To further enhance their wine expertise, sommeliers will often spend long periods of time fasting and meditating in desolate wine presses. Comfortably connect with the spirit of wine with today’s Groupon: for $25, you get a wine and cheese tasting for two, with a handcrafted wooden cheese board for you to keep (a $50 value) at Cellar360 in Ghirardelli Square.

Cellar360 stocks its shop with a vast selection of fine wines procured from all four continents. During the tasting, two children of the grape tongue will sample five pre-selected reserve wines. A scenic bayside location offers patrons startlingly non-apocalyptic views of the water as they mingle and make merry with the venue’s elite team of knowledgeable wine experts, who provide helpful tips about food pairings and answer questions about each wine. The wines will be paired with an assortment of delicious cheeses, freshly plucked from local cows.

Because the grape is a notoriously fickle fruit that demands preferential treatment, Cellar360’s wine shop is housed inside a gorgeous red-bricked edifice within a brick’s throw from the bay. The interior is highlighted by a fleet of bottles that spread out in a gentle curve on the ceiling, and the deluxe tasting room is illuminated by shining bottles. Wine without friends is like poison without enemies; use your Groupon to secure a wooing-worthy atmosphere for a potential partner, or help an insecure wine-cooler-drinking friend take that big step into full-fledged wining.

Reservation required. Must be 21 or older.

Reviews

Chowhound and Fodor’s reviewed Cellar360. Yelpers give it an average of four stars, and four Citysearchers give it five stars:

• If you can't make it to Napa, come here to browse through 6,000 square feet of wine retail space in the historic Woolen Mill building. During happy hour, tourists and locals alike pack the longest bar in the city to taste the 250 wines available. After a few glasses you might be sold on a case…and if you're not: a Copia education class in their fully equipped classroom will probably do the trick. – Fodor’s
• This IS the place for wine lovers. The selection is like I've never seen, the space is beautiful, and the staff is very helpful. – bayarealocal, Citysearch