Beer, Wine & Spirits in San Diego

At the helm of his urban winery in the heart of the Cedros Design District, winemaker Adam Carruth handcrafts award-winning wines, including the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Best in Class Alexander Valley Cabernet, from grapes he fastidiously collects from all over California. His team handles the production of each varietal from crush to finish, aging juices in barrels that line the walls of the industrial-chic tasting room. The final products—which range from a crisp sauvignon blanc to a bordeaux-style Surfing Madonna—slosh into customized stemware for patrons’ enjoyment seven days a week. Also in the tasting room, guests can peruse the exhibited work of local artists, break into crunchy baguettes from Bread & Cie or nibble on cheese.

The Wine Bank has sold wine and spirits out of its current location for more than 50 years, and it is equipped to preserve fine vintages around the world after recent renovations. Today, two floors of towering wooden shelves and a temperature-controlled basement cellar hold thousands of wines from America and abroad including rare, hard-to-find, and cult varieties. The owners and their crew of wine experts show off their passion for wine and help customers choose the perfect varietal to complement a meal, special occasion, or monogrammed crazy straw. To further facilitate selection, The Wine Bank holds semiweekly tastings that introduce guests to five wines culled from their expansive cellar.

La Jolla Brew House fills four to seven of its taps with its own craft beers, brewed in the 30-barrel microbrewery located on site. Within the spacious confines of the sports bar or outside on a patio, friends can gather to cheer their favorite teams, chow on pub food, and sip plenty of distinctive beers. In addition to rotating house brews—which have included IPAs and stouts—bartenders crack open bottles of specialty beers from Belgian breweries, where the machines are not made of waffles—they're made of crepes.

Twenty flat-screen TVs broadcast games of football throughout the interior of the bar, and the comfortable patio has one 55-inch widescreen TV as well as a fire pit. All of the eatery and drinkery's seating accommodates dining on burgers—including one topped with house-made guacamole and jalapeños—and slices of hand-tossed pizza. At select times, The Brew House offers tours of their brewery. The Brew House also prides itself on being pet friendly; in addition to a menu of "canine cuisine," which dogs can enjoy on the patio, the staff holds regular "yappy hours" that often promote local animal organizations.

Though their shop stocks a selection of more than 300 wines, owners Bob and Heidi Fisher maintain their commitment to personally selecting vintages from boutique wineries. Inside the earth-toned walls of Salt Creek Wine Company's tasting room, visitors peruse the stacks of obsidian bottles or sidle up to the bar to sample the selection of wine flights, which, like the second hand on a tortoise’s watch, rotates weekly. The bar also stocks pairing bites such as charcuterie, artisan cheeses, and desserts.