If it’s your first time visiting the Bay Area, it’s likely you’ve scheduled a stop in wine country as part of your trip. After Napa and Sonoma proved all those European wine snobs wrong in 1976 when a blind taste test found Northern California wines to be on top, the counties have slowly transformed into veritable boozy adult playgrounds. But if you’re a longtime San Francisco resident (read: two years at least), the trek up to wine country gets not only a little old but also invariably expensive.
It’s a known secret that there are many other wine playgrounds to explore in the Bay Area—and they’re a lot cheaper and just as interesting as their northern cousins. Next time you’re hankering for some vino, here’s where to go wine-tasting instead.
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is a strange place. It has an industrial vibe, unparalleled views of the city and a pretty fascinating and complicated history. The island is just starting to undergo massive development, but as of now, there’s not much to see or do. The only reason why you’d go there is likely the monthly TreasureFest (formerly known as the Treasure Island Flea Market) or to visit one of its various urban wineries. You may not even know there are a whopping nine of them on the island. That’s a lot for a place that has only one ATM.
We recommend starting at Winemaker Studios, a collective of three wineries—Vie Winery, Sol Rouge Vineyard & Winery and Sottomarino Winery—with tastings starting at $15. The Winery SF (tastings start at $10) is also just down the street, which makes for a perfect four-stop tasting crawl. The tasting rooms mirror the Treasure Island vibe—somewhat industrial and sparse—but what they lack in decor they make up for in outdoor space and Bay Area views. Plus, you’ll find bocce ball courts when you need to stretch your legs and get some sun. Not all the wineries on the island are available for walk-in tastings, so make sure to check their websites and hours.
The Logistics: If you live in SF, you can take the 25 Muni from the Transit Center. If you’re coming from the East Bay, you could bike. From both, it may just be easier to take an Uber/Lyft. Once you’re there, you’ll walk everywhere.
The Must-Drink: Vie Winery’s Belle-Amie Rosé. It’s an award-winning dry, Syrah-based, fuller-bodied rosé with nearly equal parts Mourvèdre and Grenache, and drinking rosé on an island just feels right.
Where to Soak Up the Alcohol: Come prepared with a picnic (none of the wineries serves food), or head to the other side of the island to Aracely Cafe, an Instagram-worthy cafe serving equally Instagrammable avocado toast.
Livermore
It might be as far as Sonoma, depending on where you live, but it’s worth trading in terrible traffic and overpriced wines for this scenic, more relaxed experience. If someone were to plop you down at one of the Livermore wineries complete with a grand entrance, sprawling vineyards and manicured grounds, you’d have thought you were in Napa Valley anyway. There are more than 60 wineries and about 5,000 acres of wine grapes in the Livermore Valley American Viticultural Area, so you’ll never run out of options.
A good place to start is Wente Vineyards (tastings start at $20), which has been open since 1883 and has stunning grounds and often live music. If you love reds, you’ll love Livermore — Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel all grow incredibly well in the region. Just down the road, Concannon Vineyard (tastings start at $15) boasts its title as the first US winery to bottle Petite Sirah. It also has some killer picnic grounds. Finally, hit up neighboring Murrieta’s Well (tastings start at $25), another historic winery with vines dating back to the late 1800s.
Logistics: Driving is easiest (have a DD!), but you can also take the BART to the Dublin/Pleasanton stop, then transfer to the 10 or the 580 bus to Livermore, or Uber/Lyft. There you can rent bikes and cruise around the wineries.
The Must-Drink: McGrail Vineyards’ 2015 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a full-bodied Cab with notes of dark cherry, blackberry, raspberry, clove and vanilla. We told you it’s all about the reds.
Where to Soak Up the Alcohol: Wente has a few standard American-fare options on-site (a restaurant and a golf grill) if you’d prefer to stay nearby. If you want something a bit more inventive, head to Uncle Yu’s at the Vineyard. The family-owned restaurant is focused on locally sourced Asian cuisine with an extensive, award-winning wine list (if you haven’t had enough) and a lovely outdoor patio.
Oakland
I’d be willing to bet good money that of all the places on this list, Oakland is probably the last you’d think of as boasting a booming wine community. Good thing you’re dead wrong. In 2010, 10 pioneering Oakland wineries banded together to establish the Oakland Urban Wine Trail. It may not be the most obvious “trail,” but with tasting rooms near downtown and Jack London Square, you can do an easy wine crawl by foot or BART. And no surprise—it feels pretty hip. Think renovated warehouse spaces, minimalist design and winemakers who are decidedly unpretentious, even though they could probably make your limited wine knowledge feel pathetic really quickly if they wanted to. Best of all, nine out of the 10 tasting rooms are pet-friendly, and eight feature live music.
Begin at Brooklyn West (tasting starts at $20), and chat with one of the winemakers who’s almost always on-site. Then hop over to Urban Legend Cellars for more passionate winemakers pouring more gulpable glasses in a minimalist tasting room. End your short crawl at Rosenblum Cellars, located right next to the Oakland ferry terminal (bonus points if you take the ferry home to SF!).
Logistics: Take BART to Lake Merritt Station, then walk or BART around. Follow this handy map.
The Must-Drink: Brooklyn West’s Tempranillo. It’s the winery’s signature vino with big berry flavors that are aged in a combination of new French (70 percent) and American (30 percent) barrels for three years before being bottled.
Where to Soak Up the Alcohol: Some of the wineries have small bites, but we’d recommend heading to Farmhouse Kitchen Thai Cuisine in Jack London Square for Northern Thai cuisine in a vibrant setting. (And they have outdoor seating. Can you tell yet that I’m a sun-starved SF resident ever longing for warm outdoor seating?)
Berkeley
In full Berkeley fashion, the university town is home to a street full of amazing natural winemakers. (You’re surprised? Really? Have you been to Berkeley?) If you’re into natural wine—which, if you love wine trends or call yourself a “foodie,” you definitely are—then this is the place to be.
A few blocks contain Broc Cellars, Donkey & Goat Winery, Windchaser Wine Co. and Lusu Cellars—with tastings start at $15—so get ready for a full immersion in natural wines. The vibe is decidedly unfussy-chill-Berkeley, and at each the friendly staff is on hand to assist with your new education. This part of town is more industrial, but it lends a whimsical urban vibe to a wine crawl.
If you’re looking for something a little different but still in the wine vertical, there’s also Takara Sake nearby.
Logistics: Take the BART to the North Berkeley station, then hop on a quick bus ride or walk about 25 minutes to the wineries.
The Must-Drink: The Old Vine Carignan from Broc Cellars. Never heard of Carignan? Exactly. These are 130-plus-year-old vines from the Alexander Valley that normally are found only in Spain or France. Plus, since it’s a natural wine, no inoculated yeasts or bacteria, powdered tannins or enzymes have been used.
Where to Soak Up the Alcohol: Head to Lyasare, about a 10-minute walk down Fifth Street, and sit on their patio to enjoy some inventive Japanese. They’ve also got a nice selection of cocktails and Japanese highballs, should you need a break from all that wine.
Alameda
If you’re an alcohol lover of any kind, getting to Alameda Point’s half-mile stretch of Monarch Street is your pilgrimage to the holy land. While perhaps better known for being the home of St. George Spirits, Hangar 1 Distillery and Faction Brewing, the street is also home to three wineries—Rock Wall Wine Company, Dashe Cellars and Building 43 Winery.
The lack of notoriety is a good thing since the wineries are likely to be less crowded than their boozy counterparts. Each tasting room is spacious and relaxed and offers stunning San Francisco skyline views (Karl be damned) just outside their front doors. Tastings start at $12.
Logistics: If you live in SF, you can take the ferry from the Ferry Building to the main Alameda terminal. If you’re coming from the East Bay, it’s probably easiest to take an Uber/Lyft. Once you’re there, you’ll walk everywhere.
The Must-Drink: Dashe Cellars’ 2017 Dry Riesling. Rethink those Riesling stereotypes and try this light-bodied, only very slightly sweet white made with organically grown grapes from the mountains of Potter Valley in Mendocino County.
Where to Soak Up the Alcohol: Stay in Spirits Alley, and hop over to either Faction Brewing or Almanac Beer Co. to choose from a variety of food trucks. If there aren’t any there, check out Scolari’s at the Point, which serves East Coast–style pizza, burgers and cheese plates.
San Francisco
All right, I guess if you really can’t drag yourself out of the city, you can pull the ultimate lazy move and just wine-taste your way through town. Aside from the city’s many wine bars with excellent wine lists, you can also visit notable winemakers right in town. Obviously, you won’t glimpse any vineyards out the window, but if you’re in SOMA, you know you’re not in it for the view.
There aren’t many tasting rooms close together, so you’ll have to get creative if you want to go to a few, but that’s what Uber is for. Start at Tank18 Restaurant & Urban Winery for brunch, locally sourced wine and a bright, Millennial-focused vibe. Then make your way to Bluxome Winery for Pinots and hip tunes coming from empty wine barrels converted into speakers. Finally, hop over to JAX Vineyards for Calistoga-produced wines on one of SF’s few nice patios.
Logistics: Do I really need to tell you how to get to San Francisco?
The Must-Drink: All the Pinot Noirs from Bluxome — there should be at least three to try.
Where to Soak Up the Alcohol: You’re in San Francisco! I shouldn’t have to tell you where to eat.
