Postino WineCafe

Postino WineCafe is a regional chain founded in Phoenix's Arcadia neighbourhood in 2001 by Craig and Kris DeMarco under Upward Projects, built on an approachable wine list, bruschetta boards and Board + Bottle deals. The South Lamar location opened on 9 November 2024, near the Saxon Pub.

In January 2025 Postino added a five-drink zero-proof cocktail menu across every location — its first dedicated non-alcoholic programme. A chain rolling out a zero-proof list company-wide is a different kind of signal from an independent bar doing it: it means the demand has been measured rather than guessed, and it means the drinks are standardised, so what you get in Austin is what the group signed off on rather than whatever the bartender improvises.

The five are the Glow-Up (cucumber, mint, lime, ginger beer), the Espresso Flirtini (spiced cane, hazelnut, espresso), the Mockingbird (pineapple, Italian orange, toasted almond bitters), the Unfashioned (honey, bitters, amaro) and the Naked Ranch Water (lime and soda). Two of those deserve attention. The Mockingbird and the Unfashioned both use bitters, and the Unfashioned uses amaro — bitterness being the quality that most reliably makes a drink read as adult rather than as a soft drink, and the one most zero-proof menus skip.

A wine bar is a particular kind of challenge for a non-drinker, because wine is the entire premise and there is no equivalent of ordering a beer instead. Having five named, properly built drinks on the menu means you order from the same list as everyone else rather than negotiating, and the small-plates and bruschetta format means the evening is about the table rather than the bottle.

Open from 11am on weekdays and 10am at weekends, to 11pm or midnight. One practical note: the zero-proof list is the same at every Postino, so if it works for you here it will work at any of them — which for a chain is the whole point, and is worth knowing if you travel.