Press Club: No reporters, just fine wines
Wine bars tend to be quiet places because they’re small and often snooty. Not the Press Club, which occupies a smartly contemporary, 9,000-square-foot room in the heart of downtown San Francisco. “Snoot” is frowned upon; customers wear jeans and suits alike. They come to try some of Northern California’s best wines at six long bars, each staffed by a knowledgeable wine steward from a different winery.
You can stick to the wines from one winery’s bar, sample wines from different wineries by drifting from bar to bar; or order any combination of wines at one of the couches or tasting tables in the Press Club lounge area. In all cases, you can order wine by the taste ($3-$7), by the tasting flight ($9.50-$15), by the glass ($6-$22) or by the bottle ($27-$300). The concept is simple: wine taste in the Wine Country without getting in your car.
Few people just stumble into the Press Club (although you may stumble out if you have one too many cabernets). It’s only 50 yards off Market Street, in the same building as the Four Seasons Hotel, but the Yerba Buena Lane “street” address isn’t even on maps because it’s a new pedestrian passageway. Also, “Press Club” connotes a place where old newspapermen go to swap stories, not an upscale mega-wine bar.
Despite these hindrances, people have discovered the Press Club in a big way. Since opening in September 2008, it’s been packed on weekend nights with not only the after-work crowd, but later at night with singles who like its contempo vibe. Calling itself an “urban tasting room,” it’s comfortably and uniquely at the halfway point between a wine bar (too sedate) and a nightclub (too rowdy).
The wineries represented were hand-picked for the quality of their wines. Located in the Santa Cruz mountains, Mount Eden is known for its chardonnays. Fritz and Hanna are boutique wineries from Sonoma’s appellations. And the three Napa Valley labels represented are Miner Family, Saintsbury (with outstanding Carneros pinots), and most famously, Chateau Montelena—the 1882 winery that put California wines on the world map when it won the 1976 “Paris Tasting,” commemorated in the movie, “Bottle Shock.”
A menu of excellent appetizers and small plates, each with a wine pairing recommendation, can also be ordered. Among the favorites are cabernet-braised short ribs with polenta and goat cheese with mixed greens. Also, you can savor a flight of fine cheeses or chocolates to accompany your wine selections.
It’s most crowded during Thursday Happy Hours (usually 6-8 p.m.) and Friday nights, when office workers pack the place. A late crowd comes for weekend DJ music from 9 p.m. to midnight. Some people, however, just come to pick up a couple of bottles of wine, which are sold for the same price you’d be charged at the wineries. As they say at the Press Club, why go to the Wine Country?
- by Bob Cooper, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro
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Bob CooperBob Cooper is a full-time freelance writer (www.bob-cooper.com) who writes about travel, outdoor sports and health. He is a monthly contributor to Runner's World and has written recent articles for other national magazines such as Continental, Ladies' Home Journal and Inc.
