RFK Rankings · San Francisco
Best Wine Lists in San Francisco 2026
Restaurant cellars & sommelier programs · San Francisco · 6 lists ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Three of these six rooms hold a Wine Spectator Grand Award, the trade's highest cellar honor that fewer than a hundred restaurants on earth carry, and a fourth held one for a decade. San Francisco drinks deep: this is a city where a converted Nob Hill chapel keeps 15,000 bottles and a Fisherman's Wharf dining room lists 2,900 selections. Behind the marquee cellars sits a tight scene of sommelier-led rooms, from the Tusks' three-star Quince to its trattoria next door pouring the same labels at gentler markups. Here is who each table suits, what to expect from the floor, and how to book it. Six, ranked on depth, the pairing program and value rather than trophy labels alone.
1.Acquerello
The city's most decorated wine room, a Grand Award cellar of 15,000 bottles behind Suzette Gresham's two-star Italian cooking. Book it for a landmark Piedmont or Champagne.
Acquerello sits in a converted chapel at 1722 Sacramento Street, where chef and co-owner Suzette Gresham cooks the two-Michelin-star Italian menu and proprietor Giancarlo Paterlini's son, wine director Gianpaolo Paterlini, runs the floor. The cellar is the headline: a Wine Spectator Grand Award held since 2012, around 15,000 bottles and 2,300-plus selections, deep in Piedmont, Tuscany and Champagne. The signature is the Parmesan budino, and a tasting runs 275 dollars with a 185-dollar pairing. This is the city's grand wine occasion, the room for marking something with an aged Barolo and a floor that reads the table.
Reserve two to three weeks ahead, name a region and a number, and let Paterlini lead. For a rare bottle, call a day before so it is confirmed and standing.
Book on the Acquerello site; ask the floor to build the night around one Piedmont bottle.
2.Gary Danko
San Francisco's longest-running Grand Award, with 2,900 selections and a cheese cart worth an aged red. Reserve for a classic, ceremonious night.
Gary Danko at 800 North Point Street has held a Wine Spectator Grand Award since 2001, the longest tenure of any room on this list, and chef Gary Danko's prix-fixe menus run from a three-course at around 125 dollars to a five-course near 173 dollars. The signature is the glazed oysters with Osetra caviar, and wine director Aaron Babcock's list spans 2,900 selections across Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhone, California, Germany and Austria. This is the booking for a grown-up, ceremonious evening built around a great bottle and the famous cheese trolley.
Reserve two to three weeks ahead, tell the floor what you want to spend, and end on an aged red with the cheese. Corkage runs 100 dollars if you bring your own.
Book on the Gary Danko site; ask Aaron Babcock for an aged Burgundy with the cheese cart.
3.Spruce
A Presidio Heights Grand Award cellar of 14,000 bottles, heavy in large formats. Go for a big-occasion bottle in a clubby room.
Spruce at 3640 Sacramento Street is the Bacchus Management Group's Presidio Heights flagship, where chef Mark Sullivan cooks a seasonal Californian menu and wine director Jaime Pinedo keeps a Wine Spectator Grand Award cellar held since 2015. The list runs to about 14,000 bottles and 2,600 labels, anchored in California and France with real depth in Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain, and it is unusually strong in large formats for a table that wants to make an occasion of it. The room is clubby and quiet, built for a long dinner over a serious bottle.
Reserve a week or two ahead, tell the floor the night you want, and ask what is drinking best from the magnum list. It is the most under-the-radar deep cellar in the city.
Book on the Spruce site; ask Jaime Pinedo about the large-format selections.
4.Quince
Three Michelin stars and a grower-Champagne cellar to match. Save it for the pairing with the Tusks' tasting.
Quince at 470 Pacific Avenue is Michael and Lindsay Tusk's three-Michelin-star room in Jackson Square, holding three stars since 2017 and a Green Star for sustainability. Wine director Adam Chhibbane runs a cellar of around 1,700 labels that leans into grower Champagne, Alta Piemonte Nebbiolo and collector bottles, with a pairing built to track the tasting course by course. The agnolotti is the dish that travels from menu to menu, and the tasting runs near 300 dollars. This is the booking for a destination dinner where the pairing is part of the point.
Reserve two to three weeks ahead, take the pairing if the menu is the occasion, and ask Chhibbane for the standout grower pour. The fireplace-cooked lamb is the one to anchor a red around.
Book on the Quince site; take the pairing and ask for the grower Champagne.
5.Saison
One of the country's deepest Burgundy cellars beside a two-star fire kitchen. Book it for an old red and a long night.
Saison at 178 Townsend Street is a two-Michelin-star room built around live fire, where chef and co-owner Richard Lee cooks over coals and the wine program, founded by Mark Bright, keeps one of the deepest Burgundy cellars in the country. The signature is the barbecue-salt-cured caviar in a seaweed bundle, and the tasting runs from around 328 dollars with pairings above it. The room held a Wine Spectator Grand Award for a decade through 2023, and while that top tier has lapsed, the cellar itself remains formidable. This is the booking for an old red and an unhurried night.
Reserve two to three weeks ahead, take a pairing or order a single aged Burgundy and build the meal around it, and tell the floor early if you are chasing something specific.
Book on the Saison site; ask the floor to pull an aged Burgundy from the cellar.
6.Cotogna
The best wine value in the city, a trattoria with run of Quince's 1,700-label cellar at gentle markups. Drop in for a serious bottle with the agnolotti.
Cotogna at 490 Pacific Avenue is the Tusks' trattoria next door to Quince, with wine director Matt Cirne, and its trick is access: diners can ask for the full Quince cellar of around 1,700 labels at trattoria markups well below what the three-star room charges. The cooking is rustic and wood-fired, the agnolotti dal plin and spit-roasted meats the dishes to order, and the list is known for low markups even before you reach for the big book. This is the booking for drinking a genuinely serious bottle without the fine-dining premium.
Reserve a week ahead, ask for the reserve list when you sit, and tell the floor your budget so they can find the interesting bottle inside it. It is the city's smartest wine value.
Book on the Cotogna site; ask for the Quince reserve list and name a number.
Not for a wine night
Great food, tight cellar
Benu. Corey Lee's three-star tasting in SoMa is one of the best meals in the country, but the wine is a tight pairing list of a few hundred labels rather than a deep cellar to dig through. Go for the food and the pairing, and keep your bottle night for Acquerello or Gary Danko.
Zuni Cafe. The Market Street institution pours a smart, compact two-page list with real personality in Burgundy and Bandol, but it is a short roster by design, not a vault. Drink a thoughtful glass with the roast chicken, then chase a rare bottle somewhere on the list above.
How to drink well in San Francisco
Name a region and a number and let the floor work inside it. At Acquerello, Gary Danko, Spruce and Saison that conversation reliably turns up a better, often older bottle than the label you would have reached for, and all four are deep enough to pull aged verticals on request. Book the destination rooms two to three weeks ahead through their own sites, where the best weekend tables go first, and for anything rare, say so when you book so the bottle is confirmed and standing before you sit down.
The value end rewards a different move. At Cotogna, ask for the Quince reserve list the moment you sit, since the same cellar comes at far gentler markups one door down. If the pairing is the point, Quince and Saison are the rooms to take it in. And wherever you go, if you are celebrating, say so when you book so the floor can make a night of it.
Frequently asked
Which San Francisco restaurant has the best wine list?
Acquerello holds our top spot. Suzette Gresham's two-Michelin-star Italian dining room at 1722 Sacramento Street keeps a Wine Spectator Grand Award cellar of around 15,000 bottles, deep in Piedmont, Tuscany and Champagne, with wine director Gianpaolo Paterlini on the floor. It is the city's grand wine occasion, built to drink an aged Barolo or a rare Champagne with the Parmesan budino. Reserve two to three weeks ahead, name a region and a number, and let the floor lead.
Which San Francisco restaurants hold a Wine Spectator Grand Award?
Three of the rooms on this list currently hold the Grand Award, Wine Spectator's highest cellar honor: Acquerello, Gary Danko and Spruce. Gary Danko has carried it since 2001 with roughly 2,900 selections, Acquerello since 2012, and Spruce since 2015 with about 2,600 labels and a heavy run of large formats. Saison held a Grand Award for a decade through 2023 and still keeps one of the deepest Burgundy cellars in the country, though that top tier has since lapsed.
Where can I find a rare or aged bottle in San Francisco?
Acquerello, Gary Danko, Spruce and Saison are the four deepest cellars for rare and aged bottles. Acquerello runs about 15,000 bottles, Gary Danko lists 2,900 selections across Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhone, Spruce holds 14,000 bottles heavy in large formats, and Saison keeps a famously deep Burgundy room. For any of them, call a day ahead with the bottle you are chasing so the sommelier can confirm it and have it standing before you sit.
What is the best-value wine list in San Francisco?
Cotogna in Jackson Square is the value pick. It is the Tusks' trattoria next door to Quince, and diners can ask for the full Quince cellar of around 1,700 labels at trattoria markups well below what a three-star room charges. That makes it the rare place to drink a serious bottle, a grower Champagne or an Alta Piemonte Nebbiolo, without the fine-dining premium, alongside the agnolotti dal plin and spit-roasted meats.
Do you need a reservation for these San Francisco wine restaurants?
Yes for all of them, and well ahead for the destination rooms. Acquerello, Gary Danko, Quince and Saison release tables in advance and the best weekend slots go first, so book two to three weeks out. Spruce and Cotogna are a little easier but still worth reserving. For a rare or aged bottle at the top rooms, call a day ahead so it is confirmed, pulled and ready before you arrive.
Related rankings
More from RFK
Browse the full San Francisco dining guide, compare the best wine lists worldwide, see the best wine lists in Las Vegas, or open the full RFK rankings index.
Restaurants for Kings is reader-supported. Some reservation links are affiliate links with OpenTable, Resy or Tock; we earn a small commission at no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. Editorial scores and ranking order are independent of any commercial relationship. See our ranking methodology.