Sunday: Drink Hyper-Local Wines, Donate to Ultra-Local Libraries

JoeyWan/Flickr

​Large-scale wine tastings are an odd sort of bacchanal: On one side of the hundreds of tables stand industry reps from around the country, politely pouring tastes and repeating their talking points until they're hoarse. On the other side of the table, the ticket-holders stand three deep, thrusting their glasses through the crowd to catch a few tablespoonfuls, pretending to pay attention to percentages and soil types while they get sloshed at record pace.

What makes Word Up Wine Tasting, which takes place this Sunday, so interesting is its hyper-local, philanthropic focus.

Organized by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, the tasting assembles members of WORDUP: Winemakers of the Richmond District, Upper-Panhandle, and Presidio (the group now includes wineries from the Excelsior and Marina who don't fit into the handy acronym). These urban winemakers range from small garagistes to well-known labels (Qupé, PlumpJack) with strong San Francisco connections.

Not only do the winemakers live within a few blocks of you ―  so you can chat with them about more than Pinot clones and later lobby for special friend-of-the-owner discounts ― the proceeds benefit the Neighborhood Library Campaign, which is raising money to renovate 24 branches.

Event details:
Word Up Wine Tasting Benefit
Time: Sun., Feb. 21, 2-5 p.m.
Location: Fort Mason Center, Conference Center
Tickets: $50 through Brown Paper Tickets, plus money for the auction and bottle sales