The best: Wine bars to check out in Manchester

A delightful spot tucked alongside Ancoats Marina, Flawd is a neighbourhood natural wine bar that also serves up stellar small plates that go hand-in-hand with their bottles.

Since taking over an old gallery space, Ad Hoc has proved a wildly popular addition to the Northern Quarter. Industrial shelves cascade around the venue packed with an incredible selection of handpicked bottles to take away or drink in.

Erst’s ability to expertly match their natural wine offering with showstopping small plates has earned the venue a long list of rave reviews, with the cosy spot being recognised as one of the UK’s best on multiple occasions.

Monton’s Wandering Palate is a real labour of love, and it shines through the minute you step in. They say their offering has been inspired by years of travelling and friendships made, and the shop-bar hybrid has proved a more-than-welcome piece of the rejuvenated Salford village.

Reserve was born out of combating intimidating visits to a local wine shop, the ones where you haven’t the foggiest what you’re looking at. Since then, alongside their Didsbury store, they’ve established popular outposts at Altrincham Market, Mackie Mayor, Macclesfield Picturedrome and Warrington’s Bents, so they must be doing something right.

Back in Ancoats, Blossom Street Social offers an eclectic slate of international and local wines sourced from renowned vineyards and small-batch hidden gems alike, curated with an ethos of artistry and innovation to deliver a ‘sensory journey’ with every sip.

Salut are proper veterans when it comes to wine in Manchester and with more than 400 bottles on offer — an ever-increasing amount of which fall into the natural category — we’re fairly confident even the fussiest of drinkers will find a pour suited to them.

Isca combines natural wine with supreme deli goods, celebrating the connection with the source of their offerings and the person behind them.

Sustainability and transparency are at the forefront of everything they do—so whether you grab a bottle to take away, or sit in with a couple of small plates, you can do so with a clear conscience.

Another hit Ancoats neighbourhood hangout, KERB has built its offering around the little guy, and an ability to suggest the perfect natty wine for any situation.

The team sum it up better than we ever could, though, explaining that they’re about “the freedom of the grape, the passion of the farmers, the experience of the drinker and the connection between all three.”

Serving over 450 wines across its units in Heaton Moor and Sale, South Manchester’s beloved Cork of the North bars offer an unrivalled choice of exquisite vintages alongside delicious Mediterranean nibbles daily.

Guests can pluck one of the glinting bottles covering almost every square inch of the bar’s walls to sample in the warm, bustling inner sanctum or revel in the late summer sun on the alfresco terraces.

Quietly boasting one of Manchester’s best terraces, up above the trees and shrubbery of Kampus garden, there probably aren’t many better-looking places to work your way through a bottle of something fantastic with mates.

The wine list is described as ‘seriously not serious’, making it accessible to anyone and everyone, featuring familiar classics and an ever-changing list of surprising new favourites. Hungry? Then a pick from a couple of the excellent Spanish tapas small plates to keep yourself fuelled.

A truly brilliant new name along Stockport’s Underbanks — an area which is famously enjoying a real moment — BRUK blends an impressive, expertly-selected collection of wines (along with cocktails and beers) with a lively calendar of live DJs, tastings and other exciting events.

Part Italian deli, part wine bar and cosy restaurant, Vino Buono is a lovely, inviting space in Heaton Chapel where you can revel in sublime, handpicked wines while tucking into mouthwatering Pinsa (Roman flatbread). If that isn’t enough to coax you in, then the serene courtyard garden out back, which is regularly soundtracked by live DJs, should do the trick.