A friend of mine is passing through San Francisco in June on the way back home to New Zealand. He has less than 24 hours there but sees it as his opportunity to bring home some interesting bottles that he cannot source here, which will likely be from the US, but could be from Europe? I’m sure that he’d love to visit Kermit Lynch Wines but the trip out to Berkeley might take a bit too long given that his wife will want to do SOME sightseeing also. Do people have any suggestions for good wine shops that are relatively central? I’ve mentioned K & L Wines to him but beyond that I don’t have up to date knowledge.
Many thanks in advance for the advice! Cheers…Mark
I think that your K & L suggestion is probably the best one, particularly given the limited time. As I expect you know, K & L’s website is pretty good. So, your friend can pretty much know what’s there before arriving.
A couple of lesser thoughts. If he finds himself on the fancier shopping/dining part of Fillmore, there is a small shop on the NW corner of Sacramento/Fillmore that sometimes has some interesting Cali pinot and Champagne. There is also a beer store called Ales Unlimited a couple of blocks away (Jackson/Webster) that often has hard to find stuff, if that is of any interest.
If your friends are in the Castro neighborhood, the Castro Village Wine Shop on 19th is small place that sells only Cali stuff. Nice people and interesting. Not worth a special trip, but worth 10 minutes if they are in the area.
This is neat place; cramped in a good way, with fair pricing. You’re not going to find the same selection as in a K&L or similar, but it’s a wonderful place to explore.
If he truly has only 10 or 20 minutes, then I’d recommend K&L. Here’s why: many of these little neighborhood wines shops are fun to browse in, and often have stuff that isn’t posted online. So you have the chance on stumbling on some nice finds. But parking alone could take 10 minutes or even longer. And that gives you almost no time to browse.
K&L instead has a big parking lot and is close to the highway (so not bad if you’re heading to the airport). They have their entire stock online. You can browse online before you go, buy, and the wine will be sitting there ready to go. You can also follow the auctions up until a few days before leaving, bid on stuff, and have your ‘winnings’ ready as well.
K&L has three stores and a warehouse with somewhat different inventory of less available wines. They will ship for free for pickup at any of their stores, so that also broadens the choices a bit if you shop ahead.
Thank you so much everyone for all the great suggestions…I wish it were me going though my friend has offered to bring back a bottle for me too, so I am already pondering far too many possibilities!
Assuming you are considering K&L, make sure when searching online that the filter is set for the Harrison St location, assuming you will not have the timing leeway for a ‘will call, online order in person pick up’. That can be 1-4 days depending on their backlog. In rare situations, something that is supposed to be at Harrison might not be on the shelves but could be buried in the back.
One other cool thing, even if one doesn’t make an online account (to see the Insider Advantage prices) they do offer those to everyone for in person shopping.
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All the comments on parking and highway access are worth reiterating too.
This seems much more common in my recent experience so I strongly suggest shopping online & having them hold for pickup in store, vs. just browsing in person
Each item has the inventory for all 3 stores plus the main warehouse. Is it real-time, I don’t know. I agree with shopping on the website a few days in advance and ordering versus dropping in to shop.
If your friend only has a limited amount of time, K&L is probably the best place to go because of convenience and large inventory (assuming your friend is visiting SF with a rented car).
Flatiron has a more convenient location if using public transportation (right next to Montgomery BART station and several bus lines in Downtown SF) and I feel the selection is more curated than K&L. Huge domestic section here as well.
Arlequin has similar vibes to Flatiron, but is located in Hayes Valley, which is less convenient to get to, and I feel the inventory is not quite as deep.
I’m a big fan of Ruby Wine in Potrero Hill. It focuses more on natural wine, mainly French with some other European and domestic wines, but carries a lot of stuff you won’t find in other shops in SF. Pain to get to unless you have a car.
Similarly, Bar Part Time in the Mission is more conveniently located and carries an inventory similar to Ruby (owner used to work at Ruby). It sells bottles at retail if you takeout.