“I cut my teeth on Carlo Rossi...” began one customer’s memorable request for a recommendation, with a humble nostalgia for the old grocery store jug wine. Well, we all start somewhere. Might as well be honest and poetic about it. At times, I’ve been self-conscious about my knowledge of wine, as though it were a badge of bourgeois privilege, or a decadent pastime, but it’s really just the result of a long–standing fascination, carefully chosen priorities, and some fixed attention.

Wine appreciation in the U.S. has an image problem; wine culture smacks of elitism. It is esoteric, stuffy, joyless, and rigid. Wine is not punk rock, unless it’s poured in a water glass and downed in one go. I watched this happen at Oakland Yard several months ago, and it was pretty punk rock. There’s also a lot of classist bullshit fertilizing our favorite agricultural product. A comprehensive understanding of wine requires access to considerable means, signifying social status. Some smarmy somms will play this up, their net worth pinned to all they’ve swallowed, but that’s not why we’re in the game.

Wine at Oakland Yard is not hoity-toity, and it will not make you fancy; it is the farmers’ drink, a combination of vine, water, dirt and sun, with ancient roots and one ingredient. Come taste with us this week and reclaim the people’s beverage. Tasting flights every Thursday are always just $12 and our $15 and under bottle selection is prodigious and delicious.

TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! FRENCH WHITES & ITALIAN REDS. Wines from the Loire Valley, the Savoie, Alsace, Piedmont, Campania & the Valle d'Aosta. Flights $12 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm. 

SATURDAY 8/10: THREE SHADES of CHINON Tasting Flights of Red, White & Rosé Chinon. Flights $15 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm. 

SUNDAY 8/11: CALIFORNIA WHITE WINES: Zah Chenin Blanc, Tendu Cortese, Luuma Chardonnay & Highlawn Picpoul. Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 8pm. 

Cheers,

Max