Welcome to The Industry, a column that explores the backstories of people working in San Francisco’s food and beverage sector. From farmers and purveyors to servers and sommeliers, chefs, chef-de-cuisines, and everyone in between, we take you deep inside the city’s food scene. Next up: Christopher Renfro, owner of Friend of a Friend.
I love my wine — and I love it in all its forms: from fun and funky natural wines to classic and structured old school, old world wines, there’s a time and place for every bottle in my books. But with over 10,000 different grape varieties around the world (and even more producers), learning about wine can be intimidating.
It doesn’t have to be, especially when there are approachable friendly pros you can learn from, like Christopher Renfro.
Renfro is a wine professional and owner of Friend of a Friend, a year-old boutique bottle shop in North Beach as well as co-founder of the viticultural education nonprofit Two Eighty Project. Read on as he pours a generous glass of wisdom.
Where’d you grow up and what brought you to SF?
My mom was a single mother in the military, so I moved around a lot. Germany. Colorado. Kentucky — that’s where I realized I had to get out. I always knew I was going to live in the Bay Area, though — I was a huge Oakland A’s fan. I moved to San Francisco in 2006 to go to school at CCA. Instead I just started working in design. I moved near the Alamo Square neighborhood. I now currently live in the Mission right in the heart of it, at 16th and Mission.
Where did you catch the wine bug?
I caught the wine bug when I first started working at this restaurant called Oro across from the mall. It was a really cool job. I worked with a dude who was trying to be a master somm, and started tasting tons of wines.
And then when I started working at Liholiho. I ended up working as a food runner first and then transitioned into a server, then into management and then was given an opportunity to be the assistant wine director. We did some amazing trips like visiting Ted Lemon, who owns Littorai Wines. He was one of the most influential people that I met. His biodynamic farming, and seeing his estate, was super inspiring. That kind of gave me the spark to really start being in wine. I took a cutting of his and it was a Pinot Noir clone and grew that at my house and from there, I just really got excited.
Another pivotal moment was when I got to meet Mimi Casteel and Steve Matthiasson — they were giving a talk about regenerative ag. That’s where I got to learn about good winemaking practices. These are wines made by people taking care of the earth and respecting it.
What was the biggest lesson you learned at Liho?
The biggest lesson that I took from that place was service can always be excellent, especially if you were always moving, always being grateful, always being hospitable to your guests, and time is of the essence. Never have empty hands. There’s always something to pay attention to.
Why did you want to open a wine shop? What’s the meaning behind the name Friend of a Friend?
I always wanted a space where I felt like I could host people that look like myself. Black men, Black women, Black queer people — just all marginalized folks that want to learn about wine and do it in a setting that feels safe and encouraging. It was always a goal of mine to just have more of a community hub around wine rather than just stuffy discussion.
The name Friend of a Friend was originally an idea for an art magazine, but then when it came down for picking the name of a wine shop, I thought about all the relationships that I built over the years with different growers, different winemakers, people in distribution, artists, different purveyors of food. I’m also connected with so many different people in this city through other people, so it made sense that Friend of a Friend would be the name.
Where do you like to eat around the shop?
When I’m hungry around the shop, I really like to go to Tony’s for a slice. I prefer Tony’s over Golden Boy. I also like Victoria Pastry for certain things. I like their black-and-white cake. They also have an amazing tiramisu over at Mario’s Cigar Store. That’s awesome. Flour+Water has the best pizza in the neighborhood, though. I take their deep dish to go.
What about near your neighborhood?
So, in my neighborhood in the Mission District, I really love going to True Laurel. I get the mushrooms. I love the milk punch. then I would say Mijote is one of my favorite places. It’s just great. Fire wine. It’s a really affordable tasting menu. I love Lolo. I like going there for amazing Mezcal cocktails and the octopus. And then Yamo; I love to go for the tea leaf salad and house noodles. Also, I can’t forget Studio Aurora. They have some of the best sandwiches in the city and Dario’s always pushing fun new creative ideas out of that kitchen and they have a fire wine program.
What are a couple producers/bottles you have in the shop that you're excited about right now?
So some of the ones that I’m really excited about in the shop right now, I’d have to say my friend Alejandro who runs Châteauneuf-du-Fargosonini. He is making crazy fruit wines. I specifically have the No Fuzz No Love in the shop and that’s an apricot wine and I would say it’s almost like drinking Chardonnay: a little bit rich, a little bit buttery, has good stone fruit on it, and the acid is perfect. It’s a fun white wine that I feel like people are going to be super excited for when they get to find out about what fruit wine can be. The other ones that I’m excited about would be The Domaine Mada Rayon. This is a direct press Syrah that is an orange wine and it’s salty, mineral driven, really pretty fruit on the nose. I would say it’s a perfect orange wine.
Tell me a little bit about Two Eighty Project.
So, Two Eighty Project is the nonprofit that a few friends and I started five years ago. Now we have an educational program that teaches people viticulture and oenology. It’s geared towards bringing marginalized people into the wine industry through six to seven months of education in the field. It’s just a place where people can feel safe to learn and try and make different transitions into an industry that’s making tons of money without representing a lot of these people.
I split my time between the shop, where I’m at mainly, and then every Friday, I’m out doing Two Eighty stuff. Then I’m also farming in between those days just as needed. It’s a lot, but I love doing what I’m doing.
What hobbies do you have outside of work?
Making music. I love playing with synthesizers and drum machines. I love photography. I love to skateboard. I love being outside. Fishing is one of my favorite things to do.
If you can share a meal with anyone (dead or alive) who would it be?
If I could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, it would be George Washington Carver or my ancestors who first came to America, Isaac Taylor and Anna Brutus. I would like to just pick brains with these folks. I feel like they’re all probably really fun, incredible people to talk to and I’d love to learn more of my family history and I’d love to learn more about what George Washington Carver had up in his head and how he got to where he was from his own perspective. Also, I’d like to see what they would order on a menu.
What makes you happy?
My kids, my friends, loved ones. Being outside. Farming. Living in San Francisco. Health and great meals.
What advice do you have for the people?
My advice to people would be to try and spend as much quality time with people that you care about as possible. Do things that make you feel good inside and make you feel proud of who you are. I would also suggest looking forward to every day and how awesome it can be because it’s all up to you.
What’s next for you?
Trying to make music more. I want to make fragrances. I’d love to get into furniture design, maybe take up tattooing again. And, yeah, I really want to put out a photography book. There’s a bunch of stuff that I want to do, just gotta find time. Just gotta make the time.
Christopher Renfro’s Must List
- Tony’s Coal-Fired Pizza and Slice House (1556 Stockton)
- Victoria Pastry Company (700 Filbert)
- Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store (566 Columbus Ave.)
- Flour + Water Pizzeria (532 Columbus Ave.)
- True Laurel (753 Alabama St.)
- Mijoté (2400 Harrison St.)
- Lolo (974 Valencia St.)
- Yamo (3406 18th St.)
- Studio Aurora (302 Valencia St.)
