Great taste and good intentions go hand in hand at these wine bars pouring planet-friendly bottles and plating up artisan dishes
Pullo, Devon
Never leave Exeter without making a pit stop at Pullo. The city’s excellent wine, cider and cheese bar can be found on the city’s indie-chocka stretch of Fore Street.
Dried flora and foliage dangles from the ceiling while neutral walls and wooden shelves lend a chilled natural vibe. The shelves groan with a tempting array of natural wines and ciders as Pullo champions artisan producers who care for the environment. Bottles from biodynamic favourites from around the world can be found on the shelves, including homegrown talent such as Limeburn Hill from Somerset and Ham Street Wines from Kent.
Pullo’s British farmhouse cheese menu is just as swoon-worthy. It features traditionally made cheeses, crafted using raw milk that often comes from the cheesemakers’ very own herd or those of neighbouring farms. Pullo also hosts regular wine and cider tastings, and the sweet space is available for private hire. No drama if you can’t get into Exeter to pick up your haul of tasty bottles, just order online – Pullo delivers nationwide.
Lovetts, Cornwall
Get your delish-wine kicks 365 days a year in west Cornwall at Lovetts. The bar-cum-bottleshop in Newlyn has more than 150 wines to take away or sup on site. This family-run hotspot champions low-intervention and iconic wines from some seriously smashing producers, including Rioja’s Bodegas R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia and Friuli’s Miani. Bar snacks are bite-size and dangerously moreish: slices of salami courtesy of Westcombe charcuterie, cheese from Neal’s Yard and house-made sausage rolls.
Lovetts also taps into wine’s latest – and important – craze: wine by keg (the lack of bottle usage saves oodles on a wine’s carbon footprint). Take along an empty vessel and fill it up with one of its six organic wines on tap, whether it’s Aligoté from Sylvain Pataille or a Malbec from its original home of Cahors. Lovetts is sustainable, sociable and makes Newlyn living that bit more delicious.
Carmen Street Wine, Bristol
Tucked away in a little nook of Bristol where St Paul’s meets Stokes Croft, Carmen Street Wine is a neighbourhood gem for unwinding with a glass in hand.
Sister to refined eatery Caper & Cure, CSW isn’t even two years old, yet it’s already full to the brim with delicious bottles thanks to canny purchasing from well-respected wine suppliers. The team stock a super-healthy dose of thoughtfully created bottles: sustainable, natural, orange, biodynamic and more, both from classic and emerging producers across Europe. It offers a huge and constantly changing by-the-glass list.
Level up your dynamic wine drinking with dreamy plates. The croque monsieur is an oozy beast of a dish while bites such as cider-braised chorizo, sobrasada croquettes and dressed oysters keep the flavours coming. Drink and dine inside (or on bistro tables outside), and be sure to browse the shelves for bottles to take home. Want to reorder but can’t visit IRL? No problem, just order online.
The Orgia, Cornwall
Stand by Falmouth, a cute new vinoteca has come to town. A sister wine bar to The Bottle in Newquay, The Orgia is Cornwall’s first bar with a dedicated skin-contact wine list. Expect plenty of biodynamic and natural wines, as well as beautiful bottles for those who fancy the familiarity of more traditional pours.
The food menu at The Orgia has also been carefully curated to amplify wine flavours. Euro-inspired smaller plates of cheese and charcuterie champion locally sourced ingredients, drawing on the rich fruits of the Cornish coastline. Thanks to its wonderful menus, this is a great hangout to get up close and personal with holistic wine producers while enjoying toe-tapping live music, a full dining experience or just an intimate evening with loved ones.
RYE Wine Bar, Somerset
Never mind the bottles, a wine bar that serves snacks under the title ‘things on bread’ immediately gets our attention. Fortunately, the wine range at RYE Wine Bar in Frome is as appetite-whetting as the sides. This offshoot of the much-loved RYE bakery can be found in Station Approach – an edgy hotspot of artisan food and drink where all the cool Fromies hang.
Inside its stripped-back pale wood interior is a haven of good bottles dedicated to wines produced with the greatest respect for the environment. The bar shares space with the bakery’s pizzeria, while guest DJs spin the decks on Saturday evenings. Keep an eye out for its 2026 winemaker events in which the bar invites winemaking friends to Somerset to share tasty pours and juicy stories.
Enjoyed our round-up of the best wine bars in the South West? Check out these five must-try English still wines.
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