Glasses of pure class

David Sly stops short of the cellar door to explore the boutique wine lists at a host of slick city bars.

Before venturing into the vineyards that circle Adelaide, visitors can get a taste for celebrated South Australian wines at a new generation of sleek city wine bars. With enthusiastic owners and staff steeped in vinous knowledge, these little havens encourage you to lose yourself in a few glasses of exceptional wine.

This extends from the elegant (118 Hindley Street, city, (08) 8212 9099), with its grand timber cabinets and mirrors sourced from an old apothecary to match its stately wine list, to a tiny hole-in-the-wall wine lounge in the middle of the Central Market district called (61a Gouger Street, city, (08) 8410 0645), where manager Wes Gibson is happy to share his great knowledge of the state's boutique producers and cool wines from around the world.

A few winemakers have blurred the lines by creating hip city bars that also serve as cellar-door outlets for their wine brand. Aramis Vineyards of McLaren Vale has opened a chic cellar door restaurant called in the heart of Adelaide's legal district (19 Gouger Street, city, (08) 8410 7880). Beyond presenting the Aramis portfolio of big red wines and a supporting cast of white wines, sparkling wines and spirits from premium international producers, a sharp bistro menu from chef Mark Cooper stretches from classy all-day breakfasts, through tasting plates to daily specials that can run from handmade pasta to a wagyu burger.

, at 171 O'Connell Street, North Adelaide, is the tasting room of cult winemaker Chris Ringland, though it has an air of mystery about it – no street signage, no phone, entry from a rear door off a back lane (look for the giant R painted on the wall) and a series of small rooms inside that are like private lounges, each themed to reflect different wines that Ringland makes. With a producer's licence, it currently serves only R Wines but hopes to have a full licence to extend its bar offerings soon. It does, however, offer food prepared by American chef Gregory Hill, who focuses on Latin American and US south-western style dishes. It's open from 5pm until late, Wednesday to Saturday.

Several new restaurants are also embracing the flavour of wine-bar style and expertise. At the (121 Pirie Street, city, (08) 8232 1222), general manager Adam Ross is making the two-level bar and fine dining restaurant a wine industry clubhouse, with boutique winemakers presenting new releases at tasting sessions every second Thursday from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Guest winemakers also host three-course lunches on the first Friday of each month, a nice foil for the culinary skills of chef Adam Liston.

Adelaide's newest addition to the wine-savvy dining scene is , a small bistro in an unlikely suburban setting (within the new Tennyson Medical Centre at 520 South Road, Kurralta Park, (08) 8292 2295). It is run by foodies and wine nuts – owner Richard Goodine and chef Kam McManamey, who previously worked with Teage Ezard in Melbourne. A flavoursome Asia-meets-Italy menu keeps company with a hip wine and beer list that has attracted a following of people who drift through for casual drinks and stay to eat.

Wine is also a primary focus at First at The Hotel Richmond (128 Rundle Mall, city, (08) 8215 4421). Restaurant manager Coree Every has instilled a strong South Australian accent in a wine list boasting many small but serious boutique brands, designed to complement chef James Buckley's smart menu. This union is best illustrated at The First Table, bi-monthly dinners serving guests at a long table, featuring four courses and six wines from boutique producers.

A cluster of hip tapas-style bars-restaurants also specialise in pouring funky boutique wines from Australia and abroad, sitting comfortably with savoury food designed to be shared. This exciting junction, where the flavours of Spain and Italy meet modern Australia, characterises the personality of , with its tiny adjacent bar (140 Gouger St, city, (08) 8410 7617), (in the basement at 39 Hindmarsh Square, city, (08) 8227 1007), (72-74 Halifax Street, city, (08) 8232 3523) and (10 O'Connell Street, North Adelaide, (08) 8267 2444).