Wine bars are my favorite kind of bars, and San Francisco has quite a few of them! Naturally with the city’s proximity to Sonoma County, Napa Valley, Livermore Valley, and many other amazing wine regions in California, San Francisco wine bars have access to some of the best wines you can taste outside of the wineries themselves.
I’ve lived in the Bay Area my whole life and since entering adulthood and turning 21, I’ve tried a lot of great wine bars that you should put on your radar. While there are some new ones in this list, many of these SF wine bars I’ve been going to for well over 10 years!
Best San Francisco Wine Bars
Press Club
This is the OG wine bar in San Francisco and the swankiest styled space, for sure! If I’m downtown and looking for wine, Press Club is an obvious first choice. However, it’s often closed for private events with its location being so close to Moscone Center. Back in the early days, individual wineries had sections inside Press Club so you could find your taste your favorite wines and jump around from area to area. Nowadays they have consolidated the format to bring you the best wines and where every seat and section has the same experience. They serve wine, beer, and small bites, so it’s a standby favorite I always love bringing friends visiting SF to.
Press Club
20 Yerba Buena Ln, San Francisco, CA 94103
Cultivar San Francisco
Cultivar specializes on wines of Napa Valley that authentically express the incredible terroir, and I love that they opened this unique wine bar in the Marina district around 5 years ago. They serve not only their wines, but a selection of others, plus some of the best food you can get at a “wine bar”. They have amazing salads, grilled cheese sandwiches, and more. Yes, you can get a cheese and charcuterie plate or snackable crudités, but they do an amazing job at offering premium and elevated food options, that aren’t just the cliche wine bar small plates. Cultivar wine club members can also opt to pick up their wines here instead of paying for shipping, which is a smart option if you live in San Francisco. They offer weekend brunch (reservations recommended), host all kinds of pick-up parties and events, it is a must try in this neighborhood. Don’t miss the cozy backyard patio area, either!
Cultivar San Francisco
2379 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94123
Bin 415
Visiting San Francisco and want to try the very best of the best wines? You need to try Bin 415 inside of the Fairmont San Francisco hotel. Bin 415 started as a private and premium sommelier-led wine tour company, but they now have a homebase just steps from the lobby inside this iconic SF destination. It’s a gorgeous and cozy space, meant to make your wine tasting experience both luxurious and educational. You can try premium flights of excellent wines from both Napa Valley and Sonoma County. Bin 415 even pours a 1oz taste of Screaming Eagle, if you just have to try it to see if it’s worth the hype.
Bin 415
950 Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94108
Terroir
Soma is my old stomping grounds, and if you’re looking for esoteric and natural wines I can’t think of any other place in the city that tops Terroir. Terroir is a cozy wine bar in Soma specializing in natural wine from all over the world. If you like unusual wines, hard to find wines, or are just not sure what you like, this is such an amazing wine bar to visit because it’ll send your taste buds on a total adventure. This wine bar is chill and laid back, I really like it and it feels like a best kept secret in terms of top wine bars in San Francisco.
Terroir
1116 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94103
West Coast Wine • Cheese
West Coast Wine Cheese is another one of my Marina/Cow Hollow favorite spots for wine. Not only do they showcase some of the best California wines from Napa and Sonoma, they also serve top notch wines from Washington and Oregon. The wine list shows not only the regions and AVAs, but who the winemaker is too. They have indoor and outdoor seating, with both small seasonal bites and mains. Things like steak tartare, roasted cauliflower, and filet mignon are on the fall menu currently. Happy hour is the first two hours after opening daily, with $2 off selected food & wine, 20% off all bottles, and $2 off draft beers.
West Coast Wine Cheese
2165 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123
Amélie
I haven’t been to Amélie in a long time, but this is one of my favorite Nob Hill bars. It has a fun and trendy vibe, perfect for date night or girls night. They offer French tapas-style plates and wines from all over the world, plus mezcal and other spirits. This spot also has happy hour! Happy hour currently runs daily from 4-6pm with $12 wine flights and $10 daily flatbreads. Plus live music every Saturday 6-9pm!
Amelie
1754 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Do you have a favorite wine bar in San Francisco or greater SF Bay Area? Let me know so I can give it a visit. And if you want to grab a bottle to take home, check out my Best Bay Area Wine Shops guide for ideas of where to shop. Cheers!
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