One of the benefits of moving back to the bay area is being close enough to Napa and Sonoma to go up and visit the amazing tasting rooms and try out some fantastic wines. However, we always end up in the situation where one of us has to drive, so someone is always left out of sampling all the wines (and the designated driver has to deal with the designated drinker). Conveniently, some of the wineries in wine country have opened tasting rooms located in San Francisco. (And some of them are even wineries that make wine in San Francisco!) Here’s a way to sample some of the great tasting rooms in San Francisco to avoid the driving hassle! This is only a way to try out some of the rooms north of Market, but there are also several south of Market, so this is no way a definitive list of all the tasting rooms in the city! (The order is the route we took, but it’s completely possible to do it in reverse, and the first three are close enough to be fairly interchangeable.)
1. Winery Collective 485 Jefferson St.
http://www.winerycollective.com
As we had a late lunch nearby, we started our journey at Winery Collective. As the name states, Winery Collective is a collective of small wineries across California that have come together to provide a tasting room in San Francisco. It’s conveniently located in a popular tourist spot, but when we went in on a Wednesday afternoon, it wasn’t incredibly busy. We had excellent service seated at the bar where they offered two tastings, one for $15 and one for $25. We tried some interesting wines in a fabulous location. They don’t waive the tasting fee for buying bottles, but they do offer a 20% discount on wines if you take them with you.
2. Bluxome Street Winery Lower Plaza Ghirardelli Square
http://www.bluxomewinery.com/
Fair warning, Bluxome Street Winery is not in the location on Google Maps, but it’s actually in the Lower Plaza at Ghirardelli Square. Of course, the winery itself is located on Bluxome Street in Soma, but they have a very spacious tasting room here. If it’s a nice day, you can take your tasting outside and sit and enjoy the amazing view of the bay and Alcatraz. When we went the flights were all less than $20, but if you prefer you can buy wines by the glass or bottle (or as they advertise on their window, by the barrel). They have a great selection of Pinot Noir, but their Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay was also a great drink on a sunny day.
3. Wattle Creek Winery Upper Plaza Ghirardelli Square
http://wattlecreek.com/
Just upstairs and to the left of the Bluxome Street tasting room is Wattle Creek Winery. Wattle Creek is part of the Boisset Collection. As wine club members of another winery in the collection, we get free and discounted tastings at all of the wineries in it. They offer two tastings for $15 and $25 depending on which you are interested in trying. They also have an outdoor seating area (and while it doesn’t have the views of Bluxome Street Winery, it does offer a great opportunity for people watching). As the first three wineries on this list are so close to each other, it’s easy to visit them in any order (or just head to the Ghirardelli Square/Fisherman’s Wharf area and visit those three).
4. Maritime Wine Tasting Studio 222 Columbus Ave
http://maritimetasting.com/
After three wine tasting rooms, it may be time to head out for a bit of a walk and have a bit of a break from drinking. Maritime Wine Tasting Studio is toward the other end of Columbus street from the previous three wineries. It’s a nice little walk through North Beach, and although Maritime isn’t a winery tasting room, it’s a fantastic space that offers several tastings and wines by the glass and bottle. It’s a very spacious wine bar, and not only do they offer a selection of wines from California, they have wines from around the world as well. I had a flight of Italian wines: a white, a rosé and a red. I still do have a bit of an obsession for European wines, so this will definitely be a place I’ll come back to for return visits. Maritime doesn’t open until 4:30 pm which is later than the other tasting rooms, so you have to time your tour appropriately to arrive after they open.
5. JCB Tasting Room at the Ritz-Carlton
600 Stockton St
http://www.jcbcollection.com/
Another winery in the Boisset Collection, JCB is in the Ritz-Carlton above the Stockton Tunnel. So be prepared for a bit of an uphill hike (and I don’t blame you if you decide to skip it because of the hill, but you will be missing out on an amazing experience). The tasting room is just to the right as you walk in through the main doors of the hotel. JCB specializes in sparkling wine, mostly from Burgundy but also a little bit from California. Given the sparkling wine, they also make a large selection of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The flights here are much more expensive than the previous locations (which may be another reason you decide to skip it), but the wine is also top quality and well worth the price. You will also be given amazing service from the people in the tasting room, and you will experience the amazingly garish decor in the room.
6. Chateau Montelena at the Westin St. Francis
335 Powell St
http://montelena.com/
Last on the tour (or first if you have decided to do the tour in reverse) is Chateau Montelena located in the Westin St. Francis across from the western side of Union Square. If you go in the main doors, just keep heading forward past the bar and the tasting room is on your left. It’s a very tiny tasting room and a flight here will cost you $30 (and each tasting will be waived for every $100 you spend on wine). It’s another of the more expensive rooms, but the wine here is really excellent as we did end up picking up a couple of bottles of one of their Cabernet Sauvignons to take home. They do both reds and whites and is one of the only wineries on the tour that offer a sweet Riesling.
