TCHO

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A new chocolatier in San Francisco.... Looks interesting...

Terroir Natural Wine Merchant

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Terroir opened in San Francisco about 8 or so weeks ago and is located in the ever developing SOMA district. They claim to be the first natural wine merchant in the US. It's a big claim but, considering how hard it is to fine natural wines in the US, I am ready to believe them.

Two friends and I decided to visit this place for the first time on a Sunday night. We arrived around 9:30pm and found ourselves in a very warm yet minimalist space. It was an interesting combination of clean modern earthquake retrofitted loft with a more rustic and cave like aspect to it. There was a lot of wood everywhere and scruffed up surfaces. Nice old blackboards with the wine list upon it, and also some helpful tips...

We sat down at the small bar and felt a little lost. After all, all of the offerings were Italian or French. None of it seemed familiar. The bar man, Luke, sensed that and made us feel at ease.

First he asked some questions, what do we like in general, red? white? fruity? full bodied? Then he brought 3 glasses, and a bottle. "Try this" he said. Hmm, it's good but... no... "ok, lets try this" Mmm, nice but... maybe too fruity for our taste. "Ok, what about this?" He brought out a bottle from Château Gaillard, a bio-dynamic wine from the Loire region. It was I believe a '97 vintage? but I am not sure. Anyhoo right away from the aroma, I knew this was it. I smelled cheese rind, earth and minerals. Those are my kinda smells..... :-) so I decided to split a carafe with a friend and my other friend decided to go with an organic Port. We were all very happy with our selections.

Luke (who is French) was super friendly and knew a lot about his industry. I asked if they carried any Californian wine, and before I knew it, he said "Yes, Coturri". I was like, what? no way! I was just going to say, you should carry Coturri! Needless to say, I was delighted, being that I have been known to be very fond of Coturri...

Anyhoo, to make a wonderful and enjoyable story short and to the point, Terroir is a truly wonderful addition to SF, and I, or anyone who visits, will be sure to discover new and delightful wines, or enjoy a well loved glass of Coturri....

I will certainly be back!