A building with no windows in SOMA between 5th and 6th with the word 'Club'? Sounds scary?…read more Well, if you are brave enough to walk in, you won't find bouncers or pink lights. What you'll find is one of the best wine stores in San Francisco with friendly and knowable staff. Although it's called Wine Club, no membership is required. I think they have a wine club that you can join, but they've never pushed this on me. Many of their Saturday afternoon tasting events are outstanding. A wine store that offers below tasting of the best California Cabs deserves 5 Stars. 2004 Big Guns of California Cabernet Tasting 1. Quintessa 2. Dominus 3. Rudd Oakville Estate Proprietary Red 4. Hewitt Rutherford 5. Far Niente 6. Ramey Jericho Canyon 7. BV Georges de Latour 8. Joseph Phelps Insignia 9. Mondavi Reserve 10. Beringer Private Reserve 11. Opus One 12. Ridge Monte Bello Prices of their tasting differs every weekend. Most are $20-40. For the special tasting above, it was $80/person, which included a Riedel Glass. You are allowed to share a glass with someone. Sure, $80 is not cheap, but opening a bottle of 2004 Insignia would set you back $160, so it was actually a cheap way to try 12 really good wines. K&L or Wine Club: Do I have to choose one? I go to both. K&L is better organized store with a nice website, but I often get more about of tastings at The Wine Club. They are just a few blocks apart, so I suggest going to both.

I am way overdue on my review of The Wine Club probably because I just figure it's common knowledge…read morehow awesome this place is. It's not a club with like a secret password or anything. But perhaps I could go into a pretentious discourse about how the purveyors there found a rare vintage that I had been looking for since the Second World War when I was a member of the French resistance fighting the Nazis in the Alsace. Well, first of all, I'm not that old, you Taylor Swift sycophant, and thank you very much for believing that I knew Hitler personally in my youth. Second, I couldn't tell a rare vintage from what comes out of a box through a spigot. Tip it, tip it real good. But I do know classier people than me who throw dinner parties that actually can tell the difference. This is where I go at the last minute to find something special and pretend I actually know about wine and how it complements the palate when digesting the meal the host prepared (photo: http://bit.ly/1hhvfUz). The Wine Club allows me to be a procrastinator because first, it's one of the few places in the city with a parking lot. Second, their staff is really helpful with a minimum of direction from me. Here's a sample instruction... "I need something red that looks pricey but costs less than twenty bucks. I think he's making meat." From that, I've been recommended some truly great product. I also come here for my spirits since their selection is just as diverse on this front (photo: http://bit.ly/1PudYTp). For some reason, I have a stronger opinion on bourbons and vodkas than I do with wines. To develop my palate, I've been to their $5 Friday Evening Happy Hour wine tastings, and that's a great opportunity to sample some new stock in a convivial way, but for the life of me, I can never remember what to get. Thank goodness the staff can. Now about that rare vintage...

Wine House is a spacious, un-intimidating wine space. The first time I visited, I was greeted…read moreimmediately and felt welcome. I asked the employee what they recommended based on my love of Larmandier-Bernier, and they conceded they didn't currently have it, but they asked what I liked about it, and what budget I was comfortable with. I gave them my parameters, and they recommended a blanc de blanc that I really enjoyed, and they unpretentiously shared information with me about the champagne. They have a mailing list you can subscribe to in store or online, and be sure to do it! They make sure to only mail you news about the types of grapes/regions you choose. I am always happy to open their emails b/c they are purposeful and infrequent. They always offer a special on a dozen wines, so I finally decided to take them up on it. I submitted my order online and during COVID, they operate with curbside pickup. After I submitted my order, I emailed asking for the weight of the dozen b/c I was planning to walk back w/my dozen. David very quickly replied with a kind recommendation based on the distance and weight he estimated. I arrived with a 60L backpack in tow, I gave them a call that I was outside, and they safely placed my dozen outside and patiently waited while I packed to confirm that I was able to transport everything myself. They also include a description of each wine w/the dozen purchase including pairings. The dozen is a GREAT deal b/c it averages to about $10 a bottle for quality wines that I will certainly be buying again.

A very pleasant retail wine shop with a broad and fairly priced international selection along with…read moregood domestic producers. David, Peter, Anya and Chris are reliably friendly and ready to offer suggestions. Periodic sales, announced in emails, include opportunities to taste a notch above one's price point. Still my favorite wine store after 15+ years.

Had a great experience here. Solid selection of wine and really nice staff(maybe owner) Wayne…read more Thanks for the awesome experience

Drove to dig wine SF to buy wine,obviously, because yelp says they're open until seven, and there's…read morea note on their door that says they're closed till January 6. Woulda been nice to know that before I drove over; how hard is it to update their yelp for their customers so they don't waste their time? .grrrrrrrr

What can I say? This is the friendly wine shop on the street. Not that other places are not…read morefriendly, but I get the feeling here that they'd invite me to Thanksgiving if I was new in town. Bottles are curated with a small but choice selection and you'll always find time with them to ask about things or get questions answered. For the clueless shopper, it's a great place to find a bottle. For the knowledgable (which I am not), it also seems to hit the mark.

Best wine shop in the city with such an approachable attitude. They provide a super selection of…read moreliqueur as well mixes. Wine Tastings Saturdays are so fun. Whether you are looking for the chill $ every nite wine, the glamorous wine to please to that perfect holiday wine they got it down and will help you to a T. They also got the chilled ones in the fridge and a fantastic selection of picnic drinks to go. The best part is the prices are competitive and the service is so friendly. Right off 24th Street and the Church line the location and ambiance couldn't be better.

A professional business. Heart of Cole Valley. Been there forever!…read moreCold beer, really cold beer! Employees kind and very knowledgeable!

This is an average wine shop in Cole Valley. Tonight, I wanted ice cream, but it was closed on…read moreTuesday, so I decided to have a lemon blintz from Crepes on Cole. Afterwards, I went to this wine spot to get a bag of chips. I looked around the wine shop and noticed the sake and vermouth offerings. It is not completely high end and not a typical city corner shop. Of course, it is in the cozy Cole Valley neighborhood, so it's gotta fit the surroundings. I asked the attendant some questions and eventually, he seemed bored and disinterested. When you are in Cole Valley SF, you would walk by this store.

Go see Chris - incredibly knowledgeable and makes his own wine! Great vibes in the store. Ask…read moreabout Bottles and Beats...

Lovely new wine shop in the neighborhood! Chris was so friendly and knowledgeable, and really…read moreenthusiastic (in a chill way) about their very unique assortment of wines. Went in for one bottle, ended up with two and a can of sardines. Can wait to go back and try more of Chris's recommendations! A very warm welcome to Friend of a Friend!

This was fun. The best way I can describe this place is to say that, in one photo, I was able to…read morecapture both Fortaleza anejo and Ocotomore scotch. Wow. Not a large place, but they seemed eager to talk booze with anyone. A young woman talked vermouth with me for a while, while going over their extensive collection. I ended up with a bottle of St George's NOLA coffee liqeuer, and suggested they carry Widow Jane bourbon.

This San fransico liquor store has been on this corner for a very long time. They specialize in…read morepremium spirits, but also champagne. I have been coming here for years whenever I need a bottle of champagne cause they have a massive collection. I also belong to their champagne Society wine club, and have bottles delivered to me every month Check out this place if you need good booze

Knowledgeable and friendly staff who consistently make great recommendations! Best Italian wine…read moreselection in SF.

Blundered into this place on a rare sunny and warm Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, I had…read moretotally forgotten about it. We were not well-dressed, we had left the house in a bit of a hurry to catch the last rays of sun. We started with a nibble in Little Saigon and had decided to continue walking up Polk since we hadn't been there in some time. There were some people hanging out at tables on the sidewalk obviously enjoying a glass. Inside the shopkeeper was seated at a table having a conversation with an elegantly-dressed woman over a glass of wine but -despite our ordinary appearance - didn't hesitate to help us. I was looking for something very specific which I had found there before: a Sardinian wine called Monica. No, really! They didn't have any but had a couple of recommendations from the region, including one with a grape varietal I'd never heard of. So we walked out of there with two different bottles. We're not big drinkers, but we had one on Father's Day and the other one a week later. Both really good. I'm glad this place isn't in my neighborhood, or I'd be wine-poor. But undoubtedly happy!