“Daylight leaks in, and sluggishly I surface
from my own dreams into the common dream”

So begins Jorge-Luis Borges’ poem Waking Up, and my entry into the new year. Julia and I fled to the Capay Valley to ring in 2025 with a home-cooked meal among friends and a blazing bonfire ringed with local farmers beneath a dazzling canopy of stars. And we sang and danced at midnight to The Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want, a tradition I picked up back in the nineties from a Vermont family who’d likely been featuring the track for decades. The spirit is apt and the lyrics are as dumbfounding as Auld Lang Syne. The song begins with a tender melody from the London Bach Choir with organ, perfect for hugs and kisses, then builds to a feverish revival pitch that can only be met with the ecstatic energy required to begin a new year. Now I think I’m ready. May 2025 bring you happy surprises and more love and happiness.

Oakland Yard will be CLOSED this Monday 1/6 and Tuesday 1/7 for inventory counting. We'll reopen Wednesday 1/8 from 11 to 9 with Julia’s Welcome Wednesday Soup Pop-Up from 5 to 8pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.

But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Slovenian whites and Portuguese reds
These two small European countries (the size of Massachusetts and Indiana, respectively) have been making excellent wine for millennia (more compelling than anything I’ve tasted from Massachusetts or Indiana) and we’re excited to share some of their distinctive viniferous styles.
2023 Črnko Jareninčan 1L
2018 Kabaj Ravan Friulano
2021 Guerila Vipavska Dolina Rebula
2023 Filipa Pato Dinamica Baga Tinto
2021 Luis Seabra Xisto Ilimitado Vinho Tinto
2021 Quinta das Arcas Herdade Penedo Gordo Tinto
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 1/4: HUNGARIAN WINE FLIGHTS: Sample a smoky, mineral, dry Tokaji, two refreshing new sillers (IYKYK), and a liter of fruity, light red from the land of waters.
2021 Samuel Tinon Birtok Dry Tokaji Furmint
2022 Heimann & Fiai Piros Siller
2023 Káli Kövek Karmazin
2023 Vaskapu Kastély Easy Red 1L
Flights $20 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Let’s share a cup o’ kindness yet,

Max