Best wine bars in London Whether you want rustic bistros or the best in upscale drinking, David Ellis has found the capital's top spots for a glass of the good stuff Tuesday 22 September 2015 08:40 BST London's best wine bars There's an old joke that justifies the love of wine: nobody ever came up with a brilliant idea after their second bottle of water. And wine drinking, like any upstanding pastime, requires a little practice. Fortunately, London is pleasingly rammed with decent bars all honouring the grape's greatest achievement (a moth turning into a butterfly has nothing on this humble fruit transforming into a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape.) The city is even producing its own stuff, as Gavin Monery from London Cru explains in the video below. The idea of a wine bar has a little stigma attached, but fortunately, old-fashioned sommeliers with intimidating moustaches and dismissive glances have long been banished from the best of London's wine hotspots.

The idea of small, snobby rooms can be thrown out like the sediment in an old bottle – wine drinking in London is meant to be fun, not an extended lecture.best white wine target Whether a quiet night savouring a modest fifteen glasses of white with a friend is on the cards or a celebratory evening of champagne is required, London caters for all. top 5 wine flavorsOur list includes old-fashioned bistros, one of the finest restaurants in town, a modern spin on things and true a London institution. buy wine from 2009Explore, be merry, learn a little, and raise a glass to good health.baby blue wine rating Follow David Ellis on Twitter @dvh_ellisbest online wine and spirits

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingoutgood wine to drink everyday Things to do in London1. Wrecking Bar Brewpub In a city that has leveled so much of its history, what Bob and Kristine Sandage have done to renovate the century-old Kriegshaber mansion on Moreland, just south of Little Five Points, is nothing short of heroic. Occupying an early-twentieth-century train depot, this cocktail bar du jour possesses the area’s most charmingly period dining room, with belt-driven overhead fans and liquor shelves that rise to the lofty ceiling. 3. Brick Store Pub The Brick Store turned seventeen this year, which makes it the éminence grise of Decatur Square bars, and, like many of the Belgian beers it cellars, the place only gets better with age. 4. The Porter Beer Bar Do yourself a favor and play beer roulette with the Porter’s menu of vintage beers, which goes on for page after page.

Where will you land? Perhaps the only bar in town that earns the label “institution,” Manuel’s is beloved by longtime intowners, cops, reporters, and politicos. 6. The Sound Table This dapper Edgewood spot is ideal for a hot date, thanks to sultry DJ mixes (lots of funk and soul), dim lighting, and strong house cocktails. The late-night denizens of Virginia-Highland (college kids in oxford shirts, midnight joggers, Audi drivers) would be unfamiliar to this place’s namesake. How fun is Mary’s? Walk in the front door and you’re immediately on the dance floor, where the crowd—a mix of ages, genders, and fashion and sexual preferences—is moving to remixed 1990s pop songs. 9. Leon’s Full Service Leon’s U-shaped bar encourages conversation. Its cocktail list—which on a recent night included drinks made with mezcal, cachaça, and genever—encourages experimentation. 10. Holeman and Finch Public House Founding drink-slinger Greg Best has moved on, but the bar that jump-started the city’s cocktail craze—along with the waistcoat-and-tie uniform for barkeeps—is as crazy-busy as ever.

11. S.O.S Tiki Bar With its retro graphics, over-the-top fruit garnishes, and its menu-topping pupu platter, S.O.S has fully embraced tiki kitsch, but it’s still a serious cocktail destination. 12. Stem Wine Bara thoughtful, mostly Old World wine list; and attractive bartenders behind a sleek marble bar make for Atlanta’s best wine perch, satisfying the casual drinkers ordering California Chardonnay and the adventurous souls looking for surprises. 13. Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium Grant Henry is many things—former seminary student, proud father, civic developer, folk artist, muse for Hollis Gillespie—yet somehow all of these roles coalesce magically at his bar. While co-owner Greg Best maintains, “We’re not a bar,” one of the principal reasons to visit this whimsical Krog Street Market eatery—besides the celebrated clam roll—is the chance to tipple cocktails. The team behind Decatur’s Pinewood have recreated a swanky, mid-century steak-and-cocktail experience in Ponce City Market without resorting to winking irony.

16. Ladybird Grove and Mess Hall Nestled against the busy BeltLine Eastside Trail, this sprawling restaurant and hangout spot effectively occupies Atlanta’s hipster epicenter. The fellas who brought us Bookhouse Pub and underground dance dive MJQ get a bit more upscale without losing their grit in this warm, vintage-inspired space. Another winner from the folks at Victory Brands, this restaurant/bar/lounge is a neon-lit oasis at the end of a concrete hallway in the White Provision complex. On most nights with no soccer games, this cozy pub on the Decatur Square is the perfect place for drinks and quiet conversation. 20. JCT Kitchen & Bar JCT’s popular bar isn’t in the restaurant; it’s on the roof, in an airy space that spills out onto a patio boasting cool views of the gritty-chic Westside Urban Market. 21. Vine and Tap Start with Champagne before heading south into the seductive reds and soothing whites of Burgundy. Remember when people went to bars to have drinks and talk?

And so there is Ormsby’s, a playground for quasi-grownups. Atlanta’s quintessential gay bar is as much a club as it is a bar. Himitsu deftly recreates the experience of visiting an exclusive Tokyo bar, with its attention to detail and presentation. Come for the chill vibe and creative cocktails; stay for the covert Twin Peaks references and serious bar food (think bone marrow). 26. Barcelona Wine Bar If you know nothing about Spanish wine, it’s time to learn. The name means “bitter” in French, but don’t be intimidated. This cozy Inman Park watering hole wants to make cocktails fun. 28. Johnnie MacCracken’s Celtic Pub This remedy to OTP strip mall bars may seem cramped, but the labyrinthine layout hides pockets of couches and tables perfect for intimate sampling of Johnnie’s sixty draft beers and 250 bottled brews. 29. 57th Fighter Group Founded in 1981 and modeled after a bombed-out European farmhouse, DeKalb-Peachtree Airport’s signature restaurant houses one of the most underrated patios in the city, with fire pits and a runway view.

This former auto shop boasts the biggest patio in East Atlanta Village, but if you’re planning to view a big match, arrive early. Our fervent hope is that present and future owners of Northside Tavern forever resist the urge to cash in on selling the land on which this institution sits, one of the last true dives in Atlanta and home to some of the best live blues. Complain all you want about the hipster hordes; the Lounge—with its duct-taped bar, empowered strippers, and $2.75 PBRs—endures as a stubborn piece of authenticity in a world gone plastic. 33. Euclid Avenue Yacht Club It’s not a real yacht club—it’s an ironic yacht club. By day, Atlanta’s oldest tavern is a low-key lunch spot. After dark, the center of gravity shifts to its narrow, tin-ceilinged barroom, where sizable beer-quaffing crowds are lively, bordering on raucous. In a dimly lit cellar below the bustle of Virginia-Highland, old-hat bartenders have been pouring stiff drinks since 1989.

36. Pinewood Tippling Room This hip, minimalist Decatur drinks haven may be the only place around that offers a flight of hard-to-find (and pricey) Pappy Van Winkle bourbons, as well as barrel-aged cocktails made in-house. 37. Glenn Hotel SkyLounge Downtown needs more places like Glenn Hotel’s SkyLounge.The best place to hear jazz in metro Atlanta is the ground floor of a two-story office complex in Sandy Springs. Let CC’s Rooftop, Cafe Circa’s bar with a view, elevate you above the Edgewood Avenue bar scene both physically and literally—up here you’ll find a smoother, laid-back vibe thanks to lounge seating (and, soon, cabanas); a bar and menu that evoke Caribbean flavors without feeling like a theme park; and a DJ spinning R&B, old-school hip-hop, and sultry jazz. 40. Proof & Provision Improbably buried in the Georgian Terrace basement, P&P feels like a cross between a speakeasy without the passwords and a neighborhood bar without the Bud Lite signs.

This spaceship-shaped cocktail lounge isn’t Downtown’s only revolving rooftop hotel bar, just the most bad-ass. 42. St. Regis Bar Of all the Buckhead hotels with ritzy bars, the St. Regis comes closest to having a real bar scene thanks to its well-appointed, clubbish room. 43. Cypress Street Pint & Plate When owners Billy and Jenn Streck launched Cypress in 2007, they wanted their pub to make people feel at home. More than thirty-five years ago, Johnny Esposito opened a bar where the Rat Pack would feel welcome. 45. Five Paces Inn On weekend nights, this entire Buckhead block turns into a frat party. With decor that veers into biker/metalhead tackiness, the Highlander presents a foreboding face. Its many regulars will be appalled to know we almost left the Earl, one of the best music venues in town, off our list. This hole-in-the wall next to the Plaza Theatre has everything you’d want in a dive bar: well-stocked jukebox, cheap beer, and perpetual darkness.