I've been a patron of top ten wines for 18 years now (can't believe it's been that long), and it seems Paul, his staff and the vibe at Top Ten continue to improve each year. The selection, the service, the suggestions get better each time. There are two places in town I always recommend to friends and newcomers, and top ten is always on that list. Paul Vernon is a genuine person and business owner, always making sure to take care of his patrons. One thing I really appreciate is that his staff also reflects his values. Kind, considerate and knowledgeable. They know you by name. There's no other establishment like it. I'm looking forward to the next 18 years of visiting my favorite place. read more

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I absolutely love Top Ten Wines. Whether it's drinks with a colleague, out with friends or celebrating a special event! Hands down, they have some of the best hard to find and unique wine and spirits that I have seen in Columbia. You can tell the owner has a passion for what he does and it shows. I have never had a bad experience. One of my favorite things is the knowledge and expertise the staff has to help you find the right wine or spirit just for you! Check it out! You won't regret it! read more

Me and a friend sat outside this restaurant (both of us are black) and we were told to move within a few seconds and we did. We moved to another set of chairs that we didn't think was apart of the same restaurant and we were told to move again. We complied both times and the second time and both times were honest mistakes and didn't think anything of it. But we definitely sensed a hostile tone and a bit of an attitude from what we assume to be the owner. We then went to Edgey Cowgirl so our other friends could finish shopping (now that that store has excellent customer service and a friendly atmosphere). When they finished we came out and saw the gentleman who told us to move again. But we also noticed two white men sitting in the same set of tables where we were told to move. They seemed to just be sitting there and talking and had not ordered anything to drink and they just sat there unbothered. We waited in our car to see if the owner would tell them to move for about 5 minutes and nothing happened. This was very odd to me that we were told to move from those tables in less than a minute but the other gentlemen could sit down and have a good ole time it seemed like. I would not suggest giving this restaurant your business. read more

This is a place to pop in or spend all night. While their wine selection is great, don't sleep on their cocktails! The bartenders make you feel known and at home in the best way. Impress your next date here with this gorgeous spot. read more

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We love this place! The wine here is great quality, and the service is amazing as well. Lots of options to choose from, and they give you pretty large pours! We love coming here for a relaxing night or day off! read more

First time coming here the other day! One of the few places I've been to where you get such a substantial amount of wine for what you pay. I got the Riesling and was given a small bottle to refill my glass for only $12! I loved the seating area, ideal set up to hang out with a group of friends. read more

Top Ten Wines - a man behind the bar - Bars Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

Great selection, service and atmosphere for a wine tasting or to just get recommendations of fun new wines.

Great spot to hang out and enjoy a huge selection of wines! Staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. Quieter, older patrons when your tired of the bro scene. Terrific for a glass of wine before or after dinner downtown. Decent selection of craft beer as well. read more

I had a friend recommended this spot, and man am I glad she did! Top Ten Wines is a casual place to grab a wine carafe with friends and ogle at all the bottles for sale. You can find anything from date night to study night here. Def on my list of go-to's with friends. read more

Ok selection, non existent service. It's a nice atmosphere if you don't want to be bothered or you want to bus your own table because the people before you didn't clean after they left (surprise) and neither did the staff. The games on the table seem nice but out of place - is it a cool European wine bar or a place to play kids board games? The best part about it is the price - it was not disagreeable. read more

Top Ten is a luxury wine cellar with little pockets of seating areas for quiet visits with friends. Paul and Tia take great care of you with great selection suggestions and cheese and crackers. We have been enjoying the place a lot lately! read more

I want to start this off by saying I absolutely adore top 10 wines, the drinks, and the atmosphere. But recently when I have came in to bring friends and family, or simply in on my own, the staff has acted like it was a burden I was there/ it was annoying I was ordering drinks. Jason is the only one who has treated us with kindness and respect. When I order a drink from someone besides Jason it's always an attitude, "I can't do that", or just an "ok". I hope something can be done about this because this is one of my favorite gems in Como. read more

Top Ten has been my place for both bar and retail wine for nearly 10 years. The place has matured over the years, from ping pong tables in the back to beautiful wood long tables and new shelving and racks. The pours are generous and exceptional value. The owner and staff are attentive and kind. It IS a place for an older/professional crowd. Don't imagine you're getting a college bar experience by coming here. It's calm, sophisticated and a source for exceptional wines and spirits at really good prices (bar and retail). read more

I got a couple of excellent wines here in the $20-30 range The staff are really nice and helpful. They have a huge wine selection and it's just nice to kick back there and have a glass or two read more

What a gem to enjoy! I always look forward to walking through the doors of Top Ten Wines! If you are in a hurry, lots of wines to choose from, yet I suggest you plan on enjoying a glass(or two) while browsing at the selection or sit down and just relax! The bartenders are always very knowledgeable and willing to help with selections. Thank you and I recommend this to anyone while in Columbia! Cheers~ read more

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This is a nice spot for a laid-back drink on a weekday evening or weekend afternoon. We visited on a Saturday afternoon for a casual drink while shopping downtown. The owner was working behind the bar and was very willing to answer our questions about the selection. I ordered an Italian red, specifically a Barbaresco. It was a solid wine, not my favorite, but enjoyable. The prices listed on the board seemed a little high for a glass, but they actually include a carafe in most cases, which ends up being a good deal. The atmosphere is casual and comfortable, with several small tables and a few coaches around a coffee table. Because of the casual nature of the place, we felt completely at ease taking our time. There was no rush at all. And the wine lover in me was perfectly content sipping good wine while surrounded by countless hand-selected bottles. After this experience, I definitely plan to attend one of their wine tastings in the near future. I also plan to return to purchase some bottles of wine for Christmas gifts. I'll update my review after these experiences. Overall, if you enjoy wine, it's hard to go wrong here! read more

Top Ten Wines - Sipping some wine on a Saturday afternoon - Bars Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

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With a dizzying selection of wines not found elsewhere, nice wines ready to be poured at the bar, and a knowledgeable owner, what else would you want? read more

I've passed by Top Ten Wines countless times but never gave it a second thought until I was invited to come here with a small group. It was late on a Saturday night and happened to have a good sized crowd. I It happened to be Valentines Day and they had a nice special, 2 glasses of wine and chocolate covered strawberry's for $12. While I didn't choose this route, I noticed it was a damn good deal. I assume they have good deals on regular nights but I wouldn't know. However, it's hard to tell if this is just the cheap pricing that comes with Columbia/college town. They also have a nice beer selection and plenty of spots at the bar and table space. I saw a ping pong table in the back. Seemed super random but people were using it! Top Ten is a great choice in downtown Columbia, especially if you're looking for something more laid back. read more

Stopped in one afternoon while in Columbia, to discover a small bar serving wine along with a decent size wine collection for sale. As I started browsing the wines I was a little bit confused as there were no signs explaining where each type of wine was located, this was a little bit frustrating because I had to browse the entire store to find what I was looking for. Overall the selection was decent, however no where near as complete as Mac A Doodles. This place would be ideal for a social gathering with friends, they even had a ping pong table in the back. The staff was friendly and after taking a quick look at the menu the prices seemed reasonable for the selection. I also noticed that they often host wine tastings, which might be fun next time I am in town. read more

If you like wine, this is your place. It's a relaxed bar, which can be hard to find in downtown Columbia. So, if you want a drink but don't want to crowd (or really even college students) it's a nice place to spend a low key evening out. They have a decent variety of wine and really good sangria (also some beer and liquor). read more

Great place for bros and frat boys. Bad place for wine selection with out the pretension. These are boys with ego, they are not sommeliers at all. Boring selection. read more

I like to go here when I'm not in a hurry. There are hidden treasures scattered about and the curious shopper is often rewarded. This change of pace makes it feel more like shopping for vinyl records you can drink. Awesome, right? So take your time, enjoy the music, and ask one of the staff if you need help. They recommended excellent wines for us every single time. It's also a fun bar to socialize at after work. read more

RACIST BEHAVIOR I used to love coming here. The wine is interesting, the sangria is cheap, and service is decent, even when the bar is beyond busy. But I won't be coming here anymore. I brought in a bottle of soda, one of several things I carry in my bag. The owner came over and said not to bring drinks in, but while the drink was in my hand, he addressed the rebuke to my Latina roommate. I repeat, the bottle was in MY hand, and he didn't even blink at me. It's a small incident, but I will no longer be giving Top Ten Wines my business. The owner should have been looking at/addressing ME when he said what he said, but he told her, and she felt, to say the least, diminished. I told him in no uncertain terms that his behavior was reprehensible, and his apology ran along the lines of, "I'm sorry IF you felt that way." This is a halfhearted apology that shifts blame onto the victim of the incident, and is not fair. Please don't give this place your business if you value a community where everyone feels welcome and safe. It's tiny, but not standing up, not saying something, and allowing privileged, racist behavior, even unconscious behavior, lets it get to worse and worse points, until we are where we are today. This shouldn't be rewarded. read more

Don't be afraid of the price on the chalkboard. It isn't exactly per glass. They give you a small carafe that, for me, is essentially two glasses. In that case, however, you've committed to a decent amount of wine you've probably never had before. Luckily there is always an expert on hand to help you choose something you're likely to enjoy! The tables by the window are quaint and cozy spaces for people-watching on 9th street. Is there anything better than spending an afternoon in a sunny window, drinking wine, and people-watching in a college town? Maybe people-watching in Vegas...maybe. read more

Just right. Enjoy the selections. Relax and enjoy the experience. Interesting people, no rush, and you never know what you might hear from those near you or if you will make a new friend. read more

I went in to buy my boyfriend a bottle of wine (he had a rough day) Josh was absolutely amazing he took us around the store and found the perfect bottle, he had a lot of knowledge about the wine and provided excellent customer service was quick and made us feel like we were very important. Thank you! read more

Chill and grown-up bar in a college town full of dollar shots. Always a great selection of wine by the glass and a fantastic curated menu of small bites. read more

By far my favorite place to go in Columbia! Such friendly and helpful staff, and a great selection of wines at reasonable prices. I love getting to try new and different wines every time I'm there! Would give this place 10 stars if I could. read more

The wine selection is reasonably varied and eclectic, and the prices are generally good. The service, however, leaves a lot to be desired. The clerk at the store was very condescening to my wife, and dismissive of the wines that she was trying to find. (Oddly, even though he acted like she was a peasant for her choice of Italian wines, the store had them in stock!) This is problematic because the store layout is somewhere between informal and chaotic....it looks like wines are roughly grouped by coulntry and style, but if you're looking for a particular wine, you need to ask for help...and if your tastes aren't up to the staff's standards, be prepared for a hearty helping of disdain with your vino. Update - just discovered that the "Pinot Blanc blend" recommended by the clerk actually contains no Pinot Blanc. read more

We had a white wine tasting here with Paul and Taz and they were very gracious hosts for the evening. They gave us a nice array of whites to sample and gave us a brief education. It was a fun evening and I think plans are already in the way for a red wine tasting night. Also, I ordered a red at the end of the night and they filled giant glass full for $9 with a tasty Bordeaux. read more

Nice selection of wines, I have never been to one of their tastings but have spent many an evening sipping wine there, either from the selection they serve at the bar, or buying a bottle with a group of friends and having them open it for us. Not much in terms of seating space, so for a big party it's really out of question. But it's quite, relaxed and very nice for a smaller group. The service is hit and miss depending on who you get. It ranges from extremely friendly, wine enthusiasts who would talk to you for a while to discover what kind of wine you'd like best, to very friendly completely clueless person who couldn't help you despite the best intentions. Overall the bartenders are friendly and helpful, how much they can help is a different question. Recently they started bringing in a nice selection of beer as well. You can buy them to take home (like their wine) or ask what they have chilled for drinking at the bar. read more

Great selection that you won't find at Macadoodles or HyVee. Always interesting offerings by glass, served up by knowledgeable staff. The addition of Chef Ben and his wonderful, interesting small plates puts this place in elite company in CoMo. Oh, and the cocktails and beer selection are far ahead of the pack too. read more

The wine selection here seemed good with lots of variety. They were hosting a local musician the night I was in, although I did not stay long enough to hear him. You can order wine either by the glass or by the bottle (with a stem fee). The server behind the counter could have done a better job with recommendations. We were the only customers, but she did not make any attempts to even point us in the right direction when we looked a little lost about how to order wine. We ended up picking a delicious French cuvee pinot noir and had an excellent time sipping it before dinner. Overall, it is a relaxed place. read more

Bad service, if the bartender/ owner doesn't know you. It's almost like a private club, regulars have a great experience, everyone else gets the cold shoulder read more

Nice staff. Friendly. Know their beers and wines. Much more room than before with more couches and tables.

I love this place! The people are extremely knowledgable about wine and also friendly and unpretentious. Amazing wine selection but also lots of great whiskeys. read more

I love this place & its owner, Paul. It's a great, little shop on 9th St, right in downtown CoMO, across from the infamous Booches (which, btw, if you are a Booches' fan Paul doesn't mind if you carry a burger or two into his wine shop to enjoy with your wine). There's always a great selection at the wine bar, and the shop is full of all sorts of fun wines and beers. The new addition of outdoor seating is awesome as well. read more

Top Ten USED to be the place where my friends and I would go for a few glasses of wine to chat and hang out. However, the last few experiences that we have had there make us NEVER want to go back. The bartenders have always been super nice and friendly. Unfortunately, the owner is extremely rude. He scolded us for using 2 ping pong balls as we were playing a casual ping pong game in the back which made us feel like we were 5 years old again. There has been other situations as well where he has been unnecessarily rude which has made us never want to go back to Top Ten Wines which is sad because it used to be our favorite hang out. I would NOT recommend going here because the owner will kill your good mood and ruin all the fun! read more