Terroir

Recommends

Patrick Heig

Joined 5 years ago

This wine bar and shop carries and serves organic and biodymanic Old World wines in a raw but comfortable space in SoMa.. Between the wine crates, flickering candlelight, short zinc bar and the Frenchmen behind it, you'll feel like you've stumbled into some collector's cellar in Bordeaux. The rusticity of Terroir matches the wine, which is all from beyond organic to biodynamic Old World producers, hence the "Natural Wine Merchant"; in fact, perhaps no other wine shop/bar in the country applies standards as rigorous. Despite the holier-than-thou philosophy--watch one of the Frenchmen's faces screw up into a scoffing grimace when you mention your favorite California wine--Terroir is friendly and casual: Let someone behind the bar know what you're in the mood for and they'll give you two or three generous tastes (what other wine bars call a "flight" and charge dearly for) and a laissez-faire pour of whichever you choose. If you're shopping for a bottle, the owners are serious oenophiles and love to talk shop, but you should really stay for a glass--this place effortlessly is what so many wine bars pretend to be.