There are sounds that ground me in the world, familiar noises, like the insistent buzz of summer cicadas, the sudden onset of heavy rain, or the pitch of the tuning fork’s four hundred and forty vibrations per second. Some sounds signal stability, like the A above middle C, while others indicate potential, like the warm mwaah of an awakening computer, the whisper of a morning prayer, or the uncorking of a bottle of wine. One of the most exciting and inviting sounds to me is the solid crack of a cue striking a tightly racked triangle of billiard balls, like a block of ice hitting the floor, followed by the felt-muffled dispersal, and the blessed silence when none have fallen. The table is open; the choice is yours.

This week’s tasting schedule at Oakland Yard rings out like a hard, clean eightball break, with so many options, it quickens the heart to consider one’s next move. In addition to our wines by the glass, which are available every day, we’ve reinstated weekly Thursday flights, and this week we also have special guests behind the bar pouring featured libations on both Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Chalk it up and strategize!

Tonight, we’re pouring tres blancos de Catalunya, y rossos di Toscana, Piemonte, e d’Abruzzo. Tomorrow, our good friend Matt Gerloff, who helped us unload the flatbed of steel that became the bones of Oakland Yard, and who just returned from France and Italy, will open wines from the Loire Valley, the Savoie, Piedmont, and the Veneto. And this Saturday, third-generation Oakland Native and unmatched mix-master, Jared Murray, will offer up three fruity flavors of our favorite California Aperitifs from Mommenpop.

TONIGHT 8/11: THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS - Spanish Whites and Italian Reds: Avinyo Petillant, Celler Frisach L’Abrunet Garnacha Blanca, Ulls de Mel Xarel-lo, Ampeleia Un Litro, Scavino Azelia Nebbiolo, and Tatone Montepulciano. $15 Flights from 5-9pm and wines by the glass until 9 too.

FRIDAY NIGHT 8/19: FRENCH & ITALIAN wines imported by KERMIT LYNCH
Special guest MATT GERLOFF pours flights of four wines - Cabernet Franc, Nebbiolo, Jacquere and Manzoni Bianco. Come witness Matt’s voluminous hair, prodigious knowledge, and generous spirit, while sampling some of Kermit’s finest! - $15 flights from 5-8pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON 8/20: MOMMENPOP APERITIF FLIGHTS
Special guest JARED MURRAY pours flights of Mommenpop Grapefruit, Seville Orange and Blood Orange spritzes. $15 flights from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm.

Also, our friends across the street at SLANT VINTAGE are throwing a GRAND OPENING party this SATURDAY from 12-6pm with My Friend Fernando tortas! Now that sounds like a Saturday afternoon plan!

Choose your combo - or go ahead and run the table,

Max