Owner Vinoth Rajkumar stands in Cork2Glass's wine storage room. He and his wife opened the bar after years of traveling internationally to taste wines and earning certifications. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
Cedar Park’s Cork2Glass Wine Bar opened in October 2025 to fill a gap in the local wine scene, owner Vinoth Rajkumar said. Rajkumar and his wife created a space offering wine by the glass, retail bottles to-go, cheese boards, private dining, wine education and a month-to-month wine club.
The wine bar features over 500 wines, with a core collection of French, Italian and California wines, complemented by carefully selected bottles from around the world, including Israel, Slovenia, Uruguay, Mexico, the Cayman Islands and India. With a focus on organic and biodynamic wines, the bar also offers a full kitchen with a chef, live music on weekends and a family-friendly atmosphere.
Cork2Glass Wine Bar opened in October 2025 at 601 E. Whitestone Blvd. in Cedar Park, right in front of a train that occasionally houses both wine and passengers, owner Vinoth Rajkumar said. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
What's special about it
Rajkumar and his wife immigrated from South India to the United States in 1999, when India didn't have a strong wine presence, he said. After discovering wine in the U.S., the couple became curious about it and visited wineries for tastings, and eventually Rajkumar tried making their own.
The couple's wine journey began with homemade "Happy Grapes" wine made in a bedroom closet, according to Cork2Glass's website.
"I quickly pivoted to getting some certifications and knowing more about wine," Rajkumar said. "We've traveled to many countries internationally to taste wine in France and Europe."
After noodling on the concept for more than five years, Rajkumar decided to open a wine bar focused on premium, organic and biodynamic wines.
"This side of Cedar Park and Leander, we didn't have a wine bar," Rajkumar said. "The closest one was in Georgetown."
The bar's selection sets it apart—Rajkumar makes it a point to stock wines not easily available locally, he said. A Spanish wine from the Cayman Islands sits on the shelf alongside bottles from Georgia, which has been growing grapes for over 5,000 years using indigenous varieties not found elsewhere.
Wine prices range from around $25-$30 per bottle to thousands for rare selections. The by-the-glass menu changes almost weekly with new featured wines, though customer favorites tend to remain.
Respecting the craft
Rajkumar's favorite part of the business is talking to customers and understanding their palates, he said. When someone walks in knowing nothing about wine, staff seat them and ask what kind of wine they normally drink—red or white—and then guide them through options by region and style.
The wine bar's main seating area features orange accent chairs and a view into the extensive wine storage room. The space accommodates families and remote workers. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
"A lot of customers come in without a good understanding of our wine," Rajkumar said. "When they leave us, we want to make sure they had a good time and had what they wanted to taste."
The wine director has 30-plus years of wine experience, and other staff members bring extensive industry knowledge, Rajkumar said. Staff offer complimentary tastings and always pour samples before customers commit to a bottle.
Beyond the bar, Cork2Glass offers wine education, including WSET, or Wine and Spirits Education Trust, certification classes. The bar hosted an introductory Level 1 class and has Level 2 coming up this month, conducted by a third-party wine school using Cork2Glass as the venue.
On the menu
The full production kitchen and chef prepare cheese boards, charcuterie and other bites to pair with wines. The bar also offers four to six beers, including Michelob Ultra, IPAs and pilsners, mostly from local breweries, Rajkumar said. Five to six nonalcoholic wines are also available, made through the same winemaking process but without fermentation
The wine bar's main seating area features orange accent chairs and a view into the extensive wine storage room. The space accommodates families and remote workers. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
"A lot of families come in, so we have little kids come in," Rajkumar said. "We are a very kid-friendly place. As a family business, we want to encourage that."
The bar has two kitchen staff and five service staff.
Staying local
Cork2Glass has integrated into the community through multiple partnerships and events. One partnership features the bar on a vintage steam train running from Cedar Park to Bertram and Burnet. Scheduled next for May 24, Rajkumar said, the upcoming wine train excursion provides guests age 21 and older with an immersive blend of tastings and educational programming.
"That's the latest partnership that we have, and we're very excited about," Rajkumar said
Cork2Glass partners with a vintage steam train running from Cedar Park to Bertram and Burnet for wine-focused experiences, according to the owner. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
The bar works with wineries from Fredericksburg for Texas wines and has hosted meet-the-winemaker events where winemakers sample their wine creations with customers.
Regular programming includes:
Women and Wine every second Wednesday, featuring local women-owned businesses
Vinyl Thursdays, where customers bring their own records and staff play requested songs
Live music, including rock and roll oldies on Fridays and jazz on Saturdays
A record player provides the soundtrack for Vinyl Thursdays, when customers can bring their own wine and request songs to be played on the turntable. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
"The community response has been really good," Rajkumar said. "Since we are new, we're trying different things to see what works. Live music is a big hit."
People also work remotely from the bar, with regulars who come in, take a table and spend the day, Rajkumar said.
The bar area at Cork2Glass features warm wood tones and backlit glassware displays. The bar offers wine by the glass, retail bottles and complimentary tastings. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
What's next
Rajkumar wants to make Cork2Glass a premium wine destination in Northwest Austin. For now, he's focused on getting through the first year as the economy challenges all businesses.
"Right now, everywhere business is hurting because of tariffs and stuff like that," Rajkumar said. "We're riding it out, which is fine. But I think we'll have our time."
Expansion is possible down the road—maybe in a couple of years, he said. The bar will continue offering wine education classes, rotating the by-the-glass menu weekly and hosting events like the upcoming wine train partnership.
Rajkumar also emphasized the growing trend in wine toward organic and biodynamic options, which are more holistic and regard the vineyard as a self-sustaining ecosystem.
"In Europe, people are gravitating toward organic and biodynamic wines," Rajkumar said. "The French and European governments are trying to put standards around it. We're not there in the United States yet, but I'm sure we'll catch on."
