The wine industry is in trouble, according to recent reports. Sales are down and Millennials aren't drinking it in the same quantities as the generations that came before. Don’t even ask what Gen Z thinks about wine, you don’t want to know.
But whatever challenges wine is facing in the rest of the world, apparently San Francisco didn’t get the memo. If the recent a wave of wine cellar, shop, and bar openings is any indication, in this city, wine is doing just fine.
“My sense is that San Franciscans are better versed in wine than the average restaurant goer,” says Matthias Catelli, wine director at the newly reopened French and natural wine bar, Verjus (550 Washington St., Jackson Square). “It feels like the surge in wine bars is finally starting to match demand for them.”
Indeed, since August, the city has welcomed the itty bitty West Portal wine bar and shop Binu Bonu (230 West Portal Ave.); celebrated restaurant Saison’s wine bar and members only club, The Cellar (234 Townsend St., South Beach); Outer Richmond’s natural wine purveyors Rampant Bottle & Bar (3516 Balboa St.); Verjus 2.0; and the Bear Cave, a new wine cellar and tasting space at Michelin-starred Lazy Bear (3416 19th St., Mission). Vietnamese-inspired wine lounge Gigi’s just opened in NoPa (299 Divisadero St).
Bino Bonu in West Portal(Courtesy of @binubonusf)
There’s no particular style or region dominating SF’s current wine zeitgeist, or maybe it's more accurate to say that the zeitgeist is exploring wine’s vast diversity.
At the Bear Cave, although the 10,000 bottle collection includes some of the world’s best wines, the Lazy Bear team’s real jam is wine from California makers. “We really want to focus on storytelling and the magical effects of time both in our cuisine and in our wine pursuits,” says chef/proprietor David Barzelay. There are selections from contemporary wine producers aplenty, but the Bear Cave also has an extensive archive of vintage bottles. Those, says Barzelay, are “the closest ones to our hearts.”
Lazy Bear’s sommeliers are now hosting wine tastings and events in the cozy cellar, and revealing the stories of the wines, vintners, and vineyards in their Wine Spectator 2024 Grand Award–winning collection. They’ll also hold wine classes in the space, and host private events there like dinners and cocktail receptions.
Natural wine, which was just going mainstream when restaurateurs Michael and Lindsay Tusk first opened Verjus in 2019, remains a primary focus for the bar and its spin-off wine club.
The revamped Verjus in Jackson Square.(Will Brinkerhoff)
“What people like most about natural wine, myself included, is the care given to each bottle,” says Catelli. “At this new iteration of Verjus…you can find both new and established winemakers, and maybe a future legend or two. [The collection] stands out because of its breadth. Because we have the cellar at Quince and Cotogna, I’m able to add some exceptional older and rare wines, too.”
Verjus’ old school French bistro vibe and menu, which includes classic dishes like pâté en croûte and saucisse d’agneau vadouvan (lamb sausage in French curry), pairs well with organic and minimal intervention wines that, according to Catelli, are usually “fresher, lighter, and more elegant” than other styles. So too do the bar’s new DJ booth and vinyl collection, which the Tusks hope will get people up and dancing when the hour grows late.
Verjus is a place that’s “meant to be easy and casual and constantly in motion,” says Catelli, and that’s a good thing for the future of an industry that’s been struggling with stagnation over the past couple years.
Maybe the youth aren’t gravitating toward wine the way their elders did. Give them some time. In San Francisco, at least, it won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Beaujolais nouveau will be featured at Lazy Bear's next Bear Cave wine tasting.(Courtesy of @lazybearsf)
