Syracuse, NYWine Bars

A downtown restaurant in a former Onondaga Street church that This is CNY's Charlie Miller reported earned Wine Spectator's 2024 Award of Excellence just five months after opening. Co-owner Robert Zaccaria built a program of 95 selections and more than 1,100 bottles specializing in Burgundy, central to the restaurant's vision. The kitchen turns out duck breast, sea bass and pork belly to match. Order a glass from the Burgundy list alongside the duck breast.

A 42-seat Hanover Square room that This is CNY's Charlie Miller reported Wine Spectator has named among the world's best restaurants for wine three years running. The 160-bottle list leans heavily on New York State, the bar builds cocktails from New York spirits, and every dish cooks over open flame in a custom hearth at the end of the bar. Order a New York pour with the ember-roasted strip steak and bone marrow.

A dedicated Armory Square wine bar that both Central Current and Spectrum Local News describe as the first of its kind in the city. Yolanda Stewart's Central Current piece counts more than 100 wines by the bottle and 30 by the glass drawn from the Finger Lakes and Europe, while co-owner Bob Leonard told Spectrum he opens rare old bottles to pour by the ounce. Order a by-the-ounce pour of an aged wine with a charcuterie board.