My heart still beats to the school calendar. It's in my DNA. The new year starts in September for me. And this time of year has always been special, both as a kid and later as a teacher too. Before getting into winemaking, I taught at a progressive public school for several years after college. One of the cooler things we did every fall was to take a busload of urban Middle Schoolers to the mountains to camp for a week. This annual tradition started our third year in existence. A classroom without walls, we used to say. It was for team building, and just for the hell of it too, I suppose. It was a kind of reckless and magical week when school wasn't school. Routines and cliques (and maybe an occasional ankle) would be bent or broken. The kids were out of their element and in their element, and generally super into the adventure and surprising communal spirit of it all.

It was also rather stressful - the lack of known boundaries, the potential for injuries. Teachers and chaperones would dread hearing panicked calls: someone fell from a tree limb or I think so and so was bit by something! With first-hand experience I can assure you that "Come quick, Kendrick is bleeding from the head and unconscious" is high up there too. That happened the year my group of boys found a plank of wood and tried to ride it down the cabin stairs like a surfboard - it was propelled out from beneath the rider's legs and into the forehead of said boy waiting at the base of the stairs. He was taken down the mountain and to the ER. (Don't worry, he's ok).

Each year something crazy happened. One year we showed up and our reservation was bumbled - we had to relocate to a defunct camp miles away from where we had planned. Another year a bear tried to enter the lodge with the kids inside. Or that one time some horrible, fierce and primal territorial battle (Wolves? Raccoons? The undead?) went on for what seemed like hours - howls and shrieks and shadows out in the darkness - and kept the campers up all night in terror. Ah, the sounds of nature...

These days, this time of year has me thinking about our wild beginning too. OAKLAND YARD will be celebrating 3 YEARS - on November 9th from 12-5pm! There will be music and food and oysters and bubbles, raffles and prizes, vendors and holiday vibes. And lots and lots of wine! The 3 Year Anniversary Celebration and Artisan Flea Market event is FREE! So mark your calendars and spread the good word! Bring a busload of your favorite people too. We've reserved enough room for all this joy. No bears. No backpacks needed. But we will be gathering outdoors - in the back lot (and inside at our little lodge too:). Come be a part of the community and let's be merry. Together. The sky is our ceiling.

Lots of fun until then, of course! TONIGHT (10/10): Thursday Night Flights... French Viognier and Italian Reds this evening. Flights $12 from 5-9pm and wines by the glass.

SATURDAY 10/12: Wines of Provence. Whites, Rosé,and Red from the South of France. Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm.

SUNDAY 10/13: Burgundy Tasting. Earthy and ethereal delights from one of most beloved regions. Come explore with us from 2-6. Flights $15, and wines by the glass all day until 8pm.


See you soon,

Daniel