The Best Wine Bars in San Diego

Wine bars are a great option for early in the game dates or when you want to be social, but not deal with the energy of a louder bar or brewery. San Diego has plenty of lovely and laid back wine bars and wine gardens where you can sip your fermented grapes in tranquility. Bring a friend or bring your favorite Jean Paul Sartre book and cozy up at these spots around the city. If you don’t know much about wine (like us), don’t worry – the service is friendly and everyone is more than happy to answer your questions on things like nose feel and legs and such.

THE WINE BARS

Clos Wine Shop

Clos Wine Shop is lovely, locally owned wine shop in University Heights that offers small batch, low-intervention wines sourced from high quality domestic and international wineries, focusing on more organic and low intervention wines that are not loaded with excessive additives. The staff does a helpful job describing their wines with inspiring, hand-written tags placed on the bottles, so you don’t have to ask and then nod in pretend appreciation when they start talking about flavors like “pencil shavings”. They also serve a small menu – mostly gourmet tinned fish, like octopus in a Galician sauce or a smoked sardine pate, as well as charcuterie boards. Most of their items are also available to go so you can bring them home and create your own indulgent meal or take them to the park for a picnic.

Juan Jasper Kitchen & Wine

Juan Jasper Kitchen & Wine is one the most romantic restaurant in San Diego. Located in Golden Hill, this a tiny wine bar and restaurant that serves delicious food and wine to match. The space itself is very small, with only a few tables and a communal seating bar outside, so be ready to be friendly with your neighbors. Juan Jasper feels more like having a meal at a friends house, if your friend was a rich Spanish gentry who knew a lot about wine, was an amazing chef, and an even better host.

The Rose Wine Bar – South Park

The Rose Wine Bar in South Park is a natural wine bar and a charming restaurant that sits on a charming street in a charming neighborhood in a charming city. They serve brunch, lunch, and dinner with an eclectic cuisine style – leaning Spanish tapas with some French and Mexican influences. The Rose serves mostly natural wines that are creative and diverse and delicious, so don’t be shy to enlist the servers for help deciding what to drink. Their cocktails are delicious as well. In short, they do it all well.

Carruth Wine Cellar – Liberty Station

The Carruth Cellar wine garden in Liberty Station is an ideal place to spend a few hours on a sunny day. The garden-patio is secluded, but spacious – lined with string lights and lush greenery. Carruth makes all their wines locally using grapes sourced around California. They have a few tasting rooms around San Diego, but the one in Liberty Station is the most spacious and kid friendly.

We Olive and Wine Bar La Jolla

We Olive and Wine Bar is a wine and olive shop in front with a cozy restaurant and wine bar in back. This quaint establishment offers a lovely setting for any date night or intimate gathering and is one of the secret best spots to watch sunset in La Jolla. The prized seats are on the rear balcony, bar stools and a couple of tables that face west out to the expansive Pacific Ocean.

M Winehouse in Little Italy

M Winehouse has a tiny front porch where you can have a glass of wine and feel like you are sitting in the 19th century while you watch the 21st century pass by on the sidewalk. There is also an old wooden bar inside with seating options, as well as a cozy upstairs with tables. It feels as though every room should be lit by candlelight. It is a nice alternative to the sleek and trendy establishments that tend to pop up in Little Italy and all over the rest of San Diego.