The Best Miami Wine Bars for a By-the-Glass Splurge

Miami has spent the last decade becoming a serious dining city and the wine followed. A genuine wine culture has taken hold across Midtown, Wynwood, Coconut Grove, and the Design District, built by sommeliers and importers and restaurateurs who have decided that the city is ready for something more considered. The wine bars below are the proof. Here is where to order the glass.

Contessa

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Major Food Group

The most serious wine program on this list, and the natural starting point for anyone interested in what Miami’s dining scene has become at its highest level. Contessa, Major Food Group’s Italian restaurant in the Miami Design District, holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and a wine program created by MFG’s legendary Wine Director John Slover. The list centers on central and northern Italian denominations with a special focus on Nebbiolo-based wines from Barolo, Barbaresco, Alto Piemonte, and Lombardy. Supplementing the Italian core are sought-after wines from Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhône, alongside Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir from California and Oregon. The result is a list that rewards the curious guest and the seasoned collector equally. For a by-the-glass experience that feels like a genuine education without requiring any particular background, Contessa is the most satisfying address in the city.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Photo Credit: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

South Florida’s only two-Michelin-starred restaurant brings the same standard to its wine program that it applies to everything else. L’Atelier’s list is high French in orientation, designed to pair at the multi-Michelin-star depth that the kitchen demands. Guests seated at the 34-seat counter facing the open kitchen are in the presence of one of the most considered wine and food pairings available anywhere in the country. For a by-the-glass experience at the absolute pinnacle of what Miami’s dining scene offers, L’Atelier is the answer.

Carbone Vino

Photo Credit: Carbone Vino

Carbone Vino in Coconut Grove carries one of the most impressive wine programs in Miami: more than 600 selections backed by a 3,000-bottle cellar that reflects Major Food Group’s commitment to building lists that can sustain serious collectors and curious first-timers simultaneously. The room, conceived by Bishop Design with deep wine and blue tones, velvet drapery, and a burnished bronze bar as its focal point, is built for lingering over a second glass. For an Italian-American wine experience that operates at the highest level of both list depth and atmosphere, Carbone Vino is the destination in Coconut Grove.

Lafayette Miami

Photo Credit: Lafayette Miami

Lafayette Miami in Brickell is one of the most wine-forward French-inspired American steakhouses in the city, with a program led by Head Sommelier Higor Valle, an Advanced Sommelier certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers that reflects the same ambition the kitchen brings to the plate. The list is French at its core, built around the classical regions, but Valle’s selections reward the guest who is willing to go off the expected path. For a dining room that takes wine as seriously as the food, and where the by-the-glass program reflects genuine curatorial thinking rather than default crowd-pleasing, Lafayette earns its reputation.

Cote Miami

The most serious wine list attached to a single restaurant in Miami, and the one that Wine Spectator has recognized with its Best of Award of Excellence. Cote, the Korean steakhouse in the Miami Design District, carries more than 1,100 selections and an inventory of nearly 5,000 bottles spanning Champagne, Burgundy, Napa, and beyond, with a by-the-glass program calibrated for the kind of evening that demands something serious in the glass.

LPM Restaurant

The most polished by-the-glass experience in Brickell, and the one that does the most convincing impression of the French Riviera without leaving Miami. LPM’s wine list knows exactly what it is. France dominates, with a particularly strong showing from Provence, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and the Rhône, all curated with a confident hand. The rosés have structure, the whites handle citrus and olive oil, and the reds are chosen to complement the menu rather than overpower it. For a by-the-glass experience that feels like a lesson in French wine without requiring a classroom, LPM is the most reliably satisfying address in the city.

Lagniappe

The most beloved wine bar in Miami, and the one that has been setting the standard since 2012. Lagniappe occupies a New Orleans-style indoor and outdoor wine house in Midtown, and its format is the reason it has accumulated such a devoted following: guests select their own wine from open refrigerators and shelves stocked with more than 200 bottles of small-production, organic, biodynamic, and natural wines from eclectic producers around the world, bring their selection to the register, and take their glass to the lush garden courtyard, where live jazz plays nightly at 9 PM. The cheese and charcuterie boards are assembled by hand. The whole operation runs on a kind of earned informality that takes years to achieve. Arrive early, particularly on weekends, to secure a garden table.

Magie

Lagniappe’s spiritual sibling and the newest entry on the list. Magie opened in Little River as a natural wine garden and has quickly established itself as one of the most talked-about wine spots in the city. Like Lagniappe, it is largely self-service, with guests selecting their own bottles from a curated natural wine program and settling into a garden setting that feels genuinely removed from the Miami that surrounds it. The food program covers cured meats and cheese in a format that pairs as naturally with a skin-contact orange wine as with a bottle of Burgundy. For guests who love Lagniappe and want something slightly newer and slightly quieter, Magie is the next step.

Maison Mura

Downtown Miami’s most immersive wine and spirits experience, and the one that operates most successfully at the intersection of retail, hospitality, and genuine community. Founded by Philippe Vasilescu and Matthieu Yamoum and located at 333 SE 3rd Avenue in the heart of downtown, Maison Mura combines a thoughtfully curated retail floor with a stylish lounge where guests enjoy wine, spirits, and delicacies throughout the day and evening. The 14-seat private tasting room is available for intimate events and tastings with some of the world’s most celebrated wine and spirits producers, making it one of the few addresses in Miami where a casual glass and a serious collector’s tasting can happen under the same roof. The selection spans red, white, rosé, Champagne, sake, and spirits, with an emphasis on discovery over predictability. Open daily from 11 AM to 10 PM.

A city constantly evolving, with a Michelin-starred Korean steakhouse with nearly 5,000 bottles in inventory, a French-inspired steakhouse running biweekly sommelier masterclasses, and a garden wine bar in Midtown that has been named one of the best in the country. The sommeliers are here. The lists are deep. The only thing left is to sit down and order.

For more of Haute Living’s Miami coverage, see The 8 Negronis Redefining Miami’s Cocktail Scene and The Most Elevated Caviar Experiences in Miami.