Located in the former Le Porcini Ristorante space, bacaro l.a. is a new wine bar in a neighborhood not known for upscale merlots.

A tiny tapas bar with real Spanish flair. Just a few tables and lots of standing room. Still, the small bites go way beyond what you'd find at a neighborhood joint in Madrid.

Bottle Rock carries over 600 wines in the cellar (about half domestic, half imported from all four corners), and each and every can be opened for your pleasure (though two-drink minimums apply to some).

The sign out front says "Wine for the people," and the long, narrow space inside is, indeed, low-key and not too fancy. A colorful abstract mural of wine bottles is on the back wall, and the rest of the room is dominated by a bright red counter, with a few seats by the window near the front door and in the back.

Located near the L.A. Live sports, dining and entertainment complex, Corkbar aims to offer loft-dwelling residents (and perhaps those en route to L.A. Live) high-end California wines in a sophisticated setting.

Located across the street from The Echo, El Prado strikes the right balance between the neighborhood's gritty roots and the increasingly upscale offerings of nearby Silver Lake.

Intimate and low-key, Lou is a local favorite for casual meetings, small plates and most of all, wine.

Downtown now has plenty of bars, but where can you seduce a loved one? Bar 107 isn't exactly romantic, and often Cedd Moses' bars are too crowded on weekends. Enter The Must. The small wine & beer bar aims to fill a niche for women and couples who simply want a quiet place to sip a Pinot Noir (or three).

Located on the ground floor of the 1928 seven-story Bekins moving depot, Palate is many things to many people: a restaurant, a wine vendor, a cheese store, a tasting bar and lounge and a "gastronomic library," with more than 200 titles including cookbooks, food history books and books on wine, cheese and coffee.

(Formerly Sgt. Recruiter) While Umami Burger 2.0 takes over the old Cobras & Matadors space, Japanese-themed beer bar Salaryman replaces Sgt. Recruiter.

Walk in the door and you feel welcomed. It seems like such a simple thing, but few restaurants get it right. I'm not talking about a phalanx of junior managers slipping you an insincere smile as they size you up and then try to stick you with the worst table in the room. Everyone who works at Tasca has an instinctive sense of how to be warm and hospitable. The space works too, with no big-name designer in sight and a limited budget.

Minutes from the Anaheim Convention Center, freeway-easy and two blocks from the transportation center (Metrolink/Amtrak), this handsome wine bar is located in a semi-restored midcentury downtown block with lot parking encircled by storefronts.

A vintage experience: Upstairs 2, which sits atop a wine emporium, is a West L.A. find.

At the top of a flight of stairs tucked into a narrow alley, Vertical Wine Bistro exploits its vertical orientation.

Valentino's sleek, sophisticated wine-bar serves refined snacks and elite wines at more wallet-friendly rates.