I’ve always felt a distinct emotional pull with the seasonal shift into fall. I wrote about it last year and years before. A particular palpable something resonates inside me. "Autumn Leaves", or "Les Feuilles Mortes" (dead leaves, in French versions) has always been one of my most favorite songs, whether it be Nat King Cole, Edith Piaf, Yves Montand, or Cannonball Adderley. Strangely enough, the composer, French poet, Jacques Prévert, died the very day I was born.

My daughter, who will be five in a couple months, seems to share some of my melancholy – and may have even inherited my existential nature. She started asking about death recently and frequently inquires "Daddy, when will you die?", sometimes with something resembling concern but more often with the apathetic nonchalance of a Morrissey lyric. "I just hope you make it to Christmas", she said last week.

The sentiment is not far off, at least in the world of retail. Even at our little wine shop, we'll sometimes find ourselves just trying to make it to the end of the year, hanging on for the ride in the final few months. And so my maudlin autumn mood will be short-lived. Like some last bottles, falling from the shelves into good hands and homes, the last drops of some vintages and small labors of love to be enjoyed and shared - and perhaps, remembered fondly someday. And then a flurry of new wines and new faces will blow into the shop, breathing new life and bringing new warmth into the space. And though it's wild and unpredictable and maybe even a bit sad as things race to a close, it's ultimately what we at Oakland Yard are here for. What we live for.

TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights...
Crisp, mineral Austrian whites and earthy, delicious Italian reds. Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until close.
2020 Zillinger Gruner Veltliner
2020 Weingut Stadt Krems Gruner Veltliner
2020 Kurt Angerer Gruner Veltliner Kies
2020 Marchesi di Gresy Monte Aribaldo Dolcetto d’Alba
2020 Ercole Barbera del Monferrato
2016 Al Cantara Muddichi dei Suli Nerello Mascalese

SATURDAY 10/8 : SPARKLING FLIGHTS at OAKLAND YARD... I'll be here this Saturday, subbing in for Ezra and joining Pablo, Erica, and Bibi - we'll be popping corks and pouring dry, delightful bubbly from around the globe. Sparkling Flights from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,

Daniel