Sottomarino Winery

A totally unique wine tasting experience to say the least. Who would have thought that I would be tasting Italian wines from inside of an old submarine on Treasure Island?! A different combo indeed! This was our second wine tasting room on our Treasure Island tasting journey. Out of all the wineries that we tasted at on the island, this was by bar the most casual. Might have been just a little too casual for yours truly, but someone else might really enjoy this aspect. From the outside, this place looks like a mini warehouse. Normally when I see places like this, the outside is pretty deceiving. This one wasn't. Like, it wasn't at all! It was super tiny inside with one couch, a couple chairs and a a little more than a handful of seats at the actual tasting bar. The tasting room is located inside of an old war submarine, and many of its' idealistic features are still very much in tact. It serves as a mini museum in a way too. Sotomarino specializes in Italian Varietals that are made here in California. I'm not sure how Italy's wine climate differs from California, but this was the first time that I've tasted Italian wine that was grown in California. The verdict? I liked some of the wines, but definitely didn't fall in love with any of them. A tasting consists of 5 wines at a cost of $15. This is pretty reasonable, but after tasting at the Winery SF, we felt a little jipped here.I enjoyed tasting some Italian varietals that I had never had before (Lagrein, Dolcetto, Sopraffino). However, the wines weren't really my cup of tea and the lady who was pouring the wine was super skimpy with the pours. She seemed like she was new, but still. I just felt like I didn't get my money's worth of tastings here. Also, their wines are pretty expensive. It would be a different matter if I was actually in Italy and tasting Italian wine. I just thought that they were way too pricey for the quality and style of wines that they were offering. All in all, it was a pretty average experience for me. It wasn't my cup of tea, but I think the casual atmosphere might work from others.

Like the sign says, this is an Italian Wine Tasting Room. The proprietor likes to hold forth about the wines, and then provide some for tasting. The wines we tasted were pretty darned good, not quite spectacular.It's a really nice experience, especially considering this is a former Navy base. I guess that explains the rusting 5-inch gun mount outside the winery door, doesn't it?

Go for the submarine, stay for the wine. Whatever you do, just don't go expecting standout service as it's seriously lacking. When I arrived on my second visit there was only one person working and the place was nearly full. The girl working the tasting room knew little to nothing about any of the wines she poured (outside of what one could read on the label). When I was nearly through my flight I eventually got her attention again and she (finally) procured a menu for me by taking it from someone else sitting at the bar. It was filthy & appeared as if it had been in circulation quite a while...but at least I had the wine deets! Outside of terrible service, the wines themselves were some of the best iterations of Italian varietals grown in California I've ever had. Really! I was shocked at how good these wines were in relation to the incredibly lacking service. Maybe the staff to patron ratio is low so the few staff working can make enough tips to keep them enticed to stay? As for the wines, the Dolcetto really stood out as did the Sangiovese--possibly the best Cali Sangio I've had! The Lagrein was better the first time I tried it, but still good. The "Soprafino" apparently the winemaker's attempt at a Cali styled "Super Tuscan", is worth the money if it's in your wine budget range.

Wine tasting at an old WWII submarine training facility? Seemed like a perfect plan for a Sunday afternoon with a best girlfriend! Very nice customer service, very cool guy behind the wines! nice vibes. This is the best place we found at Treasure Island, most original and cool. Also, apart from wines, you can get jewelry depicting the broken heart, based on the broken heart metal sculpture located temporarily at the patio of those wineries. I am glad that I check a website about random things to try and do at Treasure Island and this was top experience!

Another small but quaint winery. Simply decorated but cute. I didn't order any wine, however my sister did a little pricey but she truly enjoyed it.

Fun setting - unique! Great views of the Bay Bridge. Wines very drinkable and the tasting fee of $15 provides 5 generous pours.

Great place for wine tasting and the proprietor was wonderful. It also didn't hurt that I had great company and the weather cooperated.Ended up buying 4 bottles of wine. Can't wait to pop them open :)

This winery is inside a submarine.......how cool! I was at a Yelp wine tour event when we stopped here before lunch. The inside is very neat to check out and the story behind it is fun to hear with a glass of their wine in hand.They even had handmade caramel apple kits, and candies, along side the bar top and the people were very nice. I loved their wine so much that I went home with a bottle!Great location and great wine! Perfect way to spend a fun day on Treasure Island.

Wine in a submarine? Wine not? Cheesy jokes aside, an adventure to Treasure Island isn't complete without a stop at Sottomarino. A unique experience for sure. Italian varietals reign supreme here. So does good music. Combine that with the sunshine and you've got a pretty sweet summertime hangout with amazing views. Stick around for a little while and join the TI party.

Booked a wine tasting for last weekend based on these reviews. Boy was that a mistake! This is NOT a wine tasting. You will learn nothing about their wines. We were greeted, seated and told to choose the flights of wine that we wanted to try. The same gentleman also told us that we each had to order at least 1 item off of the menu.The flights of wine came and we were left alone. There was no one to tell us what the differences were and why they were put together in that grouping.Next, was the server. We are all pretty sure that he was supporting the dispensaries at that very moment. He knew nothing about the food other than 'it's really good.' He goes on to tell us that if we aren't hungry, 'That's cool. You can stick with wine.'Well, we did order a cheese and meat box for 4. We ran out of crackers. We asked if we could have more. We were told that we could. 20 minutes later, no crackers. That is when we gave up on the place, paid the bill and left.Here's the thing. If you are going to call it a wine tasting, then explain the wines. If not, then it's just a sampling. If you don't have an answer, go ask someone who does. If there is a charge for extra crackers, tell the patron and let them decide if they want to pay it. If the item that is being asked for is not available, tell the patron.This review is about a terrible lack of communication and basic service skills. If don't care about these things, go. If you do, steer clear.