Natural wine has slowly taken root in L.A., but it is still the domain of the small: handmade by small producers in small batches, championed by indie wine shops, and ruling the list at bold little restaurants. Nothing on a label
or on most wine lists even identifies bottles as natural, leaving their discovery up to curious drinkers. The rewards are great: these wines are wilder and funkier, more individual and alive than any conventional bottle.

Top Shops

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Bar & Garden
SHOP: Find 75 to 100 organic and natural wines, mostly European, at this charming Culver City spot.
TASTE: 5-8 p.m. Tuesday and Friday; 2-5 p.m. Sunday.
TOP BOTTLE: Domaine Sébastien David St. Nicolas de Bourgueil 2015 Hurluberlu Cabernet Franc ($24).
6142 Washington Blvd., Culver City

Domaine LA
SHOP: This Melrose Avenue mainstay o ers 400 organic, biodynamic, and natural wines, mainly from Europe but also from the U.S., Australia, and Chile.
TASTE: 2-5 p.m. Sunday, plus midweek.
TOP BOTTLE: Noëlla Morantin 2015 Mon Cher Gamay ($23).
6801 Melrose Ave., Hollywood

Lou Wine Shop
SHOP: 300 to 500 natural wines, about 75 percent European, beckon in this Barbara Bestor-designed Los Feliz store. TASTE: Usually Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.
TOP BOTTLE: Dario Prinčič 2013 Ribolla Gialla ($50).
1911 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz

Stanley’s Wet Goods
SHOP: A few dozen natural wines, mainly from California with some from Spain, France, and Mexico, are on hand at this spacious new Culver City emporium.
TASTE: Daily.
TOP BOTTLE: Onward 2015 Malvasia Bianca Pétillant Naturel ($24).
9620 Venice Blvd., Culver City

Red, White, & Orange

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Sure, there are reds, whites, and rosés. But orange wines and pét-nats are natural’s distinct eccentrics. Savory orange wines are made by fermenting white grapes with their skins; bubbly, even beery pét-nats are fermented in the bottle with no added sugar. Both pair surprisingly well with food—and the usual rules don’t apply. Experiment freely.

Dining & Drinking

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Jon & Vinny’s
Each of Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s restaurants o ers a strong selection, but only this red-sauce spot on Fairfax Avenue includes a pocket-size wine shop—Helen’s—tucked in the back.
412 N. Fairfax, Fairfax

Night + Market Song
How many wines work with Thai food? Kris Yenbamroong, chef of this Silver Lake restaurant and two other Night + Market locations, seems to have found all of them for one of the city’s most admired natural-wine lists.
3322 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake

Hatchet HallAt this Culver City standby, Brian Dunsmoor’s wood-fired Southern cooking is paired with an impressively large list of natural wines, many of them from up-and-coming California producers.
12517 Washington Blvd., Culver City

BestiaThe downtown spot, one of the city’s first to fully embrace natural wine, features a changing daily selection to match
the rustic Italian menu.
2121 E. 7th Place, downtown

Elf CafeAlong with the wine list, this Echo Park vegetarian restaurant has its own rambling blog, the Elf Guide to Natural Wine.
2135 W. Sunset Blvd., Echo Park

Bold Pours

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Taste the spectrum at a wine bar with a good natural list: Bar Bandini in Echo Park, Everson Royce Bar and Mignon downtown, Esters Wine Shop & Bar in Santa Monica, Marvin on Beverly Boulevard, and Tabula Rasa Bar in Thai Town.

This article was featured in our 2018 Dining L.A. Guide

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