Trump Tariffs Could More Than Double the Cost of a Glass of Wine

Bay Area wine importers brace themselves for the effects of Trump’s proposed 100-percent tariff

Bay Area wine sellers are preparing for the worst as the Trump administration’s proposed 100 percent tariff on certain European goods — including all European wines — that is set to go into effect in February, the SF Business Times reports. Wine writers have noted that the tariff — an increase on the already steep 25 percent tariffs that went into effect in October — will pose an “existential threat” to the US wine industry; Wine Spectator called it the biggest threat to the wine business today.” Here in the Bay Area, wine importers have been scrambling to ship in as much wine as possible before the tariff hits, and they note that local restaurants and bars — and, ultimately, customers — will all ultimately be ones to take the financial hit. “That glass of wine that costs you $9 could theoretically cost you $22,” Brian London, co-owner of Petaluma’s Passionné de Vin Imports, told the Biz Times.

After a two-year rebuild, Lavash is open for business in the Inner Sunset

Two years ago, a kitchen blaze shut down Lavash, the Inner Sunset Persian staple, for the foreseeable future. After a long rebuild process, the koobideh meat skewers and tahdig are finally back, as Hoodline reports that the restaurant reopened over the weekend, with a limited menu and limited hours for now.

Palo Alto’s Village Cheese House has served its last sandwich after a 60-year run

Village Cheese House, a 60-plus-year-old deli in Palo Alto, closed its doors on New Year’s Eve, Palo Alto Online reports. A longtime favorite for generations of Stanford students, the deli was known for its hearty deli sandwiches and house spread — a mysterious “mixture of pickles, mayonnaise, mustard and maybe even cheese,” according to one fan of the deli. Town & Country Village, the shopping plaza where the deli was located, is reportedly looking for someone to take over the location and continue running it as a deli, but Palo Alto Online notes that the space had already been emptied out completely by this past Monday afternoon.

Ali Wong took selfies at Um.ma and Hong Kong Lounge

In the latest example that celebrities are (in some ways) just like us: Megastar comedian and SF native Ali Wong was in back in town over the holidays for her “Milk & Money” tour, so, naturally, she brought the family out to dim sum in the Richmond — at Hong Kong Lounge — and took a bunch of pictures of her cheong fun and her mango pudding koi fish for Instagram. Readers may recall that a large part of Wong’s breakout hit, Always Be My Maybe, were set in the Richmond, so it’s fitting that she’d spend time in the city’s western districts — including a meal at the Inner Sunset Korean hotspot Um.ma. (Hat tip to SFist.)