My brain relies on calendars, schedules, and lists to maintain order, and it is calmed by these designs on which we hang the activities of our lives. My plans are often accurate predictions, and sometimes just aspirational intentions. My calendars begin as directions, hopes, and assignations, and when the day is done, they persist as maps of my doing. And I’d be lost without my lists - shopping lists, inventory lists, sales lists, to-do lists. I was taught that writing things down got them out of your head and made them easier to parse, so I’ve developed a daily practice of this verbal brain surgery. In grade school I’d pick out my clothes the night before and lay my outfit by the bed, with one fewer decision to make in the morning, a guaranteed accomplishment.

I started the year without a hanging calendar. It wasn’t an intentional move, and it has had consequences, both liberating and disorienting. The bookstore selections are now thoroughly picked over, leaving collections of classic cars and kittens that have no place in my kitchen. Of course, I have a Google calendar, but it lives in the liminal cloud and can only be accessed by odious electronic devices. One cannot properly see one’s life through such an impersonal and antiseptic lens. To enter the year without a concrete calendar requires faith; faith that the swirling days of the week, mixed with rain clouds, sleep and work, food and wine, laughter and frustration, will turn into a week, a month, a year, into a life, without a blueprint.

Perhaps I will resort to making a calendar of my own, with a straight-edge and a pen, as I have in years past. I will want to know when to go to the dentist and when to bottle the vinegar, and to be prepared for upcoming events at Oakland Yard, like the Hataguchi Collective Pop-Up this Wednesday 2/7 from 5 to 8pm, featuring exquisitely beautiful, hand-printed writing paper, cards, and stationery made from recycled cotton pulp. We’ve also scheduled two Saturday afternoon winemaker tastings for next month that we’re very excited about: Chris Christensen of Bodkin Wines on 3/2 and Kenny Likitprakong from Hobo Wine Company on 3/30. Make a note in your datebook, scrawl it on the wall, or sure, go ahead and pencil it in on your calendar. 

But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: French whites & Chilean Reds
Whites from the Loire Valley, Alsace, and Provence, and reds from the Maule Valley & Itata.
2022 Pierre de Ronsard Sauvignon Blanc
2022 Charles Frey Pinot Blanc
2022 Château de Roquefort Petit Salé de Villeneuve
2022 Louis-Antoine Luyt Quenehuao Tinto Chileno País 2020 Dominio del Cuarzo Itata Cinsault
2022 Vina Maitia Aupa Pipeño
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 2/3: CALIFORNIA Wine Tasting Flights - Sample four organically farmed wines, carefully crafted in very small amounts by some of our favorite local winemakers.
2022 Terah Wine Co. Clement Hills Vermentino
2021 Claire Hill Lolonis Vineyard Redwood Valley Chardonnay
2022 Isa Wines ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job’
2022 Les Lunes North Coast Astral Red
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,
Max