At their best, winery restaurants do more than just feed tasting-room guests.
They mirror the winery itself: obsessive about place, and determined to say something distinct. That ambition can be surprisingly difficult to pull off, since in much of the world ( especially the U.S.), restrictions around agricultural land and alcohol production make running full-service restaurants at wineries difficult. Furthermore, the winery itself needs to be worth a visit, since you can’t have a great winery restaurant without great wine.
This list celebrates our favorite winery restaurants around the globe, from casual bites overlooking vineyards to elaborate tasting menus that rank among the world’s best. These aren’t just spots for a meat-and-cheese platter between pours. They are destinations to plan trips around and gain a deeper understanding of the wine regions they call home.
Ambar Estate
The five-course tasting menu of local and organic ingredients—such as stinging nettle dumplings in clarified rhubarb broth—shares this Willamette Valley winery’s farming philosophies. Offered in concert with the winery visit, it nonetheless reads more as a restaurant than another wine-tasting experience. Don’t miss the burrata, paired with whatever fruit and herbs are in season, plus seasonings like crispy shallots, togarashi, and saba, made by reducing the estate’s grape must to a syrup.
