This is a hard one to write. Our manager, Ezra, will be flying off to new skies and heading for the Windy City in a couple weeks. I tried to think of a word or story to tell today that might best demonstrate his unique personality or magnify what kind of person we will soon be missing. Last night I scrolled through a decade of gmail history and found our very first correspondence, a brief email he sent to me on March 28, 2012. It was just one short sentence: Would you and Glenny like to come over for dinner this Saturday after work?

I had just started working with him at Copain winery that week, having just moved back to CA from Brooklyn, eager to learn more about winemaking and excited to be on the Sonoma coast among the redwoods and rolling hills and vineyards, the winding ribbon of the Russian River tying it all together. Ezra managed the tasting room at Copain, bringing an enology degree from Davis along with experience in cellars in Sonoma, Mendocino, and an internship (a scholarship) to study in Burgundy. I smiled finding his first email to me, because that one simple, short sentence he wrote suggests as much about Ezra as any story could. Ezra is an invitation.

A warm and welcoming soul. Gregarious and generous. Fastidious and funny. A lover of food and wine and well-made cocktails. A good story teller. A great listener. Quick to make friends and good at keeping them. Always making new connections, always open to new experiences, new adventures. It is this spirit that propelled him around the world, traveling the globe and settling in Copenhagen for some time before eventually returning to the East Bay. We have been so very lucky that Ezra decided to make a home here at Oakland Yard the past two years. And we are forever grateful for his time, talents, and contributions - for all that he brought to this shop and to this community.

Come wish him all the best. Stop in this weekend (or in the next couple weeks) and raise a glass to a great man, a great manager, a great friend - before he heads to Chicago for his next adventure. As noted, he is exceptional at maintaining friendships, so we are certain to see him again.

In the spirit of Ezra, we extend an invitation to join us. To travel the globe in one way at least. Come meet new friends or reconnect with old ones. Come explore and try new delights, make new connections, find new joys.

Tonight...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: FRENCH Whites and ITALIAN Reds

2021 Grivot-Goisot Côtes d’Auxerre Blanc

2021 Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée de Silex

2021 Domaine La Cabotte Cotes du Rhone Blanc

2020 Carussin Barbera d’Asti

2018 Casa Scarpa Barbera d’Asti

2021 Ercole Barbera

Tasting flights $15 from 5-9pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY: NEW ADVENTURES...

We'll be traveling around the globe and highlighting some hidden gems from countries and regions that may not have their own section on the shelves here, but should not be overlooked! Come explore and check out these dynamic bottles with us from 2-6.

2021 Mother Rock Force Celeste Chenin Blanc (South Africa)

2021 Swick 'City Nights' White (Oregon)

2022 Louis-Antoine Luyt Tinto Chileno (Chile)

2018 Milos Plavac (Croatia)

Flights $20 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm.

Cheers,

Daniel