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My 30 Mile Guide to Los Angeles Wine
June 11, 2024
Los Angeles has become one of the most culturally relevant and sophisticated cities in the world especially when it comes to food and drink, so it should be no surprise we have arguably the best wine scene in the country right now. With a huge variety of wine styles, places of origin and experiences, there is something for every type of wine lover.
I’m constantly on the hunt for new places to indulge my wine passion in Los Angeles, traveling all over the city limits and beyond to find the best bars and restaurants with the best people and the most fun for us wine geeks. This is a list in no particular order of some of my favorite places within 30 miles from my home in Toluca Lake that prove what a great variety of experiences and wines Los Angeles has to offer. Unlike some lists you can easily find with a Google search (Eater, The Infatuation etc…) I’m mixing in not only places with incredible wine selections, but in some cases recommendations for just a fun spot that will involve wine. Sometimes my favorite times with wine are about the atmosphere and the people I’m with and I wanted to include some of those places with you here also.
1. Vintage Wine + Eats
12023 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604
Highlights:
- The friendliest staff around.
- An eclectic and extensive by-the-glass wine list that changes often.
- Brunch, lunch and dinner menu and lots of daily, fun food specials.
- Weekly wine tasting events.
The Wine:
A well curated list that ranges from local Los Angeles boutique wines to classic old and new world varietals that mixes in bubbles, orange, pink, chilled and even dessert options.
This is one of my very regular hang out spots and it is owned and operated by one of LA's rising wine rockstars, Rebecca Rose Phillips. I feel completely comfortable going in by myself and sitting at the bar to taste through new wines and chatting with the knowledgeable and friendly staff. I also meet up with friends here often and have even had a couple birthday celebrations at Vintage. It is the type of place that attracts people who like to meet people, so if you like conversation with new faces you’ll have a good time. It is a casual wine bar for the serious wine crowd that does a great balancing act catering to both the wine fanatic looking to get geeky along side the casual wino just desperate for a great glass with great people.
Vintage has a contemporary and bright feel that houses high stools around the large bar as well as booths and tables for small groups. The menu is made up of elevated comfort foods with some great daily deals like Sunday Drive Thru Burgers and Grilled Cheese Wednesday. You can rent sections or even the entire place out for parties too. Easy parking after 5pm at the Chase bank next door (no, you will not get towed) and metered street parking.
Make sure to also check out their sister wine bar Buvette (@buvettela), which I’ll describe as a smaller version with a larger focus on bubbles and although some of the wine list overlaps, you’ll find some other options here regularly.
2. Mirabelle Wine Bar
12518 Burbank Blvd, Valley Village, CA 91607
Highlights:
- Cozy, moody vibe inside with a large well covered outdoor patio.
- Elevated food menu that utilizes an outdoor open fire grill for some dishes.
- Extensive by the bottle list with a mix of current and vintage wines.
- Huge cassette collection that adds some hipster fun to this more serious wine spot.
The Wine:
You can always take a trip around the wine world old with choices regularly ranging from killer German Riesling, Chilean Carmenere, Napa Cab, Willamette Pinot and 30, 40 and 50 year old Bordeaux and Rioja.
The sister bar to the legendary Augustine Wine Bar in Sherman Oaks that is on the mend after a terrible fire, Mirabelle is the trendy lounge of wine bar restaurants with a few couches and cocktail tables and a white marble bar lined with high stool seating inside. Keep moving through to the back and you’ll discover the fully covered and spacious outdoor patio where the open fire grill lives.
This is the place for a 1st or 51st date night or a catch up with a small group of friends. When the cassettes are playing in the old school stereo, music spans the 80’s and 90’s offering a contrasting vibe to the otherwise more romantic and warm atmosphere. They have a happy hour with discounts on select wine, beer and small bites. If brunch is your thing, get there on the weekends for more day time specials. I’ve known most of the staff for many years and this is where I’ll often go if I really want to get geeky about wine tasting and talking.
3. Spin the Bottle Wine Studio
10139 Riverside Dr, Toluca Lake, CA 91602
Highlights:
- Bottle shop and bar.
- Location, location, location.
- By the glass and bottle price ranges for all!
- Like Cheers for the neighborhood, but very welcoming to newcomers.
The Wine:
The main draw here is the quality for the price point you’ll find. The average glass price is around $13/$14 with a Spanish Rose at $7 being the lowest and a Barbera at $18 the peak. There is a heavy Italian focus, but that shifts and mingles often with some great stuff from Portugal, Central Coast California, France and Spain.
Full disclosure, I can walk here and this is my neighborhood hang. I’m proudly considered a regular (can you spot me in the picture?) and that comes with some nice perks. But, you do not need to spend as much time here as I do to get the friendliest smiles and warmest service around. Despite it having a significant group of regulars from the charming and walkable neighborhood of Toluca Lake, people here are eager to chat in the way a small town is curious about outsiders. I guess that’s the real charm of Spin (as the locals call it) and the neighborhood, it feels like a small town in a huge city.
It’s not a huge place, so it can get crowded some nights and these regulars know how to throw back their wine. Sometimes I walk in and it's a mellow wine sipping visit and others the crowd is shot out of a cannon and becomes more like a good old house party with your best friends.
The staff of all women (Hannah, Ariel and Jaclyn) always know how to make this often solo traveler feel special and far from alone. Like any good wine bar, you can taste through wines before making your choice and then take that glass to the front or back patios or hang inside and get to know all the awesome people I drink a lot of wine with. Come on a Friday and combine your visit with a stop at the legendary Bob’s Big Boy parking lot car show just a few walking blocks away.
4. Cornell Wine Co.
29975 Mulholland Hwy, Old Agoura, CA 91301
Highlights:
- Bottle shop with wine tastings.
- Outdoor seating high up in the hills.
- Buy a bottle or glass inside and roam free.
- Nice focus on local, small production wines along with some better known ones from Central Coast.
The Wine:
A nice focus on local, small production wines along with some better known ones from the Central Coast. You can book a wine tasting experience ahead of time, or do a less formal impromptu one.
Recently reopened under new ownership, Cornell is on this list mainly because of its location and how fun a place it is to drive to and drink some wine during the day. Almost hidden in the hills of Agoura, the property is rustic with a western meets hippie vibe to it. There are so many cool areas surrounding the building to sit and sip. You can find spots a little more hidden away for some privacy and others more conducive to mingling with neighbors. Inside you are greeted immediately with shelves of wine. Take your time and look around the entire shop though because it is filled with lots of fun stuff. You’ll find plenty of wine-centric items, but also custom jewelry, clothes, art and lots of other tchotchkes having nothing to do with wine.
My advice to get the most out of Cornell is grab a friend or two, buy a bottle to share and pop a squat outside to drink it. Enjoy the people watching and surrounding hills. If you get hungry, the famous Old Place, serving mostly meat-centric dishes, is right next door offering take out.
5. Club 14 Wine Bar
2967 E Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
Highlights:
- Swanky basement lounge of the cocktail bar Oak & Iron.
- Brother and Sister team with amazing palettes.
- Fun blind tasting classes and competitions.
- Older vintages by the glass.
The Wine:
The wine program is often awe inspiring. Somehow sister and brother team, Lauren and Charlie Hirsh, manage to consistently get their hands on a line up of cult classics and impressively curated new and old world wines you will have to work hard to find anywhere else offered by the glass if at all.
Despite having to move out of their original home inside a brewery and now to a temporary space in the basement of a cocktail bar, the location is not what really matters with Club 14. It’s the two people behind it, Lauren and Charlie. Wine is in the family and these two learned their trade first working for the family owned Cielo Wines in Malibu and then branching off to run wine programs for other spots until starting up Club 14 where they were able to really showcase what they know and love about wine.
Part of what makes a wine bar great to me is syncing with the people buying the wine so what they have to offer suits your personal palette. That’s one of the things I find great about this place. Palettes are almost always aligned.
The basement lounge setting is a nice change from the previous location and fits a little better with us wine nerds. You’ll always find either Charlie or Lauren behind the bar and usually both. It is a decent drive to get there from Los Angeles, but witnessing the joy they have sharing the wines they love makes it totally worth the time and gas (or battery charge in my case).
6. West Tasting Room
1867 E Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
Highlights:
- Fun staff.
- Comfortable and varied seating situations.
- Bright and sleek space with a full kitchen.
- Great wine events on weeknights and weekends.
The Wine:
Big focus on West Coast wines from Central Coast California all the way up to Washington State. They let you build your own tasting flight and you can easily get through their entire list in a night. A really fun night. All by the glass options you can grab to go by the bottle.
Female owned and operated and right down the road from Club 14, so you have two reasons now to make the trek. I love the airy, modern and casual vibes of West as much as the big smiles you get when you walk in and the delicious wine list. With just a few seats up at the actual bar, the intention here is to grab a table and let the wine and food come to you. Having competed against a few of the staff in blind tasting tournaments, I know they know their stuff. You can see their trophies on display amongst the wall of wine bottles.
Where some wine shop / wine bars do not always offer every bottle in the store as a by the glass option, West does, which means you can always try before you buy. (Speaking from personal experience, so do not yell at me if this changes by the time you go). Again, as with any respectable wine bar, you can always try a few things before making a choice. Not sure? Just tell them the style of wine you’re in the mood for and put your palette in their hands.
7. Offhand
3008 Santa Monica Blvd SuIte A, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Highlights:
- The music with live DJs a few nights a week.
- Lots of beach sun shines through the massive windows.
- Regular restaurant pop-ins.
- Young, hip, west side crowd.
The Wine:
The focus is natural wine. Not to be mistaken with “Natty”. The wine program is very carefully curated to make the naysayers like me warm up to drinking more natural wine. The wines being poured here are made by winemakers with skill who I’m sure only want to be associated with the natty wine movement because it helps them sell more wine. The wines I’ve had here bear little resemblance to the Kombucha, sour, funky and flawed ones at most other natty wine bars.
I rarely make it to the west side, but this is one reason that I keep making the effort when I have the time. I had heard a lot about Offhand before finally going one afternoon. I didn’t realize they were an all natural bar so I had some skepticism when I sat down, But after trying a few things on the list and settling into the space, I was hooked. People are fun and sociable.
Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. The wine list is short, but always very thoughtful and intentional. No matter what style of wine you lean towards, you’ll find something here to enjoy. Once the sun goes down the cool west-sider crowd and the frequent guest DJs bring the energy. Offhand definitely makes wine accessible and fun for the casual and serious wine drinker.
8. Malibu Wines & Beer Garden
23130 Sherman Way, West Hills, CA 91307
Highlights:
- Locally grown grapes by a family run winery.
- Fun space to explore.
- You can bring your own food and they have food trucks.
- Regular events.
The Wine:
All wines are from the Semeler family and grown at Saddlerock Ranch in the Saddle-Rock Malibu AVA. They pour twelve different varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, and more. Read more about the history of the family and their wines here.
I’m a sucker for outdoor day drinking so I had to include this one on the list. That’s the real reason to go. Reserve a big table, grab a group of friends, pack up bags of your favorite food, and buy some bottles of Malibu produced wines and just have a really fun day. It’s more about the atmosphere at Malibu Wines & Beer Garden than expecting to drink any life changing juice, but isn’t that fine once in a while?
This is an especially good place to try and indoctrinate your non-wine drinking friends. It's hard not to warm up to drinking more wine when your sitting at this this beautiful property on a warm Southern California afternoon.
9. Wife and the Somm
3416 Verdugo Rd, Glassell Park, CA 90065
Highlights:
- Husband and wife chef and sommelier team.
- Full restaurant with an excellent menu and atmosphere.
- Tucked away in a growing LA area so you feel like you’re in on a hidden secret.
- Vintage wines by the glass.
The Wine:
Wide ranging selection by the glass covering all major wine regions new and old on any given night with a focus on more classic varietals. They have some skin contact and chilled reds typically alongside Sake, beer and non-alcoholic options. The by the bottle list is BIG and broken down by country and hemisphere of the world with great notes like “lightest to boldest” and “freshest to funkiest”. Some incredibly reasonable pricing for a restaurant as well.
Wife Christy runs the kitchen and Somm Chris handles the wine. Chris is often out front making the rounds checking in on guests and ready to dive deep in a conversation about wine. His knowledge is strong and the curated program here proves it. I’m always impressed by the regularly updated by the glass list and leave having had some of the best wines I’ll have for months.
With a focus on traditional varietals, the list is full of the best representation of them from countries all over the globe including Australia, France, Italy, Greece, Germany and of course the U.S. If desert wine is your thing, they’ve got an extensive list filled wit Port, Sauterne, Madeira and various other late harvest wines. The vibe is hard to beat here too whether your hanging out at the bar or seated in one of the different areas inside and out for dinner. Indoor trees anyone?
10. Main Street, Santa Clarita, CA
Highlights:
- Multiple tasting rooms and bars all walkable to each other.
- Revitalized main street and growing wine community.
- Locally produced small production wines.
- Numerous food and beer options as well.
The Wine:
Three micro scale production wines across two tasting rooms producing a mix of wines with grapes sourced primarily from Paso Robles, Santa Ynez with some Northern California sprinkled in.
If you’ve ever been to Los Olivos, CA you know it is a magical, little wine oasis filled with at least 40 wine tasting rooms with new ones popping up or replacing older ones every year. Being able to bounce around from one to the next for a day or two is some of the most fun any wine lover can have. I’m always searching for other areas that offer this kind of ease and access to taste different wines in a single afternoon. Well, the closest thing in the LA area to this would have to be Main Street, Santa Clarita. Somewhat recently revitalized, it's quickly becoming a wine and beer destination in San Fernando Valley with three tasting rooms worth the journey north of the city.
Inside the tasting room Double Trouble (24338 Main St, Santa Clarita, CA 91321) sits two wineries, Hoi Polloi (@hoipolloiwinery) and Pagter Bros. (@pagterbros ) The former sourcing grapes across Central Coast up to Sonoma and the former from Santa Ynez, these are very small production wineries with a ton of passion put into what they do. The space is big for a tasting room and has an outdoor area for soaking in some sun while you sip. They often have live music and other fun events.
Doug Minnick, winemaker for Hoi Polloi, is also one of the founders of the popular Garagiste wine festival happening multiple times a year that focuses on of course small production, independent wines.
Across the street and about a block over is Puchella Winery (@pulchellawinery). Sourcing grapes strictly from Paso Robles, these wines are big and bold as you’d expect. Co-owned and run by two UC Davis alumni, Steve Lemley and Nate Hasper, the duo also consults and makes wine for other wineries and helps numerous local winemakers with their own production.
Honorable Mentions
There are so many other great wine spots within and just outside of my 30 mile focus here that I wanted to give props to. Where I spend my time and money on wine moves around from year to year so these are places I’ve spent a lot of time at as well. Again, like the above, they are a mix of great wine lists and great wine experiences.
- Bar Covell
- The OG of the modern style wine bars in Los Angeles and still as strong as ever.
- Rosenthal Winery
- Want to drink wine on PCH close to the Pacific Ocean?
- The Cellar
- Romantic, underground, speakeasy style wine bar in Pasadena
- Angeleno Wine Co.
- Small production winery right in downtown LA with a brewery feel.
