By Dathan Kazsuk
North Hills is about to get a jolt of wine-country energy, and I’m not talking about another predictable wine bar with reclaimed wood tables and a safe list of chardonnay, pinot, and cabernet. No—this one is different. When I sat down with Sixty Vines CEO Jeff Carcara for a long, wine-soaked conversation (his voice admittedly sounding like the Allstate guy thanks to a seasonal cold), I quickly realized Raleigh is getting something that blends sustainability, adventure, and seriously thoughtful wine. And it officially arrives December 15.
I tell Carcara right out of the gate that my wife and I live just a few miles from North Hills, and that we’re big advocates for the North Carolina wine scene. He doesn’t skip a beat. “I love North Hills,” he says. “Great landlords, great developers … everything about it is just solid.” And honestly, he’s right—it’s the perfect landing spot for a concept like this, especially one that isn’t afraid to shake up what a wine experience should be.
Sixty Vines didn’t start as a trendy idea. It started with something far less glamorous—trash. “We were looking at all these bottles going into the dumpster every night,” Carcara tells me. He isn’t exaggerating; even recycling isn’t as rosy as we’d like to believe. “Supposedly, 20 percent of that actually gets recycled. The rest ends up in landfills.” So the founders began thinking differently. Keg wine had existed since the early ’90s, but mostly as a way to serve cheap by-the-glass options—nothing with real pedigree.
The turning point came later, when wineries started trusting Sixty Vines to treat their wines with respect. “When winemakers came in and saw what we were doing—three temperatures in the cooler, no air, no light—they realized it’s the best way to drink wine by the glass,” he says. “You’re always going to get the right temperature. No oxidation. No warm reds that have been sitting on the counter next to a refrigerator condenser. None of that.”
That attention to detail is why major names jumped on board. “People like Jason Haas from Tablas Creek, Pete Stolpman, Ridge, the Krupp Brothers … they were early adopters,” Carcara says. For context, these are wineries whose bottles rarely see by-the-glass lists, let alone end up on tap. Krupp Brothers even sent them 11 kegs of their M5—wine they only make 69 cases of a year. “We sold it at something like $58 a glass,” he laughs, “but people bought it. Because it gives them the chance to try something incredibly rare without committing to a full bottle.” As someone who routinely tries hundreds of grape varietals a year (I’m currently at 108), I get it. Access is everything.
What struck me most in our conversation was how committed Carcara and his team are to keeping wine approachable. “Pinkies down,” he said more than once with a grin. No pomp, no swirling theatrics, no intimidating bottle presentations at the table.
At Sixty Vines, nothing comes out in a bottle except for a tiny curated list of allocated, impossible-to-find wines. Everything else is poured from tap into a carafe, and you can try anything—literally anything—for a two-and-a-half-ounce pour. If you want to nerd out and flex your WSET muscles, the staff can absolutely hang with you. If you’re new to wine and don’t want to feel like you’re interrupting a sommelier’s dissertation on soil types, Sixty Vines is built exactly for you.
I asked about the Raleigh location specifically—what to expect, what might be different, and what’s on the menu. Carcara made it clear this is more than a wine bar. “We’re as much a restaurant as a wine bar,” he says. “Scratch-made food inspired by wine regions around the world—France, Italy, Spain, Napa, Sonoma.
Everything from pizza to pasta to shareables.” They also keep a tight craft cocktail list. “You’re not going to find 10 vodkas. We carry three. Same with bourbons, tequilas, and gins.” Quality over clutter.
Naturally, I had to ask the big question: Would they consider adding North Carolina wines down the road? Carcara doesn’t hesitate. “Absolutely,” he tells me. “We work with local producers in Virginia and Texas. I’m not as versed in North Carolina’s scene as I should be—but yeah, we’d love to explore it.” Challenge accepted. Hey wineries, reach out to me, I’ll put in a good word!
We also bonded over obscure varietals—Kerner, Old Vine Muscat, Spanish imports, experimental Tablas Creek projects. They’ve poured all of it. “Our teams love the unique stuff,” Carcara says. “It makes wine fun.” And honestly, it does. Raleigh is going to eat that up.
Before we wrapped, I asked Carcara what he’d recommend for someone walking in on opening week looking to taste the best of the best. He rattled off a lineup I’m already planning to order: the Margerum M5 GSM blend, Brewer-Clifton’s unoaked chardonnay, Ridge (because finding Ridge by the glass is like spotting Bigfoot), Stolpman’s orange wine, the proprietary “50/50” Cabernet–Merlot made by Wagner family’s Joe Wagner, and something from Fisher—either the Unity Chardonnay or Unity Cabernet. “Actually,” he adds, “do a side-by-side of the Fisher chardonnay, oaked and stainless steel. Same grape. You’d never know it.”
By the end of our conversation, I could feel his excitement about Raleigh’s location. The furniture is going in, the upstairs bar is taking shape, and the tap list is about 80 percent finalized—with a few things debuting here for the first time in the entire company. And in true hospitality fashion, Carcara leaves me with one final promise: “We’ll make sure you get an invite to Friends & Family. Bring your wife. Try a bunch of wines. Give us your thoughts.”
I fully intend to take him up on that. And when I do, I’ll report back with a follow-up after diving deep into those taps—purely for journalistic purposes, of course.
