15 Must-visit wine bars & wine shops in Bologna

Italy's wine world is maybe as wide and diverse as Italian cuisine itself.
​But once you've started, you won't be able to stop discovering.

These are my best places to drink wine in Bologna and to give your trip a sparkling twist.
And you'll never order just the house wine anymore.

How I chose these wine bars in Bologna

I didn’t pick these places randomly.

• Wine first: focus on natural, organic, or thoughtfully selected wines, often available by the glass.

• Atmosphere matters: places where you can actually relax, talk, and enjoy your glass — not just drink it.

• Location & soul: mostly in or near the city center, with a strong local identity (no tourist traps).

Every spot on this list is somewhere I’d happily go back to — even without a camera or a notebook.

Medulla Vini

You have to carefully look to find this tiny shop and winery in Via Oberdan, just a few steps from Piazza Maggiore.

A small door on the outside, a wide world inside.

The owners will answer everything you always wondered about organic wine - and you were always afraid to ask.
If you feel like drinking, that's the place for you - they basically don't offer food.

My tip: try bio-dynamic. The production technique is somewhat magical, and so is the taste.

Info
Via Oberdan 18/A 40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 349 00 94 427
www.medullavini.it

Vineria Favalli

A short menu for food and a wide wine selection: it looks like the perfect formula. 

During summertime, you can sit on the outside staring at Santo Stefano on your left and the two towers on your right. 

Even if it's located in the fulcrum of tourists' paths, Vineria Favalli still keeps the soul of old osterias.
Waiters are rather your friends, and chatting is kind of the main course.

My tip: Pumpkin-flavored piadina is delicious.

Info
Via Santo Stefano, 5A, 40125 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 295821

Scovami

It's always a challenge over who's the bigger food nerd, me or Davide, the owner of Scovami. The wine selection is small but incredible, with a huge focus on local gems like Gradizzolo or Scandellara.

My tip: let Davide guide your choice, ask for his tigelle filled with the city's best mortadella, and leave space in your bag to bring home tuna, olives, and balsamic from his shop.

Info
Via Castiglione, 59a, 40124 Bologna
Tel: +39 379 126 7952
scovami.com

Enoteca Storica Faccioli

Since 1924, people have come here to sip a glass of wine leaning against the bricks of the Altabella tower. 

Olindo, the first owner, had to give away the tin counter during the 2WW, to make rifles and weapons for the army. Now, behind the marble counter, Carlo has a selection of wines from worldwide.

My tip: For a radical experience, try a Georgian Chkhaveri, and compare it to an Antiqua Albana from Romagna. They were both refined in amphora as they have been doing in Georgia for 5000 years.

Info
Via Altabella, 15/B, 40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 349 300 2939
www.enotecastoricafaccioli.it

Enoteca Italiana

Below the sign of Enoteca Italiana, that's the writing 'Fine wine and delicatessen'.
And inside, the most reassuring sight for a wine-lover: walls covered in bottles.

This could definitely be the chance to give your wine education a boost.
My advice is to focus on local wines like Pignoletto or Albana, as the other places often overlook them.

My tip: don't stop your shopping at wine. They sell great pasta like Benedetto Cavalieri or Mancini hard to find abroad.

Info
Via Marsala, 2, 40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 235989
www.enotecaitaliana.it

Tricheco Osteria

Fancy a quiet place, delicious appetizers, combined with a glass of Prosecco?
Head to Via Rialto, a winding road full of vintage shops, small bars, a cinema and the amazing Scaccomatto agli Orti.

There you'll find Tricheco Osteria. Wooden chairs and furniture resemble your grandmother's living room - the tasteful one.
The food is great and mostly vegetarian.

My tip: in the summertime, I always look for a seat on the terrace: a good place for a date.

Info
Via Rialto, 23/a, 40124 Bologna
Tel: +39 329 883 9885

LOrtica

They named this bar after nettle, the itchy plant from the fields.
And speaking of fields, here you'll never find a wine that it's not from organic grapes.
Furthermore, everything involved in the process is native to the production area: yeasts, sugars, and wood for the barrels included.

My favorite?
Centesimino, a grapevine that avoided the terrible phylloxera in 1879, was enclosed in a walled courtyard near Faenza.

My tip: Close to the bar, a proper shop has just opened. So it's time to buy new luggage for a 'secure shipment'.

Info
Via Mascarella, 26/B, 40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 587 6455
www.lortica.org

Accà Vineria

If a philosopher, photographer, artist, and sommelier opens a winery, you can expect something beautiful.

Franco and Gianluca's winery will meet your expectations. They use their walls as a contemporary art gallery and host small concerts.
On Wednesday nights, you can bring your own vinyl disc and play it on a turntable.

My tip: Choose 'meditation' wine and surrender to the good vibes.

Info
Via S. Giorgio 11/e, 40121, Bologna
Tel: +39 051 5882448

La bottega di via Montegrappa

They definitely have a thing for French wines, here. 
And even if I wouldn't stand on their barricade in an Italy VS France wine war, I always pay a visit when I'm around. 

Why? 
Easy to say: I tried their fresh pasta. It's probably the only place where to taste tagliatelle with a glass of Bourgogne. 

My tip: they have a good selection of pasta hard to find elsewhere. 

Info
Via Monte Grappa, 13, 40121 Bologna 
Tel: +39 051 648 6561

Mia cantina

After a hike to San Luca Basilica, you'd need restoration. If alcoholic, even better. 

The motto of Mia Cantina is 'the good wine is the one you like'.
Pretty reassuring, isn't it?

Sit at a wooden table and start reading the blackboards to make your choice.
Call me old-fashioned, but in my case, it's handmade Mortadella with a glass of Valpolicella Classico.

My tip: since you are in Via Saragozza, keep it going and make a second stop at Billi Bar

Info
Via Saragozza 43/a, Bologna
Tel: +39 051 439904

La Fastuchera

Same street, different style. 

You just cross the street and flavors, colors, and even smells change. Inside the small La Fastuchera, you're suddenly feeling in a bar on the edges of a beach in Sicily. 

Cous cous, seafood, oysters (if you're lucky), ricotta-based desserts. And an intense, perfumed, Mediterranean Sicilian wine. 

My tip: ask for a passito di Pantelleria to sip in their cozy garden. 

Info 
Via Saragozza, 60/A, 40123 Bologna 
Tel: +39 051 587 2739 
www.lafastuchera.it

Il pollaio

The selection of natural wines and the location - inside a suburban market - made it earn the name of 'punk winery'.
Don't try to impress yourself with intricate tasting moves; you won't impress anyone here.

Here you find the wine in all its truth - and snails to scrape. 

My tip: they organize a wine festival called Gusto Nudo. If you're lucky to be in Bologna on those days, don't miss it. 

Info 
Via Francesco Albani, 40129 Bologna

Da Tar

Just outside Bologna city walls, Da Tar is a tiny wine shop with a few tables to eat and taste taralli and olives from Puglia. Natural wines mostly, friendly atmosphere full of locals.

My tip: on your way back to the city center, take Via del Pratello and stop for some Bolognese street food like fried crescentine or Babilonia kebap!

Info 
Via Andrea Costa, 36/B, 40134 Bologna 
Tel: +39 345 625 8146

Zampa

The area between Via Saragozza and Via Andrea Costa is full of surprises. 

You can find the beautiful park of Villa Spada, the football stadium and the Certosa cemetery. 
Then, if it's 6 pm and the unmistakable smell of fresh-baked tigelle comes to your nose, you're probably close to Zampa. 

Celebrate uncorking a Pignoletto and... cheers! 

My tip: they have a good Prosecco that goes great with a tagliere of salumi. 

Info 
Via Andrea Costa, 127/a, 40134 Bologna 
Tel: +39 051 432931

Bottiglieria Vini Belli

Via Saragozza keeps getting better, and Bottiglieria Vini Belli is proof of it.
A recent opening that already feels like a solid reference for Bologna’s natural wine scene.

The focus is clear: artisanal wines, mainly from Italy and France, with an intelligent and accessible by-the-glass selection that invites you to open good bottles without overthinking.

The kitchen follows the same line: seasonal, vegetable-based plates, excellent cold cuts and cheeses, and pairings that actually make sense.

The atmosphere is convivial and relaxed, with a young team that knows how to guide you without lecturing.

My tip: go for aperitivo, trust the staff on the wine, and stay for dinner if the mood is right.

Info
Via Saragozza 71/A, Bologna