Month: December 2025

While the news media thrives on bad news, I’m happy to report that rumors of the death of San Francisco are greatly exaggerated. After enjoying a week getting reacquainted with my favorite city and old haunts, I was amazed to witness how things have improved since my visit two years ago. Nay sayers might cast a doubt because this was during early December when people were just beginning to get into the holiday spirit. 

But every section of the city, from Union Square, the Financial District to North Beach and outer areas was alive.

When lines start forming an hour before my favorite seafood restaurant opens on a Monday, when tourists are in line for the hop on, hop off buses at Union Square, and when Pink Martini plays to a sold out crowd, San Fran is definitely on the rebound. 

So inbound and outbound traffic is still a mess and parking is, well, forget it. That was true before covid. Only now there are Waymo taxis everywhere.  Way too many Waymos?

As for wine, which is how I  check the pulse of a city, San Francisco has historically been the heart of California wine and often in the forefront of trends. The wine biz has also been mired in negative news with declining consumption and vineyard abandonment and removal. So if the San Francisco wine scene is not happening when the city itself is on the rebound, then that’s truly bad news.

 My assignment was clear: check out the wine scene in San Francisco. Visiting a wine bar and/or a restaurant known for its wines each day during my visit, I was amazed to see how the wine scene was back to its upbeat rhythm and wine bars and restaurants were again celebrating wine. 

While artisan beers are now quite visible, wine remains top priority. Even the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, a local icon, has a makeshift blackboard saying:  “Beer Merchant.” I saddled up to the bar there, and selected a South African Syrah by the glass, while my neighbors had a beer. But the list of wines by the glass is impressive, and there was plenty of buzz in the wine section.The Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, I’m happy to report, is still holding wine classes and events, so this was a good place to start.

Fish, Wine and Poetry

What do sardines, poetry and wines have in common? Believe it or not but an exciting and very odd wine bar new to the scene is  named “Golden Sardine.” Located in North Beach, not far from City Lights bookstore made famous as home to Ferlinghetti and other poets, the Golden Sardine offers 50 wines by the glass and stocks a few hundred bottles for sale. Rieslings and wines from Germany and Austria lead the way, but California, France and Italy are well-represented. 

Yes, the place is tiny and both floors joined by a creaky, narrow stairway make you feel crammed in  like a …sardine? The wine selections are eclectic and only a few are recognizable brands like Mayacamas Vineyards and Arnot-Roberts. But the opportunity here is to select a wine by the glass and try something new. Prices start at $9 a glass, and the pour is generous. A Negrette from Fronton was one of the best, but the Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo was the real deal for $9 and merited a second glass.

Golden Sardine is a wine bar and shop, but it also emphasizes that it is in a “poetry bookshop.”  There’s no reference here to the “wine is bottled poetry” line by Robert Louis Stevenson. But the wine selection seems to favor names with a poetic touch. There’s the “In Love with a Memory” Sauvignon Blanc, the “You’re Lucky You’re So Cute” Zinfandel, and a “Flurries on the Riverbank” Oregon Grenache to cite just a few. 

Golden Sardine is starting its third year in 2026, so it is the real deal inviting you to stop by for a glass of vino or to attend one of its poetry readings on First Fridays. We didn’t check out the sardines but the cheeses were also excellent.

Cozy, charming, classic

Remember “Cheers” Where Everybody Knows Your Name?  

Cafe Meuse, a wine bar on the corner of a well-trafficked Nob Hill neighborhood was another big hit and brought back memories of “Cheers.”  No sardines here, but the setting is romantic, quiet, and classic. It was opened in 2006 by Erik Meuse who set it up with hand made tables and a custom made bar. There’s even a wine rack with the wine bottles actually lying on their sides. 

With over 30 wines offered by the glass, Cafe Meuse is unusual in the way it also encourages visitors to sample wines. 

We arrived early, and there were several young people enjoying a glass of wine and conversation at the bar. For $20, you can choose 3 wines to sample, and for $25, you can select 4 and can mix whites and reds if you want to. When the wines we selected were brought to the table, the pours were at least 3 ounces, actually closer to 4. Allen, our young server, said a few words, kept it simple but showed he is passionate about wine. A transplant from Austin, Texas, he doesn’t hide his slight accept but loves learning and talking about wine. 

Cafe Meuse wines by the glass are a mix of established brands and tiny newcomers to the scene. A Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc from Cultivar was new and exciting. Another standout was the Cabernet Sauvignon from Woodside Vineyards, a Santa Cruz Mountain pioneer. Imports were well-represented by a Petra Unger Gruner-Veltliner.  

Also offering a full menu, Cafe Meuse gets rave reviews for its food. We enjoyed  two small plates and the charcuterie plate, all excellent.

The day after visiting Cafe Meuse I began planning to return. It is definitely inviting, as a neighborhood bar should be.

High End, Extensive List, Understated Elegance

Sprezzatura, located in the Financial District, is a busy luncheon restaurant that turns into a classy, high-end restaurant and wine bar after 4:00. “Barsprez” is how locals refer to it and the wine bar features a wide range of Italian wines. East Coast readers may be familiar with its sister restaurant and bar in Manhattan. 

Bar Sprezzatura is a partnership with notable mixologist Carlo Splendorini and TableOne Hospitality. Danny Mastropierro is credited with assembling the wine list. He is a sommelier who rose to fame in San Francisco restaurant circles with the Mina Group. The extensive list covers the diverse regions of Italy, with special emphasis on the coastal regions. 

Close to 20 wines are offered by the glass, but the full  list here is worth studying. Arranged by Italian regions, the wine list begins with over a dozen Spumante offerings which set the stage. Heavy in wines from Piedmont and Tuscany, Barsprez lists over 20 Nebbiolo wines as well as 20 Sangiovese-based wines. But there are wines from Puglia, Sicily, Sardinia. Abruzza, and Umbria. 

While lengthy wine lists are not unusual and often are linked with snobby service, our experience can be defined in one word: “memorable.”  As soon as we arrived, the staff made us feel comfortable and we were not hurried in any way. Fortunately, we had made a reservation and it wasn’t long after being seated that the place began to fill up. Still, the vibe was chill. 

“Chill” came to mind but I later discovered the appropriate word is “Sprezzatura.” As Gemini explained:

 “Sprezzatura is a quintessentially Italian concept meaning studied nonchalance or the art of making something difficult look effortless, concealing all art and labor to appear natural, graceful, and unstudied, often seen in fashion, art, and behavior. It’s about performing complex tasks with such ease that it seems effortless, embodying confidence and understated elegance without arrogance.”

Our dining experience, especially the wine service, was precisely that, something never before encountered in a fancy restaurant. Hunter Harris was the sommelier who worked the room, checked in with every table and still found time to talk about the wines we were served. The house wines by the glass are all Italian of course, and will set you back $8.  Other wines by the glass hover around $20 but that’s for a 5-ounce pour.  An excellent Vermentino from Sardinia was a pleasant surprise at $18.

At this wine bar, the wines share top spot with the cuisine. And the first and main course dishes are authentic, beautifully presented, and delicious.

The takeaway from our experience here was all about the service, both the wine and the food service. To us this was like a therapy session to get over having had a bad experience with poor  and inattentive service. We have had a few of those recently, but who hasn’t.

So there you have it: a totally unscientific survey of the San Francisco wine scene.  By luck we happened upon three totally different wine bars.