Blessed be, National Wine Day has fallen on a Wednesday.
The one day of the week in which vino-forward locales around the country unite in alliteration to encourage all to “wine down.”
A shocker to no one, the Tampa Bay area loves it some wine. Leading to a copious number of wine bars boasting vast and unique collections of the Jesus Juice.
And yet, impressively, not all of them are alike. Each holds a unique focus, a notable aesthetic, a worthy calling of your time and attention. Unfortunately, we can’t fit every single wine bar in town into a blog. So in the interest of expediency, we divvied out our absolute favorites into several descriptive tiers to explain why you, our intricate readers, might be drawn to each of them. Cheers.
Culinary Cornerstones
Rare, supreme wine, sure. But these places also place an emphasis on a top-level menu of fresh, inimitable cuisine.
Cru Cellars | Palma Ceia, Westshore Marina District
Hammer the Gulf Shrimp, hammer the Cru Burger—hell, hammer everything.
Lolita’s Wine Market | St. Pete
A can’t-miss menu of small plates to go along with an undefeated selection of cheese & charcuterie boards.
Cheese Please | South Tampa
An extreme on emphasis on, and we cannot stress this enough, cheese.
The Avant-Gardes
Original concepts that go for it and make it work.
Bayou Bodega | Davis Island
The island’s new natural wine bistro showcases delicious Spanish & French Caribbean cuisine in lieu of the traditional dairy attack. And oh is it a wonderful thing.
Dracula’s Legacy Wine Bar & Bistro | St. Pete
I mean, it’s called Dracula’s Legacy. (It also touts a nice patio situation in which cigars are welcome.)
West Palm Wines & Beaune’s Wine Bar | Ybor City
No website, no frills, and an enormous collection of rare, imported labels. They store wine here for the people who know a thing or two about wine.
This Must Be the Place
The easygoing hangs that are as much fun as they are full-flavored.
Wine & Wood | Hyde Park
Where Wednesday’s $5 Wine Flights flow like wine.
Ybor City Wine Bar | Ybor City
A fine wine experience dropped into Centro Ybor’s melting pot of weird. So yeah, it’s good people-watching.
Pretty, Pretty Cool
You don’t have to give these places a try, but it’d be a lot cooler if you did.
Supernatural Food & Wine | Downtown Tampa
Celebrity Chef Alton Brown recently called Supernatural’s breakfast sandwich the “best breakfast sandwich he’s ever had.” They’ll also kindly steer you in the direction of an eye-opening natural wine.
Book + Bottle | St. Pete
Half independent bookstore, half wine bistro with a incomparable laid-back ambience. Pull up, get a glass, find a book, plop down.
King State | Tampa
This place has it all: Breakfast biscuits, pizza, renowned coffee, natural wines, original craft beer, and a television playing psychedelic tunnel screensavers.
Bar Chinchilla | Downtown St. Pete
Let’s face it, you were going to go for the name alone.