Log inStart free trialBook a demo
Book a demoLog inStart free trial
Media Database
>
Esther Mobley

Esther Mobley

Wine Critic at San Francisco Chronicle

Contact this person
Email address
e*****@*******.comGet email address
Influence score
46
Phone
(XXX) XXX-XXXX Get mobile number
Location
United States
Languages
  • English
Covering topics
  • Beverages
  • Food
  • Wine

View more media outlets and journalists by signing up to Prowly

View latest data and reach out all from one place
Sign up for free

Recent Articles

sfchronicle.com

The French Paradox convinced America that red wine was healthy - San Francisco Chronicle

A single episode of television in 1991 transformed America’s relationship with wine. The show was “60 Minutes,” and the subject of the segment was the French Paradox — the idea that a typical French diet reduced the risk of heart disease. The diet’s key components were cheese, fatty meat and, of course, red wine, which “has a flushing effect” on the arteries, researchers at the time claimed. Today, it’s impossible to imagine a few minutes of TV having such a large impact on an entire nation’s da…
8 months ago
sfchronicle.com

The internet is angry at people for bringing their kids to brewerie...

Of all the things that are riling people up this week, the presence of children at breweries has ignited a unique sort of dispute. “STOP BRINGING YOUR KIDS TO BREWERIES IM TRYING TO RELAX,” wrote @tapptastical on X in a post that, as I’m writing, has been viewed 3.4 million times. Predictably, the internet had some thoughts. “I’m going to bring my kids to breweries even harder now,” responded @Ephon. Another user, @RolyBenitez, pointed out the obvious: “Who relaxes at a brewery”? Many suggested…
8 months ago
sfchronicle.com

These charming towns are becoming Marin County’s best places to eat...

Marin County towns Fairfax and San Anselmo have exciting new restaurants, bakeries and bars.
8 months ago
sfchronicle.com

Craig Haarmeyer makes world-class wines from underrated Chenin Blan...

In the immense landscape of California wine, Chenin Blanc occupies a tiny sliver. Although it was one of the most popular white grape varieties in California in the early 20th century, it now accounts for less than 1% of the state’s wine grape acreage, dwarfed by the megahit white grape Chardonnay. But for Craig Haarmeyer, a winemaker in West Sacramento, Chenin Blanc is everything. Haarmeyer made Chenin from six different vineyards last year, making him one of California’s most committed Chenin…
9 months ago
sfchronicle.com

Acme Beer, the historic lager that was once S.F.'s favorite, is bac...

Before the Fritz Maytag era of Anchor Steam began, San Francisco had a different favorite beer: Acme. Its building at Fulton and Webster streets was heralded as a jewel of industrial architecture. Its billboards were ubiquitous, and one particularly racy ad campaign became a minor local scandal. At its peak, Acme produced roughly 1 million barrels annually and “rose to prominence as the leading brand of beer brewed in California,” wrote Bill Yenne in “Great American Beers: Twelve Brands that Bec…
9 months ago
sfchronicle.com

California grape-growing legend Ron Mansfield has died - San Franci...

To the average wine drinker, Ron Mansfield wasn’t a household name. But the viticulturist was a quiet force who shaped California wine in important ways over the last 35 years. He helped put El Dorado County, and by extension the Sierra foothills, on the map as a wine destination. He was among the first in the state to plant now-beloved grape varieties like Gamay. The fruit that Mansfield grew ended up in bottles made by some of California’s most highly respected wine producers, like Arnot-Rober…
9 months ago
sfchronicle.com

S.F.'s acclaimed Bar Agricole has closed — but will reopen - San Fr...

Bar Agricole has closed again — but the James Beard Award-winning cocktail bar will reopen in May. The new home will be 2875 18th St., the Mission District space formerly occupied by Liliana (and briefly rechristened as the Bar at Osito). This will be the third location for Bar Agricole, which originally opened in 2010 in SoMa and then moved to 1540 Mission St. in 2022. Owner Thad Vogler expects this to be Bar Agricole’s final home. At 5,000 square feet, 1540 Mission St. “was feeling too much l…
10 months ago
sfchronicle.com

Is AI like Chowbot coming for my wine critic job? - San Francisco C...

When I came back from maternity leave, I learned that during my absence the San Francisco Chronicle had tried to replace me with AI. I’m only kind of kidding! While I was out, the Chronicle developed a new AI-powered tool called Chowbot that offers recommendations about where to go eating and drinking. The drinking part sounded dangerously close to … my job. But I soon learned that Chowbot relies on me and my human colleagues. Its recommendations draw from the guides we’ve published, like my Top…
10 months ago
sfchronicle.com

Sommeliers are controversial again - San Francisco Chronicle

The sommelier is in peril once again. Since the pandemic, the dedicated wine professional has become a rarer sight in dining rooms around the country, the New York Times’ Eric Asimov wrote recently. Asimov’s observation that employing sommeliers has become “a luxury, nice to have but expendable in the blunt calculations of the post-pandemic restaurant model,” has fired wine people up. Some somms seem to have interpreted the piece as an affront to their vocation. No one wants to hear that their k…
10 months ago
sfchronicle.com

Halcon Vineyard was a secret until these winemakers bought it - San...

The Halcon Vineyard has always been a wine nerd’s secret. For years, the Syrahs made from this windy, rocky site in remote Mendocino County were gossiped about in online message boards, where some enthusiasts maintained that Halcon was the finest Syrah vineyard in California. Yet, despite its passionate devotees, Halcon never quite became famous beyond these insider circles. Maybe it was because the wines were priced so low, around $30 a bottle, far below the coveted French Syrahs that wealthy c…
10 months ago
sfchronicle.com

This beer style was wildly popular in the Bay Area. Then it wasn't ...

For a brief, shining moment in Northern California, getting one’s hands on sour beer was almost like a sport. Restaurants and bars would fight for the right to buy bottles from breweries like Berkeley’s the Rare Barrel. Throngs of fans would congregate outside Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola (Santa Cruz County) every time it released a new beer, and anyone who snagged a bottle could later resell it online for multiples of the original price. “It was like, ’oh my god, you released a beer w…
10 months ago