‘Natural wine’ can be a polarizing topic. A slippery term surrounded by strong feelings, the distinction is defined differently depending on who’s talking. Yeast and sulfur are natural, but their addition divides some camps. Organic farming and minimal intervention are shared tenets, but canopy management, green harvesting, temperature control, crushing, and bottling do not happen ‘naturally’; there are times when the winemaker must intervene.

It is not difficult to make natural wine, but it’s very hard to make it balanced and delicious. The latter requires pristine fruit harvested at just the right time, a fastidiously clean facility, and careful attention at every step of the winemaking process. Natural winemakers tend to agree that the quality of the fruit is the most important element in making good wine - you can’t make good wine from bad grapes. Alas, not every winemaker is blessed with their own vineyard, so vintners the world over buy grapes from farmers they trust, and when they really want to ensure they’re sourcing optimal fruit, they get involved in the farming themselves.

Les Lunes and Populis are bay area wine labels started in 2014 by four UC Davis grads: Shaunt Oungoulian, Diego Roig, Sam Baron, and Martha Stoumen. Baron and Stoumen have since split off to form their own brands, but Roig and Oungoulian have continued their partnership, moving their production from Shaunt’s parents’ basement in Orinda to a proper winery in Richmond. Shaunt and Diego have worked with renowned organic grape farmers in California, like Larry Venturi, as well as highly esteemed European natural winemakers, including Julie Balany in Beaujolais, Giusto Occhipinti in Sicily, and Philippe Valette in Burgundy, and for many years now, they’ve been leasing and farming more than 8 hectares of vineyards in Sonoma and Napa and are committed to restoring and preserving these old, historic vineyards. We hope you’ll join us in welcoming winemaker, and farmer, Shaunt Oungoulian to Oakland Yard this Saturday for flights of his and Diego’s current releases.

But first...TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Chilean reds and California whites
2022 Viña Maitia Aupa Pipeño Tinto
2022 Louis-Antoine Luyt Quenehuao Tinto Pais
2020 Maturana Negra San Francisco
2022 Monte Rio Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
2021 Phantômé Cellars Gruner Veltliner
2022 Subject to Change Chill Pill Chenin Blanc
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm
And if you see my friend Daniel today, be sure to wish him a Happy Birthday.

SATURDAY 4/13: Special guest winemaker Shaunt Oungoulian from Populis and Les Lunes pours flights of red, white and rose.
2022 Populis White Wine
2023 Populis Rosé
2023 Populis Wabi Sabi
2022 Les Lunes North Coast Claret Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm


Cheers,
Max

Traditional wine culture is rife with bigotry and snobbery. I once asked a prominent New York importer, whom some called King Bob, why he lacked respect for American wine, and he told me it had ‘no breeding’, as though some combination of proper manners and genetic superiority were inherent only in his prized wines of western Europe. Every day in the United States, Black people are talked down to by wine professionals who assume their lack of knowledge. One of our winemaking friends was called ’the L.A. faggot’ at the Sonoma winery where he worked simply because he wore his pants a little tighter than the locals. And we’ve heard too many stories about French women leaving home to start their own wineries when their families refused to hand the domaine over to a daughter.

What difference does it make if the winemaker is Black or queer or female? It makes no difference in the moment, but historically, race, class, gender, and sexuality have played a huge role in determining who’s had access to shaping and participating in wine culture, and generations of people who didn’t look, or act, or love, exactly like the knowledge keepers and vineyard owners weren’t allowed into the inner circle. Happily, though still too slowly, this is changing, thanks in part to people like Chris Renfro, Liz Rubin, Miguel de Leon, Chris Christensen, and a now sizable list of others dedicated to widening access to the world of wine.


This Saturday from 2 to 6, veteran Sonoma winemaker, Chris Christensen, will be at Oakland Yard pouring tasting flights of four of his current releases. An Iowa native and Stanford graduate with an interest in medieval history and a real passion for wine, Christensen started Bodkin Wines in 2011, and made a name for himself with a groundbreaking sparkling Sauvignon Blanc and still wines from Sonoma and Lake County with refreshingly high acidity and relatively low alcohol. It’s meant to rain all day this Saturday, so you might as well gather your friends, come sample the local juice with Chris, and stay cozy and dry at Oakland Yard.

But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: French reds and domestic whites
2022 Domaine de Colette Beaujolais Villages
2021 Delrieu-Ducleux Le Jeau Rouge
2022 Laurent Herlin Tsoin Tsoin Cabernet Franc
2022 Broc Cellars Got Grapes White
2023 Day Wines Vin de Days Blanc
2022 Theopolis Vineyards Symphony White
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 3/2: Winemaker Chris Christensen pours Bodkin Wines and Where’s Linus?
Bodkin Wines Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc
2022 Bodkin Wines The Victor's Spoils Sauvignon Blanc
2021 Bodkin Wines The Hill and the Vale Red
2021 Where’s Linus Red
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!


Cheers,
Max

I had a slow moving Kindergartener this morning. My countdowns ineffective, I kept finding her in front of the mirror, assessing her front teeth. It's wiggling... she says, testing the same tooth again. She lost her lower incisors in the fall and now one of the central upper teeth is indeed starting to give. She seems excited, or at least more resolved, about this eventual loss. You know what the best part about losing a tooth is? she asks me on the blacktop this morning, taking her place in line. You never have to lose them again, she concludes. I let that outlook linger for a few minutes while we look out on the other students assembling. 

I suddenly notice how my daughter has grown. This new being having replaced the smaller, wiggly version of her former self. The kid who once would only wear pajamas is now testing out other looks. She's been rocking earmuffs for over a month now, but there is no evidence of this being a common trend among her classmates. Maybe it's just winter comfort prevailing, but I didn't notice any discernible new fads for 2024 on the schoolyard. Mostly just holdouts from the past year. Thick bright headbands and bucket hats. Cargo pants are back in. And puffy jackets. Some middle schoolers wearing combat boots and Doc Martins again. So maybe more of a muted 90s collection overall than anything else.

Trends come and go in the wine world too. Most come in waves and never quite fade completely. Some emerge and remain. But pretty much everything gets cool again at some point. Regions like Sicily or Eastern Europe continue to enjoy new attention these days. Chillable reds remain indisputably cool even in this cold and rainy season. But the trend of the last couple years that is most reluctant to yield the spotlight is still Orange Wine. 

Far from mainstream a decade ago, we get the request with frequency each week for "orange wines' here. White wines made with skin contact, a method normally reserved for red wine production, but also traditional for some whites in parts of northern Italy and eastern Europe. Time on the skins leeches pigment, inducing in the juice a hazy amber glow, and so the wines are now commonly referred to as orange wines. These skin contact wines tend to be fuller-bodied and more textural than whites that go 'straight to press'. The extended maceration yields a complex and savory expression, sometimes with more structure and some chewy tannin that makes them excellent food pairing wines. 

Roll in SATURDAY from 2-6pm for a Flight of ORANGE WINES and see what the hype is all about. We'll be pouring:
2022 Maturana Naranjo Torontel
2022 Bannister Ribolla Gialla
2022 Gvino Tsolikouri 
2018 Paraschos 'Orange One'
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass all day.

But first... TONIGHT... Thursday Night Flights! French Whites and Italian Reds from 5-9.
2022 Eric Chevalier Clos de la Butte Muscadet
2022 Le Pigeoulet vaucluse Blanc
2019 M. Chapoutier Marius Voingier 
2021 Limonte "Braida" Grignolina d'Asti
2021 Tassarolo "Orsola' Monferratto Rosso
2021 Brovia Vignavillej Dolcetto d’Alba
Flights $15 from 5-9pm and wines by the glass all night!


See you soon,
Daniel

Last Sunday, while more than a hundred and twenty-three million others watched the Super Bowl, I went hiking at Muir Beach with Julia and little Arlot. From the path above the cove we saw some folks lying together like sweatshirted seals on beach blankets, and leaping dogs colliding in mid-air, but there were far fewer beachgoers than on an average Sunday. As always, the Marin coast gave us a strong dose of the sublime, with enormous, unyielding crags of rock interrupting the surf, waves of ripples snaking back toward the horizon, vibrant crimson wildflowers, and crisp marine air laden with the scent of sun-baked underbrush.

Six miles later, wondering whether there would be blisters or just sore feet, we wearily made our descent, still pleased to be amid the beauty of northern California. The big game had begun and we thought to take advantage of our nation’s preoccupation by stopping for refreshment at the nearby Pelican Inn, an ivy-clad, whitewashed reproduction of a 16th-century Tudor country inn, with slate roofs and leaded glass windows. Normally packed on a Sunday afternoon, the candlelit dark wood dining room was nearly empty, the only other table occupied by a vacationing French family. With their foreign banter in the background, snacking on oysters and charcuterie and admiring the antique splendor of the room, we each found ourselves transported for a moment to France, perhaps their west coast, somewhere near Bordeaux.

Despite our delight in our actual whereabouts, we were happy to suspend reality and indulge in a twenty minute trip abroad on this magical Sunday, while much of the world watched Purdy, Kelce, and Usher. Oakland Yard is no Pelican Inn, but it is a place of respite, a modern tavern where you can leave the rest of the world behind. Samuel Johnson once said, “As soon as I enter the door of a tavern, I experience oblivion of care, and a freedom from solicitude. There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.” This coming cold and rainy Saturday, come take advantage of our hospitality and cozy space, taste four dry, full-bodied red Bordeaux, and maybe you too will be transported for a moment to the west coast of France.

But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Spanish whites & Italian Barbera
Taste whites from Galicia, Rioja, & Catalunya, and three different Barberas from Piedmont, and I’ll bet Pablo will be happy to present the whites in Spanish if you desire a virtual Iberian jaunt.
2021 Carballal Cepas Viejas Albarino
2022 Ostatu Rioja Blanco
2022 Celler Frisach L'Abrunet Blanc
2021 Ercole Barbera del Monferrato
2020 Carussin Asinoi Barbera d'Asti
2021 Oddero Barbera D'Alba
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 2/17: BORDEAUX ROUGE FLIGHTS
2019 Château la Rame Bordeaux Rouge
2020 Château Renaissance Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge
2016 Château Moulin Canon-Fronsac
2015 Château Trapaud Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!


Cheers,
Max

I am grateful for sunny skies today and in the days ahead, some relief from all the rain. I know my restless daughters are too, after days of boardgames and Bluey, hours of Magna-tiles, Uno, and Set. I have six siblings and I can’t for the life of me remember what rainy days looked like for us as kids back then, how crowded and cabin-feverish we must’ve been.

Most of my early memories at home involve adventures outside, exploring my neighborhood, lots of merrymaking and mischief. And with the family as big as mine, we could divide into two proper teams with relative ease for occasional competitive sport.

I distinctly remember the long football games at the local park or often just out front on our narrow street. My father, playing quarterback for both teams, charged with both advancing the game and drawing up spontaneous plays on each down, harnessing our wild energies, instilling some order. I can still access our huddles around his giant palm, a fat finger trailing the web of lines and creases more intricate than a Thomas Guide map. I hadn't understood then that the assignments were always kind of a charade, there was no comprehensible scale to his palm and everything went to hell anyway with the opposition blitzing 100% of the time. It was really just his way of trying to incorporate every member of the squad, no matter how small or clumsy. And probably to milk the clock a bit to stretch the game to dinner.

I’m not sure why this popped in my head or why I’m sharing it this morning. Especially after my wife said on her way out the door: Don’t write about the Super Bowl....  But I guess, in a silly way, football is on my mind. And I thought it also worth mentioning that, in addition to this Sunday's spectacle, Valentine’s Day (another polarizing celebration), is on Wednesday.

But I guess this memory is a little bit about football. And maybe more a little bit about love.

If you celebrate either of those kind of things, we’ve got all kinds of delightful things here to make that day, or any day (and the memory of it someday), a bit more special.


But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: French whites & Austrian Reds
2022 Domaine de Roquefort Petite Salé Blanc
2022 Rocher de Violettes Chenin Blanc 
2020 Phillippe Viallet Savoie Blanc
2020 Birgit Wiederstein "Ein Traum" Carnuntum Red Blend
2021 Felix 'BLAU' Blaufränkisch
2019 Prieler Blaufrankish
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 2/10: SPARKLING Flights - We'll be tail-gating early, popping corks and pouring dry, delightful bubbly from around the globe. 
Hubert Meyer Cremant D'Alsace
Pomalo Debit Pet Nat
Coteaux des Margots Aligoté Pet Nat 
Lise & Bertrand Jousset 'Exilé' Rosé Pétillant
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!


Cheers,
Daniel

My brain relies on calendars, schedules, and lists to maintain order, and it is calmed by these designs on which we hang the activities of our lives. My plans are often accurate predictions, and sometimes just aspirational intentions. My calendars begin as directions, hopes, and assignations, and when the day is done, they persist as maps of my doing. And I’d be lost without my lists - shopping lists, inventory lists, sales lists, to-do lists. I was taught that writing things down got them out of your head and made them easier to parse, so I’ve developed a daily practice of this verbal brain surgery. In grade school I’d pick out my clothes the night before and lay my outfit by the bed, with one fewer decision to make in the morning, a guaranteed accomplishment.

I started the year without a hanging calendar. It wasn’t an intentional move, and it has had consequences, both liberating and disorienting. The bookstore selections are now thoroughly picked over, leaving collections of classic cars and kittens that have no place in my kitchen. Of course, I have a Google calendar, but it lives in the liminal cloud and can only be accessed by odious electronic devices. One cannot properly see one’s life through such an impersonal and antiseptic lens. To enter the year without a concrete calendar requires faith; faith that the swirling days of the week, mixed with rain clouds, sleep and work, food and wine, laughter and frustration, will turn into a week, a month, a year, into a life, without a blueprint.

Perhaps I will resort to making a calendar of my own, with a straight-edge and a pen, as I have in years past. I will want to know when to go to the dentist and when to bottle the vinegar, and to be prepared for upcoming events at Oakland Yard, like the Hataguchi Collective Pop-Up this Wednesday 2/7 from 5 to 8pm, featuring exquisitely beautiful, hand-printed writing paper, cards, and stationery made from recycled cotton pulp. We’ve also scheduled two Saturday afternoon winemaker tastings for next month that we’re very excited about: Chris Christensen of Bodkin Wines on 3/2 and Kenny Likitprakong from Hobo Wine Company on 3/30. Make a note in your datebook, scrawl it on the wall, or sure, go ahead and pencil it in on your calendar. 

But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: French whites & Chilean Reds
Whites from the Loire Valley, Alsace, and Provence, and reds from the Maule Valley & Itata.
2022 Pierre de Ronsard Sauvignon Blanc
2022 Charles Frey Pinot Blanc
2022 Château de Roquefort Petit Salé de Villeneuve
2022 Louis-Antoine Luyt Quenehuao Tinto Chileno País 2020 Dominio del Cuarzo Itata Cinsault
2022 Vina Maitia Aupa Pipeño
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 2/3: CALIFORNIA Wine Tasting Flights - Sample four organically farmed wines, carefully crafted in very small amounts by some of our favorite local winemakers.
2022 Terah Wine Co. Clement Hills Vermentino
2021 Claire Hill Lolonis Vineyard Redwood Valley Chardonnay
2022 Isa Wines ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job’
2022 Les Lunes North Coast Astral Red
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,
Max

One the owners, Julia, stopped in the shop yesterday as Max, Claire, and I had finished up a tasting appointment with one of our wine reps. Something about his demeanor compelled Julia to comment after his departure. He is so nice, she said, and we all nodded in agreement. 

While we enjoy congenial relationships with the vast majority of our reps and vendors, it is not a given that any particular kindness or niceties are expected or observed. Not everyone in hospitality is hospitable, and in the world of wine a certain stuffiness is sadly still too common. And the subculture around natural wine, positioned as anti-establishment and embracing a return to purity and authenticity, is not without some supercilious sorts.  

I won't convince anyone that kinder folks make better painters, or the best chefs, or have the best wine portfolios. I personally know of some real assholes who make indisputably good wines. But I was reminded yesterday that it is a profound and simple joy, almost an alchemy of sorts, when one encounters good people sharing good things. When the product resonates with a certain spirit - and yes, with purity and authenticity. I wrote one year ago about some local shops and neighbors with this sort of integrity. And I'm reminded of an interview after the death of a punk icon, the musician remarking that "the most punk rock thing you can do these days is smile and be kind". I'm not sure how being nice became anti-establishment, but if kindness can indeed be some gentle act of revolution, some form of protest, we're here for it, for you and with you, arms linked.

Join us and march on in Saturday, as we welcome Cody Putnam who will be here pouring a selection of all new, natural wines from the RONI SELECTS portfolio. Come for the dynamic tasting, ranging from Piquette to cider and reds around the globe...though don't be shocked to discover he is also one of the nicest and most knowledgeable reps we know. 

RONI Selects at OAKLAND YARD, Saturday 1/27:
Decideret Spontane Apple & Blackcurrant Cider - Denmark
Plēb Urban Winery Piquette - North Carolina
2021 Masia de la Roqua Tinto - Spain
2021 Didgori Kabistoni - Republic of Georgia
Flights $18 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

But first... Tonight: THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS! Austrian Whites and Italian Reds...
2022 Stix Gruner Veltliner
2022 Hiedler Loess Gruner Veltliner
2022 Schloss Gobelsburg Schlosskellerei Kamptal Riesling
2021 FUSO Cantine Polvanera CALX Primitivo
2020 Ayunta Rosso Nerello Mascalese
2019 Terra d'Aligi Tatone Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm.
Tacos Oscar OPEN TONIGHT! Tacos welcome with Flights or Glasses anytime :)

Cheers,
Daniel

Poem for this week (and for Jonno): Small Kindnesses

After seven years of Oakland Yard, I think Daniel and I have met most of the wine drinkers in the neighborhood, and Daniel knows most of your names. And after seven years, we’ve got such a good crew helping to run the shop that we don’t need to work all the time. Thanks, gang! Now that we have lives outside the store, Daniel and I often run into regular customers around town - sometimes even in other cities - prompting a narrowing of the eyes, that slight squint bringing context into focus...“oh hey, it’s the guy from the wine store.” This past week, I encountered familiar faces at the Berkeley farmers’ market, the Piedmont Theater, and Redwood Regional Park, and it felt good to be out among our people, buying vegetables, watching movies, and hiking together.

According to ancient Greeks and modern semioticians, words - and I’d argue, wines and people - have arbitrary names and no intrinsic identities; they are defined and given meaning by their relationships to other words, wines and people. We understand their true natures only by considering them alongside what they are not. I know myself only in the company of others, in the context of our community, and I better understand a wine when I compare it to other wines, like and unlike. In the interest of enlightenment, we often schedule tasting flights featuring a single region or grape variety, to compare our impressions of flavors, textures, and aromas, and to find what makes them unique.

At our tasting bar tonight, we’ll pour reds made from Grenache grown in three different European countries, and whites made from Chenin Blanc from three continents, in an effort to ascertain the nature of these varieties independent from differences in terroir and vinification. Come join us in our search to better understand both these grape varieties, and, in gathering, help to answer the perennial question of what makes you you.

TONIGHT...Thursday Night Flights: GRENACHE and CHENIN BLANC. Taste and compare three wines made from the same grape from three different countries:
2022 Sébastien Brunet Arpent Vouvray - FRANCE
2021 Force Celeste Chenin Blanc - SOUTH AFRICA
2022 Haarmeyer St Rey SRV Chenin Blanc - CALIFORNIA
2021 Bernabeleva Camino de Navaherreros - SPAIN 2021 Piero Mancini Cannonau - SARDINIA
2022 Domaine de Damase Grenache - FRANCE
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 1/20: PIEDMONTESE FLIGHTS
Sample two whites and two reds from the famous wine region of northwest Italy:
2021 La Ghibellina Mainin Gavi di Gavi
2020 Vite Colte Villata Roero Arneis
2021 Oddero Barbera d’Alba Superiore
2021 Luigi Scavino Azelia Langhe Nebbiolo
Flights $18 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

See you around,
Max

My daughter lost her tooth late one evening, two days before Christmas. Expecting magic, she announced how excited she was for the tooth fairy to trade her for a large candy cane. I was relieved that this order would actually be something the tooth fairy could pull off on such short notice. Surprisingly, there wasn’t one to be found anywhere in the house, and so once she was asleep I zoomed off to the supermarket. The displays were heavily picked over, with only newfangled flavors like Sour Patch or Winterberry Blast available - the few packages I could find of traditional candy canes were either miniatures or jumbo packs of 72. I realized I probably presented as some lunatic stoner at that hour- in sweatpants, frantically pacing the same aisles in search of a late night confection fix. But the few staff working those late hours were 100% committed to the cause when I explained my situation. They were Team Tooth Fairy all the way, searching high and low, double checking, doubling back, walky-talkies hot. It was absurd and amazing and, for brevity, I'll simply say that all ended well.

Days later, my wife sends me to the store for tomato paste for a specific dish and once again I'm scrambling the aisle, this time the small local market. It's not with the canned tomatoes, nor with the pastas, nor the tins. Will it be in tube or can? Near the oils or anchovies? These are the questions a stranger asks me, volunteering to join my quest. Steadfast and driven, he's always two seconds ahead of each thought and seven steps ahead of my search. He loves this little store he tells me. Doesn't look like it but they have pretty much everything, he insists. His enthusiasm is sweet. He is a helper. Though the clerk suggested they must be out many minutes ago, I am compelled to continue this chapter with Samwise for the night. And sure enough, this funny stranger eventually beams at the bottom shelf at the end of Aisle K, and hands me the last small can of tomato paste. 

Maybe these two outings are not connected at all. Maybe I just have a forlorn shopping face. Maybe some people just want to help. But I was thinking this morning about all who have passed through these doors, or wandered into our little wine shop, on what may be an otherwise routine day. Perhaps lost or in need of guidance, searching for just the right bottle to enjoy with an old friend in town, or maybe a thank you gift. For a partner's promotion. Or perhaps to accompany a warm pot roast on a cold evening. Whatever the occasion, I hope you've found that right bottle many times over here. And I hope you were met with the same zeal and almost absurd enthusiasm from us to help you on your quest. We'll be here today, all weekend, everyday. Here for you. Here to help.
 

TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Portuguese Whites and Cabernet Franc Red Flights
2021 Anselmo Mendes Contacto Alvarinho
2022 Nortico Alvarinho
2021 Filipa Pato Dinamico Dinamica Vinho Branco
2021 Les Athletes du Vin Chinon
2021 Domaine du Bel Air Jour de Soif Bourgueil
2020 Phantome Cellars Cabernet Franc
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 1/11: BURGUNDY Wine Tasting Flights
2022 Alain Normand Bourgogne Blanc
2022 Paul Nicolle Chablis Vielles Vignes
2021 Quentin Jeannot Hautes Cotes de Beaune Rouge
2021 Domaine Charleux Bourgogne Rouge
Flights $20 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!


Cheers,
Daniel

After years of near misses, and countless seasons watching others fall prey, I’d begun to believe I possessed a rare genetic exemption. Alas, along with some patterned wool socks, a newly re-released blue-wax LP, and a fresh pair of Timberland boots, I received a surprise gift for Christmas this year: a case of the not-so-novel coronavirus, the December 2023 edition. Perhaps I got it from Santa, whose half-eaten cookies one is obliged to finish. There was no gift card, just two solid pink lines where there should have been one. Full as I was of egg nog, prime rib, red velvet cake, and a half-pint of boosters, my Christmas covid was mild. It didn’t want to hurt me, just to slow me down long enough to remember some of this last year, and prepare to face the next.

As the rains came, so did Julia’s second pink line. We canceled our New Year’s travel plans and put on pajamas. Finding our appetites intact, we identified the leftovers, excavated our chest freezer, and started cooking. We made beef and farro soup, wild mushroom risotto, bò lúc lắc salad, fresh sourdough bread, homemade chicken soup, braised lamb shanks with butter beans and cabbage, Lasagna from scratch - starting with the noodles, and grilled mackerel, among other dishes. We had morning tea by the softly glowing tree...and afternoon and evening tea; we got a lot of tree-tea-time this season.

It feels good to be regaining strength during these opening days of 2024, to be starting the year with healing and a feeling of returning to the fullness of oneself, along with the clarity that life is better with friends at the table and a little bit of wine in our glasses. Here’s to the coming year - to our health, resilience, and prosperity - to all the unknown wonders awaiting us!

Starting with TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: GAMAY from the Savoie, Beaujolais and the Valle d’Aosta, and AUSTRIAN Whites (Harslevelü, dry Muscat and Riesling).
2022 Angelot Bugey Gamay
2022 Yohan Lardy Poppy Gamay
2022 Grosjean Frères Gamay
2020 Birgit Wiederstein Anna Blume Lindenblättriger
2021 Heidi Schrock Gelber Muskateller
2022 Schloss Gobelsburg Schlosskellerei Riesling
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 1/6: CALIFORNIA Wine Tasting Flights
2022 Broc Cellars Love White
2021 Trail Marker Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay
2022 Folk Machine Redwood Valley Mendocino Valdiguie 2022 Martha Stoumen Post-Flirtation Red
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!


Cheers,
Max

Sometimes when making burritos at home, I'll accidentally overheat the tortilla, the outer layers drying out or flaking off. If neglected to the point of being totally burnt, I’ll decisively discard and restart - but on occasion, due to hunger or stubbornness, I may mistakenly deem the former overcooked state serviceable, and fill the tortilla with the prepared contents. But when rolling the burrito, it becomes clear I have chosen chaos, resulting in a malady known at our home as CBS (Crispy Burritos Syndrome). In full disclosure, I first learned this term from my ex, and specifically from her otherwise serious parents. 

It’s easy to spot someone with CBS. The obvious giveaway is a burrito in their hands that brings them no joy. A face of regret. Indecision paralysis. The afflicted person assessing their current state, electing for either a brash timely do-over, or scrappily making do - inelegantly sucking nourishment from the bursting sides when the sad thing inevitably cracks, or perhaps tearing it all open, grabbing a fork and accepting it has simply become something completely different, even if composed of the same elements.

Like many others, this morning I find myself looking forward to the new year, holding out hope for things to be better. Thinking about new resolutions, new possibilities. Though most may be inclined to want a do-over, or to simply say good riddance to 2023, may we also remember the little joys and occasions of light and levity - the contents worth salvaging. I'm not celebrating stubborn resolve nor suggesting we stay too focused on the past – with a new year of hope and opportunity ahead - but here's to holding on to the nourishing elements, the good memories, the good things. Let us carry these with us across the threshold, into the unknown, still warm.

So happy old year to you.

And happy new year too.

TONIGHT...Thursday Night Flights: NORTHERN ITALIAN WHITES and RHONE REDS
2022 Pra Soave Classico Otto
2022 Bruno Verdi Pinot Grigio
2020 Carussin Asinoi Vino Bianco
2020 La Grange de Piaugier Cotes du Rhone
2021 Terres D'AvignonCotes-du-Rhone
2022 Domaine des Entrefaux Les Champs Fourne Crozes Hermitage
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 12/30  SPARKLING TASTING FLIGHTS!
We'll be popping corks and pouring dry, delightful Cremants from Loire, Jura, and Alsace...
Château Pierre-Bise Crémant de Loire Non Dosé
Domaine Ligier Cremant du Jura Brut
NV Hubert Meyer Cremant d'Alsace Brut
Sparkling Flights $20 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,
Daniel

At 7:27 this evening, the sun will pass directly over the Southern Tropic, or Tropic of Capricorn, and because our great star appears to ‘stand still’ in this position - sistere, in Latin - we call it a solstice. This is one of our busiest times at Oakland Yard, a week in which none of us stands still for more than a moment, particularly on this, the shortest of shopping days. It is also the time of year when the store is most full of wine, the apex of our inventory’s ebb and flow, requiring feats of organization to suitably stash the goods.

Despite the marked increase in shop activity, I also feel a sense of winding down. The year has gotten away from me - or is about to - and I’m ready to relinquish it. No more tasting appointments or emails to salespeople. I’ve begun eating the surrounding cookies with every meal; perhaps sometimes the cookies are the meal. Now that the rain has cleared, I’ve seen a steady stream of friendly faces, regulars with visiting relatives, returning Oaklanders demonstrating their own nativity, dropping in for a bottle to share with family, and I’m looking forward to many more of these happy reunions as the week comes to a close.

Big thanks to Yoko and Kayoko at Umami Mart on Broadway for including us in their stellar Holiday Shopping Guide, a truly great tool for finding fabulous gifts while supporting our small local businesses. Who knows if Amazon can make good on this year’s delivery schedule? Come pick out a last-minute gift from your neighbors down the street. Oakland Yard will be open regular hours this Saturday from noon to 9pm and OPEN this Sunday, Christmas Eve, from noon to 6pm to satisfy your outstanding needs for gifts and wine!

TONIGHT...Thursday Night Flights: LOIRE VALLEY WHITES and PINOT NOIR
Taste three dry, mineral French whites or Pinot Noir from Oregon, California, and France. 2020 Domaine de la Bregeonette Folle Blanche
2021 Claude Branger Les Fils des Gras Moutons Muscadet
2022 Domaine Fouet l’Ardillon Saumur Blanc
2017 Apolloni Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
2021 Domaine Maurice Charleux Bourgogne Rouge
2020 Folk Tree Village Series California Pinot Noir
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 12/23: CHAMPAGNE TASTING FLIGHTS
The GOOD STUFF, featuring small-production, grower Champagnes in three classic styles.
Forest-Marié Brut de Blancs Champagne
Tassin Brut Champagne
Alexandre Penet Premier Cru Rosé Extra Brut Champagne
Flights $25 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,
Max