Wine Bars in Seattle & Washington State

There are almost 100 wine bars across Washington State. The majority of them are located in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, and Walla Walla. Also see Seattle Wine Bars.

So what defines a wine bar as opposed to just a bar? This is open to interpretation, and can include restaurants and wine shops too. Here is our stab at it:

1. If only "Red Wine" and "White Wine" is on the menu, it's not a wine bar.

2. If there are more beer tap handles than wine bottles in view, it's not a wine bar.

3. If the wine is poured from a bottle out back or from a box, it's not a wine bar.

4. If the wine is served in a shot glass, or poured to the brim, it's not a wine bar. It doesn't have to be in a Reidel, but they must have decent stemware.

5. If you ask what their corkage fee is and they give a blank look, it's not a wine bar.

Note: A tasting room is not a wine bar. Tasting rooms focus on selling wine for one winery. Their objective is to get you to try their wine and buy a bottle or case. A wine bar's objective is to get you to buy a glass, try a flight, order food & socialize.