Best Wine Bars in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina — updated August 21, 2026
Seven independent Raleigh spots to drink wine by the glass, from a Bloodworth Street shop with drafts to a Martin Street bar open only Wednesday through Sunday.
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Raleigh's wine drinking happens mostly in hybrid rooms: shops that pour by the glass, tapas kitchens with long lists, bars tucked into former industrial buildings. The city has very few dedicated wine bars with a decade of reviews behind them, so this list mixes proven neighborhood fixtures with newer rooms whose ratings rest on small samples. Where the evidence is thin, it says so.
1. The Raleigh Wine Shop
The strongest combination of rating and volume on this list: 4.8 across 284 reviews, which is a settled number rather than an early one. The Bloodworth Street shop sells bottles but also runs a curated by-the-glass menu, with a rotating selection of beer, cider and house-made wine cocktails on draft. Hours are Monday through Wednesday noon to 8pm, Thursday through Saturday noon to 9pm, and Sunday noon to 6pm, so the Sunday window closes earliest. Good for people who want to taste something before committing to a bottle to take home.
2. Vinos Finos Tapas and Wine Bar
The most-reviewed independent wine bar in the city, at 4.6 from 353 reviews, which makes the rating hard to argue with. It sits in Lafayette Village in north Raleigh and pairs its list with a tapas menu that includes marinated Mediterranean olives. OpenTable flags 7:00 to 8:30pm as the busy stretch, so arrive before seven if you want a table without a wait. Hours run 4 to 9:30pm Monday through Thursday, 3 to 10:30pm Friday, noon to 10:30pm Saturday and 2 to 8pm Sunday. Weekend brunch is also served.
3. Wine Authorities Raleigh ~ Wine Shop
A shop first, but the free tastings every Tuesday from 5 to 7pm are the reason it belongs here, and the 4.8 rating across 168 reviews suggests people leave happy. The Raleigh store is on East Franklin Street, near the Person Street area, with a sibling shop in Durham. Hours are noon to 7pm Monday through Thursday, noon to 8pm Friday and noon to 7pm Saturday. It is closed Sundays, which catches out anyone planning a weekend afternoon. Come for the Tuesday pour and staff recommendations rather than a long sit-down evening.
4. Local 919 Beer and Wine
A 4.9 rating from 65 reviews: promising, and unusually high, though the sample is still small. The draw is the calendar at this Dunn Road spot in north Raleigh, which lists free wine tastings, trivia with Sopo and regular live music nights, occasionally with a winemaker on hand. Beer shares the taps with the wine list, so it works for a group that cannot agree. Doors open at noon daily, with closing around 9pm Monday, 10pm Tuesday through Thursday and 11pm Friday and Saturday.
5. Napa Bistro & Wine Bar - Glenwood Place
The most restaurant-like entry here, rated 4.6 across 130 reviews, in the Exchange at Glenwood Place off Glenwood Avenue. The team describes it as a friendly neighborhood restaurant, and the lunch menu runs only at the Glenwood location. Brunch and happy hour are both part of the schedule. Hours are 11:30am to 8:30pm Monday through Thursday, later on Friday and Saturday, and 11am to 8:30pm Sunday. Note the early close by wine bar standards: this is a place for a glass with dinner, not a late night.
6. The Hippo Wine Bar & Shop
A small downtown room on East Martin Street with a by-the-glass list that changes often, including skin-contact bottles such as a 100 percent Rebula fermented on skins. The 4.8 rating comes from just 43 reviews, so treat it as early evidence rather than a verdict. It is closed Monday and Tuesday; hours are 2 to 10pm Wednesday through Saturday and noon to 5pm Sunday. The bar has advertised a four-wine tasting paired with charcuterie at $55 per person, worth asking about when you sit down.
7. Saint Pierre Wine Shop + Bar
The newest arrival on the list, at Raleigh Iron Works on East Whitaker Mill Road. Its 4.9 rating rests on only 23 reviews, the thinnest evidence here, so go with curiosity rather than expectation. The format is shop plus bar, so bottles to go and glasses to stay. Hours are 2 to 10pm Monday through Thursday and noon to 10pm Friday through Sunday, which makes it one of the few places in this guide open for weekend afternoons. Easy to combine with the rest of the Iron Works development.
What we left off
Barcelona Wine Bar on West Martin Street and Postino Village District on Daniels Street were both cut as chains: Barcelona operates in cities across the country, and Postino is a multi-state group. Both are popular in Raleigh, and neither is closed, they simply do not qualify for an independents list. Cloer Family Vineyards was also left off. It is a working family winery in Apex, open Fridays noon to 5pm and Saturdays 11am to 5pm, which makes it a tasting room visit outside the city rather than a Raleigh wine bar.