Grape Nuts: Services for Serious Collectors and Budding Winos
By Jessica Padnick, Contributor
San Francisco's lucky to have one of the world's premier wine-growing regions so close by, but with Napa-style tasting rooms, oenophile clubs and even viticulture services for armchair vintners right here in the city, you can skip the hour-long ride up North--and the hairy drive back after "tasting" too much Pinot.
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Crushpad
2573 3rd. Street, San Francisco, CA
Get your hands dirty making a custom bottling from top California, Oregon and Washington vineyards with as much or as little assistance as desired. Beware: It’s not cheap and you end up with a ton of wine, but, if all goes well, they will help sell your fledgling brand and hopefully recoup expenses. -
San Francisco Brewcraft
1555 Clement St, San Francisco, CA
For the more independent (or less wealthy) who want to experiment with winemaking, Brewcraft can provide equipment, at-home kits and grape hookups--you just have to put it together yourself. Get tips from the experienced staff and you’ll be calling yourself a vintner in no time. -
San Francisco Wine Center
757 Bryant St, San Francisco, CA
This is the clubhouse setting that wine geeks dream about, a community where you can keep a personal climate-controlled cellar, hold private tastings and compare collections with fellow wine lovers. Members get access to exclusive Indie Wines and a sommelier service to help select the best. -
Vinfolio
1890 Bryant St Ste 208, San Francisco, CA
Too busy to administer your expanding wine collection? The expert oenophiles at Vinfolio will store and manage your precious juice for a fee. Thriftier winos can use the online VinCellar management tool for free, and anyone can shop the website for the hottest hard-to-find wines along with tasting notes and scores. -
Wattle Creek Winery Tasting Room
900 North Point St, San Francisco, CA
This small Sonoma Valley producer is one of the only to open an outlet in San Francisco, and a visit to their Ghiradelli Square location lets you sample all they have to offer. Tune out the city scenery and you might think you are in the midst of Sonoma vineyards -
Press Club
20 Yerba Buena Ln, San Francisco, CA
Save the long drive out of town--this urban wine-tasting room brings quality Northern Californian wineries to San Francisco in a stylish wine-bar setting. Big names include Chateau Montelena and Pahlmeyer, and everything is paired with tasty bites. -
Cellar360
900 North Point, San Francisco, CA
This Ghirardelli Square wine shop and tasting room provides a spot for locals--at a beautiful long tasting bar--to try the best of more than 250 NorCal's varietals without taking a trip north. -
Terroir Natural Wine Merchant
1116 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA
This wine bar and shop carries and serves organic and biodymanic Old World wines in a raw but comfortable space in SoMa.
