Don't expect breadth, staff guidance, or a by-the-glass program worth writing home about — but if you know what you're looking at, this short list punches well above its weight.

Perry's Steakhouse & Grille

· Raleigh · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Perry's Raleigh is a competent steakhouse wine list — nothing more, nothing less. The near-universal by-the-glass access is a genuine win, and the Perrin Côtes du Rhône and Kesseler Riesling give you something worth drinking if you look past the front-of-list crowd pleasers. Just don't come here expecting discovery; come here expecting reliability.

Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery

· Chapel Hill · New American / Brewpub

The Lazy List

Top of the Hill earns its reputation on the beer side — the wine list is there because it has to be, not because anyone's losing sleep over it. If wine is your thing, you'll find just enough here to get through dinner, but don't come expecting discovery. Grab a pint instead.

Lewis & Elm

South Elm · Greensboro · Wine bar & cheese

The Wild Card

Lewis & Elm earns the Wild Card badge because it's the kind of unexpected neighborhood wine bar that punches well above its zip code — a sommelier-curated list leaning into Tuscany, Greece, and Sicily inside a cozy South Elm storefront is not what most people expect to find in Greensboro. We'd happily send a friend here for a flight and a cheese board, and tell them to actually listen to whatever the staff recommends. Just know that our sourced pricing detail is thin right now, so go in with curiosity and ask questions — that's the right posture for a place like this anyway.

1808 Craft & Vine

· Greensboro · New American and Wine Bar

The Wild Card

1808 Craft & Vine is doing something quietly smart: a fully by-the-glass list at prices that don't punish curiosity, with enough international range to keep things interesting. We don't know the food, we don't know the staff, and the list isn't going to wow a Burgundy collector — but if you're in Greensboro and want to drink something you'd never order at a chain steakhouse, this is the move.

Marjae's Wine Bar

· Greensboro · Wine and Cocktail Bar

The Wild Card

Marjae's is doing something genuinely uncommon for a mid-size Southern city: running a wine-forward space with actual expertise behind it, at prices that won't make you wince. We'd send a friend here for a low-key date night or a Thursday tasting without hesitation — just go in ready to ask questions, because the staff seems like they actually want to answer them.

Bitters Social House

· Greensboro · Cocktail and Wine Bar

The Reliable

Bitters Social House isn't trying to be a wine destination, and it doesn't pretend to be — but the pricing is genuinely fair, a couple of producer picks show real effort, and the by-the-glass setup means you can drink well without committing to a bottle. If you're in Greensboro and need a glass before or after dinner, this is a perfectly honest place to have one.

Giovanni's Italian Steakhouse

· Greensboro · Italian Steakhouse

The Reliable

Giovanni's is a reliable neighborhood anchor — the room is good, the food has a loyal following, and the Italian reds give you enough to work with if you dig past the Sand Point labels. We'd send a friend here for dinner without hesitation; we'd just steer them straight toward the Barolo or Brunello and skip the California filler.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

· Greensboro · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Fleming's Greensboro is doing more than most chain steakhouses bother to do with wine — 42 by-the-glass options and actual Alsatian whites on a Greensboro wine list deserves acknowledgment. The markups are real and the list isn't going to surprise anyone who's been to a Fleming's before, but if you're eating a bone-in ribeye and want a proper glass without guesswork, this delivers.

State Street Wine Company

· Greensboro · Wine shop & bar

The Lazy List

We want to root for a place called State Street Wine Company, but three unlabeled wines at the entry level is not a wine program — it's a starting point that hasn't started yet. If the selection expands and the curation gets intentional, check back. For now, there are better wine bars in Greensboro worth your evening.

Camino Bakery (Fourth Street)

· Winston Salem · Bakery / Cafe

The Wild Card

Camino Bakery shouldn't have a wine list this considered, and yet here we are. Bottles top out at $29, most land between $14 and $19, and the selection skews curious rather than safe — Txakoli and orange wine at a Winston-Salem bakery is genuinely unexpected. If you're nearby and want a low-pressure bottle without the restaurant markup, this is a legitimately good stop.

Thai Harmony

· Winston Salem · Thai

The Lazy List

Thai Harmony is genuinely worth visiting for the food — the khao soi and kai yang have real fans for a reason, and the downtown space is one of the better dining rooms in Winston-Salem. But come for the kitchen, not the cellar. Until the wine program shows us something specific worth recommending, you're better off ordering a Thai iced tea and saving the wine for another night.