Swirl Wine Bar & Market

06/13/2026

Looking for a nicely air condition space with a fabulous wine and beer list to watch the World Cup? We’ve got you covered!

06/06/2026

Micaela Tuttle you can visit Swirl anytime! What a passionate, knowledgeable, funny and thoughtful presentation, can’t wait to have you and the wonderful wines of North Berkeley back in October!

06/05/2026

20 years of Swirl…
The photo is a little blurry, but the memory is crystal clear. This was our very first free Friday wine tasting at Swirl. Neil Gernon was pouring who knows what, but what I do remember is the positive energy it created. We had no idea what to expect when we opened our doors, and the support from the neighborhood that night was more than we ever imagined.

Nearly 1,000 Fridays later, we’re still doing what we love. The format has evolved over the years, but the spirit of those tastings remains exactly the same: good wine, good people, and thankfully, a community that continues to show up for us.

Tomorrow, we get to celebrate 20 years of it.

Join us for our 20th Anniversary Party from 1–9 PM. We’d love to raise a glass with you.

06/02/2026

20 years of swirl…At that same fundraiser I wrote about in my last post, there was a silent auction with a gorgeous piece of art that immediately caught my eye. Even though Swirl hadn’t opened yet, I knew exactly where it belonged.

The problem was that I had just taken out a second mortgage on my house to open the shop, so bidding on original artwork felt a little irresponsible.

Thankfully, our friend Kristi Wright had other ideas.

Kristi also loved the piece and instead of bidding against me, she offered to split the cost of the bid with me so we could take a chance on it without completely blowing my budget. Thanks to her generosity, we ended up winning the auction and bringing home what has become one of the most recognizable pieces in Swirl.

The artwork is a large mixed media portrait by local artist Jane McInnis. If you’ve spent any time standing at our checkout counter, you can’t miss it. Over the years, it has sparked countless conversations, with customers guessing who the subject might be. I’ve heard George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Einstein, and more than a few other famous names.

The truth is much less historical and a lot more entertaining: it’s actually a portrait of Jane’s ex-boyfriend.

She created the piece in 1998 when she was still in her twenties, and both she and the painting were featured in Elle magazine’s “Prodigies” section, a recurring feature that highlighted exceptionally talented young artists, performers, and athletes.

Twenty years later, it still hangs in its original spot behind the counter, quietly watching over the shop and continuing to start conversations almost every day.

Thank you, Kristi. That painting has become part of Swirl’s story, and it wouldn’t be there without your kindness. We are honored to have such an amazing piece to look at every single day.
:::

05/31/2026

20 Years of Swirl - The first neighborhood event Swirl ever participated in happened before we even opened our doors.

In the spring of 2006, there was a fundraiser at what was then Fortier Park (now Walter Wolfman Park). Our former business partner assured us she had arranged for donated wine so we could pour at the event and introduce ourselves to our future neighbors.

Then, on the morning of the event, she disappeared. No business partner. No wine. No plan.

In a bit of a panic, I called the distributor who was supposedly donating the wine, hoping there had simply been some misunderstanding. As it turned out, they knew absolutely nothing about any donation. But instead of sending me away, they did something I’ll never forget. On a Saturday morning, they opened their warehouse, met me there, put me in a golf cart, and drove me around while we pulled together enough wine for the event.

Thanks to the kindness of Lacy Stabenow and the team at Southern Glazer’s, we somehow made it work. We poured wine, met our neighbors, and started building the relationships that would become the foundation of Swirl.

Looking back 20 years later, it feels like a fitting beginning. Swirl has always been a community effort, built with the help of generous people who showed up when we needed them most.

05/29/2026

Connecting the dots between grape, place, and process in a way that’s clear and useful so you can trust your palate, choose with confidence, and get more out of every bottle. Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been drinking wine for years, you’ll leave with a better understanding of what’s in your glass and more confidence in choosing what you like.

This week we’re focusing on Loire Valley Sauvignon - understanding how soil shapes the flavor profile of wines like Sancerre, Touraine and Pouilly Fume.

Want to know what’s coming up next? Sign up for our newsletter at swirlnola.com and be the first to hear about upcoming Wine School classes, tastings, and events.

05/18/2026

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years...Swirl opened its doors in June of 2006, just nine months after the failure of the federal levee system and Hurricane Katrina. At the time, New Orleans was still trying to find its footing again. The city felt uncertain, hopeful, chaotic, resilient, and energized all at once. Opening a wine shop during that moment may not have been the most logical decision, but it came from the heart and a real belief that our neighborhood really needed a place to gather, connect, and share small moments of joy and normalcy.

Somehow, two decades later, that spirit still feels very much alive.

Over the years, we’ve watched businesses come and go, the neighborhood grow and change, and thousands of bottles shared at our tables. We’ve welcomed first dates, engagements, weddings, breakups, birthdays, countless wine tastings, fundraisers, neighborhood meet-ups, and people who walked in knowing nothing about wine and left with a new favorite bottle.

What’s always mattered most to us is the community that formed around it all. Swirl has never just been about wine — it’s about connecting with people through good times and bad; creating an inclusive environment where everyone, regardless of age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or gender identity, feels welcome and, most importantly, creating a space people genuinely want to return to.

Next month we’ll celebrate 20 years of Swirl, and honestly, we’re still a little floored by it. Thank you so much for being part of this journey over the years - Swirl would not be what it is with the amazing people (and pets!) that visit us day in and day out. To celebrate, we're throwing a party on Saturday, June 6. Starting at 1pm, there'll be free wine poured all day until 9pm, tasty snacks, very special staff selections available by the glass, and Porgy's will be with us for a few hours in the evening, offering their delicious seafood selections for sale. Please stop by and raise a glass with us, we'd love to see your faces!

05/02/2026

04/23/2026

Mimosas!
Italian Spritz!!
Boozy Coffee!!!
Bloody Mary’s!!!!
Espresso Martini!!!!!
Spiked Raspberry Lemonade!!!!!!
Wine, beer, h**p drinks, NA drinks!!!!!!
Stop by before during or after the fest to soak up some high-quality AC while drinking high-quality beverages 😋

04/19/2026

Some visits just make you smile…

Christian Beyer from stopped by the other day, and he’s exactly the kind of person you hope is behind the wines you love – humble, thoughtful, and quietly passionate about what he and his wife Valerie are doing back Alsace. The wines are truly classic - nothing overdone, nothing flashy, just Alsace exactly as it should be.

Terroir driven, biodynamic, organic and made by a family with 14 generations of winemaking behind them - exactly what we want to drink and feature in the shop.

Thank you Christian for coming to New Orleans and bringing your lovely wines.