Chateau d'Esclans's tasting room at La Motte, with the four-tier rose flight that runs Whispering Angel up to barrel-fermented Garrus.
The list: Chateau d'Esclans's tasting room at La Motte pours the four-tier Whispering Angel range up to the barrel-fermented Garrus at the top of the range
Tip: The four-tier flight (Whispering Angel, Rock Angel, Les Clans, Garrus) is the canonical comparison; book ahead as visits are by appointment only.
Address: Chemin de Esclans, 83920 La Motte, France, Provence
A powder-pink Vauban wine bar built around a natural-leaning by-the-glass list and Mediterranean small plates. Buzzing as soon as the sun is out.
The list: A powder-pink Marseille wine bar from Christophe Juville with Ferdinand Fravega and Remi Hernandez, pouring an eclectic by-the-glass list with shared small plates like nduja-broccoli and tarama
Tip: Figure is the busiest natural-leaning wine bar in Vauban; arrive when the doors open or expect to wait for a terrace seat.
A sommelier-driven Panier wine bar with a low-intervention list and ambitious small plates. Run by alumni of Otap Brussels, Ivresse Marseille and Auberge de Chassignolles.
The list: A Panier wine bar from former Otap (Brussels) sommelier Quentin Panabieres with Simon Erouart and Alix Eliard, pouring a sommelier-driven low-intervention list with small plates from prawns flambeed in pastis to lamb meatballs
Tip: The Panier is the historic core of Marseille; combine a late dinner here with a daytime walk through the Vieille Charite.
A Cours Saint-Louis restaurant in a former haberdashery, with chef Harry Cummins's tasting menus and sommelier Laura Vidal's natural-wine pours.
The list: A former-haberdashery restaurant from chef Harry Cummins and Montreal-born sommelier Laura Vidal of Paris Popup, pouring Vidal's natural-wine picks with a five-course Cummins dinner
Tip: Book the five-course dinner with the wine flight; the Friday-to-Sunday three-course lunch is the value option for the same kitchen and cellar.
Nice institution since 1947 in the Vieux Nice, pouring local and broader French wines by the glass with a shaded terrace and full-day service.
The list: Founded in 1947, one of Nice's oldest wine bars, with French regional wines by the glass and the bottle and food to soak them up. Shaded terrace and long-haul service from breakfast to evening
Tip: Closed Monday; the shaded terrace is the place to be for an early-evening glass before dinner in Vieux Nice.
A doorbell-entry, communal-table Marseille spot from former musician Erika Blu, serving cucina povera with Italian wine and lo-fi music.
The list: An Italian-led communal-table room from former musician Erika Blu, pouring Barolo and other Italian bottles to a cucina povera menu in a Persian-rug-and-old-stove setting
Tip: You ring the doorbell to get in; the room is small and the meals are communal, so book ahead and plan for a slow, conversational evening.
A Rue Fontange La Plaine cafe-bar from Axelle Poittevin and Thomas Benayoun, pouring natural wines into the evening alongside competition-level sandwiches.
The list: A Rue Fontange cafe-bar that opens early for La Marzocco espresso and stretches into lunch and evening with a sandwich menu and an evolving by-the-glass natural wine list
Tip: Razzia is a morning-to-evening La Plaine spot; the boeufato tonnato sandwich at lunch and a chilled natural rose at sundown are the two visits to plan.