Melbourne has one of the great wine bar cultures of the world. Not just in Australia — the world. The city's lanes, inner-north strips and neighbourhood corners have quietly nurtured a scene that rewards curiosity, celebrates the obscure, and takes the glass in your hand seriously. Whether you're after a premium bottle from a cellar with serious depth, an affordable by-the-glass pour from a winemaker you've never heard of, or just a warm corner stool and a plate of something excellent, Melbourne delivers.
We've been visiting these bars for years — some since their opening nights. This is our considered guide to the best wine bars in Melbourne right now.
Updated June 2026.
Best Wine Bars Melbourne: At a Glance
| Wine Bar | Neighbourhood | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Marion | Fitzroy | Premium experience, McConnell pedigree |
| Circl Wine House | CBD | Largest by-the-glass list in Melbourne |
| Old Palm Liquor & Bahama Gold | East Brunswick | Cool neighbourhood duo, summer vibes |
| Embla | CBD | World-ranging list, beloved institution |
| Farmers Daughters Wine Bar | CBD | Gippsland wines, regional pride |
| City Wine Shop | CBD | Quintessential Melbourne wine bar |
| Gemini | Coburg | Community wine bar with serious credentials |
| Patsy's | CBD | Vegetarian, Mediterranean wine focus |
| Sunhands | Carlton | Natural wine, local producers |
| Bar Olo | CBD | Italian wines, pasta, epic happy hour |
| The Rocket Society | East Brunswick | Lebanese wines, Middle Eastern small plates |
| Waxflower | East Brunswick | Low intervention wines, music culture |
| Bar Liberty | Fitzroy North | Fine wines, serious food |
| Gerald's Bar | Carlton North | Icon, relocated and stronger than ever |
| Wine Corner Store | Carlton North | Hidden gem, warm hospitality |
| Vinesmith | CBD | CBD wine bar |
| Punch Lane | CBD | Longstanding Melbourne icon |
| Henry Sugar | Carlton North | Natural wine, native ingredients |
| Mr L's Bar & Restaurant | South Yarra | Romantic wine and dining, South Yarra gem |
| Arlechin | CBD | Late-night laneway bar, Grossi family |
Jump To
- → Marion
- → Circl Wine House
- → Old Palm Liquor & Bahama Gold
- → Embla
- → Farmers Daughters Wine Bar
- → City Wine Shop
- → Gemini
- → Patsy's
- → Sunhands
- → Bar Olo
- → The Rocket Society
- → Waxflower
- → Bar Liberty
- → Gerald's Bar
- → Wine Corner Store
- → Vinesmith
- → Punch Lane
- → Henry Sugar
- → Mr L's Bar & Restaurant
- → Arlechin
- → FAQ
Marion — Fitzroy
Best For: Premium wine experience | Andrew McConnell venue | Pre-dinner ritual
Some wine bars earn their reputation over decades. Marion earns it on every visit. The Andrew McConnell wine bar on Gertrude Street sits within the broader McConnell universe — Cutler & Co is literally next door, and Marion has long served as the perfect prelude, the place to arrive early, settle in with a glass, and let the evening find its pace before heading through for dinner.
We've done exactly that — arrived for a tipple or two at Marion before crossing into Cutler, and it's one of Melbourne's great little rituals. The charm is in the details: the room has warmth and considered design, the staff carry real knowledge, and the wine list reflects the seriousness you'd expect from one of Australia's most respected hospitality groups. This is a premium wine bar experience, and it feels like one from the moment you walk in.
Verdict: One of Melbourne's finest. An essential experience for anyone who takes wine seriously. ★★★★★
Circl Wine House — CBD
Best For: Extraordinary by-the-glass selection | Serious food | Wine discovery
The numbers alone are staggering. Over 5,000 wines on the list. More than 150 available by the glass. No other wine bar in Melbourne comes close to the sheer breadth of what Circl is doing, and it would be easy to assume that scale means diluted quality — but you'd be wrong.
The food from Chef Elias is genuinely top-notch — this is serious kitchen work that holds its own alongside the wine programme. And what a programme. We've drunk beautifully here: a Burgundian-style 2024 Garagiste Tuerong Aligoté with extraordinary texture, the kind of wine that makes you sit up and pay attention. A crisp NV Woodlawn Cuvée. A glass of the Fighting Gully Road Tempranillo that was just right. Circl rewards the curious drinker and the committed one equally. The team know their cellar and they want you to love what's in it.
Verdict: Melbourne's most ambitious wine bar by volume and quality. A destination in its own right. ★★★★★
Old Palm Liquor & Bahama Gold — East Brunswick
Best For: East Brunswick cool | Affordable by-the-glass | Summer evening drinking
East Brunswick has quietly become one of the great wine bar neighbourhoods in Australia, and Old Palm Liquor and Bahama Gold sit right at the centre of it. We've visited both multiple times and the draw never fades — these are uberCool venues with genuine character, the kind of places you'd happily spend a warm summer evening without a plan or a reservation.
Old Palm has the feel of a place that genuinely loves what it stocks — there's curation and personality in the offering. Bahama Gold consistently brings something we love in a wine bar: an affordable, genuinely great by-the-glass option. Not a filler pour, but something interesting and well-chosen that doesn't require a special occasion spend. On a warm night, this is exactly where you want to be.
Verdict: East Brunswick royalty. Sensational on a summer evening. ★★★★½
Embla — CBD
Best For: World-ranging wine list | CBD perennial | Wine-forward dining
We visited Embla in the early days and it was clear from the start that this was something special. It has since become a Melbourne institution — the kind of wine bar that defines what the city's scene aspires to be. The list ranges widely and intelligently across the world, with natural and conventional wines sitting alongside each other without dogma. The food is excellent. The room has energy and warmth.
Embla is a perennial favourite for good reason. It set a template that many have tried to follow, and it remains one of the best expressions of what a great wine bar can be.
Verdict: A benchmark Melbourne wine bar. Remains unmissable. ★★★★★
Farmers Daughters Wine Bar — CBD
Best For: Gippsland wines | Regional Victoria champion | Smart food
We were there for the launch and it was immediately clear that Farmers Daughters had found a distinct and important identity. The premise is simple and compelling: celebrate Gippsland wines and producers, and do so with the conviction they deserve.
Gippsland has been quietly producing some of Victoria's most exciting wine for years, and Farmers Daughters gives that region a CBD home. The food options are smart and well-matched — this is cooking that understands wine rather than simply accompanying it. A genuinely purposeful wine bar with a point of view.
Verdict: Essential for anyone interested in regional Victoria's wine story. ★★★★½
City Wine Shop — CBD
Best For: Quintessential Melbourne | Long-term favourite | Location and atmosphere
Some venues earn the word quintessential. City Wine Shop has earned it many times over. We have been visiting this place for years and the consistent pull is not just the wine — it's everything: the venue itself, the location, the particular feeling of being exactly where Melbourne does wine best.
It is a cosy city wine bar in the proper sense — not a marketing description, but an actual feeling you get when you settle in. The wine selection rewards loyalty and rewards the newcomer equally. If someone asked us to show them what a Melbourne wine bar really is, City Wine Shop would be on the shortlist of first stops.
Verdict: Quintessential Melbourne. A return-visit favourite for years and counting. ★★★★★
Gemini — Coburg
Best For: Community wine bar | Neighbourhood feel | Chef's table experience
Gemini is one of those wine bars that proves the inner north extends north further than many realise. Coburg has produced a genuinely cool wine bar in Gemini, and its community connection is real — this is a local with serious credentials rather than a neighbourhood bar that happens to have wine.
The front room has considerable charm, anchored by a beautiful granite bar that sets the tone immediately. We've also journeyed upstairs for an event, and found the space works beautifully for a different kind of evening. The chef's table with its open kitchen view is a proper draw — the kind of seat that makes a night feel considered rather than accidental.
Verdict: One of Melbourne's best neighbourhood wine bars. Coburg's finest. ★★★★½
Patsy's — CBD
Best For: Vegetarian wine bar | Mediterranean focus | Art Deco beauty
Patsy's occupies a restored 1920s Art Deco building opposite the Queen Victoria Market, and the space alone is worth the visit — polished concrete, exposed beams, antique stained glass, wine bottles lining the walls, and upstairs a quieter, more intimate room with hand-painted walls and marble tables. It's one of the most beautiful wine bar interiors in Melbourne.
The concept is equally distinctive: a wine-led, entirely meat-free menu inspired by the food of Northern Mediterranean wine regions, with the glass list chosen to match. Every wine on the list is produced using sustainable agricultural practices. The produce comes largely from the owners' own garden in Daylesford and from the market next door. It's a genuinely considered venue — a wine bar with a clear point of view about what wine and food should be together.
Verdict: A strikingly original wine bar. The vegetarian focus is a strength, not a limitation. ★★★★½
Sunhands — Carlton
Best For: Natural wine | Local producers | Cosy corner bar
We were at the launch and left impressed. Sunhands has claimed a desirable corner spot in Carlton and turned it into exactly the kind of cosy, wine-focused bar that the neighbourhood needed. The passion here is for local producers and natural wines, and it shows in a list that feels chosen rather than assembled.
There's a particular energy to Sunhands that comes from a venue that has something to say. The corner location works in its favour — it feels embedded in the street, part of the neighbourhood fabric. A great addition to Carlton's eating and drinking landscape.
Verdict: A welcome new voice in Carlton. Natural wine lovers take note. ★★★★
Bar Olo — CBD
Best For: Italian wines | Epic happy hour | Pasta and bar snacks
Step through the curtain and you're in a different world. Bar Olo has one of Melbourne's most committed Italian wine lists, and the happy hour is the stuff of legend — they bring out the cheese, the vibe lifts, and suddenly you've been perched at the bar longer than you intended. Which is exactly the point.
The pasta dishes are excellent — top notch, the kind of plates that justify staying rather than just stopping in. The Italian wine focus is genuine and the list travels well through the country's regions. Bar Olo is a particularly joyful wine bar, and Melbourne is lucky to have it.
Verdict: Exceptional Italian wine and an unmissable happy hour. One of our favourites. ★★★★★
The Rocket Society — East Brunswick
Best For: Lebanese wines | Middle Eastern small plates | East Brunswick Village anchor
The Rocket Society is one of the great originals of the East Brunswick Village strip. We've visited many times and the formula works every single time: a genuinely exciting selection of Lebanese and Middle Eastern wines that you won't find poured with this kind of commitment anywhere else in Melbourne, alongside small plates of Middle Eastern-inspired food that are among the best in the neighbourhood.
Lebanese wine is genuinely interesting — Chateau Musar alone is worth the education, and The Rocket Society goes deeper than that. This is a bar built on genuine curiosity about wine from a part of the world that Melbourne's scene doesn't always explore. A hero of the inner north.
Verdict: Unique in Melbourne. Lebanese wine and brilliant food. Don't miss it. ★★★★★
Waxflower — East Brunswick
Best For: Low intervention wines | Music culture | Inner north wine bar soul
Waxflower is another hero of the East Brunswick wine bar belt — a strip that has quietly become one of the best in Australia. We've visited several times and each visit confirms what we already felt on the first: this is a wine bar with real soul.
The low intervention wine focus is pursued with genuine conviction, not trend-chasing, and the food is smart and well-matched. But what separates Waxflower from many of its peers is the music offering — the room has massive speakers and music is taken seriously here, giving evenings a different energy. It's a wine bar that knows it's not just about what's in the glass. A proper Melbourne experience.
Verdict: Wine, food and music done right. A genuine East Brunswick gem. ★★★★½
Bar Liberty — Fitzroy North
Best For: Fine wine | Serious sharing plates | Fitzroy North institution
Bar Liberty occupies a particular position in Melbourne's wine bar landscape — this is a venue that takes both the wine and the food with equal seriousness, and the combination is genuinely impressive. We've visited for fine wines and the sharing plates that accompany them, and left each time reminded of why this place has the reputation it does.
The list is carefully considered and the kitchen produces plates that reward sharing and conversation. This is a wine bar for evenings that don't need to rush.
Verdict: One of Melbourne's most serious wine and food combinations in a bar format. ★★★★½
Gerald's Bar — Carlton North
Best For: Melbourne institution | Relocated and reinvigorated | Natural wine pioneer
Gerald's Bar has been part of Melbourne's wine culture for long enough to be called an institution without exaggeration. It was one of the bars that helped shape what natural wine culture looks like in this city — a pioneer in the truest sense.
The recent relocation is not a step back but a step forward — Gerald's is stronger than ever in its new home. The reputation has transferred intact and the offering has only grown. If you haven't visited since the move, go. If you've never visited, go.
Verdict: A Melbourne icon that keeps getting better. ★★★★★
THE Wine Corner Store — Carlton North
Best For: Hidden gem | Warm hospitality | Full wine journey dining
Wine Corner Store is the kind of place that rewards the curious wanderer — a hidden gem in Carlton North that doesn't announce itself loudly but delivers consistently for those who find it. We visited for a full meal and wine journey, and the hospitality from Steve and his team was warmly memorable — genuinely personal, the kind of welcome that makes you want to come back.
This is a neighbourhood wine bar doing things quietly and correctly. The selection is interesting, the food is well-considered, and the atmosphere is exactly what you want from a local wine bar that hasn't tried to become something it isn't.
Verdict: Melbourne's best-kept secret wine bar. Seek it out. ★★★★½
Vinesmith — CBD
Best For: CBD wine bar | Craft approach | All-day accessibility
Vinesmith occupies a thoughtful position in the Melbourne CBD wine bar scene — a bar with genuine craft credentials in the heart of the city. Worth knowing for a CBD wine stop when you want something considered rather than a hotel bar pour.
Verdict: A solid CBD option with a genuinely curated list. ★★★★
Punch Lane — CBD
Best For: Melbourne icon | Wine and food heritage | Longstanding quality
We first visited Punch Lane many years ago and it has remained in our consciousness as a genuine Melbourne icon ever since. In a city where venues come and go with considerable speed, longevity of this kind says something — it means the fundamentals have remained strong across changing tastes and times.
Punch Lane is part of Melbourne's wine heritage. If you haven't been in a while, it's worth rediscovering.
Verdict: An enduring Melbourne classic. Some icons are icons for good reason. ★★★★½
Henry Sugar — Carlton North
Best For: Natural wine | Native ingredients | Neighbourhood bistro-bar
Henry Sugar has built a reputation as one of the best wine bars in Melbourne through consistent, considered execution of a clear idea. The 1886 Victorian terrace on Rathdowne Street in Carlton North is a beautiful space — exposed brick, moody lighting, booths made for settling into, and a fireplace that makes winter visits genuinely joyful.
The wine list has a strong focus on Australian natural and minimal-intervention wines, sourced directly from passionate growers, with a curated range spanning pet nats, skin-contact whites, light reds and more considered styles. The food uses native ingredients in honest, seasonally-driven cooking with Australian twists on classics. This is a neighbourhood bar that has outgrown the label — Henry Sugar is a destination.
Verdict: One of Carlton North's finest. Natural wine in a room you don't want to leave. ★★★★½
Mr L's Bar & Restaurant — South Yarra
Best For: Romantic wine bar dining | South Yarra elegance | Wine with proper food
Mr L's Bar & Restaurant on Toorak Road has quietly become one of South Yarra's most elegant and satisfying places to spend an evening. It's a venue that takes both the glass and the plate seriously, and it does so without any of the stiffness that sometimes accompanies that kind of ambition. I've dined here and came away genuinely impressed.
The room is dark and moody with a romantic quality that's hard to manufacture — the front dining room has real old-world charm, the rear atrium creates a sense of occasion, and elegant chandeliers add just enough glamour. The outdoor terrace is another option depending on the night. It's the kind of space that makes an ordinary Tuesday feel like a proper event, and a special occasion feel appropriately memorable.
The wine offering is well-considered and the kitchen — led by chef Deepak Mishra — produces refined modern Australian cooking that earns its place alongside serious bottles. This isn't a restaurant that happens to have wine; it's a venue where wine and food are genuinely equal partners. Owner Mr L brings a strong hospitality background and understands the art of making guests feel welcome without making them feel managed. Classy without pretension.
Verdict: One of South Yarra's finest. A romantic, wine-forward dining experience that delivers on every front. ★★★★½
Arlechin — CBD
Best For: Late-night laneway bar | Grossi family pedigree | Italian and French wines
You could walk past Arlechin and not know it was there. That is, in a sense, the point. The Grossi family's laneway wine bar — tucked into Mornane Place off Bourke Street — is marked only by a small logo at its entrance, and inside you find a 40-seat subterranean space with a vaulted cork ceiling, industrial lighting, and the feel of a European wine cellar that Melbourne has claimed as its own.
Arlechin doubles as a wine storage space for its sibling, Grossi Florentino, giving the list access to bottles from Italy, France and Australia from boutique producers that most bars can only dream of. The food — bolognese jaffles, midnight spaghetti — is late-night and considered. Open Wednesday to Saturday from 5pm to 1am. This is Melbourne's laneway wine bar culture at its most characterful.
Verdict: A hidden treasure with exceptional pedigree. One of Melbourne's great late-night wine experiences. ★★★★½
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Best Wine Bars Melbourne: FAQ
What is the best wine bar in Melbourne?
The best wine bar in Melbourne depends on what you're after. For a premium experience with impeccable credentials, Marion in Fitzroy (Andrew McConnell) is hard to beat. For the most extraordinary by-the-glass selection anywhere in the city, Circl Wine House is unmatched with over 150 pours. Embla and City Wine Shop are perennial Melbourne favourites with dedicated followings. Gerald's Bar is the city's most influential natural wine institution.
Where are the best wine bars in East Brunswick?
East Brunswick has developed one of Melbourne's great wine bar strips. Old Palm Liquor and Bahama Gold are neighbourhood royalty, with Bahama Gold consistently offering excellent affordable by-the-glass options. The Rocket Society is a standout for its unique Lebanese wine focus and brilliant Middle Eastern small plates. Waxflower rounds out the strip with low intervention wines, smart food and a serious music offering.
Which Melbourne wine bar has the best wine selection?
Circl Wine House is in a league of its own for sheer volume and quality — over 5,000 wines on the list and more than 150 by the glass. No other Melbourne wine bar comes close to that breadth. For boutique Italian, French and Australian bottles, Arlechin (the Grossi family laneway bar) has exceptional pedigree thanks to its connection to Grossi Florentino's cellar.
Are there good wine bars in Melbourne's CBD?
Melbourne's CBD has excellent wine bar options. Embla, City Wine Shop, Circl Wine House, Bar Olo, Patsy's, Punch Lane and Arlechin are all CBD destinations worth seeking out, covering everything from Italian wine focus to natural wine, vegetarian dining, and late-night laneway culture.
Which Melbourne wine bars are good for food as well as wine?
Several Melbourne wine bars excel equally at food. Bar Olo serves outstanding pasta dishes alongside Italian wines. Circl Wine House has top-notch food from Chef Elias. Bar Liberty is known for its sharing plates. The Rocket Society's Middle Eastern small plates are among the best in the inner north. Patsy's vegetarian food paired with Mediterranean wines is a complete experience in its own right.
What are the best natural wine bars in Melbourne?
Gerald's Bar is Melbourne's most celebrated natural wine pioneer. Waxflower and Sunhands both champion low-intervention and natural wines with genuine conviction. Henry Sugar in Carlton North has a strong focus on Australian natural and minimal-intervention wines sourced directly from growers. Embla has always embraced natural wines alongside conventional ones on its world-ranging list.
Is Patsy's a good wine bar?
Yes — Patsy's is one of Melbourne's most distinctive wine bars. Its entirely meat-free Mediterranean menu and wine list chosen to match Northern Mediterranean wine regions gives it a clear identity that rewards visitors. The restored Art Deco building is one of the most beautiful wine bar interiors in the city. Open seven days.