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

I am of a generation that listened to the radio. That developed patience by suffering through commercials. As kids we'd even try calling the radio station, from our landline. On certain days, at certain times, we'd be encouraged to request our favorite song and if lucky our request would be honored and our names and neighborhood might be called out on the air. On other occasions we'd call in for contests, for free concert tickets or whatnot. I never won tickets, but one time I got a consolation prize and they mailed me a T-shirt. It was absurdly large so I gave it to a guy on my soccer team (it was too big for him too but I didn't say anything).

A few weeks ago, a woman came in to buy a bottle of sherry for a special mushroom soup she was making. Max first noticed her well-worn navy blue cotton shirt, with a contrasting yellow font that simply read: FREE SCHMIDT!. While that’s my last name, we'd learn that it wasn’t hers, nor that of anyone she knew. She explained it was a reference to a fictional character, and made as a promo for a friend's project many years ago. To my surprise, she would return later that same day with her washed and folded FREE SCHMIDT! T-shirt. Offered to me in recognition of the particular delight it brought me. She even shared some of the soup she made (it was delicious). And the shirt turned out to be a perfect fit.

I'm thinking about that shirt again this morning. And about random strangers, making connections, transferring delight. The kind of people who would literally give you the shirt off their back, as the saying goes. I think of how wonderful our community can be, how amazing our regulars, or even occasional guests, can be. Interactions that go far beyond the standard transactions of a wine shop. Receiving random emails of gratitude, or kind words of appreciation shared at the register. Holiday cards. Or fresh-baked cookies. Some bring their visiting friends or parents, when they are in town, to show them the shop. Their shop. My eyes swell with pride just thinking about it. 

This has always been and continues to be so much more than just a shop. To us certainly, and to you too, we hope. And if, in any way, we can better share this space, let us know. If there are things you'd like to see on the shelves, or learn more about, shoot us an email or stop in anytime. More sherry, perhaps? Or a favorite food pop up you'd love to see here? Give us a call! Our request lines are open and we are all ears. We're here for you til 9pm everyday now. And we'll continue to expand our program, and grow one way or another, hopefully always fitting just right.
 

TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Italian whites and California reds... 
2022 Donna Paolina Fiano di Avellino
2023 Pra Otto Soave Classico
2021 Vite Colte Roero Arneis
2022 Trail Marker Wine Co Blaufrankish
2020 Vignerons Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir
2021 Beaver Creek 'Survivor' Petite Syrah
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 6/29: Wines of ALSACE
French Sparkling, white, and red from the northeast bordering Germany and Switzerland 
Hubert Meyer Cremant de Alsace Brut
2022 Domaine Wassler Riesling
2022 Domaine Mann 'Le Mouton Bleu' Sylvaner
2021 Domaine Roland Schmitt 'Plan B' Pinot Noir
Tasting flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,
Daniel

I may have shared this memory with a few of you before. About the day I was forgotten. Growing up with six siblings, our little house was a bit of a zoo most the time, but us all getting ready for school in the morning was its own kind of crazy. Everyone tripping over each other in the early a.m., sharing one bathroom, trying to beat the clock, pulling clothes from drawers or hampers or from under beds, shoveling Cream of Wheat or Pop Tarts into our mouths with mom hollering her countdown - a one-woman assembly line stuffing Capri Suns and PB&Js into brown paper bags with our names written on each in her distinct cursive.

I've never been a morning person, and I probably deserved the daily nagging. Two minutes to leave and I'd still be dreaming, or digging out an old cardigan. Putting on my shoes at a snails pace. They'd often threaten to leave me behind, which they'd obviously never do - until the one day they did. I think I was in second grade at the time. I heard the door slam and the last pair of sneakers stomping off down the steps outside. But I could hear the van still warming up by the street and I knew they'd yell for me once again, annoyed at my procrastination. But then I heard the van reverse. And pull away. I was figured they'd see me running down the steps - and someone in the rear window would be shaking their head, alerting mom to stop. But as I ran barefoot down the steps and out to the the street, I realized it wasn't a joke. They were gone.

I was a mix of anger, desperation, and sadness. I had already dropped my shoes on the steps, so I threw my socks at the ghost of the van in some dramatic fit, wailing and flailing away. My anguish was short-lived. Mom U-turned a couple blocks away and was back up the hill a minute later. My older siblings annoyed to see me still sprawled out on the steps in practiced agony. My sister hopping out to collect my socks from the road. 


With all the craze around orange wines and chilled reds, and everyone clamoring around for the best summer sippers, poor little lovely rosé seems to have been forgotten in this particular moment in time. And no one is exactly sure why, but we're certainly still returning to these pleasant, pink, refreshing bottles here at the shop. Loading them into coolers and cars for parties and getaways or enjoying them on the steps outside our homes. Come back and reacquaint yourselves with rosé once again! Pull a U-turn. Give it another chance. We'll be pouring a selection of our favorite rosés and new releases this Saturday from 2-6! It's looking to be warm and sunny... so stop in and enjoy our cool A/C and a flight with us. We promise, these wines are worth chasing after. 

First, TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! All French lineup this evening, with dry Aligoté from Burgundy for the whites and Rhone reds for the other flight!
2022 Berthenet Bourgogne Aligoté Vielles Vignes
2022 Domaine Rollin Bourgogne Aligoté
2022 Domaine Goisot Bourgogne Aligoté
2022 Domaine La Damase Grenache
2018 Chateau Redortier Beaumes-des-Venise Rouge
2022 Domaine Jean Esprit Crozes-Hremitage
Flights $15 from 5-9pm and wines by the glass until close!

SATURDAY 6/15: Rosé returns!... New spring and summer arrivals and staff favorites:
2023 Ameztoi Rubentis Txakoli Rosé
2023 Bisson Ciliegiolo Rosé
2023 Chateau Soucherie L'Astree Rosé de Loire
2022 Chateau Vannieres Bandol Rosé
Flights $18 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm


On my way,

Daniel

What a time to be alive! There’s a new moon in Gemini and anything is possible. The stellar Dioscuri, twin sons of Zeus and Leda, will lead you in new directions, but only if you trust your heart and allow the darkness to change your mind for the better. Consider this new moon your summer reset button, and leverage the power of the rising Sun. Speaking of the Sun, you may want to do some weeding after the week we’ve had, and know that those bananas you left out on the counter are now only fit for making bread. And do apply some extra sunscreen if you want to make it to the next new moon in Gemini. You probably know young people who are graduating from high school or university. Don’t think these dear little friends are trading domestic bliss for the horrors of reality, rather consider them caterpillars, on their way to becoming butterflies. You may feel the effects of Venus and Jupiter cavorting with the astral twins. Don't be alarmed by this foursome. The planet of romantic love holds influence over all of our social relationships, as well as our aesthetic style and appreciation of art and culture. Venus may prompt you to plan time with friends and family this weekend, to eat oysters, tacos, and takoyaki, to drink wine in the afternoon, to buy local arts and crafts, houseplants, and vintage clothing. If you are listening to the sweet nothings from the sky, love will lead you directly to Oakland Yard this Saturday. And if you’re feeling the intellectual pull of the largest body in our orbit, you’ll let Jupiter send you to Oakland Yard this evening where we’ll examine the various and immutable characteristics of two wine grape varieties: Gamay and Melon. Whatever you do, don’t look down. Look forward, spread those wings that just sprouted from your shoulders and belt it out with us: “Now, this is what I call LIVING!”

TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Gamay from Sonoma County, Beaujolais, and Bugey, and Melon de Bourgogne from the Loire and Santa Maria Valleys
2023 Lieu Dit Melon
2020 Domaine de la Fessardière La Mer Muscadet
2018 Les Bêtes Curieuses Clisson Muscadet 2023 Maison Angelot Bugey Gamay
2023 Breaking Bread Gamay
2022 Karim Vionnet Chiroubles
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

THIS SATURDAY JUNE 8th: OAKLAND YARD SUMMER PARTY & MARKET - 12 to 5pm
Featuring Takoyaki and Izakaya from Daruma Kiosk, Tacos Oscar serving brunch til 2, Oysters and raw bar from Casa de Kei and market delights and fantastic finds from LH Ceramics, The Plant Queen, Pablo Cristi, Rise Above, Homebody Vintage, fresh loaves and sweet treats from Eds Breads and wine & beer from Oakland Yard.

Prophetically and with love,

Max

I can't believe it's nearly June. My little one graduated from Kindergarten last week, so summer hours and summer adventures await. When I was her age, summer mostly meant running around our neighborhood, making mischief, reenacting scenes from The Goonies, looking for treasures or trouble in Mrs. Scarvacci's backyard. Sometimes venturing beyond mom's boundaries to Dan-the-Ice-Cream-man's Red Rooster truck for sweet treats. Some summers, dad would erect an aluminum above ground pool in the sand pit behind the house. Once that thrill wore off, we'd shove our sad eyes and puppydog pleas through the openings in the fence, begging Leif and Hilda, the elderly Norwegians next door, to let us crowd into their hot tub, doing our best to ruin their retirement. They were good sports. Leif would bring us cold drinks and if we were really lucky he'd let us pick some fruit jellies he kept in the kitchen freezer. He'd sometimes show me pictures of his granddaughter, asking me isn't she the prettiest girl in the whole world? I knew enough at age 6 to raise my eyebrows and nod in agreement, helping myself to another treat.

We've got all kinds of sunny day fun lined up, no need to beg or tell us we're beautiful. We’re looking forward to a summer of pop ups and parties and special events, along with the usual weekly flights! And OAKLAND YARD is now open until 9pm all week! We've got The Olioteca Pop Up this Sunday June 2nd with Like Family and Fat Gold bringing their amazing olive oils and small bites with flights and wines by the glass. Next Wednesday, June 5th Yuji returns... with Bento Boxes for another @ishikatanotabekata Pop Up! And Saturday June 8th we're throwing a PARTY in the backlot with DARUMA KIOSK serving Takoyaki and Izakaya, Tacos Oscar serving brunch next door, oysters from Shuckbuddy, and an amazing lineup of local vendors, artisans, and artists - all here on SATURDAY JUNE 8th!

But first...TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS:
French Whites & Italian Reds...
2023 Reau & Jousset Pulpe Fiction Muscadet
2021 Les Vins Pirouettes Michel Tutti Frutti
2022 Domaine Grivot-Goisot Côtes d'Auxerre Bourgogne Blanc
2022 Ampeleia Un Litro
2021 GD Vajra Dolcetto d’Alba
2018 Guerra Albano Refosco dal Peduncolo
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 6/1 SLOVAKIAN WHITES and SLOVENIAN REDS
2021 Marvla Tindo Próza   
2022 United Cellars of Tekov Just Kids Muscat  
2021 Black Lamb Eazy  Refošk
2016 Zaro Folo Rosso Cabernet Sauvignon 
Tasting flights $18 from 2-6and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 6/2: The OLIOTECA! Olive Oil tasting and small bites from Like Family and Fat Gold. Flights $18 and Olioteca Tasting Menu for $16. OLIOTECA from 2-4 with flights until 6 and wines by the glass all day UNTIL NINE :)

Cheers,
Daniel

I sip warily from the cup of pride. The smuggest of the seven deadlies is not to be trifled with; it will poison friendships and is easily dissolved by misfortune. I have a modicum of self-confidence but try not to take too much pleasure or satisfaction in my supposed achievements or attributes. That said, Oakland Yard is not my own creation, but a collaboration I’ve helped initiate, and I am proud of the work we’re doing together as partners, employees, and customers, to maintain a safe and joyous space amid the chaos of our lives.

I felt it last week, with suspicion, when close friends, surveying the arcs of our various careers, suggested I’d achieved a major accomplishment in Oakland Yard - the welcoming feeling, the warmth, the good vibes - all qualities we’ve fostered together, I thought, with great pride. And it happened again this week, when tasting with a winemaker from Lebanon. It’s always fun to witness the reactions of overseas visitors unsure of what to expect from Oakland. We’ve tasted with winemakers from France, Hungary, Spain, and Italy in the last month, and when they enter our shop so full of sunlight, flowers, clean lines, and fantastic wines, they are sometimes so clearly and happily taken aback, that I too see our space with new eyes and a greater appreciation of what we do, and I allow myself a little pride.

Thanks to all of you who keep Oakland Yard uniquely vibrant and special! We’re looking forward to a summer of stellar tasting flights and special events, including a back lot PARTY and ARTISAN MARKET featuring oysters by Shuckbuddy,  DARUMA KIOSK serving Takoyaki and Izakaya, and an amazing lineup of local vendors, artisans, and artists - all here on SATURDAY JUNE 8th - and starting June 1st, we’ll be open until 9pm every night of the week!

But first...TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS:
Spanish whites and French reds - all organically farmed
2022 Monte Pio Raxeira Albariño
NV Brincadeiro Naturalmente Turbio
2021 Masia de la Roqua Blanco Ulivel-la Xarel-lo
2022 Remi Pouizin Vice Versa
2021 Benjamin Taillandier Laguzelle Minervois
2019 Domaine de Nerleux Saumur-Champigny Rouge
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 5/25: NEW CALIFORNIA reds and whites - all organically farmed
2023 Birdhorse Verdelho
2022 Subject to Change Chill Pill Chenin Blanc
2021 Jaimee Motley Argillet Mondeuse
2022 Bedrock Wine Co. California Syrah
Tasting flights $20 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

Proudly,
Max

As you read this, know that I am in a happy place. Every year at this time, my father and my five brothers and I all converge upon a string of alpine lakes in the Eastern Sierras. It is a special tradition for us. Anyone who does not attend is demoted to cousin status for a year. We arrive with a particular electricity and fall quickly into our ridiculous routines: recalling odd neighbors and quirky classmates, discussing lowbrow films and high drama exes, revealing secrets of early mischief and misfortunes previously unknown, and teasing each other mercilessly (the younger the brother the broader the target). 

We rise early and spend most of the day fishing the lakes and sometimes the connecting creeks. We fish and feast and laugh, we drink and sing silly songs, and we pass the hours in-between recalling and rediscovering memories from the treasure chests of youth. When we are not peppered along the shorelines, we squeeze aboard a rented boat, exploring the lakes and enjoying a spot that is collectively ours. This year, the gathering is a uniquely special one - with our one sister joining us, and so for a couple days, all of us siblings will be under the same roof again for the first time in about thirty years. 

Oakland Yard is a happy place too. I'll be thinking of you all, of our exceptional staff, of new faces and seasoned regulars, all under one roof there. I'm grateful for all of you who remain a part of the adventure and continue to explore with us. The joy continues tonight and in the days ahead. Max and staff are all smiles all week, serving up all kinds of delicious wine and are there to help with your weekend gatherings or getaways. We've got THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS TONIGHT! It will be all Italian themed this evening and a special lineup this Saturday of wines from Burgundy. Join us, and the family here.


TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Italian whites and reds
2022 Pra Soave Classico Otto
2022 Gorghi Tondi Grillo
2021 Mustilli Greco Sannio
2021 Marino Abate LAPA Nero d'Avola
2021 FUSO Cantine Polvanera CALX Primitivo
2020 Villa Sant Anna Chianti Colli Senesi
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 5/18: WINES OF BURGINDY
2022 Domaine Berthenet Aligote
2022 Domaine Oudin Chablis
2021 Domaine Rollin Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune Rouge
2020 Domaine Bader-Mimeur Bourgogne Rouge Dessous les Mues
Tasting flights $20 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass all day until 9pm.

See you Sunday (hopefully with some trout:),

Daniel 

Humans have been making wine for over 9,000 years. Winewise, one might imagine, we’ve done it all, it’s all been done, nothing new under the sun. We’ve made wine from grapes that have been dried, or botrytised, picked green, or ripe, or frozen on the vine, pressed off the skins or macerated, co-fermented red and white varieties, aged in glass, wood, metal, and ceramic vessels. Traditional regional styles vary greatly, as do our tastes over time.

Before 1800, wine was often preserved by the addition of tree resin or and was most commonly diluted with water, as designated in an order placed by Thomas Jefferson in 1790: "...either red or white, which would be good for mixing with water.” And for the vast majority of winemaking history, we preferred sweet wines. Sources of sweetness were prized and few, and residual sugar helped preserve quality and flavor in the wine. Only in the past hundred years or so have we largely consumed wines in our current dry fashion. By the 1700’s, fortified Madeira, Port, and Sherry enjoyed international popularity, and throughout most of the 19th century Champagne was made in a sweet style.

In the last fifty years, Americans have variously clamored for Pinot Grigio, Soave, Chablis and Sancerre. Argentine Malbec, Australian Shiraz, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and South African Pinotage have each had their day, then receded back into the shadows. High-octane Cabernet and buttery Chardonnay overcame California for a time, and in 2004, the film Sideways put a cinematic stake through the heart of Merlot, from which it has yet to recover.

Nowadays, dry rosé is ceding ground to skin-fermented ‘orange’ wines and chilled light reds, and here at Oakland Yard, pet nat ‘farmer fizz’ outsells traditional Champagne, Prosecco and Cava. There is also a current fascination with ‘natural’ wine made with no chemicals, no additions (i.e. yeast or sulfur) and no subtractions (Filtration or fining), a style of ‘natty’ wine commonly called ‘zero-zero’. Happy to provide and explore what’s hot - and some of what’s not - we at Oakland Yard embrace all the styles and do our best to bring you the highest quality examples to choose from, and this Saturday we’ll pour modish flights of what’s hip and happening in the wide world of wine.

But first...TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS:
French Grenache blends and Austrian Grüner Veltliner
2019 Agramante Ciaula Côtes-du-Rhône
2021 Domaine de Majas Côtes Catalanes Rouge
2018 Château Redortier Beaumes de Venise Rouge
2022 Weingut Stix Grüner Veltliner
2021 Kurt Angerer Kies Grüner Veltliner
2022 Bernhard Ott Am Berg Grüner Veltliner
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 5/11: TRENDING STYLES - Pet Nat, orange wine, chilled red & zero zero
2022 Pomalo Debit Pet Nat
2021 Fuso Cala Bianco Terre Siciliane Skin Fermented Catarratto
2022 Groundwork Counoise
2021 Castello di Tassarolo Orsola Monferrato Rosso
Also... HELLA BREAD Bakery POP UP from 2-6! Roll in and score some savory and sweet treats from Jean-Luc! Hella bread Pop Up and Tasting flights both 2-6pm and wines by the glass all day until 9pm.

Cheers,
Max

It was during another morning rush last week, scrambling about, herding cats, trying to get the little ones ready for school. My youngest daughter, now four years old, was still not dressed, and standing in her room grinning at me with her arms held high. Come smell me! I'm spicy today!, she announced proudly. It took me longer than it should have to understand her meaning - and to register the smell and the situation - eventually discovering my Old Spice deodorant relocated and uncapped nearby. Before I could absorb the momentary annoyance/amusement, her older sister barged in, complaining about unfairness, how her sister got to use my deodorant and how the other always gets to do everything. I yield to the absurdity of it all and allow them both to smell like old men for a few minutes, before they eventually reconsider (and ask me to wash the smell away).

While I've never specifically envied another person's smell, I can relate to their micro "FOMO' feelings. I'm as guilty as anyone else scrolling though social media, seeing what others are enjoying or get to do. How I somehow just missed a band at the Fox theater, or some special menu at a favorite restaurant, a wine and oysters night perhaps, a book event, or a 'one night only' pop up... you get the idea. It's hard to keep up with it all and I suppose it's worth appreciating how lucky we are to be in a city with such unique and exciting things still happening all around. We're a small shop but I'm proud of our program here beyond the bottles... the various other dynamic pairings that happen here each month. Folks will likely roll in today asking about the Bento Box pop up (last night, sorry!) or about the slow-cooked, open fire goulash and Hungarian wine event (last week, sorry!). They'll ask when Daruma Kiosk is retuning or when the next back lot party will be (soon!), or if Tacos Oscar is doing brunch this weekend (it's every weekend, til 2pm now!). 

If you're reading these weekly notes, you're already in the loop. Social media is a lot, but if you 'do the gram' as some say, I also encourage you to follow us on IG for the most up-to-date details on special events, weekly tastings, and amazing Pop Ups here at the shop. We are also adding an events calendar to the website and will start highlighting squares in the weeks and months ahead. Stay tuned for the new Hella Bread Bakery Pop Up here on May 11th, for the return of Urelio's Pizza, for Oyster Pop ups, for guest Winemakers, for local Olive Oil tasting, for a Wine 101 class, and for the next Artisan Market! 

But first... TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: French Whites and Italian Reds!
2022 Valala Sauvignon Blanc
2020 2022 Grivot-Goisot Bourgogne Cotes d' Auxerre Blanc
2022 Domaine La cabptte Cotes du Rhone Blanc
2022 Tenuta La Pergola Il Goccetto
2022 Agricola Ampeleia 'Un Litro'
2021 Gricos 'Grifalco' Aglianico del Vulture
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 5/4: NEW CALIFORNIA FLIGHTS - A stellar lineup of four low alcohol, minimal intervention wines made locally
2021 Trail Marker Wine Co. Santa Cruz Chardonnay
2023 Field Recording SKINS (Orange Wine)
2023 Jolie Laide 'Glou D' Etat' Red Blend
2022 Erggelet Brothers Red Table Wine
Tasting Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,
Daniel

One of the great joys of our work at Oakland Yard is learning about wine from unfamiliar regions. Just this week, in addition to the bottles we sampled from the US and western europe, we also tasted wine from Vermont, the Canary Islands, Turkey, and the Republic of Georgia. In the seven years since we opened the shop, our central and eastern european section has grown considerably, as has our appreciation for wines from Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, and especially Hungary. We have come to love Hungarian wines; the flinty smoke of Furmint from volcanic soil, the earthy spice of a tart Kadarka, the fox-colored hue of a classic Szekszárd siller...formerly unknown pleasures discovered here at Oakland Yard.

Most of these delightful discoveries, and almost all of our limited but growing knowledge of Hungarian wines, are the result of years of tasting with Eric Danch, an importer whose infectious zeal has led countless buyers in the bay area to a greater appreciation of these unique wines. For many years, and against the wind, Eric has been sowing the seeds, and they’ve taken root and grown into a terrible thirst. An avid student and engaging teacher, with a deep love for Eastern European culture, Hungarian history, enology, geology, gastronomy...you name it, and Eric’s got a story or two, and answers to some nagging questions, like Why is necrotrophic fungi on my grapes sometimes a good thing? How deep is Lake Balaton? What’s the spirit of an Eastern Orthodox baptism? How high is your pirate tax? What does it mean when my Hungarian friends call my wine a fence-buster or a window-crawler? Were you really once part of a traveling circus and can you still ride a unicycle while juggling? Yes, Mr. Danch knows the answers to these and many other questions you wouldn’t even think to ask anyone else. He also knows how to make a meaty, spicy, Hungarian goulash to accompany your flights of Furmint, Olaszrizling, Kadarka, and Kékfrankos, so please join us TONIGHT with ERIC DANCH at Oakland Yard for Hungarian Thursday Night Flights with complementary goulash while supplies last.

TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: HUNGARIAN WINE with special guest importer ERIC DANCH of DANCH & GRANGER SELECTIONS
2021 Kali Kovek Rezeda Olaszrizling
2020 Kikelet Birtok Furmint
2022 Heimann & Fiai Kadarka
2021 Wetzer Kekfrankos
Tasting flights $18 from 5-9 with Eric’s bonus goulash from 6pm ‘til it’s all ate up and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 4/27: SPANISH WINE FLIGHTS - A stellar lineup of new Iberian acquisitions
2022 Desconcierto Albariño
2020 TEO Alicante Blanco Joven Viognier
2020 La Viña de la Merce Rioja Crianza
2021 Sindicat la Figuera Montsant Garnatxa Negra
Tasting flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm


Egészségére and Salud !
Max

I was at an Easter brunch a couple weeks ago. The hosts, on top of preparing a massive feast of everything imaginable, had also organized a Cornhole tournament involving all adults and teenagers. There was an egg hunt and a decorating station. A TV remained on in the main room for those who wanted to step inside and check in on the NCAA tournament. The most thoughtful detail of all was the consideration for the smallest humans there, an assortment of all kinds of Play-Doh and other tactile things laid out in the front room for little ones to play with (my daughters, in this case - the younger who just turned four the day earlier).

There is a particular type of vision: a sensitivity, a uniquely aware heart and a generosity of spirit, that has the ability to consider others – perhaps all others - in such a way. We may be lucky to experience this with a great host - or a rare leader. We may be fortunate to have a parent, sibling, or friend with this quality. Maybe the most admirable quality there is. We talk about this a lot as a staff here, how we can try to see all and best be present, helpful, welcoming. And how we can hold awareness for what may be behind the quick question: a quiet anxiety, a humble joy, or hidden grief beneath our brief interaction.

I also think of Max and his noble quest in this regard too. Him tasting through hundreds of bottles each month, an endless cycle of curation... always with a consideration for everyone who may come through our doors, and their vast spectrum of tastes and interests. His patient and persistent efforts to find new wines that are vibrant, fresh and dynamic - and to maintain a selection of favorites that honor our integrity and represent the highest quality and value. Considering all. And making certain there is something for everyone and for every occasion. Wines that can be paired with a spring feast, or maybe just a game of cornhole in the backyard. Or, perhaps, just a quiet glass to enjoy while watching your little ones make Play-Doh turds.


Beyond our bottle selections, we will continue to do our best to offer some additional excitement for all. There will be more special events, guest winemakers, curated flights, and food Pop Ups coming your way in the weeks and months ahead! Including THIS SATURDAY 4/20: DARUMA KIOSK returns to OAKLAND YARD! Cal-Japanese inspired Takoyaki & Izakaya food from @darumakiosk! Food Pop Up from 1-6pm. Flights from 2-6pm and wines by the glass all day until close!

But first...TONIGHT: THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: French whites and Austrian reds
2021 Phillipe Viallet Savoie Blanc
2022 Domaine Tardieux Gal 'Les Sagéres' Sauvignon Blanc
2021 Domaine Huards 'Romo' Cour-Cheverny
2021 Felix BLAU Blaufrankish
2022 Johannes Trapl 'Uni6'
2020 Prieler Blaufrankish
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 4/20: LOIRE VALLEY Flights... Daruma Kiosk Food Pop Up from 1-6pm. Flights from 2-6pm and wines by the glass all day until close!
2022 Sebastian Bruntet 'Aprent' Vouvray
2022 Domaine Raffaitin-Planchon Sancerre
2021 Domaine Timothée Delalle 'La Burette' Val de Loire Rouge
2022 Pierre Olivier Bonhomme 'Le Telquel' Rouge
Tasting flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,
Daniel

‘Natural wine’ can be a polarizing topic. A slippery term surrounded by strong feelings, the distinction is defined differently depending on who’s talking. Yeast and sulfur are natural, but their addition divides some camps. Organic farming and minimal intervention are shared tenets, but canopy management, green harvesting, temperature control, crushing, and bottling do not happen ‘naturally’; there are times when the winemaker must intervene.

It is not difficult to make natural wine, but it’s very hard to make it balanced and delicious. The latter requires pristine fruit harvested at just the right time, a fastidiously clean facility, and careful attention at every step of the winemaking process. Natural winemakers tend to agree that the quality of the fruit is the most important element in making good wine - you can’t make good wine from bad grapes. Alas, not every winemaker is blessed with their own vineyard, so vintners the world over buy grapes from farmers they trust, and when they really want to ensure they’re sourcing optimal fruit, they get involved in the farming themselves.

Les Lunes and Populis are bay area wine labels started in 2014 by four UC Davis grads: Shaunt Oungoulian, Diego Roig, Sam Baron, and Martha Stoumen. Baron and Stoumen have since split off to form their own brands, but Roig and Oungoulian have continued their partnership, moving their production from Shaunt’s parents’ basement in Orinda to a proper winery in Richmond. Shaunt and Diego have worked with renowned organic grape farmers in California, like Larry Venturi, as well as highly esteemed European natural winemakers, including Julie Balany in Beaujolais, Giusto Occhipinti in Sicily, and Philippe Valette in Burgundy, and for many years now, they’ve been leasing and farming more than 8 hectares of vineyards in Sonoma and Napa and are committed to restoring and preserving these old, historic vineyards. We hope you’ll join us in welcoming winemaker, and farmer, Shaunt Oungoulian to Oakland Yard this Saturday for flights of his and Diego’s current releases.

But first...TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Chilean reds and California whites
2022 Viña Maitia Aupa Pipeño Tinto
2022 Louis-Antoine Luyt Quenehuao Tinto Pais
2020 Maturana Negra San Francisco
2022 Monte Rio Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
2021 Phantômé Cellars Gruner Veltliner
2022 Subject to Change Chill Pill Chenin Blanc
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm
And if you see my friend Daniel today, be sure to wish him a Happy Birthday.

SATURDAY 4/13: Special guest winemaker Shaunt Oungoulian from Populis and Les Lunes pours flights of red, white and rose.
2022 Populis White Wine
2023 Populis Rosé
2023 Populis Wabi Sabi
2022 Les Lunes North Coast Claret Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,
Max

I drove down to Eagle Rock earlier this week, visiting my parents for a few days. I was standing in the backyard, thinking about family and the last time we were all together here, which was for my uncle's memorial gathering. A detail emerges of that day from my memory - one of my parents' oldest friends, Mike Gleason, pulling up in his truck with tables and chairs he had offered to haul across town so my folks could avoid dealing with rentals. 

And my mind makes the memory a pair, as it frequently does, with a scene years earlier, from the day after my wedding. Close friends and family helping us break down and load up tables and chairs in the hot Guerneville summer sun. The detail that emerges here is my wife's stepfather, loading up rentals with a man named David Goodrich. Friends since college, there is an obvious bond there, a secret history over 40 years, somehow manifested in David and his wife Connie breaking such a sweat to lend their hands in this way, for the children of old friends.

I guess I've been thinking about how people show up over time. Grateful this morning for those who have done so for me, particularly at a time where the support is most needed. And I was reflecting on how friendships are fostered over years, decades. How some are lucky enough to have these lifelong friendships. I'm in my 40s and this is just a wine blog, so I won't pretend to suggest a blueprint. But it dawned on me this morning that they start somehow, somewhere, some twenty thirty forty years earlier, perhaps, with the simplest of moments. Maybe with an offer of help. Probably, first, with a hello. 


TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights...
Come say hello, come join a friend, come stack some memories. We'll be pouring Chenin Blanc from around the globe for our white flights and Nebbiolo from Piedmont for the red flights. 
2022 Sebastian Brunet Arpent Vouvray
2022 Domaine Fouet Saumur Blanc
2022 Force Celeste Chenin Blanc (Swartland, South Africa)
2021 Azelia Langhe Nebbiolo
2021 Cantalupo Agamium Nebbiolo
2022 Elvio Tintero Langhe Nebbiolo
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 4/6: Cru Beaujolais Tasting Flights...
Most staff here are years into what is certain to be a lifelong love for Gamay...come see why we keep finding reasons to reconnect. 
2020 Chateau Javernand 'Les Gatilles' Chiroubles
2021 Les Deux Fleches Moulin-A-Vent (Vielles Vignes)
2022 Thibault Ducroux Fleurie 
2021 Guy Breton Cuvée Lea Chiroubles
Tasting flights $20 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,

Daniel

I got my first retail job in 2007 at a Brooklyn wine shop called Smith & Vine, also where I met my Oakland Yard partners, Daniel and Glenny, when they joined the staff a few years later. Smith & Vine’s owners, Michele Pravda and Patrick Watson, were wacky but shrewd, fun and generous, with an immense amount of wine knowledge from years working in some of the best restaurants in New York City. Smith & Vine’s selection was an eclectic mix of classic styles and singular oddities gleaned from favorite wine lists, and the inspiration for Oakland Yard.

Similar to Oakland Yard, Smith & Vine had a European focus, featuring mostly French and Italian wines, with just a small section devoted to wines from the US and the southern hemisphere. I can still picture the top shelf where we kept the California whites, including Matthiasson, Wind Gap, Massican, Arnot-Roberts, Copain, and a few other OG ‘New California’ wineries like Donkey & Goat and La Clarine Farm who were farming organically and making balanced, low abv wines with minimal intervention. Also on this shelf was Kenny Likitprakong’s Banyan Gewurztraminer, and it was memorably floral, fruity, crisp, and refreshing.

Kenny started Banyan and Hobo Wine Company in 2002, and has continued to produce wine from organically farmed grapes, consistently delicious and fairly priced, under various labels: Banyan, Hobo, Camp, Parts & Labor, Edith & Ida, Folk Machine, and Ghostwriter. Each year, he works with a myriad of small lots of purchased fruit from Sonoma, Mendocino, Monterey, and Santa Cruz, and his standard of quality is such that we always have a handful of his wines on our shelves at Oakland Yard. Kenny is also a humble, soft-spoken, truly righteous fellow, who fosters the fair and equitable treatment of wine industry workers and regularly donates his time and money to support environmental and community-based organizations.

This Saturday, March 30th, Kenny Likitprakong will be at Oakland Yard, pouring flights of his current releases from 2 to 6pm. Come enjoy some tasty local juice and meet a skilled, kind, and personable California winemaking legend.

But first...TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Rioja tinto y vinos blancos de España
2021 Carballal Cepas Viejas Albariño
2022 Formigo Ribeiro Blanco
2022 Gramona Gessami Blanco 2022 D Mateo La Mateo Rioja
2019 Viña Albina Crianza Rioja
2015 Lopez de Heredia Viña Cubillo Rioja
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 3/30: Special guest winemaker Kenny Likitprakong from Hobo Wine Company
2022 Folk Machine White Light
2022 Folk Machine Jeanne d’Arc Skin Fermented Chenin Blanc
2022 Folk Machine Redwood Valley Valdiguié
2019 Ghostwriter Santa Cruz County Syrah
Tasting flights $15 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,
Max

Simone turns 4 next week. A spring baby, she arrived early, and very quickly, A very different story than her older sister, who took forever to join us. I remember the nerves and anticipation leading up to the first delivery. As directed, I put together a long playlist of calm, soothing music to add some subtle serenity to the halogen hallways and glaring monitors. It was suggested in one of the classes that when it came time to really push, there should also be a fun and upbeat playlist at the ready. This was the one thing I had not completely dialed in, and when it was 'go time' I scrambled at the last second and put ABBA Gold on repeat.

I figured we’d look back and laugh about it, but my wife's labor was exceptionally long with some complications. Even after it was determined that she was ready to start pushing, it would still be hours before we held our girl. We’d learn that the umbilical cord was draped around the baby's neck and shoulder and was harnessing her in place, so with every push her heart rate would drop until she returned to her previous position. I still remember the elevated anxiety as things went from "routine" to suddenly doctors and nurses being all around - and eventually having one last attempt, with the aid of suction and some deft maneuvering, to avoid an emergency C-section. I found myself saying silent prayers, imploring the universe, kissing my wife's head, trying to communicate something to our little one. All the while the surreal and absurd soundtrack of "Waterloo" playing, again.

But I'll never forget the tension breaking when the head obstetrician burst through the door, blue capped and gloves at the ready. How she locked eyes with my wife and I could feel her smile even behind the mask. A powerful and positive force projecting confidence. Her team of badass women encircling our little soon-to-be family. The doctor's finger suddenly pointing to the sound resonating from the iPhone dock. "And we got some ABBA playing? Aw yeah, this is my JAM!..."


Spring has arrived here in Oakland, Well, almost. After a glorious flash of what soon will be, we face a brief delay... and it looks like there may be a little more rain for us this weekend. But it's alright. We are well past the long cold lonely winter - and though we'll need to hold off on rosé flights for a little longer, there is still much warmth and joy radiating from within these walls, ready to burst. Come join us in this cozy nest untll then, while we wait for more sunshine, arriving very soon. 

TONIGHT: THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS... Loire Vallet Muscadet and Cabernet Franc
2022 Domaine Fessardiere 'La Mer' Muscadet
2022 Jo Landron la Louvetrie Muscadet
2022 Domaine Branger Le Fils des Gras Moutins Muscadet
2021 Sylvain et Nicolas 'Extra Balle' Chinon 
2021 Atheletes du Vin Chinon Rouge
2022 Domnaine du Bel Aire 'Jour de Soif'
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 3/23: RONI Selections...Wines of GEORGIA
2021 Lapati Wines Kidev Erti Sparkling (Pet Nat)
2022 Makaridze Tsitska White
2022 Ocho 'Why R U Here?' Rkatsiteli (Skin Cotact)
2022 Matvillis Marani 'Martha' Tsolikouri & Aladasturi (co-ferment)
Tasting flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

See you soon,
Daniel

I was born with an innate sense of animism, a feeling that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence, or soul. Maybe we all start out this way, but as a child, I wouldn’t hurt a fly. Like many of us, I’ve carried some of these ideas - be they unscientific notions or deep knowledge - into adulthood, and I sometimes talk to my dog, curse a broken tool, or bid adieu to a familiar place...“Until next time, my dear, old, sandy Isle of Fire.”

This belief, or recognition, that we are not alone as humans, but rather inhabit a community with various beings, allows for a different sense of time. A Mayfly lives for only one or two days, while the Kimmeridgian limestone that makes Champagne, Chablis, and Sancerre so special, has been around for over one hundred and fifty million years. We exist between these lifespans, and among them. Does the fly feel hurried, or the stone ennui? We Temescaleros lost an old friend yesterday morning, when saws and crane came to 42nd and Shafter and dismantled an aged, towering redwood; the upward reach of a lifelong resident, one who’d witnessed decades of change, was gone in a matter of hours.

The wine world is full of old things - centuries-old cellars, farm equipment, and traditions - even hundred-year-old vines. When grape vines age, they mutate, develop diseases, and produce less and less fruit, but the little fruit they do manage to ripen is often more flavorful, and more representative of the distinct character of the place they’ve been living, than that of younger vines. Conventional commercial schools of enology recommend you rip out old vines and replant, but we like it when vignerons continue to make wine with gnarly, low-yielding, ancient plants. Old or young, whether planted by ancestors or carried to new continents in suitcases, grapevines, and our love of them, connect us with the earth and all the life around us. Come join us this week for a springtime glass or tasting flight at Oakland Yard, in celebration of new life and old age. Our old friend, the sun, will be here too, pleased to be out from behind the clouds.

TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Portuguese reds and Spanish whites
2022 Filipa Pato Dinamica Tinto (from 5 to 20-year-old vines) 2020 Paolo Laureano Vale da Torre
2020 Penedo Gordo Tinto Red
2022 Zudugarai Txakolina (from 10 to 40-year-old vines)
2022 Bodegas Gratias Sol Tardana
Brincadeiro Naturalmente Turbio
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 3/16: Wines of Alsace
Hubert Meyer Crémant du Alsace
2022 Charles Frey Pinot Blanc
2022 Les Encuvés Macération Blanc (from 40-year-old vines)
2022 Kuentz Bas Pinot Noir (from 25 to 45-year-old vines)
Tasting flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,
Max

My daughter turns 4 this month. She was born at the dawn of the pandemic, so her birthday will always bring up powerful memories. The isolation and the uncertainty. The empty community spaces, the odd silence in the streets. 

Two videos from that time, an unlikely pair, are forever linked in my heart. One of them circulated four years ago, almost to the day: a dark alley in Siena, the voices of neighbors unified in song, connecting through open windows in the dim early days of lockdown. 

The second video, released earlier but discovered during lockdown, is an outdoor concert in England recorded a couple years earlier. Our neighbors, hometown rock stars, Green Day, are about to take the stage. The drum cam footage records the crowd a few songs before the band's entrance. The stadium speakers begin to play Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".... and in just about the only time in history I would enjoy someone singing over the incomparable Freddie Mercury, the crowd begins to take over the vocals. Things get wild, dynamic, amazing – unspoken agreements are made, some taking the first wave of lyrics, some subtle splashes in the distance (... "anyway the wind blows"...). Instantaneous accepted roles of call or response during the operatic movement. Some idiosyncratic sorts singing out the entire guitar solo. 

Watching the video, one is immediately moved by the power of chorus. No individual voice ever near the majesty of Freddie Mercury, but with everyone adding their part, offering the best of themselves, their small or grand contributions felt. The mystical sum of all parts. The beauty of togetherness in the face of absurdity. I highly recommend a viewing when you have time to cry.

This month will always yield a profound gratitude for life, for health, for growth and resilience. Thank you for joining us in this chorus again, for bringing life and a communal energy to this space. Someone in the comments of that video (certainly worth reading!) said it best: "If this was the only record left of humanity, I'd be proud".

TONIGHT: THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHT! Italian Reds and whites...
2022 Tenutal La Pergola Goccetto
2021 Manichor 'Der Keil' Schiava
2021 Grifalco Aglianico del Vulture
2021 Caespes Colli Tortonese Timorasso
2022 Ercole Bianco di Monferrato
2021 Gregoletto Mazoni Bianco
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 3/9: We'll be continuing our celebration (everyday and always!) for International Women's Day, with Flights from women winemakers:
2022 Aslina Chardonnay
2023 Brianne Day 'Lemonade' Rosé
2022 Terah Wines Sangiovese
2019 Theopolis Vineyards Petite Sirah
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,
Daniel

Crowd Singing Bohemian Rhapsody: VIDEO

Traditional wine culture is rife with bigotry and snobbery. I once asked a prominent New York importer, whom some called King Bob, why he lacked respect for American wine, and he told me it had ‘no breeding’, as though some combination of proper manners and genetic superiority were inherent only in his prized wines of western Europe. Every day in the United States, Black people are talked down to by wine professionals who assume their lack of knowledge. One of our winemaking friends was called ’the L.A. faggot’ at the Sonoma winery where he worked simply because he wore his pants a little tighter than the locals. And we’ve heard too many stories about French women leaving home to start their own wineries when their families refused to hand the domaine over to a daughter.

What difference does it make if the winemaker is Black or queer or female? It makes no difference in the moment, but historically, race, class, gender, and sexuality have played a huge role in determining who’s had access to shaping and participating in wine culture, and generations of people who didn’t look, or act, or love, exactly like the knowledge keepers and vineyard owners weren’t allowed into the inner circle. Happily, though still too slowly, this is changing, thanks in part to people like Chris Renfro, Liz Rubin, Miguel de Leon, Chris Christensen, and a now sizable list of others dedicated to widening access to the world of wine.

This Saturday from 2 to 6, veteran Sonoma winemaker, Chris Christensen, will be at Oakland Yard pouring tasting flights of four of his current releases. An Iowa native and Stanford graduate with an interest in medieval history and a real passion for wine, Christensen started Bodkin Wines in 2011, and made a name for himself with a groundbreaking sparkling Sauvignon Blanc and still wines from Sonoma and Lake County with refreshingly high acidity and relatively low alcohol. It’s meant to rain all day this Saturday, so you might as well gather your friends, come sample the local juice with Chris, and stay cozy and dry at Oakland Yard.

But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: French reds and domestic whites
2022 Domaine de Colette Beaujolais Villages
2021 Delrieu-Ducleux Le Jeau Rouge
2022 Laurent Herlin Tsoin Tsoin Cabernet Franc
2022 Broc Cellars Got Grapes White
2023 Day Wines Vin de Days Blanc
2022 Theopolis Vineyards Symphony White
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 3/2: Winemaker Chris Christensen pours Bodkin Wines and Where’s Linus?
Bodkin Wines Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc
2022 Bodkin Wines The Victor's Spoils Sauvignon Blanc
2021 Bodkin Wines The Hill and the Vale Red
2021 Where’s Linus Red
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,
Max

I had a slow moving Kindergartener this morning. My countdowns ineffective, I kept finding her in front of the mirror, assessing her front teeth. It's wiggling... she says, testing the same tooth again. She lost her lower incisors in the fall and now one of the central upper teeth is indeed starting to give. She seems excited, or at least more resolved, about this eventual loss. You know what the best part about losing a tooth is? she asks me on the blacktop this morning, taking her place in line. You never have to lose them again, she concludes. I let that outlook linger for a few minutes while we look out on the other students assembling. 

I suddenly notice how my daughter has grown. This new being having replaced the smaller, wiggly version of her former self. The kid who once would only wear pajamas is now testing out other looks. She's been rocking earmuffs for over a month now, but there is no evidence of this being a common trend among her classmates. Maybe it's just winter comfort prevailing, but I didn't notice any discernible new fads for 2024 on the schoolyard. Mostly just holdouts from the past year. Thick bright headbands and bucket hats. Cargo pants are back in. And puffy jackets. Some middle schoolers wearing combat boots and Doc Martins again. So maybe more of a muted 90s collection overall than anything else.

Trends come and go in the wine world too. Most come in waves and never quite fade completely. Some emerge and remain. But pretty much everything gets cool again at some point. Regions like Sicily or Eastern Europe continue to enjoy new attention these days. Chillable reds remain indisputably cool even in this cold and rainy season. But the trend of the last couple years that is most reluctant to yield the spotlight is still Orange Wine. 

Far from mainstream a decade ago, we get the request with frequency each week for "orange wines' here. White wines made with skin contact, a method normally reserved for red wine production, but also traditional for some whites in parts of northern Italy and eastern Europe. Time on the skins leeches pigment, inducing in the juice a hazy amber glow, and so the wines are now commonly referred to as orange wines. These skin contact wines tend to be fuller-bodied and more textural than whites that go 'straight to press'. The extended maceration yields a complex and savory expression, sometimes with more structure and some chewy tannin that makes them excellent food pairing wines. 

Roll in SATURDAY from 2-6pm for a Flight of ORANGE WINES and see what the hype is all about. We'll be pouring:
2022 Maturana Naranjo Torontel
2022 Bannister Ribolla Gialla
2022 Gvino Tsolikouri 
2018 Paraschos 'Orange One'
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass all day.

But first... TONIGHT... Thursday Night Flights! French Whites and Italian Reds from 5-9.
2022 Eric Chevalier Clos de la Butte Muscadet
2022 Le Pigeoulet vaucluse Blanc
2019 M. Chapoutier Marius Voingier 
2021 Limonte "Braida" Grignolina d'Asti
2021 Tassarolo "Orsola' Monferratto Rosso
2021 Brovia Vignavillej Dolcetto d’Alba
Flights $15 from 5-9pm and wines by the glass all night!


See you soon,
Daniel

Last Sunday, while more than a hundred and twenty-three million others watched the Super Bowl, I went hiking at Muir Beach with Julia and little Arlot. From the path above the cove we saw some folks lying together like sweatshirted seals on beach blankets, and leaping dogs colliding in mid-air, but there were far fewer beachgoers than on an average Sunday. As always, the Marin coast gave us a strong dose of the sublime, with enormous, unyielding crags of rock interrupting the surf, waves of ripples snaking back toward the horizon, vibrant crimson wildflowers, and crisp marine air laden with the scent of sun-baked underbrush.

Six miles later, wondering whether there would be blisters or just sore feet, we wearily made our descent, still pleased to be amid the beauty of northern California. The big game had begun and we thought to take advantage of our nation’s preoccupation by stopping for refreshment at the nearby Pelican Inn, an ivy-clad, whitewashed reproduction of a 16th-century Tudor country inn, with slate roofs and leaded glass windows. Normally packed on a Sunday afternoon, the candlelit dark wood dining room was nearly empty, the only other table occupied by a vacationing French family. With their foreign banter in the background, snacking on oysters and charcuterie and admiring the antique splendor of the room, we each found ourselves transported for a moment to France, perhaps their west coast, somewhere near Bordeaux.

Despite our delight in our actual whereabouts, we were happy to suspend reality and indulge in a twenty minute trip abroad on this magical Sunday, while much of the world watched Purdy, Kelce, and Usher. Oakland Yard is no Pelican Inn, but it is a place of respite, a modern tavern where you can leave the rest of the world behind. Samuel Johnson once said, “As soon as I enter the door of a tavern, I experience oblivion of care, and a freedom from solicitude. There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.” This coming cold and rainy Saturday, come take advantage of our hospitality and cozy space, taste four dry, full-bodied red Bordeaux, and maybe you too will be transported for a moment to the west coast of France.

But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Spanish whites & Italian Barbera
Taste whites from Galicia, Rioja, & Catalunya, and three different Barberas from Piedmont, and I’ll bet Pablo will be happy to present the whites in Spanish if you desire a virtual Iberian jaunt.
2021 Carballal Cepas Viejas Albarino
2022 Ostatu Rioja Blanco
2022 Celler Frisach L'Abrunet Blanc
2021 Ercole Barbera del Monferrato
2020 Carussin Asinoi Barbera d'Asti
2021 Oddero Barbera D'Alba
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 2/17: BORDEAUX ROUGE FLIGHTS
2019 Château la Rame Bordeaux Rouge
2020 Château Renaissance Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge
2016 Château Moulin Canon-Fronsac
2015 Château Trapaud Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,
Max