25607 Mon Sep 01 21:48:27 -0700 2003 11 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 102632 I am visiting the SF Bay Area for the first time (on business) and I'm staying in the Financial District (no car). I have a Thursday afternoon / early evening that I would like to use to visit as many wine shops as possible (interested primarily in California Cabernet). Any suggestions (e.g., top 3 stores I should visit are...)? Thank You Mon Sep 01 21:48:27 -0700 2003 0 Shannon 1 102640 Hi Shannon, There are several excellent shops within walking distance of the financial district. (1) The Wine Club on Harrison between 5th and 6th. It's a fantastic shop with a broad selection and the lowest pricing in the Bay Area, but unless you go there at off-hours, don't expect a lot of help from the harried staff. (2) K&L Wines, 638 4th Street near Brannan. Also have a broad selection, good depth in California and Italy. Good staff, especially if you get a chance to talk to Anne. (3) Coit Liquors on Columbus at Union in North Beach. They are a small shop strong in California, Italy and Spain. Mixed service quality, if you're there during the day, you'll get better help from the wine buyer Chris Langston. They tend to have well known wines in stock, whereas such wines tend to disappear quickly at the above two shops. There is also the Jug Shop on Pacific @ Polk that I haven't been to in years, but it can be worth visiting. There is also the Wine House @ 129 Carolina Street sort of on the boundary of SOMA and Potrero Hill, but that would be a bit far from downtown, probably a cab ride. But they are stronger in burgundy and rhone wines, with a good but limited selection of Cal Cab. There is also John Walker on Sutter between Kearny and Montgomery, but prices are on the high side. Good luck! Paul Mon Sep 01 23:36:40 -0700 2003 102632 0 Paul Pietranico 2 102643 An excellent run down of those local shops. I would also suggest some research ahead of time on the 'net to do some comparison shopping. K&L, in particular, has an up to date website with some information about most wines. Wine Club, less so. For California Cabs, I'd also suggest calls/visit to PlumpJack and to Californa Wine Merchant (although Stanley's post linked below is pretty indicative of the attitude). The rest of the thread provides more details about 'hounds' favorite wine shops. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/20956#73943 Tue Sep 02 00:24:28 -0700 2003 102640 0 Melanie Wong 2 102644 I agree with Paul with only minor tweaks... Most stores have web sites so you can pre-research the lists. Among them Wine Club (www.thewineclub.com) and K&L (www.klwines.com). They have largest selection of Cal wines. Wine House (www.winesf.com) has few Cal wines, though ones you often don't otherwise see. The one store left off the list is Napa Valley Wine Exchange (www.napavalleywineryex.com). They are a hole-in-the-wall just a couple blocks from Union Square (415 Taylor St). Lots of boutique wineries, some old (former) standards, and very knowledgeable staff. The sales area might be 200 sq. ft. so it really is tiny, but a great location if you aren't driving. Tue Sep 02 00:33:43 -0700 2003 102640 0 SteveT 3 102686 K&L has most of their inventory on their website, as does Wine House, but The Wine Club website is for the Southern Cal store and is mostly worthless for the SF store. Tue Sep 02 16:46:12 -0700 2003 102644 0 Paul H 4 102694 The Wine Club website doesn't have bottle count inventory data like K&L, but if you click on Newsletters (linked below) you can see a list of everything they have at each store. By the way, K&L's inventory isn't exactly perfect. Their site at one point said they had only two bottles of a wine I was looking for, but when I went to the Menlo Park store a few days later they had six bottles. Back to the OP's question: there is a small wine shop in the financial district at Sutter and Kearny: Johhnie Walker's. They tend to cater to the "expense account gift buyer" market. It's selection and prices are inferior to the other places mentioned here; but it may be worth at least a peek since you happen to be so close. There's always something on sale so you may get lucky. Link: http://www.thewineclub.com/newsletter.html Tue Sep 02 17:15:03 -0700 2003 102686 0 nja 5 102709 If you can find your way to the Marina, I think California Wine Merchant on Pierce has an excellent selection of wines not available in other shops, nearly exclusively California wines in the moderate to slightly upscale. The owners are very helpful and willing to share information about the wines they sell. As with some of the others, this is not the place to go to get bargains, everything is at retail. I have never been as impressed with K & L as many others are; they are crowded and less likely to help you discover new choices. The prices are good, though, and it has a selection of French wines that make it a great place for us locals. Good luck. Tue Sep 02 21:04:59 -0700 2003 102694 0 Chris 6 102755 K&L's new location on 4th street is much more spacious and they've brought in additional staff. I really like Mulin and Marco, in addition to Ann, the Spanish wine buyer. They also have a bigger tasting bar now and do some weekday tastings as well as the standard Saturday events. K&L will have plenty of Cal Cabs for you. The Ferry Plaza shop also has a tasting bar with a number of set flights offered whenever they're open, it's an easy walk across Embarcadero from the Financial District. Pricey, but probably worth a visit while you're here. The Jug Shop on Pacific/Polk is a really great store with a tremendous selection of wines from Oz and NZ, but they don't emphasize the Cal Cabs you're looking for. Wed Sep 03 13:50:28 -0700 2003 102709 0 amalia 5 102774 That would be John Walker - here's an invitation to a tasting tomorrow at the Galleria as a benefit for The Guardsman. $10 for 5 tastings John Walker & Company is pleased to present our “wine and jazz” tasting series with the Crocker Galleria this Thursday the 4th of September. 4:30 – 6:30 pm, Sutter Street side of the Galleria. Please join us and taste incredible wines from: Farella-Park Winery, Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon Miner Family Winery, Napa Valley Chardonnay, Merlot and Zinfandel Sullivan Birney Winery, Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (made by Paul Hobbs winemaker Rolando Herrera!) La Crema Winery, Carneros Pinot Noir and Russian River Valley Chardonnay Terry Theise Estate Selections, German and Austrian Rieslings Broadbent Selections, Montsarra Cava sparkling wine and Aresti Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Chile And special appearances from: Precis Vodka Martini Bar Tsar Nicoulai Caviar tasting As always, proceeds benefit The Guardsmen - $10 for five tastings. Thank you! - The Staff at John Walker & Company www.johnwalker.com Link: http://johnwalker.com/events.html Wed Sep 03 16:11:48 -0700 2003 102694 0 Melanie Wong 1 102649 The wine shop at the Ferry Plaza is also now open, which would be another one within walking distance of the financial district. I haven't checked it out yet, but knowing that Debby Zacharias (Eos, Bacar) is involved, it should be good. Tue Sep 02 09:33:45 -0700 2003 102632 0 Joan Kureczka 2 102699 The Ferry Building Wine Shop is excellent with a great selection (I found a bottle of Turley "The White Coat"!). It is, however, strictly suggested retail pricing -- no bargains here. Tue Sep 02 18:17:39 -0700 2003 102649 0 Paul H 1 102724 If you want to taste some wine first, you may want to go to the London Wine Bar on Sansome Street, it is within walking distance of all the downtown hotels. Link: http://www.londonwinebar.citysearch.com/ Wed Sep 03 00:51:15 -0700 2003 102632 0 Peter