Vinyl, Vibes, and Seriously Good Pours
Inner Richmond · San Francisco · Wine bar with small plates · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 22, 2026
RagingWine reviewed High Treason’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
You walk into 443 Clement expecting a neighborhood bar and instead find a record-spinning, low-lit room where someone has clearly thought very hard about Galician reds. The wine list lands in your hands and immediately signals: this is not an afterthought. Emidio Pepe next to Arnot-Roberts next to Occhipinti — on Clement Street.
High Treason runs a 150-bottle list that leans hard into the natural and minimal-intervention corners of Europe — Loire, Burgundy, Piedmont, Galicia, and Rioja all show up with real intent, not just token bottles. Envínate 'Lousas' Viñas de Aldea from Ribeira Sacra shares space with R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Gravonia Blanco and Domaine Gramenon Côtes-du-Rhône, which tells you something about the curatorial eye at work here. California gets its due through small producers like Arnot-Roberts, keeping things local without going full wine-country cliché. The gaps are minor — you're not finding deep verticals or an extensive Champagne section — but the hits-to-misses ratio is extremely high.
Thirty-plus options by the glass is genuinely remarkable for a room this size, and it's clearly the engine of the whole operation — 90% of sales are pours, not bottles. The glass list rotates with enough frequency to reward repeat visits, and prices run $13–$20, which is honest money for what's in the glass. If you want to taste across regions without committing to a bottle, this is your room.
Domaine Gramenon Côtes-du-Rhône — $15
Gramenon is a legend of the southern Rhône natural wine world — biodynamic farming, old vines, zero compromise — and finding it by the glass at a neighborhood bar price is the kind of thing that makes you want to order two.
Emidio Pepe Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
Most people walk past this because they don't know Trebbiano can age or that Emidio Pepe is one of Italy's great iconoclasts. It's oxidative, complex, and completely unlike anything else on the list — the kind of bottle that changes what you think white wine can be.
Occhipinti SP68 Rosso
Arianna Occhipinti deserves every bit of her reputation, but at $64 for a bottle retailing around $30, you're paying a 113% markup on a wine that's also widely available. The pour here is fine; the value is not.
R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Gravonia Blanco + Cheese and charcuterie board
Gravonia is aged oxidatively in barrel for four-plus years — it's nutty, waxy, and has an acidity that cuts straight through fatty aged cheeses and cured meats. It's the rare white that actually improves with every bite off a board.
The Bottom Line
High Treason is the wine bar San Francisco's Inner Richmond didn't know it needed — deep, weird, staff-forward, and genuinely fun to drink in. The markups aren't always kind, but the list is thoughtful enough that you'll forgive it at least once.
Nob Hill / Van Ness Corridor · San Francisco · American Steakhouse
House of Prime Rib is one of San Francisco's great dining institutions and the wine list knows its assignment — California Cabs to drink with California beef, no fuss. It won't thrill anyone looking for adventure, but it won't embarrass anyone either, and for a night built around tableside carving and Yorkshire pudding, that's probably enough.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Noe Valley · San Francisco · Sardinian Italian
La Ciccia is the rare neighborhood restaurant where the wine list is genuinely part of the experience, not an afterthought stapled to a food menu. If you care about Italian wine — especially anything off the beaten Tuscany-Piedmont path — you should be making reservations here.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
SoMa · San Francisco · Steakhouse with Japanese influence
Alexander's is a serious wine destination dressed up as a steakhouse — the list is deep, the staff knows it, and the room supports it. Just go in eyes open: this is a splurge-or-go-home situation, and the markups reflect exactly where you are.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Steakhouse, American
EPIC Steak is a reliable, well-executed steakhouse wine program that earns its stripes with real depth, a sommelier who cares, and a few smart curveballs buried in the list. The markups will sting, but if you know where to look — and now you do — there's genuinely good drinking to be had with that view.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Seafood, Coastal American
Waterbar is doing the work — a genuinely broad list with smart coastal instincts, fair happy hour pricing, and a dessert wine program that most full-service wine bars would envy. Send your friends here; just make sure they stay through dessert.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Mission District · San Francisco · Californian-Mediterranean
Foreign Cinema is doing something most San Francisco restaurants aren't — pairing a genuinely thoughtful, terroir-driven wine list with an atmosphere that could've easily gotten away with phoning it in. The markups sting a bit, but the selection earns the trip.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Linden Street · Geneva · Wine bar with small plates
Microclimate is the best argument for stopping in Geneva that doesn't involve the drive itself — a focused, honest wine bar that treats the Finger Lakes like a serious wine region because it is one. Send your friends here, especially if they still think New York wine means Long Island.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Downtown / Plaza · Ashland · Wine bar with small plates
Liquid Assets is the kind of wine bar that rewards curious drinkers willing to look past the safe pours and dig into what the list is actually offering. Send your wine-curious friends here without hesitation — just steer them away from the Cupcake.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Asheville · Wine bar with small plates
5 Walnut is your reliable downtown wine stop when you want something better than beer but aren't looking to drop serious cash. Those windows and $5 specials make it easy to say yes.
Solid Range
Fair
Stemless Casual
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
