The Mission’s new hot spot is a ‘wine tavern’ where almost every glass is under $15

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They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover — but how about judging a bar by what’s playing on its TVs?

In the case of Big Finish — a self-described “wine tavern” that opened this week in the Mission space formerly occupied by craft-beer mecca The Monk’s Kettle — that would be a lot of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Owner Adam Manson is a Trekkie. Like Captain Kirk, he was born in Iowa. He attended space camp in Florida and attained the rank of shuttle commander. He even built out the bar’s restrooms to play “Star Trek” music, with hand-washing signs printed in English, Spanish, and Klingon. Like, legit Klingon.

“The Klingons wouldn’t say, ‘Please wash your hands,’” Manson said. “They would say, ‘Those who do not wash hands have no honor’ or something.” 

But Big Finish isn’t merely a hangout for the pointy-eared, live-long-and-prosper crowd. It’s a neighborhood spot that aspires to do for wine what The Monk’s Kettle did for beer: Offer a huge variety of it at an approachable price point, and pair it with top-tier pub fare, like smoked trout dip, egg-salad toast, chile-dusted swordfish, and pappardelle with braised pork shoulder. And it repurposes the temperature-control system The Monk’s Kettle used for beer and left behind when it decamped for the East Bay. Upstairs, old-school touches can be found here and there, as in the bowl of branded matchboxes and the wine-cork pattern appliquéd to the windowpanes.

There are 48 pours on tap, grouped by intensity from “bubbly finish” to “crisp finish” straight through to “big finish.” Notably, well over two-thirds are in the $10-$14 range, a deliberate decision made by  Manson after he and his wife ate out one night and encountered too many $20 glasses of wine and $21 martinis.

“I just looked at her and said, ‘I think there’s going to be, like, a consumer revolt here in the next few years,’” he recalled. “Let me see if I can get ahead of this.”

The resulting wine list is thoughtful and demystified, with a healthy percentage of the world’s viticultural regions represented. Under “medium finish” whites, there’s a peachy, minerally La Caña albariño for $14, while under “juicy finish” reds, Manson is pouring a new favorite, a cherry-bright Bocale sangiovese blend for $15. (It plays nicely with the fennel-apple slaw atop the $27 pork chop.)

He is adamant that Big Finish is not a wine bar but a wine tavern. Why? For one, the term “wine bar” has grown so elastic as to become almost meaningless, he said, encompassing restaurants with full kitchens as well as cafes that offer little to nibble on besides cheese and crackers. Offering more substantial food options, as Big Finish does, is also a shrewd business decision, an investment in the hope that people will sit longer and maybe order a second or third glass.

Manson, who has worked at Zeitgeist and owned wine bars in Washington, D.C., cites nearby 20 Spot as his polestar. At that intimate neighborhood staple, a former record store, you won’t get a “lecture about biodynamic processes or how many hectares of land the owner has,” he said. “It’s just a great vibe in a great location.”

He took that commitment to approachability and ran with it. To that end, Big Finish doesn’t serve wine exclusively. There are half a dozen beers, plus the odd cider and hard kombucha, as well as low-ABV cocktails, including a riff on the espresso martini made with cold-brew coffee concentrate. It’s called “Undiscovered Country” — another “Star Trek” reference, but a call to adventure, too.