1,500 Bottles Deep and Still Swinging
Presidio Heights · San Francisco · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 5, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Spruce’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Spruce arrives like a small novel — somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 selections — and it takes a minute to process that you're sitting in a wood-paneled dining room on Sacramento Street and not in a Michelin-starred cave in Lyon. What's immediately clear is that someone here genuinely cares: this isn't a list assembled to impress investors, it's one built to be drunk. The range from a $15 glass pour to a $25,000 bottle of DRC is absurd in the best possible way.
California and Burgundy are the twin engines here, and both run hot — Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy, and Domaine Leflaive anchor the French side while Kosta Browne, Ridge Monte Bello, Harlan Estate, and Screaming Eagle hold down the West Coast. But the list doesn't stop there: Giacomo Conterno's Barolo Monfortino shows up for the Italy faithful, Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling handles Germany, and E. Guigal's Côte-Rôtie La Mouline and La Landonne make the Rhône chapter worth lingering in. The depth is real — this is a Grand Award list that's been earning that designation since 2015 and shows no signs of coasting.
With 20 to 30 options by the glass starting around $15 to $25, the pour program is genuinely useful rather than a token gesture. Standouts like the Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Domaine Dujac Morey-St-Denis appear at prices that let you taste something serious without committing to a full bottle. The Monday half-price wine night — on the full bottle list — elevates this from a great by-the-glass program to a legitimate reason to plan your week around dinner at Spruce.
Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 — $32
Ridge at $32 a glass is genuinely hard to argue with. The Monte Bello estate produces one of California's most serious Cabernets, and getting a pour from a 2019 vintage — which is drinking beautifully right now — for this price at a fine dining spot in SF is the kind of move your wallet will thank you for.
Scholium Project The Prince in All His Glory 2019
Most tables will walk right past this and order the Kosta Browne, which is fine but predictable. Scholium Project is one of California's most idiosyncratic producers — Abe Schoener makes wines that don't fit a tidy category — and The Prince in All His Glory is exactly the kind of strange, compelling bottle that a list like Spruce's exists to surface. At $28 a glass it's the most interesting thing on the menu.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus Special Selection is a fine bottle but it's also the wine your uncle orders at every steakhouse from here to Dallas. On a list this deep and interesting, defaulting to Caymus is like going to a great record store and buying a greatest hits compilation. The restaurant can do better for you and so can you.
E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 2017 + Liberty Farm duck with cherry mostarda and hazelnuts
La Landonne is all iron and smoke and dark fruit — it's one of the more muscular expressions coming out of the northern Rhône. Duck with cherry mostarda and hazelnuts is practically made for it: the gaminess of the Liberty Farm bird, the sweet-tart pop of mostarda, and the richness of hazelnuts all find something to hold onto in a wine this structured and savory. At $75 a glass it's a splurge, but this is the pairing you'll be talking about at breakfast.
Monday — Half-price wine night on Mondays — applies to bottles from the full wine list. One of the better deals in San Francisco fine dining.
The Bottom Line
Spruce is the rare restaurant where the wine list is genuinely as good as the kitchen, and the Monday half-price bottle program alone is worth bookmarking. Send your friends here — but tell them to skip the Caymus.
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Peruvian Seafood
La Mar is a great dinner — the ceviche alone is worth the trip — but the wine list is along for the ride rather than driving it. Order something crisp and cold, enjoy the view, and don't overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Union Square · San Francisco · American
The Rotunda is a lunch experience first and a wine destination a distant second — the list is safe, the markup is real, and you're largely paying for the address and the atmosphere. Come for the crab salad and the occasion, order something bubbly, and don't go in expecting a serious wine program.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
San Francisco · San Francisco · Wine bar & bottle shop
Bodega SF is what happens when someone actually gives a damn about the list instead of just checking a box. Twenty-six bottles, almost all pourable by the glass, priced fairly, and built around grapes most wine bars wouldn't dare touch — send your adventurous friends here and tell them to skip the safe picks.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
San Francisco · San Francisco · Wine bar
Fig & Thistle is for people who trust a short menu built by someone with a point of view — thirteen bottles, all pouring, all worth talking about. If you need a fallback Cab or a recognizable label to feel safe, this isn't your spot. If you don't, this absolutely is.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
San Francisco · San Francisco · Steakhouse
STK San Francisco has the bones of a wine program and the ambition of a hotel minibar. With only three by-the-glass pours, a list built entirely around safe brand names, and steep markups baked into the concept, this is a place to order a cocktail or splurge on a specific bottle you already know you want.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· San Francisco · Wine Tavern
Big Finish is doing something genuinely different — an all-glass list built around obscure varietals, serious fortified wine, and pricing that doesn't punish curiosity. Send anyone here who wants to drink something they've never tried before and walk away feeling like they learned something.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Baltimore · American
Give the international and local sections a look before defaulting to Burgundy. Sula at $70 and Old Westminster at $90 offer different budget options. These are posted bottle prices, not guaranteed stock; confirm availability. This menu guide doesn't rate service or cellar conditions.
· Key West · American
Caroline's Café is not a wine destination, and it's not trying to be — the identical pricing across all five house labels makes that abundantly clear. If you're in Key West looking for something interesting in your glass, keep walking; if you just need a cold pour of Chardonnay with your lunch and aren't asking questions, $8 gets you there without drama.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Kerns · Portland · American
Noble Rot is the rare restaurant wine program that would hold up as a standalone wine bar — deep list, sharp staff, fair prices, and a view that makes the whole experience feel earned. Send your friends here. Send yourself here.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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