3 Winning Wine Shops in San Francisco

Need something to take the edge off a day full of staring at spreadsheets, managing the children, or getting home after getting stuck in traffic on the 101? Wrap your fingers around a glass of good wine with the help of Yelp, featuring some of the top neighbourhood wine shops for a great grape escape.

Swirl on Castro

The Castro’s premiere wine & spirits retail shop and wine bar is open in the evenings and offers a selection of 20 wines to taste. Whether your taste runs towards Burgundy, Bordeaux and beyond, or strictly Californian, you will find it here. The store also offers spirits, glassware, gifts, books, art and wine accessories, all featured in an uplifting, spirited, stylish environment suited for browsing.

 

William Cross Wine Merchants & Wine Bar

This cozy wine & bar shop offers top European, South American, artisanal & organic wines. The Wine Tasting Bar is located in the back of the store and bar hours are the same as store hours. If you would like to buy a bottle of wine from the shop and drink it at the bar, there is a $10 corkage fee for 750ml and $5 corkage for 375ml. Cheese lovers can also indulge in cheese from Cowgirl Creamery, along with several other producers. They also stock olives, rustic bakery crackers, Creminelli Salumi and Madacasse Chocolates.

 

Flatiron Wines & Spirits

Flatiron Wine and Spirits is small, warm, and well-lit, with dusty brick walls and shelves of bare wood. With a primary focus on small-batch producers from France and California, they offer organic and biodynamic wines from all over the world. The wildly varied pricing ensures that there’s something for everybody.  For the aspiring sommelier, Flatiron offers three tastings every weekend, which feature a sparkling wine on Fridays, a region-specific selection on Saturdays, and a spirit or liqueur on Sundays.