Celebrated South Beach restaurant Saison has added not one but two wine bars to the family.
Saison Cellar & Wine Bars, cobalt blue–painted fraternal twins, occupy two distinct corners of the Bay Area. The San Francisco sibling is the chic one, with vibes that are part rustic European, part vintage Victorian. Her Scotts Valley sister, a few months older than the brand new city kid, is more laid back, with both lounge seating and tables.
They may not look exactly alike but they overlap where it counts, in a love of wine and a menu of decadent French bar bites.
Saison Cellar & Wine Bars are the offspring of Mark Bright, who is both Saison Hospitality’s cofounder, and the winemaker at Saison Winery. You’d be forgiven if you didn’t know that Saison—which also operates the Michelin-starred Angler and the barbecue pop-up Smokehouse—made wine. Although Bright, who began his SF career as a sommelier for Mina restaurants’ flagship wine program, has been crafting it for a while, the Saison label is only a couple years old. The winery, which specializes in French varietals grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains, emerged in 2022 along with a tasting room in Los Gatos.
Saison Cellar & Wine Bar in Scotts Valley.(Elliott Alexander)
These ventures in SF and Scotts Valley aren’t just new showcases for Bright’s winemaking, however. They are, instead, exhibitions for the “wines that inspire the wines I make,” says Bright. As such, the list leans Old World, with 20 pages that are heavy on Burgundian chablis and Beaujolais but also feature exceptional expressions from closer to home.
The food menu, which includes some gorgeous signatures from Nicolas Delaroque’s Maison Nico, channels Bright’s love of French fare, too. Some of the dishes are delightfully over the top, like the delicious caviar parfait a la Mina, a savory layer-cake of hashbrowns, horseradish creme fraiche, smoked salmon, and eggs frosted with salty black pearls of caviar. But mostly the menu is more approachable, with croque monsieurs, cheeses and charcuteries, and fries dusted with shaved summer black truffles. You can come here for an afternoon aperitif as easily as for a celebration.
Saison Cellar & Wine Bar's delicious caviar parfait a la Mina.(Adahlia Cole)
In addition to Saison’s public-facing wine bars, the South Beach location also has The Cellar, a members-only club located two doors down. It's here where well-to-do wine lovers will find their home away from home with founders membership perks that include personal wine storage, private consultations with Bright, first or exclusive access to wine events, tastings and classes, thousands of dollars in annual dining credits, and the ability to host up to six guests at a time.
Saison’s Cellars can still be your go-to wine shop even if you don’t buy into founder level membership. They stock everything from $15 bottles of 2017 Nimble Pink rose from Sonoma to $490 Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot 2021 chardonnay from Burgundy. Buy them a bottle at a time online or in house, or become a wine bar club member at the Scotts Valley location, which will get you two bottles selected monthly by Bright, discounts, and exclusive invitations for an average of $48 to $78/month.
// Saison Cellar & Wine Bar is open 2pm to 10pm Tuesday through Saturday nat 234 Townsend St. (South Beach), and 2pm to 9pm at 222 Mt. Hermon Rd., Ste. I (Scotts Valley), saisonwinebar.com.
Members-only club The Cellar two doors down from Saison's SF wine bar.(Adahlia Cole & Colin Peck, @saisonwinebar)
