Best Restaurants for Wine Lovers in Charleston
This list gathers Charleston restaurants in our guide with exceptional wine programs, Wine Spectator awards, sommelier-led lists or long by-the-glass selections. Nine restaurants on the list carry exceptional wine programs: Vern's, Peninsula Grill, Sorelle, Circa 1886, Marbled & Fin, Bin 152, Planters Inn, Legami and Muse Restaurant. Eight hold Wine Spectator awards, either Best of Award of Excellence or Award of Excellence.
Vern's is the Michelin-starred restaurant on this list, with an exceptional, sommelier-led list and corkage allowed. Sommelier-led lists also appear at Peninsula Grill, Sorelle, Wild Common, Circa 1886 and Marbled & Fin. Peninsula Grill's list runs to 440 selections across 3,940 inventory units, with particular depth in Bordeaux, France, and California. Muse Restaurant offers 75 selections by the glass, and Bin 152 pours an extensive by-the-glass selection in the French Quarter.
How this list is chosen: Restaurants holding a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award or rated as having an exceptional wine program, listed alphabetically. Updated October 8, 2026.
Bin 152
Exceptional wine program
Bin 152 sits on King Street in the heart of Charleston's most active dining corridor, holding a 1-Star Accreditation from the World of Fine Wine & Lifestyle Awards. The format centers on wine, with a selection that positions it as a serious retail and by-the-glass destination in a city increasingly regarded for beverage programming alongside its kitchen credentials.
Circa 1886
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence · Exceptional wine program
Circa 1886 occupies a converted carriage house on Wentworth Street, placing it firmly within Charleston's tradition of fine dining in historically layered spaces. Recognised by Star Wine List with a White Star designation in 2022, the restaurant represents the city's established fine-dining tier, where Southern culinary roots meet a serious wine program. Reserve well ahead, particularly on weekends.
Costa
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Costa occupies a quiet corner of Charleston's Broad Street corridor, where the city's fine-dining ambitions meet its coastal identity. Check directly for current hours, pricing, and reservation availability.
Halls Chophouse
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Halls Chophouse occupies a firm position in Charleston's steakhouse tier, where the Hall family's approach to Southern hospitality meets a wine program of 2,000 bottles and 180 selections..,000 reviews, it draws a consistent crowd to King Street for lunch and dinner service throughout the year.
Husk
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Husk on Queen Street sits at the center of Charleston's farm-to-table tradition, applying a strict sourcing philosophy — if it doesn't come from the South, it doesn't come through the door.
Legami
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence · Exceptional wine program
Legami belongs to Charleston’s newer wine-led dining conversation, where sourcing, bottle culture, and King Street foot traffic increasingly shape the meal as much as cuisine labels do. Its clearest credential is Wine Enthusiast’s Best Wine Restaurants 2025 recognition for the Southeast, a signal that the restaurant is being read through wine service and regional relevance rather than tourist-district volume.
Marbled & Fin
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence · Exceptional wine program
Charleston’s steakhouse lane is shifting from old-club formality toward wine-led rooms that can carry both serious cuts and a broader night out. Marbled & Fin belongs in that newer category: a downtown East Bay steakhouse recognized by Wine Enthusiast Best Wine Restaurants 2025, with dinner service throughout the week and brunch on weekends.
Muse Restaurant
Exceptional wine program
On Society Street in Charleston's historic Ansonborough district, Muse Restaurant operates in a city where farm-to-table rhetoric often outpaces practice. Positioned alongside serious New American peers like Vern's and FIG, Muse draws on the Lowcountry's ingredient depth with a format that prioritizes sourcing transparency and environmental accountability over spectacle.
Peninsula Grill
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence · Exceptional wine program
Peninsula Grill occupies a landmark position in Charleston's fine-dining tier, holding consecutive Opinionated About Dining Top 600 rankings through 2024 and 2025 and drawing a strong anniversary and celebration crowd to its formal dining room on North Market Street. The wine list runs to 440 selections across 3,940 inventory units, with particular depth in Bordeaux, France, and California. Dinner is the sole service, positioning it squarely in occasion-dining territory.
Planters Inn
Exceptional wine program
The property holds a Southern Cuisine kitchen under Chef Kalen Fortuna and draws on its location and historic décor to anchor a particular kind of Charleston dining experience — one where the setting is as deliberate as the food.
Sorelle
Exceptional wine program
Sorelle brings a focused Italian program to Charleston's historic lower peninsula, earning a Michelin Plate and a spot on Resy's 2025 Hit List. The kitchen's commitment to handmade pasta situates it within a growing tier of serious Italian cooking in the American South. Located at 88 Broad St, it belongs on any considered eating itinerary through downtown Charleston.
Vern's
1 Michelin star · Exceptional wine program
Vern's earned a Michelin star and a Resy Best of the Hit List nod in 2025, placing it among the more closely watched contemporary American tables in Charleston. Located on Bogard Street in the Upper Peninsula, it represents a strand of Charleston dining that leans into the set-menu format as an editorial statement rather than a hospitality convenience. For a city that built its reputation on coastal abundance, Vern's argues that structure and restraint can be just as defining.
Wild Common
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Wild Common in Charleston delivers Contemporary American tasting menus that highlight Lowcountry seafood and seasonal produce. Must-try plates include Steamboat Creek Oyster, the inventive Fig Newton dessert and the 4–7 course tasting menu with optional additional courses. Led by Executive Chef Orlando Pagán, this Michelin-starred kitchen pairs exacting technique with approachable flavors in an intimate, chef-forward setting. The experience balances thoughtful wine and cocktail pairings, interactive Chef’s Table seating, and warm, attentive service. Expect layered textures, coastal brine, and clean, focused sauces that let local ingredients sing — a refined Charleston tasting experience that rewards advance reservations and curiosity for tasting-menu dining.
Planning restaurants for wine lovers in Charleston
- Which restaurants on this list hold Wine Spectator awards?
- Eight restaurants on this list hold Wine Spectator awards. Peninsula Grill, Halls Chophouse, Circa 1886 and Costa hold Best of Award of Excellence for 2026. Wild Common, Marbled & Fin and Legami hold Award of Excellence for the same year. Husk holds Award of Excellence for 2025.
- Which neighborhoods are these wine restaurants in?
- Ansonborough has two restaurants on this list, Peninsula Grill and Muse Restaurant. The Historic District also has two, Circa 1886 and Planters Inn. Husk is in historic downtown, Sorelle is in Historic Downtown, and Halls Chophouse is on Upper King Street. Wild Common is in Cannonborough - Elliottborough. Marbled & Fin is in downtown Charleston, and Legami is in Downtown Charleston. Bin 152 is in the French Quarter, and Costa is in Harleston Village.
- What wine list styles appear on this list?
- List styles on this page are exceptional programs, sommelier-led lists and extensive selections, including by the glass. Peninsula Grill lists 440 selections across 3,940 inventory units, with particular depth in Bordeaux, France, and California. Muse Restaurant offers 75 selections by the glass. Bin 152 pours an extensive by-the-glass selection in the French Quarter.
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