Press Club

Napa meets SF. Press Club markets themselves as the "wine country experience in San Francisco." It has a luxurious and modern decor with several tasting bars, lounge areas, and retail store. I just went last night and thought the space and interior were beautiful and the concept appealing. However, found it to be a bit pretentious and overly priced. There are tasting bars lined against the perimeter featuring 8-10 wineries with a bar in the back that features all the wine.

Know before you go:

• You'll need to check-in with the host before heading downstairs to get a tasting card. This allows you to purchase the tastings at the different wineries. When complete, the host will simply bill you based on what was scanned on the card
• Drinks are NOT cheap! Each "taste" is a 2oz pour and at our first stop, tastes for Miner Pinot were $9/taste. We asked about getting just a glass of wine and she said that would be a "double" or "triple" taste. I'm sorry but I don't care what kind of place you are at in the city but a glass of wine should not be approaching $30, especially when I know how much that bottle is worth at full retail! Some tastes were as low as $4 so for $8, you can get a "petite glass of wine."
• If you want to bypass talking with winery folk and just want to get some vino or a flight combination, head to the back bar where the full list is available
• Don't come hungry! Aside from the truffle popcorn ($4), the cheese and charcuterie platters are highway robbery!

Like I said, awesome space, cool decor, creative concept but somebody needs to figure out a way to do this without having to drop half a months rent on wine.

Featured wineries: Chateau Montelena, Fritz, Hanna, Landmark, Miner, Mount Eden, Pahlmeyer, and Saintsbury.

(415) 744-5000

www.pressclubsf.com