Esquire names Phoenix wine bar one of the best in America

Esquire magazine published its 2024 list of the 42 best bars in America on Thursday, and one Phoenix spot made the cut.

The very first bar on the list is Sauvage Wine Bar and Shop.

“The Helen Anderson House was built for the widow of an insurance-company organizer. Today, all the cool kids in town throw natty-wine-fueled dance parties in her living room late into the night,” wrote Equire contributor Omar Mamoon.

“The English cottage revival home has housed various businesses over the years, like a café and a gift shop, but make no mistake: Its current incarnation is definitely the most fun,” he continues.

The historic location on McDowell Road is the second iteration of Sauvage, which began as a tiny bottle shop located in downtown Phoenix’s shipping container collective The Churchill. At its new, much larger digs, the concept has expanded to include wine pours along with small bites.

It’s all the brainchild of owner and wine expert Chris Lingua, who has enlisted the cooking skills of friends in the industry to host pop-ups and kitchen takeovers to keep the menus exciting and ever-evolving.

Currently, the bar hosts chef Derek Christensen’s Scandinavian-inspired pop-up Nordborg on Thursday and Friday evenings and takes on some earlier hours with Harlem Coffee Co. popping up on Sunday mornings. Other one-off events rotate through the schedule at Sauvage.

The wine menu at Sauvage is comprised of natural and biodynamic wines. Helpful staff, and often Lingua himself, are on hand to guide customers to the perfect sip.

Sauvage

149 W. McDowell Road