If the phrase “wine bar” conjures up images of dimly lit rooms, glass walls showcasing $100 bottles, soft jazz, and small plates, I won’t judge you (’90s San Francisco, you’ve left an indelible mark). But the city’s latest crop of wine establishments couldn’t be further from that. In fact, your next trip to a wine bar might happen when you’re on tonight’s liquor or ice cream run.
Over the past few years, the city has seen a new wave of wine-tasting spots. You peruse, buy a bottle of wine and perhaps a wedge of cheese, and either take it to go or enjoy it on the spot. The focus isn’t so much on the food — don’t expect white tablecloths and pairing notes — as it is on wine education, community, and approachability.
“Being able to casually have a little meat and cheese, open a bottle of wine — this is something our city is conducive to.”
For customers, this is a way to interact with a wine professional and drink more affordably in a space that doesn’t involve Netflix or your couch. And for San Francisco’s small business owners, it’s an opportunity to minimize staffing costs, maximize precious time and space, and offer a hands-on experience with customers without the pressure of restaurant service.
The concept made its way stateside by way of Europe thanks to the caves à manger of France and the enotecas of Italy. It’s a format that may never take off in a city such as New York City, which has strict licensing laws that require separate entrances and exits for retail spaces and restaurants, but it’s well suited to San Francisco.
“This is a very European-inspired city in a lot of ways,” said Simi Grewal, co-founder of DECANTsf, who cites the Oakland natural wine bar Ordinaire as a benchmark for the trend. “Being able to casually have a little meat and cheese, open a bottle of wine — this is something our city is conducive to.”
The concept may vary, but one aspect is common: For a corkage fee that’s typically around $15, each shop offers prices close to retail prices if you want to drink a bottle at the bar. Here are the wine bars encouraging San Franciscans to drink differently.
DECANTsf
Two female sommeliers, Simi Grewal and Cara Patricia, are behind this SOMA store, which opened in May. In addition to offering a global wine selection that’s strong on the Loire Valley and Beaujolais, the spacious wine bar and store retails provisions like Spanish seafood conservas, locally made cheese, and tins of caviar. For a $7 plating fee, they’ll trick out any cheese you buy with caviar, Spanish potato chips, and crème fraiche, or with pickles, jam, and crackers.
“We’ve been getting groups of people who will be here all evening, just exploring by the bottle,” Grewal said. “It’s a great deal for them.”
There are more than half a dozen by-the-glass wine options, but the store also has a “Somm’s Choice” offering at the bar: a flight or glass custom-selected by one of the sommeliers on the basis of the drinker’s personal tastes.
1168 Folsom Street (SOMA) | decantsf.com
Tofino Wines
One of the first of its kind in San Francisco, Tofino Wines — which opened in 2015 — focuses on wines made organically or biodynamically without additives that hail from France, Italy, Spain, and small California producers. In addition to hundreds of wines, the 2,500-square-foot shop also has a marble bar with high seating, a roomy seating area with plenty of tables, and a private event space. A prep area also allows Tofino to serve Italian food, including paninis, salads, crostini, and more.
“It’s a really nice flow for people to be able to get a glass at the bar, walk around, look at the retail shelves, or stop by and say hello to a friend at another table,” said April Sack, who co-owns Tofino with her husband, Mark Nevin. “I think there are so many people in this city who are confined to a small space and a computer all day long that it’s really refreshing for them to be able to move around.”
2696 Geary Boulevard (Laurel Heights / Anza Vista)| tofinowines.com
Breck’s
This four-month-old spot is equal parts coffee shop, wine shop, and wine bar. Former retail wine buyer Will Eagle focuses on affordable, everyday bottles catering to the Inner Richmond neighborhood. He’s also created a by-the-glass program of lesser-known grape varietals at a reasonable price, like a Muscadet for $9.
“The biggest impediment to people buying wine is not knowing what it tastes like,” said Eagle, who co-owns Breck’s with his wife, Parnell. “I wanted to have an environment that could at least be an educational opportunity.”
Due to licensing, customers can’t drink alcohol in the wine-shop area, but they can enjoy a glass or bottle at one of the cafe tables either inside or outside on the patio. (Breakfast and lunch sandwiches, cheese and charcuterie plates, and other savory offerings are in the works too.) And while it’s newly redesigned, the space pays homage to its former life as the Clement Mini Market in the form of a freezer full of Ben & Jerry’s pints, which happen to be particularly popular.
2 Clement Street (Inner Richmond)| facebook.com/brecks.sf
Verve Wine
Master Sommelier Dustin Wilson (of Somm fame) brought his popular Tribeca wine shop to the West Coast when he opened the San Francisco outpost of Verve Wine on Fillmore Street last summer. It’s a small shop, but lofty ceilings and natural light give the space an airy quality that makes it a place in which to linger.
“Only after we opened did we find that people also really enjoyed using this as a place to gather with friends and share wine together.”
Wilson sources bottles from both Old World and New World regions, with a focus on family-owned properties making sustainable, low-intervention wines. The centerpiece of the shop is a white-marble table big enough for more than a dozen people to pop in and sample the daily wine flight or select a bottle, then pair their selection with bites such as cured chorizo, spreadable salami, and crackers.
It turns out that the giant table and its wine-bar vibe were somewhat of an accident. “Its original intention and purpose was for classes and tastings that we host in the shop,” Wilson said. “Only after we opened did we find that people also really enjoyed using it as a place to gather with friends and share wine together. It’s been great to see how it’s evolved.”
2358 Fillmore Street (Pacific Heights)| vervewine.com
Fig & Thistle Market
This retail-centric sister of Fig & Thistle wine bar on the edge of Duboce Triangle embodies a similar wine philosophy, retailing 100% organic, minimal-intervention wines, beer, and sake. It used to be a market for jewelry and plants in addition to wine, but the store got its license to serve alcohol at the end of last year and narrowed its retail focus to wine, extended its evening hours, and added wine-bar seating.
Fig & Thistle Market is planning a nonperishable snack menu, but in the meantime, it’s BYO for food, and on Monday game nights, locals often bring in snacks from the nearby Whole Foods or order in from Woodhouse Fish Company next door.
“We’re definitely building a night crowd,” said Elisha Ray, who helps run the store. “We have a huge neighborhood following.”
691 14th Street (Duboce Triangle)| figandthistlesf.com
