Bonjour de la France et bonne fête de l'indépendance! I write this morning from Cheverny in the Loire Valley and send thanks to Daniel and our stalwart staff for making this possible. The weather here is mild, but I understand the East Bay is unseasonably warm, and I encourage you to take refuge this afternoon at Oakland Yard, which will be sixty-nine degrees and open until 6pm this evening, by which time it should be cool enough for y’all to comfortably resume Fourth of July festivities outdoors.

During our last trip to France, in August of 2008, Julia and I were driving through the Southwest and stopped for a mid-day refreshment at a small café in an ancient hilltop village near Cahors. It was a blazing hot afternoon, and Julia ordered a glass of white wine. Desiring acomprehensive regional sampling, I ordered a glass of rosé and also a glass of red. The wine was served in small tumblers, and all three came directly from the refrigerator, ice cold. Surprised at first, I quickly understood that a red at ‘room temperature’ would be as appealing as a glass of warm grape soup, and I happily polished off the refreshingly cold Malbec.

Last Monday, Julia and I were tasting wine with Alain Allier, a family friend and natural winemaker in the Languedoc village of Calvisson, and we shared our thoughts on trends in the industry. I told him our customers are drinking less rosé and more skin-macerated ‘orange’ wines, and that light-bodied, chillable reds were the most popular of all. Alain confirmed that the French are headed in the same direction, as we sampled his most popular wine - a thirst-quenching vin de soif with cinnamon spice and cranberry fruit - precisely the style we can’t get enough of back home. As it happens, this Saturday at Oakland Yard, Claire, Bibi, Francis and Sarah will be pouring flights of chilled reds, perfect for the season and très en vogue.

Oakland Yard will close early this evening, opening from 11am until 6pm. Je suis désolé, there will be no Thursday night flights this week.

SATURDAY 7/6: Chilled Red Flights - Taste four refreshingly cool, light reds from Croatia, Italy, France, and California
2022 Pomalo Plavina
2021 Due Terre Nivuru Nero d’Avola
2021 Domaine de la Patience Costières de Nîmes Rouge
2022 Ashanta Resist
Tasting flights $18 from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm


À bientôt,

Max