Melbourne Wine Bars

Melbourne Bars – Best Melbourne Wine Bars

Melbourne has a fabulous wine and dining culture. The following Melbourne bars have a strong wine focus and have developed wine lists the envy of the world. With a call for more responsible serving of alcohol, what better way to offer it with a great selection of food. A few small plates of food, matched with a glass of wine is a brilliant way to waste away a weekend… sorry, not waste, enjoy a weekend. Here is a top 10 list of the Best Melbourne Wine Bars… Happy Drinking!!!

 1. City Wine Shop – 159 Spring Street, Melbourne

The City Wine Shop is both a retail wine shop and wine bar. Its primary focus is to present a well balanced range of quality wines by new and established producers from Victoria, Australia and Europe. In particular, they are major sellers of champagne and pride themselves on being able to provide informed advice on the inherent styles. At the bar, they offer a range of wines by the glass, a 'round the clock' food menu and daily specials. The ‘Tea Room’ upstairs may be booked for functions of up to 35 people, or tailored wine tutorials for private and corporate customers.

 2. Gertrude Street Enoteca – 229 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

Elegant without being snooty and casual without forsaking its sense of style, the Enoteca is chameleon-like in its ability to shine at any time. During the day the sun streams through the floor-to-ceiling front windows and door hitting the bottles and jars inside like so much stained glass. At night, white tea-lanterns dot the smattering of tables while low-lighting warms the surrounds. Pale wood-box shelves proudly show jams, liqueurs, cook-books and foody ephemera as if you're just hanging out in someone's well-stocked larder.

 3. Von Haus – 1 Crossley Street, Melbourne

Like a finely stocked living room in the apartment of a close friend, Von Haus is a gem of Melbourne’s laneway list. The main room is small (literally the size of an apartment living room), and tends to get quite noisy when only 20 people fill the space and compete to be heard. Offering breakfast, lunch, nibbles (cheese is the way to go here), and a limited dinner menu – a chalkboard of two or three specials – of European inspiration, it’s perfect for a quiet coffee or a relaxed drink.

 4. Gingerboy Upstairs – 27 Crossley Street, Melbourne

Gingerboy upstairs in a new way of experiencing eating, drinking and entertainment, whereby the upstairs of Gingerboy has been transformed to provide a small yet sophisticated dining and cocktail bar. It’s avery special and unique place where one can sit, lounge, eat and sip cocktails with friends whilst watching passers by on the street below or voyeur the city views and its surrounds.

 5. Movida Next Door – 1 Hosier Lane, Melbourne

It’s Friday night. It’s raining and a man in a hat is waiting for his train with a Moritz beer and plate full of deep-fried sand whiting. Two young women walk in. They know what they want. Oysters and cava. There’s a band playing at the old Forum Theatre next door so there’s more ink on the crowd tonight. The man in the hat doesn’t mind. He orders another beer and misses his train. Chef lines him up a few prawns, whacks them on la plancha and minutes later they’re plated up. This is the type of little bar we love when we go back to Spain. Fun, relaxed, a mixed crowd, good beer and wine and great food served fast.

 6. Bar Lourinha – 37 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

High ceilings, white walls and crisp decor paint a Mediterranean backdrop that's immediately welcoming and relaxing. Grab the prized couches in the big windows at the front and order a glass of exotic European-style aperitif and some small plates to share. Bar Lourinha is a popular after work spot, but is great for a relaxed tipple as well. The crowd is as varied as the drinks list and has a friendly and mellow vibe.

 7. St Judes Cellars – 389 Brunswick Street, Melbourne

St.Jude’s Cellars combines a produce driven restaurant and wine bar with specialist wine retail in a lofty Victorian room. The wine shop retails carefully selected and some difficult to find wine from Australia and around the world. Knowledgeable staff are on hand and can fill you in on regular tastings and wine events. The restaurant space has a long white tiled bar and a mixture of seating options, perfect for both intimate dining or larger groups. The food, like the wine selection is focused on quality ingredients and artful production. We support sustainable farming and fishing and strive to use organic, biodynamic and free range produce where possible.

 8. Deco Wine Bar – 209 St Georges Road, Fitzroy

As a pioneer of Melbourne's neighbourhood bar sceneDeco’s had 10 years to perfect the blend of hospitality, informed staff and the serving of great booze in a convivial, unpretentious atmosphere. At Deco the lights are always low and the music just loud enough to promote conversation, while the speakeasy-inspired decor adds class to the proceedings. A 150 strong bottle wine list is complemented by 40 beers, top-flight spirits and a little green book of cocktail classics.

 9. Acqua e Vino – 18 Anderson Street, Yarraville

Acqua e Vino is a rare find in the heart of Yarraville in Melbourne’s West. At the top of the stairs walk into an elegant ballroom size venue that Audrey Hepburn would not have felt out of place. With an open fireplace for the cold winter nights, one can sit and lounge and feel right at home either by oneself or with a group of friends. A tapas menu that is generous in proportions but not over priced, wines by the glass and a huge selection of wines by the bottle, Acqua e Vino ticks all boxes.

 10. Mr Wilkinson - 295 Lygon Street, East Brunswick

Mr Wilkinson takes its name from the ‘Father of Brunswick’, Mr Thomas Wilkinson, who founded Brunswick more than 150 years ago. Decorated as a modern-day version of the farmhouse that started it all, the interior combines a recycled-timber feature wall with industrial black-framed windows. Naked light fittings suspended from the ceiling frame the bar, which is kept well-stocked with an array of beer, wine and spirits.