The neighborhood wine store is a hard thing to maintain in a state with liquor laws as complex as Pennsylvania’s, but Pittsburgh’s wine shops are stepping up. Though there are some good buys at the Fine Wine Good Spirits, sometimes you want a more curated experience with a more varied selection. In the past few years, a number of these more curated small wine shops have popped up in the city. Whether you’re on the hunt for a classic Italian bottle or a funky Georgian skin-contact, there’s something for you at these Pittsburgh neighborhood wine stores.
6 Pittsburgh Wine Shops for Curated Sipping
P’Vino
5726 Ellsworth Avenue
P’Vino has a cozy vibe and a good selection of not just wine but beers and ciders, too. I found one of my favorite bottles, Zensa Organico Primitivo Puglia, in their selection of Italian reds. P’Vino is a good store for the wine aficionado bored by some of the state store offerings who wants to browse or find some more difficult to locate bottles in a mom-and-pop type setting with friendly staff.
Lorelei
124 South Highland Avenue
Finding wine from regions other than the traditional European heavy-hitters can sometimes be a challenge. Though Lorelei is primarily a bar, they also have a bottle shop with a wide variety of Austrian and Central European wines, fitting their Alpine theme. Wines like the Slovenian Zaccarii Cviček or Austrian Arndorfer ‘Wald Terrassen’ offer a taste of Europe’s terroir beyond Italy and France.
Solera Wine Bar
4939 Butler Street
A new kid on the block, the recently opened Solera is both a bar and a bottle shop. With their cute-classy-chic branding and consistent social media presence, Solera has made a splash in the Pittsburgh food and drink scene. Co-owner and sommelier Tyler Borne recently recommended their Grillos Cantores ‘Mi Nena’ for a “funky Chilean white” consumers might not ordinarily have.
Vinoteka
4606 Penn Avenue
While the restaurant is closed during the week, Apteka functions as a natural wine bottle shop. Apteka’s bottle shop is one for the wine geeks or natural wine-curious. Rojac Refošk is a good, approachable bottle to start with if you’re not sure about branching out from state store cabernet and chardonnay. If, after that, you’re like “Sign me up! I want all the funkier flavors and absurdly specific backstories about natural winemaking,” you can graduate to Apteka’s skin-contact Georgian offerings like Chona’s Marani Saperavi. For something more classic, though, their Riesling Blauschiefer Trocken is excellent.
Spill
4800 Liberty Avenue
Spill is BYOF: bring your own food. Their focus is on Italian wine, and it makes for a really nice date spot or girls’ night. And it won’t just be Montepulcianos and Pinot Grigios on their wine rack. You can get Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, the Italian regional variation of the Refošk grape mentioned above. They’re also serious about getting well-aged wines, such as their Maniago Ronco Broilo, which gets a gorgeous golden color and a delicate bouquet on the palate from its long aging period.
Nine o’Clock Wines
4112 Butler Street
Nine o’Clock Wines is a woman-owned natural wine shop in Lawrenceville. Try offerings like the vibrant pink Joseph Jewell Wines, Skin Fermented Pinot Gris or for a slightly older natural wine, the 2021 Accadia, InFermento Pét Nat is a good buy. Like Apteka’s bottle shop, this is a wine shop with character and curation involved. Founders Celine Roberts and Christie Kliewer met while working at Bar Marco and set out to make natural wine more approachable through their wine club.
Cuvée
5886 Forbes Avenue
From the owners of next-door Independent Brewing, Cuvée is another addition to the Squirrel Hill shopping district. They offer free tastings any time they’re open, for anyone looking to expand their palate. Along with wine, they also sell vermouth, digestive bitters, and beer, with knowledgeable and friendly staff. Their Artemisia Pecorino, imported through Allora Wine Group, is a food-friendly and crowd-pleasing but still unique and upscale bottle to bring to any gathering.
Story by Emma Riva
Photo courtesy of P’Vino
Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition
