Where to drink well in Sydney by the glass and the bottle: natural, classical, and worth the cab fare.
Wine bars in Sydney. natural, classical, and the grower-focused rooms worth the cab fare.
Paddington's natural-wine ground zero on William Street, Sydney. Pasta of the day, Italian-leaning list, a small upstairs counter, nightly seating.
Signature pour: Pinot grigio from Friuli
Wine focus: Minimal-intervention Italian and Australian growers
Food: Italian antipasti and daily pasta
Back-alley natural-wine bar on Crown Lane, Darlinghurst, Sydney. Matt Swieboda's room has poured one of Australia's deepest minimal-intervention lists.
Signature pour: Skin-contact gewurztraminer from Alsace
Wine focus: Natural and biodynamic wines
Food: Charcuterie and bar snacks
Natural wine bar on Llankelly Place, Potts Point, Sydney. Same crew as Love Tilly Devine; Mediterranean small plates and a deep Champagne-by-the-glass list.
Signature pour: Beaujolais cru by the glass
Wine focus: French natural growers
Food: Mediterranean small plates
Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt's wine bar on Macleay Street, Potts Point, Sydney. Open 7 nights; small-plates menu and natural-leaning wine list.
Signature pour: Riesling from the Mosel
Wine focus: European and Australian by the glass
Food: Charcuterie, cheese, sourdough
Wine Library on Oxford Street, Woollahra. Deep by-the-glass list, snack menu and a regular Sydney crowd through the late afternoon and evening.
Signature pour: Etna Rosso by the glass
Wine focus: Italian and small-producer Australian
Food: Italian small plates and pasta
Italian-leaning wine bar on Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, Sydney. Italian small plates, low-intervention bottles by the glass, late seating common.
Signature pour: Nebbiolo from Piedmont
Wine focus: Italian wines by the glass
Food: Pasta and aperitivo bites
Eastern European-leaning wine bar on Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, Sydney. Natural-leaning by-the-glass list, walk-in friendly weeknights, small plates.
Signature pour: Slovenian orange wine
Wine focus: Eastern European and natural growers
Food: Eastern European snacks
Bottle shop and bar on Enmore Road, Newtown, Sydney. Mike Bennie and Lou Dowling's natural-wine retail by day, by-the-glass and pintxos by night.
Signature pour: Hunter Valley semillon
Wine focus: Natural and minimal-intervention Australian
Food: Bar snacks and tinned fish
Vermouth and sherry bar on King Street, Newtown, Sydney. Tinned-fish pintxos, Spanish-leaning tapas and a list of 40+ vermouths by the glass.
Signature pour: Manzanilla sherry flight
Wine focus: Vermouth, sherry, fortified wines
Food: Spanish tapas
French wine bar attached to Porcine restaurant on Marian Street, Redfern, Sydney. Natural wines by the glass and charcuterie in a 24-seat room.
Signature pour: Loire cabernet franc
Wine focus: French growers, biodynamic-leaning
Food: Charcuterie and rillettes
Champagne-led wine bar on Stanley Street, East Sydney. Caviar service, grower-Champagne pours by the glass, the kind of room booked for celebrations.
Signature pour: Grower Champagne by the glass
Wine focus: Champagne and traditional-method sparkling
Food: Caviar service and oysters