A new wine bar has come to the Castro, with an array of international wines by the glass or bottle, in addition to small plates and cocktails, and it's on the top floor of the nine-year-old private social club The Academy.
The LGBTQ-focused Academy at 2166 Market Street has had a wine lounge for members on its third floor for several years now. But now it has been relaunched and rebranded as Altrove, a wine bar that is accessible to the public with the purchase of a day pass or an annual "wine passport," which is a physical passport book that can be filled up with stamps based on the regions your tastings come from.
"We wanted to bring more people into the space to experience our growing wine program," says Academy co-founder Nate Bourg. "It deserves to be experienced by more than just our regular members."
"Altrove" means "elsewhere" in Italian, and the intimate third-floor space has a transporting quality, with a couple of small banquettes, and a gold-gilded Champagne Room to the back, which has a sliding door for more private experiences.
The bar area itself is connected, via a hallway, to a plush lounge setup in the front room facing Market Street, with couches and several seating areas.
While wine selections will rotate, the current by-the-glass menu features a crisp Pinot Gris ($14) from Tinpot Hut winery in Marlborough, New Zealand; a rosé of Grenache, Cinsault, Merlot, and Syrah ($14) from Provence's Chateau du Berne; and a red blend ($16) from Argentina's Siete Fincas winery. Glasses of house white and house red wine are $8 — and free for Academy members.
This month's featured wines are from Africa, with a Sauvignon Blanc ($16) from South Africa's Elgin Valley; a rosé of Temperanillo ($15) from Stellenbosch, South Africa; and an old-vine Syrah ($14) from Morocco's Domaine des Ouled Thaleb vineyard.
Highball cocktails are available at the Altrove bar as well (gin and tonic, vodka soda, whiskey soda, etc.), and there is a selection of small bites including some top notch deviled eggs topped with Dungeness crab, a salmon tartine, and fig and goat cheese flatbread, and a "deluxe" grilled cheese with onion jam.
Non-members can pay a $10 day-pass fee to check out Altrove, which comes with a complimentary aperitif, or $25 gets you both the passport booklet that can be stored on-site for future visits, and a year's worth of entry to the wine bar.
Altrove is now open Wednesday to Saturday 6 pm to 10 pm, and reservations are encouraged but not required.
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Disclosure: I have been a member of The Academy since its founding.
