What we call a night in front of the TV watching Bad Girls Club, Mike Pierce, wine director and part owner of Maverick, will call a sugar-and-wine-soaked night to remember. What are we talking about? This: Maverick will host their 12th Junk Food Wine Pairing on May 16th. Four popular junk foods will be paired with four different wines selected by Pierce. Said food that your mom told you would rot your teeth include: house-made fried cheese curds, Cincinnati chili, Fritos, and more. more ›

Starting tonight and every following Tuesday, all bottles of wine on Luella's wine list will be 1/2 price all night. Hardly a hipster haven (thank god), Luella's stands as a decent neighborhood restaurant in which to grab a bite (think modern California cuisine) and get toasty. They even offer $35 for prie fixe menu and $4 for a glass of wine. Not bad. And while some loopy Yelpers complain of timely yet frosty service — personally, we don't mind cold and indifferent so long as our service is prompt and kiss-ass-free, which is why we love Sightglass Coffee in SoMa — half off a bottle of wine is reason enough to trek up Russian Hill. more ›

Do you like tasting some of California's best wines while getting tied up and slapped across the face? Of course you do. Which is why Femina Potens will host a night of wine and bondage on April 14th featuring some of the state's choicest vino and some of the finest ropes with which to be hogtied. Dominants and submissives (that's you, slave) are welcome not only to sip lovely, woozy wines, but also to taste some of the finest binding from around the world, including rope made in Japan, the Netherlands, Hawaii, and Seattle. "Experience the intricate differences in the ropes' bite, toothy or sleek quality, the smell, the taste, its ability to make your submissive squeal or moan in deep pleasure," exclaims the press release. more ›

Tragedy on a Napa valley highway this morning after a wine truck overturned on Highway 29, spilling glass bottles out on to the roadway. The crash occurred around 6:40 a.m this morning, and blocked all lanes on Southbound 29 until CHP cleanup crews could bring out a sweeper truck to pick up the glass. Highway didn't completely reopen until around 9:15 this morning. more ›

Rumor has it that Lady Gaga might be interested in buying a vineyard in Sonoma. SFist scribe and Grub Street editor Jay Barmann notes, "Following on rumors that Lady Gaga was house-hunting around Sonoma last week — and was also spotted eating at Girl + the Fig, Nick's Cove, and the French Laundry — we now hear from a source close to young Stephanie that she's contemplating buying a vineyard as an investment!" more ›

Time to shed this grizzly winter of ours, yes? Oh wait, no. It has not been a glacial winter. Not at all. It has, in fact, been downright balmy this winter season of ours, full of shorts, sun, and getting high at your neighborhood park. While that doesn't exactly predict the best fall harvest season for our artisanal brethren up north, it does mean that we are more than ready for spring. And with that, you should consider checking out Passport to Dry Creek Valley. more ›

Over in China, the Wine Institute, an association of California wineries, is using the Golden State's effortlessly cool image to sell mid-range wine abroad. As the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports, the Wine Institute pushed a year-long ad campaign in Shanghai featuring images of the Golden Gate Bridge and a blond kid carrying a surfboard through a grassy field — all to get the attention of an emerging middle class of Chinese wine drinkers. more ›

Aren't there enough wineries in Northern California? Do we really need another? Especially when it could mean the death of a redwood forest? As the LA Times reported in August, Codorniu’s Artesa Napa Winery and Premier Pacific Vineyards plan to build two new wineries in Annapolis will "clear-cut over 1,900 acres of these redwoods." In addition to killing off a forest in the process of replenishing itself (the area was hit hard by the logging industry), it would also be built on the burial grounds of the Kashia Pomo tribe (where they still live and worship) and possibly harm the Gualala River, "home to endangered salmon and other at-risk wildlife." more ›

The kids at Laughing Squid have come up with the perfect use for the new Trenta sized cup at Starbucks: covert wine drinking. At 31 ounces, it perfectly holds an entire bottle of wine (with room to spare.) more ›

Swirl Wine Bar, which has gained a solid reputation for serving excellent varieties of grapes and spirits (and then some), will throw what promises to be an authentique champagne party on Thursday. The Castro wine bar's Champagne Holiday Party will feature esteemed Veuve Clicquot. Yes, real-life, actual champagne, folks. They've promised "no Loire Sparklers, no Prosecco, no Cava, and not a California wine in sight." Just real champagne made in France -- and the good stuff, to boot. more ›

ART: Several Bay Area artists will be showing their work at the group exhibition, Above the Plane, which will "navigate the viewers through a habitat of art away from the traditional wall hangings and onto the surfaces of iconic furniture designs" conveying how "art can manipulate space to adhere to our individual comforts." more ›

Now the fine folks in Pacifica can know the pleasure of paying for Sauvignon Blanc by the glass (with one ice cube, please, since we like to keep things real!) to get nice and taosty, because they just scored their first-ever wine bar. Inside Scoop's Paolo Lucchesi explains: "The aptly-named A Grape in the Fog (Pacific is foggy, see?) is the brainchild of proprietor and Pacifica resident Beth Lemke. And how’s this for a blast from the past? She has family ties to Mona’s Club 440, a bygone 'wine and beer joint' in North Beach in the ’40s." more ›

Where has Gov. Schwarzenegger been during the San Bruno fire disaster, you ask? In China! The former movie star cum California politico headed East to sign part of the East Span of the Bay Bridge, check out the high-speed rail train in Shanghai, hawk California pistachios and wine, and meet with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan... more ›

Press Club, the 9,000 square-foot "urban wine tasting bar" on SoMa's pedestrian-oriented Yerba Buena, took home an award tonight in Los Angeles at the Dwell on Design conference. Organized by the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles (AIA|LA), the 6th Annual Restaurant Design Awards accepts projects from across the country in three categories: restaurants, cafés and bars and lounges. more ›

The sanity-estranged who roam among us. Where would we be without them? This "crazy Russian lady" went on a rampage at a Richmond store over the weekend. ManicVulva captured the tail-end of her breakdown. She writes: more ›

Excuse us for only finding out about Outside In #4 at the last minute. Dishes by eighteen San Francisco street food and local underground chefs will be paired with eighteen Portuguese wines and beers. more ›

THEATER: It's the preview night of Scalpel!, a killer comedy featuring wealthy New York socialite and soon-to-be divorceé Jacquelyn Blithers, whose nightmares start coming true after her new face lift. more ›

by Jerry James Stone Figuring out if your California wine is 'green' or not isn't a simple task... more ›

by Jerry James Stone more ›

Oh wow. more ›

SF Chronicle's Jon Bonné released the Top 100 Wines list for 2009. This year's angle was that more wines under $30 made the list. Which, of course, is fantastic news here at SFist HQ, where the wine flows freely. more ›

ART: It's the first annual Passport, in which the SF Arts Commission invites the public to stroll through one of San Francisco’s neighborhoods to create their own limited edition art book by collecting “passport stamps” made by local artists. This year's featured event is located in the Mission. Tonight is the Kick-Off Party, and the main event is tomorrow from Noon to 4 p.m., with Mission Playground as home base, Valencia between 19th & 20th. (Passports for tomorrow's event are $25 and are available for purchase at various locations. Check the SF Arts Commission Gallery's site for more info.) Tonight's Kick-Off Party will feature live music by The Old Fashioned Way and tunes by DJ Sharbaugh. more ›

Eater has word, via Thrillist, that the Four Seasons bar, succinctly called Seasons, has reduced the price of their wines by half until the end of September. (Blessed be!) That is to say, they've sliced the price of "once pricey action like Francois Jobard Chard, and Stag's Leap Cabernet." And what with a new bar menu--which we'll review and post at a later date--this means more tastiness, not to mention tipsiness, for your dollar. Seasons, 757 Market, Sunday to Thursday: 2:30 pm - midnight; Friday and Saturday: 2:30 pm - 1 am. more ›

Plug 1 of What I'm Seeing came across this scene at the Whole Foods located a block away from SFist HQ, over on Fourth Street and Harrison. He explains: more ›

That's right. SFist classed up its act last Friday when we jumped into a cab, threw our hair back, and deadpanned to the driver, "Take us to the Ritz." Yes, we went to the famed and supposedly inaccessible Mobil Five-Star awarded The Ritz-Carlton Bar and Dining Room, and thank God we did. It was remarkable -- surprisingly so. more ›

News of Sonoma County’s “Really Goode Job” first hit SFGate on April 28. Since then, hopefuls coveting the $10,000/month, half-year gig for Murphy-Goode have been applying online and uploading videos for consideration for the position. While most of the applicants are from out of state, one of the very few (thus far) Bay Area applicants is SFist contributor Deborah N . While we are, of course, ecstatic of the idea of one of our own winning the grand prize, (yet sad and depressed at the thought of her moving to an albeit free and glamorous house in Healdsburg for six month), we are curious about Deborah’s motivation for applying for the position. (Aside from the fact that we want an SFister to land this oddly, at least according to many MSM outlets, newsworthy job) more ›

Via City Dish, FuncheapSF, and Eyes on Blogs: Get a free glass of wine in the Marina this afternoon from 4 to 8:30 p.m. at Bin 38 Wine Bar (warning audio), located at 3232 Scott St. @ Lombard St. We hear it's good wine too! The party goes until Midnight. more ›

Stock up for Easter and the impending apocalypse (you can use the wine for bartering with looters) during BevMo!'s "Buy One Bottle Get the Second for $0.05" sale this weekend. The list includes over 150 different wines, which cover all ends of the spectrum, from Chardonnays and Savignon Blancs to Malbecs and Bordeauxs to Tawney ports. Many of the wines have ratings above 86 points. There are three BevMo! locations in San Francisco: Van Ness at Post, Geary at Stanyan, and Bayshore Blvd. more ›