San Francisco Champagne Society En Route to SOMA

[Photo: San Francisco Modern]

Though it's always been in style for celebratory drinking, Champagne is having a bit of a moment around town, with new spots like Gaspar Brasserie and The European highlighting bubbles in cocktails, and grower Champagnes proliferating on chichi wine lists. For the Champagne purists out there, another option is arriving on the scene. Called the San Francisco Champagne Society, it's a passion project from Bill Marci, who's putting together a custom tasting room in a loft space in the former Lighthouse for the Blind building at 7th and Howard.

Though new to the bar industry, Marci is a lifelong Champagne enthusiast who hopes to share his knowledge and stockpile of small grower-producer vintages with other aficionados. The tasting room will be an intimate, mostly reservations-only experience, catering to private parties and groups looking for guided Champagne flights. For example, Marci might serve a vintage poured a standard 750ml bottle alongside the same wine poured from a magnum bottle. "You can taste the difference," he says.

Though there'll be no food on offer in the new space, Marci says he may get prepared food in for special events, noting that small business and corporate clients can tailor the experience to their needs. On Friday nights, Marci will have flights already set up to attract more of a drop-in crowd, though reservations will likely still be necessary (email reservations@sfchampagnesociety.com). For now, he's planning on accepting reservations between 11am-10pm daily, and it looks like he'll be getting started on Friday, August 1st (Tablehopper has a copy of the Champagne lineup here).

· A New Place to Enjoy Quality Champagne: The SF Champagne Society [Tablehopper]
· Adam Wilson on The European's Champagne-Centric Menu [~ ESF ~]
· All Coming Attractions [~ ESF ~]