As we mentioned last week, the San Francisco Wine Association (SWFA) had a big tasting party recently at Crushpad. The SFWA is a new organization which unites boutique wineries that are based in or make their wine in the city of San Francisco. As there is a distinct shortage of satisfactory grapevines within the city limits, the association's wineries source their fruit from some of the best vineyards up and down the West Coast.

While the SFWA is new, many of its wineries have been around for a while and all have experienced, talented winemakers. And, while they share a common city, the wineries are all unique and don't necessarily share a common style of wine or varietal focus. Some go for New World styles, some Old. Some are organic, others are not. There are bold wines and delicate. However, the SFWA does unite the wineries in another way that is of benefit to you; you can learn more about the SFWA wineries, their events and purchase many of the wines through a central website.

There were fourteen wineries pouring at Crushpad. Each had enjoyable wines. We'll go through all fourteen providers here, but will stick to highlights from each, rather than providing a full tasting note on every wine. There were almost forty offered.

Townley Wines: This company focuses on wines that lets California fruit express itself. No intrusive winemaking techniques or massive oak to assault your senses. In addition to a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir, they poured a 2006 Thompson Vineyard (Santa Barbara County) Syrah that made us very happy. It filled our mouths with silky and delicious fruit. A very sensual wine, we would have been happy to get a room with it and blow off the rest of the evening. But we maintained our discipline. The wine sells for $38. On a side note, Townley Wines labels show different city skylines from around the world. Kind of cool. Buy your favorite city.

Pug Wine: The only dogs among their wine were on the labels. They poured a nicely nuanced white Rhone blend, but it was the Pinot Noir that really raised our eyebrows. It offered beautiful, delicate red fruit with floral and spice notes. This wine is not at all the bruiser that some Pinots can be these days. Based on Amber Ridge Vineyard fruit (this is becoming one of our favorite phrases), it carried itself lightly and had great acidity. Very enjoyable on its own, it will be great with food that isn't too heavy or bold. The Pug Wine Pinot Noir is $35.

Ricardus Corculum: We like the name of Richard Hart's winery, and we like the wine behind the name. They offered a tasty Zinfandel, but it was the 2005 Four A's Cabernet Sauvignon based on Beckstoffer ToKalon fruit that stole our hearts. The wine is everything you'd expect it to be and more. Unfortunately, that also applies to the price. At $90, it was double the price of almost every other wine that evening. But compared to the price of a comparable wine from a Napa-based winery, it's still a kicking deal.

If you like ToKalon Cabs, you might want to grab this (and a couple others we'll mention shortly) soon. The vineyard has raised their prices substantially (cough, double, cough) and you will likely never see wines based on their fruit selling at 2005 level prices again. Or from as many wineries. Many have thrown in the towel with BTK due to the increase.

Jazz Cellars: Their trio for the evening included a Viognier and two Syrah. There were no wrong notes among them. If you like the dark side of Syrah with its earthy and spicy notes, you'll like the 2006 Las Madres Vineyard, Carneros at $45. If you prefer the black olive with your drink, not in it, then go for the fruity and super-exclusive 2006 Eaglepoint Ranch Vineyard (Mendocino) Syrah at $48. Only one barrel of this wine was made and there's not much left.

Connor Brennan Cellars: A very good Stolpman Vineyard (Santa Barbara County) Syrah and two fine Pinot Noir were offered here. It was the Pinot Noir "based on Amber Ridge Vineyard fruit" that really made us wish we had more room in the wine cellar. Made from essentially the same fruit as the tasty Pinot Noir from Pug, this wine had the same basic signature, but a different voice. Where the Pug Wine was delicately beautiful, the Connor Brennan was rich and confident. The Connor Brennan Cellars Amber Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir is very good unaccompanied, but can hold its own when paired with grilled squab, seared duck breast or seared foie gras (if that's still legal).

Damian Rae Winery: This tasting table created a bottleneck. People would get a glass of wine, taste it and then just stop. And drink. And. Not. Move. But drink. A very good sign that nonetheless made it difficult for us to follow our serious taster routine. Fortunately, Damian Rae Winery was also pouring last Saturday at Corks Wine Store and Bar in Danville. This gave us the opportunity to focus on the wine rather than the mosh pit. And that made us very happy.

Damian Rae offers a range of very nice wines, from La Encantada Vineyard Pinot Noir to Napa Valley Cabernet from ToKalon. But, while we stand by our suggestion of hailing ToKalon Cabs, if we had to choose just one of their wines it would be the 2006 White Hawk Vineyard (Santa Barbara County, again) Syrah which goes for $50. It is a seriously good effort that combines the early accessibility of California Syrah with the depth, complexity and expected lifetime of some sought-after wines from the Northern Rhone. The first sip was really good and each successive sip was even better. Get some for now and some for the cellar.

Guy Riedel: Three more very good wines were on offer here, but were built a bit more for aging or at least decanting. If Placido Domingo were a wine, he might be one of these. And just like you wouldn't tell Placido to "speed it up a bit," you want to take your time to enjoy these wines and watch them as the drama unfolds. Our top recommendation is the Guy Riedel 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon which features ToKalon fruit in its final appearance from Crushpad-based wineries. $50.

Seawind Wines: This vintner offered four wines from Sleepy Hollow Vineyards (Santa Lucia Highlands). Two were Chardonnay and two were Pinot Noir. Despite the vineyard's name, none of the wines were scary. But we did lose our heads over the 2006 Chardonnay. As with most Chardonnay from Sleepy Hollow, it was rich with ripe stone fruit, tropical fruit and fresh spice. It was soft, but not even close to flabby and certainly not "oaky and buttery." It offered a lot of flavor for Chardonnay, but was dialed back enough that a Frenchman might enjoy it. It sells for just $29 and we're still kicking ourselves for not buying a case.

Flying Wine Cellars: The proprietors of this NorCal winery have spent a lot of time touring and tasting in Old World wine regions. They use that experience to excellent effect for our benefit with California Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Once again, we give the nod to the White Hawk Vineyard Syrah 2005 at $42. It offers plenty of great red fruit, but also the earth, spice, pepper and herb that makes good Syrah so interesting.

Canine Wines: This winery combines a love of good wine with compassion for homeless pets. They donate $5 for every bottle sold to animal rescue organizations and each wine features a different rescued dog on the label. There are seven wines in their current releases and any of them could tug at your heart strings, from Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay through to Syrah. In the end, it was the big, expressive nose of the 2006 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel from Teldeschi Vineyard that we couldn't resist. Sweet and lovable, friendly and energetic but not big enough to knock us over, we really wanted to take this one home with us. We got to try it a second time at Corks and it was still fetching.

Aver Family Vineyards: This winery produces estate wines from grapes farmed responsibly and sustainably in their own Santa Clara Valley Vineyard. Aver Family Vineyards have organic Cabernet Sauvignon (Heritage), a Syrah-Petite Sirah blend (Homage) and a standalone Petite Sirah (Blessings). When grown and vinified well, Petite Sirah can be really, really good. But, that's a bit rare these days. If you want a good example of what Petite Sirah can be, we suggest the Aver Family Vineyards 2006 Blessings for $55. It will be released in March 2009.

Due Cani Cellars: This winery was pouring just one wine and we pick that one. It was a very tasty 2007 Hayley Vineyard (Anderson Valley) Pinot Noir. Bigger than either of the Amber Ridge Pinot Noirs (Pug and Connor Brennan), this one also had a lot of black cherry and some dark spice to go with the red fruit. It's got a bit more backbone as well. A good wine and a Pinot that will stand up to Filet Mignon.

Joelle Wine Company: Joelle is all Pinot Noir, all the time. And that's just fine with us. They make both single-vineyard wines and single-appellation blends. We recommend the 2007 Joelle Wine Company Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, $45. It offers a very nice balance of fruit and spice, strength and finesse.

Mark Moretti Winery: This winery literally started in their garage. But the cars are back in and the now wine is made at a full-on winery. Their wines are made in single-barrel lots that are intended to help the grapes express themselves clearly and uniquely. They make a really good White Hawk Syrah but, since you're going to be buying a bunch of those already, we'll steer you toward the 2005 Hein Vineyard Pinot Noir. It's a very nice, cool climate Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley. And, at just $27, you can enjoy it frequently.

The San Francisco Wine Association put on a great tasting. It's hard to believe it was their first. We're looking forward to seeing them grow and to trying more excellent wines from their members. If you want to try some of their wines, the next scheduled SFWA event is a Connor Brennan Cellars Winemaker Dinner on January 23, 2009 in San Francisco.

Downtown San Francisco is a somewhat unusual place to make wine. What's the most unusual place in which you've found a great winery?

This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2008 NorCal Wine. All rights reserved.