Yes, I admit this is not about beer or pubs but is about wine bars. It is also an interesting story about how the venues we drink in constantly evolve – whether that is pubs or wine bars.

For many people, wine bars still no doubt conjure up images of candle-lit basements with wooden wine crates scattered around the room, and Gallic imagery likely to adorn the walls, along with wine lists that are indecipherable to the majority of drinkers.

Many still exist, but in reality, things have been changing dramatically over the years, and more contemporary offerings have injected new energy into the category. The décor and image of wine bars have been well and truly overhauled. The City of London is an obvious example of how things have changed. 

For more than 400 years, the big triumvirate of Davy’s, El Vino and Balls Brothers carved out a profitable niche that largely remained intact and unchanged over these multiple centuries. But over a period of a couple of decades from the late 1980s, the world of wine bars changed on the back of reduced drinking, the increased demand for food and the desire of people to drink in brighter, less cave-like environments. These three big beasts of wine in the City either collapsed or shrunk dramatically.

Such changes have been reflected across the wine bar category today – in the City and beyond. We’ve seen the emergence of an array of new businesses including Veeno, Humble Grape, 28-50, Vagabond and Vinoteca. They have sought to deliver a more modern take on the wine bar for younger drinkers. But it has been tough, as seen by the failures of Veeno and Vinoteca, which are now under new ownerships. 

What has arguably remained one of the issues with wine is its sheer complexity. I undertook the excellent Wine & Spirit Education Trust courses up to Level 3 (I would highly recommend them), which suggests a decent bit of knowledge, but I would be the first to admit that I have merely scratched the surface.

Overcoming this knowledge deficit has undoubtedly been a challenge for the wine industry, and is maybe one of the reasons the category is over-skewed to older drinkers who have built up more experience with their vino. They have greater confidence among the many grape varieties, regions, appellations and other arcane language that inhabits the wine world and inhibits its embrace by a broader swath of drinkers.

While this represents a challenge for wine bars, it is also an opportunity that more operators are grasping – offering wine experiences. Any wine bar worth its salty Albariño and Assyrtiko is now offering tastings that are a hybrid entertainment/education.

Whether it be comparing regions or countries, grape varieties or price-points, there are myriad options of getting different wines into people’s hands that serves the dual purpose of delivering a platform for having a fun night out and learning. Wine bars can very easily satisfy the increased appetite for experiences when people spend an evening out.

Certainly, for Vagabond and Humble Grape, the more experience-based model is serving them well as both are on the expansion trail. The latter has opened a seventh site in the capital, while Vagabond has recently opened the doors on a large site in the City. Its sites have the secret weapon of Enomatic wine storing machines that enable customers to sample various sized pours from bottles – including tiny samples – held within the devices. 

With 110 bottles held in the Enomatic machines at the Vagabond in St Paul’s, there is the opportunity for drinkers to experience an array of wines for modest outlay. It’s a truly great way to try lots of wines and learn what you like.

Since Majestic Wine bought the business, it has injected life – and plenty of money – into the brand that reached a crescendo with the opening of its impressive urban winery at Canada Water in late 2025. This is a full-on wine experience involving production on-site – thereby providing the opportunity for tours and tastings – along with a multi-level wine bar, of course. 

The idea of this major investment is that it will tap into the growth in wine tourism and will contribute to attracting wine drinkers to London – and beyond too – to one of the growing number of English vineyards with tasting rooms and restaurants.

At heart, the Canada Water Vagabond is arguably just a turbo-powered wine bar, but that is exactly what the industry needs. Bringing greater hospitality experiences to customers is what will continue to determine the winners and losers in the category.

Glynn Davis, editor, Beer Insider

This piece was originally published on Propel Info where Glynn Davis writes a regular Friday opinion piece. Beer Insider would like to thank Propel for allowing the reproduction of this column.