It’s an easy pleasure to settle into Augustine’s scruffily handsome Sherman Oaks wine bar and request, say, a $15 smoky red from the Rías Baixas region of Spain; enjoy it alongside charred octopus with fennel and Asian pear. The wine nerds flock here for another, singular dimension to the selection: Chalkboards list daily-changing specials, drawn in part from co-owner Dave Gibbs’ personal collection. Wines can date back decades.

This is the type of place where the bartender makes an effort to learn your name — it’s a proper neighborhood bar with cocktails fit for a posh downtown rooftop. In fact, all the drinks are fancy; they’re noted on the menu as “fancy drinks” and “really fancy drinks.”

Ivan Vasquez is one of the foremost mezcal evangelists in America. His three restaurants — in Torrance, Palms and the newest location, in West Hollywood — are mind-opening windows into mezcal culture. “Smoky” only begins to cover the range of the spirit’s flavors. Note that the drink list mentions just a fraction of the available selections; ask a server for a style and a price and the bartenders will happily send you on an off-menu, mind-opening journey.

Natural wine has settled into the firmament of L.A. culture. Kris Yenbamroong led the charge last decade when he made his natural-wine-focused lists an inextricable part of his full-blast, only-in-L.A. Thai restaurants. He and his wife, Sarah Yenbamroong, sustain the edge and the fun of their lists.

All the tasteful gold trim, the palm frond-studded wallpaper and the backlit Tetris tiles behind this Los Feliz bar make it feel like you’re inside a lush tropical jewelry box. New beverage director Aly Iwamoto has been a bartender at some of the city’s most lauded hangouts, including the Varnish and Bavel.