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

I am grateful for sunny skies today and in the days ahead, some relief from all the rain. I know my restless daughters are too, after days of boardgames and Bluey, hours of Magna-tiles, Uno, and Set. I have six siblings and I can’t for the life of me remember what rainy days looked like for us as kids back then, how crowded and cabin-feverish we must’ve been.

Most of my early memories at home involve adventures outside, exploring my neighborhood, lots of merrymaking and mischief. And with the family as big as mine, we could divide into two proper teams with relative ease for occasional competitive sport.

I distinctly remember the long football games at the local park or often just out front on our narrow street. My father, playing quarterback for both teams, charged with both advancing the game and drawing up spontaneous plays on each down, harnessing our wild energies, instilling some order. I can still access our huddles around his giant palm, a fat finger trailing the web of lines and creases more intricate than a Thomas Guide map. I hadn't understood then that the assignments were always kind of a charade, there was no comprehensible scale to his palm and everything went to hell anyway with the opposition blitzing 100% of the time. It was really just his way of trying to incorporate every member of the squad, no matter how small or clumsy. And probably to milk the clock a bit to stretch the game to dinner.

I’m not sure why this popped in my head or why I’m sharing it this morning. Especially after my wife said on her way out the door: Don’t write about the Super Bowl....  But I guess, in a silly way, football is on my mind. And I thought it also worth mentioning that, in addition to this Sunday's spectacle, Valentine’s Day (another polarizing celebration), is on Wednesday.

But I guess this memory is a little bit about football. And maybe more a little bit about love.

If you celebrate either of those kind of things, we’ve got all kinds of delightful things here to make that day, or any day (and the memory of it someday), a bit more special.


But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: French whites & Austrian Reds
2022 Domaine de Roquefort Petite Salé Blanc
2022 Rocher de Violettes Chenin Blanc 
2020 Phillippe Viallet Savoie Blanc
2020 Birgit Wiederstein "Ein Traum" Carnuntum Red Blend
2021 Felix 'BLAU' Blaufränkisch
2019 Prieler Blaufrankish
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 2/10: SPARKLING Flights - We'll be tail-gating early, popping corks and pouring dry, delightful bubbly from around the globe. 
Hubert Meyer Cremant D'Alsace
Pomalo Debit Pet Nat
Coteaux des Margots Aligoté Pet Nat 
Lise & Bertrand Jousset 'Exilé' Rosé Pétillant
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!


Cheers,
Daniel

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

One the owners, Julia, stopped in the shop yesterday as Max, Claire, and I had finished up a tasting appointment with one of our wine reps. Something about his demeanor compelled Julia to comment after his departure. He is so nice, she said, and we all nodded in agreement. 

While we enjoy congenial relationships with the vast majority of our reps and vendors, it is not a given that any particular kindness or niceties are expected or observed. Not everyone in hospitality is hospitable, and in the world of wine a certain stuffiness is sadly still too common. And the subculture around natural wine, positioned as anti-establishment and embracing a return to purity and authenticity, is not without some supercilious sorts.  

I won't convince anyone that kinder folks make better painters, or the best chefs, or have the best wine portfolios. I personally know of some real assholes who make indisputably good wines. But I was reminded yesterday that it is a profound and simple joy, almost an alchemy of sorts, when one encounters good people sharing good things. When the product resonates with a certain spirit - and yes, with purity and authenticity. I wrote one year ago about some local shops and neighbors with this sort of integrity. And I'm reminded of an interview after the death of a punk icon, the musician remarking that "the most punk rock thing you can do these days is smile and be kind". I'm not sure how being nice became anti-establishment, but if kindness can indeed be some gentle act of revolution, some form of protest, we're here for it, for you and with you, arms linked.

Join us and march on in Saturday, as we welcome Cody Putnam who will be here pouring a selection of all new, natural wines from the RONI SELECTS portfolio. Come for the dynamic tasting, ranging from Piquette to cider and reds around the globe...though don't be shocked to discover he is also one of the nicest and most knowledgeable reps we know. 

RONI Selects at OAKLAND YARD, Saturday 1/27:
Decideret Spontane Apple & Blackcurrant Cider - Denmark
Plēb Urban Winery Piquette - North Carolina
2021 Masia de la Roqua Tinto - Spain
2021 Didgori Kabistoni - Republic of Georgia
Flights $18 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

But first... Tonight: THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS! Austrian Whites and Italian Reds...
2022 Stix Gruner Veltliner
2022 Hiedler Loess Gruner Veltliner
2022 Schloss Gobelsburg Schlosskellerei Kamptal Riesling
2021 FUSO Cantine Polvanera CALX Primitivo
2020 Ayunta Rosso Nerello Mascalese
2019 Terra d'Aligi Tatone Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm.
Tacos Oscar OPEN TONIGHT! Tacos welcome with Flights or Glasses anytime :)

Cheers,
Daniel

Poem for this week (and for Jonno): Small Kindnesses

After seven years of Oakland Yard, I think Daniel and I have met most of the wine drinkers in the neighborhood, and Daniel knows most of your names. And after seven years, we’ve got such a good crew helping to run the shop that we don’t need to work all the time. Thanks, gang! Now that we have lives outside the store, Daniel and I often run into regular customers around town - sometimes even in other cities - prompting a narrowing of the eyes, that slight squint bringing context into focus...“oh hey, it’s the guy from the wine store.” This past week, I encountered familiar faces at the Berkeley farmers’ market, the Piedmont Theater, and Redwood Regional Park, and it felt good to be out among our people, buying vegetables, watching movies, and hiking together.

According to ancient Greeks and modern semioticians, words - and I’d argue, wines and people - have arbitrary names and no intrinsic identities; they are defined and given meaning by their relationships to other words, wines and people. We understand their true natures only by considering them alongside what they are not. I know myself only in the company of others, in the context of our community, and I better understand a wine when I compare it to other wines, like and unlike. In the interest of enlightenment, we often schedule tasting flights featuring a single region or grape variety, to compare our impressions of flavors, textures, and aromas, and to find what makes them unique.

At our tasting bar tonight, we’ll pour reds made from Grenache grown in three different European countries, and whites made from Chenin Blanc from three continents, in an effort to ascertain the nature of these varieties independent from differences in terroir and vinification. Come join us in our search to better understand both these grape varieties, and, in gathering, help to answer the perennial question of what makes you you.

TONIGHT...Thursday Night Flights: GRENACHE and CHENIN BLANC. Taste and compare three wines made from the same grape from three different countries:
2022 Sébastien Brunet Arpent Vouvray - FRANCE
2021 Force Celeste Chenin Blanc - SOUTH AFRICA
2022 Haarmeyer St Rey SRV Chenin Blanc - CALIFORNIA
2021 Bernabeleva Camino de Navaherreros - SPAIN 2021 Piero Mancini Cannonau - SARDINIA
2022 Domaine de Damase Grenache - FRANCE
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 1/20: PIEDMONTESE FLIGHTS
Sample two whites and two reds from the famous wine region of northwest Italy:
2021 La Ghibellina Mainin Gavi di Gavi
2020 Vite Colte Villata Roero Arneis
2021 Oddero Barbera d’Alba Superiore
2021 Luigi Scavino Azelia Langhe Nebbiolo
Flights $18 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

See you around,
Max

My daughter lost her tooth late one evening, two days before Christmas. Expecting magic, she announced how excited she was for the tooth fairy to trade her for a large candy cane. I was relieved that this order would actually be something the tooth fairy could pull off on such short notice. Surprisingly, there wasn’t one to be found anywhere in the house, and so once she was asleep I zoomed off to the supermarket. The displays were heavily picked over, with only newfangled flavors like Sour Patch or Winterberry Blast available - the few packages I could find of traditional candy canes were either miniatures or jumbo packs of 72. I realized I probably presented as some lunatic stoner at that hour- in sweatpants, frantically pacing the same aisles in search of a late night confection fix. But the few staff working those late hours were 100% committed to the cause when I explained my situation. They were Team Tooth Fairy all the way, searching high and low, double checking, doubling back, walky-talkies hot. It was absurd and amazing and, for brevity, I'll simply say that all ended well.

Days later, my wife sends me to the store for tomato paste for a specific dish and once again I'm scrambling the aisle, this time the small local market. It's not with the canned tomatoes, nor with the pastas, nor the tins. Will it be in tube or can? Near the oils or anchovies? These are the questions a stranger asks me, volunteering to join my quest. Steadfast and driven, he's always two seconds ahead of each thought and seven steps ahead of my search. He loves this little store he tells me. Doesn't look like it but they have pretty much everything, he insists. His enthusiasm is sweet. He is a helper. Though the clerk suggested they must be out many minutes ago, I am compelled to continue this chapter with Samwise for the night. And sure enough, this funny stranger eventually beams at the bottom shelf at the end of Aisle K, and hands me the last small can of tomato paste. 

Maybe these two outings are not connected at all. Maybe I just have a forlorn shopping face. Maybe some people just want to help. But I was thinking this morning about all who have passed through these doors, or wandered into our little wine shop, on what may be an otherwise routine day. Perhaps lost or in need of guidance, searching for just the right bottle to enjoy with an old friend in town, or maybe a thank you gift. For a partner's promotion. Or perhaps to accompany a warm pot roast on a cold evening. Whatever the occasion, I hope you've found that right bottle many times over here. And I hope you were met with the same zeal and almost absurd enthusiasm from us to help you on your quest. We'll be here today, all weekend, everyday. Here for you. Here to help.
 

TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Portuguese Whites and Cabernet Franc Red Flights
2021 Anselmo Mendes Contacto Alvarinho
2022 Nortico Alvarinho
2021 Filipa Pato Dinamico Dinamica Vinho Branco
2021 Les Athletes du Vin Chinon
2021 Domaine du Bel Air Jour de Soif Bourgueil
2020 Phantome Cellars Cabernet Franc
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 1/11: BURGUNDY Wine Tasting Flights
2022 Alain Normand Bourgogne Blanc
2022 Paul Nicolle Chablis Vielles Vignes
2021 Quentin Jeannot Hautes Cotes de Beaune Rouge
2021 Domaine Charleux Bourgogne Rouge
Flights $20 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!


Cheers,
Daniel

After years of near misses, and countless seasons watching others fall prey, I’d begun to believe I possessed a rare genetic exemption. Alas, along with some patterned wool socks, a newly re-released blue-wax LP, and a fresh pair of Timberland boots, I received a surprise gift for Christmas this year: a case of the not-so-novel coronavirus, the December 2023 edition. Perhaps I got it from Santa, whose half-eaten cookies one is obliged to finish. There was no gift card, just two solid pink lines where there should have been one. Full as I was of egg nog, prime rib, red velvet cake, and a half-pint of boosters, my Christmas covid was mild. It didn’t want to hurt me, just to slow me down long enough to remember some of this last year, and prepare to face the next.

As the rains came, so did Julia’s second pink line. We canceled our New Year’s travel plans and put on pajamas. Finding our appetites intact, we identified the leftovers, excavated our chest freezer, and started cooking. We made beef and farro soup, wild mushroom risotto, bò lúc lắc salad, fresh sourdough bread, homemade chicken soup, braised lamb shanks with butter beans and cabbage, Lasagna from scratch - starting with the noodles, and grilled mackerel, among other dishes. We had morning tea by the softly glowing tree...and afternoon and evening tea; we got a lot of tree-tea-time this season.

It feels good to be regaining strength during these opening days of 2024, to be starting the year with healing and a feeling of returning to the fullness of oneself, along with the clarity that life is better with friends at the table and a little bit of wine in our glasses. Here’s to the coming year - to our health, resilience, and prosperity - to all the unknown wonders awaiting us!

Starting with TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: GAMAY from the Savoie, Beaujolais and the Valle d’Aosta, and AUSTRIAN Whites (Harslevelü, dry Muscat and Riesling).
2022 Angelot Bugey Gamay
2022 Yohan Lardy Poppy Gamay
2022 Grosjean Frères Gamay
2020 Birgit Wiederstein Anna Blume Lindenblättriger
2021 Heidi Schrock Gelber Muskateller
2022 Schloss Gobelsburg Schlosskellerei Riesling
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 1/6: CALIFORNIA Wine Tasting Flights
2022 Broc Cellars Love White
2021 Trail Marker Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay
2022 Folk Machine Redwood Valley Mendocino Valdiguie 2022 Martha Stoumen Post-Flirtation Red
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!


Cheers,
Max

Sometimes when making burritos at home, I'll accidentally overheat the tortilla, the outer layers drying out or flaking off. If neglected to the point of being totally burnt, I’ll decisively discard and restart - but on occasion, due to hunger or stubbornness, I may mistakenly deem the former overcooked state serviceable, and fill the tortilla with the prepared contents. But when rolling the burrito, it becomes clear I have chosen chaos, resulting in a malady known at our home as CBS (Crispy Burritos Syndrome). In full disclosure, I first learned this term from my ex, and specifically from her otherwise serious parents. 

It’s easy to spot someone with CBS. The obvious giveaway is a burrito in their hands that brings them no joy. A face of regret. Indecision paralysis. The afflicted person assessing their current state, electing for either a brash timely do-over, or scrappily making do - inelegantly sucking nourishment from the bursting sides when the sad thing inevitably cracks, or perhaps tearing it all open, grabbing a fork and accepting it has simply become something completely different, even if composed of the same elements.

Like many others, this morning I find myself looking forward to the new year, holding out hope for things to be better. Thinking about new resolutions, new possibilities. Though most may be inclined to want a do-over, or to simply say good riddance to 2023, may we also remember the little joys and occasions of light and levity - the contents worth salvaging. I'm not celebrating stubborn resolve nor suggesting we stay too focused on the past – with a new year of hope and opportunity ahead - but here's to holding on to the nourishing elements, the good memories, the good things. Let us carry these with us across the threshold, into the unknown, still warm.

So happy old year to you.

And happy new year too.

TONIGHT...Thursday Night Flights: NORTHERN ITALIAN WHITES and RHONE REDS
2022 Pra Soave Classico Otto
2022 Bruno Verdi Pinot Grigio
2020 Carussin Asinoi Vino Bianco
2020 La Grange de Piaugier Cotes du Rhone
2021 Terres D'AvignonCotes-du-Rhone
2022 Domaine des Entrefaux Les Champs Fourne Crozes Hermitage
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 12/30  SPARKLING TASTING FLIGHTS!
We'll be popping corks and pouring dry, delightful Cremants from Loire, Jura, and Alsace...
Château Pierre-Bise Crémant de Loire Non Dosé
Domaine Ligier Cremant du Jura Brut
NV Hubert Meyer Cremant d'Alsace Brut
Sparkling Flights $20 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,
Daniel

At 7:27 this evening, the sun will pass directly over the Southern Tropic, or Tropic of Capricorn, and because our great star appears to ‘stand still’ in this position - sistere, in Latin - we call it a solstice. This is one of our busiest times at Oakland Yard, a week in which none of us stands still for more than a moment, particularly on this, the shortest of shopping days. It is also the time of year when the store is most full of wine, the apex of our inventory’s ebb and flow, requiring feats of organization to suitably stash the goods.

Despite the marked increase in shop activity, I also feel a sense of winding down. The year has gotten away from me - or is about to - and I’m ready to relinquish it. No more tasting appointments or emails to salespeople. I’ve begun eating the surrounding cookies with every meal; perhaps sometimes the cookies are the meal. Now that the rain has cleared, I’ve seen a steady stream of friendly faces, regulars with visiting relatives, returning Oaklanders demonstrating their own nativity, dropping in for a bottle to share with family, and I’m looking forward to many more of these happy reunions as the week comes to a close.

Big thanks to Yoko and Kayoko at Umami Mart on Broadway for including us in their stellar Holiday Shopping Guide, a truly great tool for finding fabulous gifts while supporting our small local businesses. Who knows if Amazon can make good on this year’s delivery schedule? Come pick out a last-minute gift from your neighbors down the street. Oakland Yard will be open regular hours this Saturday from noon to 9pm and OPEN this Sunday, Christmas Eve, from noon to 6pm to satisfy your outstanding needs for gifts and wine!

TONIGHT...Thursday Night Flights: LOIRE VALLEY WHITES and PINOT NOIR
Taste three dry, mineral French whites or Pinot Noir from Oregon, California, and France. 2020 Domaine de la Bregeonette Folle Blanche
2021 Claude Branger Les Fils des Gras Moutons Muscadet
2022 Domaine Fouet l’Ardillon Saumur Blanc
2017 Apolloni Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
2021 Domaine Maurice Charleux Bourgogne Rouge
2020 Folk Tree Village Series California Pinot Noir
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 12/23: CHAMPAGNE TASTING FLIGHTS
The GOOD STUFF, featuring small-production, grower Champagnes in three classic styles.
Forest-Marié Brut de Blancs Champagne
Tassin Brut Champagne
Alexandre Penet Premier Cru Rosé Extra Brut Champagne
Flights $25 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,
Max

What's a beyoncé? my five year old recently asked me. You mean a fiancé? I suggested, not registering quickly enough. No, a BEyoncé she insisted. A more worthy wonder indeed. And I'm clearly failing her as a parent. She's at that age now, and her three year old sister too, I suppose, wanting to know how and why about everything. Hearing snippets on the playground and in her Kindergarten classes and in markets and movies. Sometimes big ones (Where do babies come from?) and often just random ones (Why don't people wear pajamas all the time?). More often than I'd like to admit, I'll truly have no clue what to respond or how to explain (Why is Simone left handed? she asked just yesterday about her sister). 

There is a quote from an interview with Tom Waits that resonates: “Everything is explained now. We live in an age when you say casually to somebody 'What's the story on that?' and they can run to the computer and tell you within five seconds. That's fine, but sometimes I’d just as soon continue wondering. We have a deficit of wonder right now.”  I find myself more ok these days not knowing. Wondering more. Asking friends and colleagues, exchanging perceptions and impressions. I'm very lucky to get to consider the alchemy of something as simple and magical as wine daily. Maybe it's the former school teacher in me, but I particularly enjoy when the shop or bar here becomes more of a classroom, a space for questions and curiosities and exploration. During the education component of a recent staff meeting, we were discussing minerality, a word of such wonder that spellcheck still refutes its existence. We wondered as a staff, how one can taste a certain "stoniness" in a wine - something rocky or chalky or like granite or iron, even while science suggests that vines cannot deliver actual minerals from the soils below. So, we are left to wonder more. We do of course, go to books and to the internet, and to scientists and winemakers and farmers, which, happily, often leads to more questions and even more worthy wonders.

If any of you or anyone you know would like to learn more and to wonder more along with us... I humbly invite all to explore the many regions of this wonderful world with us and join the OAKLAND YARD Wine Club. A spectacular holiday gift to yourself or a loved one, and a gift that will keep on giving! Each month, club members receive two outstanding wines for just $42. Max writes dynamic and detailed tasting notes for each release as we move around the world tasting and exploring various regions and grape varieties. This month it was wines of Loire Valley. Last month the theme was Austria and before that, Sardinia! We are tasting wines from all over, all month, to choose selections specifically for this club - so these bottles rarely make it onto the shelves here. With each club installment we share why we love these wines and include background notes on the producer, grape varieties, winemaking techniques, regional history, tasting notes and occasional recipes or pairing suggestions - a mini personal wine class. Club members also enjoy 10% ALL in store purchases - along with 10% off ALL FLIGHTS and Wines by the Glass, always! JOIN TODAY. Stop by the shop or give us a call at (510) 808- 5129. Or you can now sign up ONLINE!

Cheers,
Daniel
 

TONIGHT - Thursday Night Flights...SPANISH REDS & FRENCH WHITES
2022 André & Michel Quenard Chignin Blanc
2021 Bernard Fouquet Cuvee de Silex Vouvray
2021 Cave Cluzel Roussanne
2021 Bernabeleva Camino de Navaherreros
2020 Raul Perez Bierzo Ultreia St Jacques
2020 Bodegas D. Mateo La Mateo Rioja
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY: ORANGE WINE Tasting!
Beguiling and aromatic skin contact whites from around the globe...
2021 Maturana Naranjo Torontel Loncomilla
2021 Ampeleia Bianco
2022 Bannister Gittens Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Ribolla Gialla
2021 Artana Rkatsiteli
Flights $20 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

The first week of my fifty-second year has been damp and cool, and I’ve spent much of it alone, ruminating and remembering. I’m on day five of a persistent earworm; one I planted myself on a drive to the Capay Valley last Sunday, mining seventies soft rock classics for the hits so cheesy that no one bothers to dig them up for a listen. Bands with wholesome names like America, Ambrosia, and Bread. Songs that got tucked away in a dusty Dodge Dart while Fleetwood Mac and Chicago continue to get airplay. They’re not ‘good’ songs, but they haven’t been played to death, and they touch something deep inside me that’s been there since I was a little kid in a car listening to the radio on the way to a cello lesson, or a library, or an art class. ‘Lonely Boy’ by Andrew Gold is one; ‘You Are the Woman’ by Firefall is another. My wife, Julia, is too young to know them and thinks it’s funny when I sing along, and I surprise myself by how well I still know the words. This week it was ‘Crazy Love’ by Poco, and as it turns out, Poco’s guitarist Jim Messina turned seventy-six on Tuesday. You may recall my fellow Saggitarian from his days with Kenny Loggins and Buffalo Springfield, but it’s unlikely you’ve been on a Poco deep-dive. And I can’t say I’d advise it, although I do recommend reconnecting with long lost parts of yourself that remind you of who you once were and where you came from, cheese and all.

TONIGHT - Thursday Night Flights...CALIFORNIA REDS & FRENCH WHITES
Featuring reds from Amador, Mendocino & Lake Counties & whites from the Loire, Burgundy & Corbières:
2021 Poco a Poco Chapman Vineyard Carignan
2022 Isa Wines ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job’ Mataro Red Blend
2021 Ultraviolet Cabernet Sauvignon
2022 Domaine Adèle Rouzé Quincy
2022 Berthenet Vieilles Vignes Aligoté
2020 Fond Cyprès Le Blanc des Garennes
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY: WILLAMETTE VALLEY FLIGHTS:
Taste two white blends, a Pinot Noir & Syrah from Oregon’s most famous wine region:
2022 Day Wines Vin de Days Blanc
2022 Cameron Winery Giuliano White Blend
2016 Willful Wine Co. Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
2017 Twill Cellars Syrah Stormy Morning Vineyard
Flights $18 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,

Max

Like the oaks outside, my 3 year old daughter, Simone, who masqueraded most of her life as a joyful jellybean, seems to be changing colors these days, flashing a vermillion mood this morning. On our drive to school she asks if I can take her to "the hammer store". When I inquire about her need for a hammer, she offers only a sweet (slightly ominous?) smile, and a long pause, followed by You'll see... 

I like a good mystery, especially with the new chill this time of year, so I'll let it linger there for now. I've mentioned before how much I love the fall season. A certain something in the air. The leaves changing and a flurry of new wines and new faces blowing into the shop, breathing new life and bringing new warmth into this space. We also see new vintages of older favorites arriving, familiar bottles with new identities. We do our best not to be too attached to any particular years, but we're human. Some staff were tasting and discussing this the other week, pleased with themselves for being able to recall previous personalities. And others revisiting and re-tasting wines that have been aging here for many months, now entirely new expressions yielding new impressions. All of us appreciating the cyclical change, the evolution, the alchemy of it all. 

Come experience these new and ever-changing curiosities with us. We're pouring flights tonight and Saturday, and have new wines by the glass to enjoy as well! And while these lineups and the faces here and on the shelves may change, other elements never will: This being a space of warmth and welcome for all. Our integrity and fidelity to the quality of our wines. A staff dedicated to exceptional service. And an enduring, evergreen commitment to you and to this vibrant community. 

TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights... Sauvignon Blanc from around the globe & Loire Valley Reds
2022 Monte Rio Cellars Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
2022 Von Winning Sauvignon Blanc II (Germany)
2022 Tardieux Gal Touraine Sageres Sauvignon Blanc (France)
2021 Domaine Timothée Delalle La Burette Rouge
2020 Fief Noir Cocagne Grolleau
2019 Florian Roblin Champ Gibault Rouge
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY: EASTERN EUROPEAN FLIGHTS w/ wines from Romania, Slovenia, and Croatia
2022 Edgar Brutler Sefu White
2021 Piquentum Mavasija Itarska
2022 Edgar Brutler Sefu Red
2020 Stoka Izbrani Teran
Flights $18 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm


Cheers,

Daniel

The fourth Thursday of November is always such a peaceful morning, with no traffic on 40th, and even States Coffee shuttered and dark. Whether you celebrate the sunrise on Alcatraz Island, or feast with family and friends, it is a special day of rest and nourishment. We’ve seen so many of our dear friends and neighbors in the shop over the past week, along with a slew of kind strangers. One fellow in shorts and a sports jersey prefaced his uncertain shopping goals with “you can probably tell by my outfit that I know nothing about wine.” We try not to jump to conclusions - sartorial style is rarely an indication of wine knowledge these days - but the introduction made me smile. Thanks to all of you we’ve been helping this season for choosing us for your holiday shopping; we truly appreciate your support.

I’ll be opening Oakland Yard today from 10 to 2 to facilitate your last-minute desires - Sherry, Champagne, cheese, or chocolate - I wouldn’t call it working really, just some pre-game chilling with special guest Crys Chen, making sure everyone’s got what they want to make the day as festive and memorable as it ought to be, before we lock up and join some loved ones in thanks and revelry.

We’ll pour wine by the glass today and resume flights this Saturday, with a California lineup featuring current releases from Will Bucklin, Bret Hogan, Claire Hill and Kenny Likitprakong. Come by for a tasting this Saturday between 4 and 9, and bring your cousins, your mom, your new boyfriend, old high school buddies, whomever's here in town and curious about the local libations.


Gratefully,
Max

My younger brother and I have eerily similar voices. So much so that when we were teenagers, girlfriends would call our home landline and assume they were talking to their respective boyfriend, and we’d have to end the charade before things got mushy or too personal.

This late in life, I’m never surprised when someone meets us and (after the double-take of how much we look alike) their face lights up and 'holy shit... you even sound alike!' follows. But I am surprised to find certain phrases of his have rubbed off on me that now extend the similarities. One in particular resonated this past weekend in a major way. You see, when something is next-level wonderful, impossibly sweet... beauty in plain sight that’s too good to believe, Timothy will inevitably say to himself, aloud: Are you kidding me?? 

I can remember nearly a decade back, being with him in the Sierras away from his family for a few days, him shaking his head at a photo texted to him of his (then) two year old son. Proudly passing the phone around and then taking it back for another look. An uncontainable smile: Look at that face! Are you kidding me?? he says to the phone. Years later, I had my first kid and nearly the exact scene repeats. This time he's asking for the newest photos of my one year old daughter. Again the effusive reaction, the joyful incredulity, swiping through photos of her first steps: Are YOU kidding me? Are you KIDDING me?... I put my phone away, and we both cast again, silent for a few moments, still grinning big happy grins. 

OAKLAND YARD celebrated seven years this weekend. Surrounded by friendly folks and family and familiar faces. And so many who have become like family here over these years, who know our unique voices, have seen our first photos, known us since our first steps. We are so grateful to still be connected to you all and to be part of such a vibrant community. Thank you to everyone who came out to be a part of the joy this weekend - and thanks to all of you who continue to support our shop and share this dream with us. At one point on Saturday I was on tiptoes (literally), my arms extended to take a photo of the crowd in the lot. Looking down at the photo and then up again at everyone around, a voice emerged, a familiar phrase (was it in my head or spoken out loud?): Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me??...  I put my phone away, taking it all in. Silent for a few moments, still grinning a big happy grin.
 

TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS FUNDRAISER: Tonight we're traveling the globe - red and white flights from all around the world. Special Fundraiser with 50% of proceeds from tonight's glasses and flights going to local Duck's Nest Preschool!
2022 Nortico Alvarinho
2021 Angelo Grillo Silicia
2020 M Chapoutier Marius Carte Postale Viognier
2022 Groundwork Counoise
2020 Château Laubarit Bordeaux Rouge
2021 Familia Bonfanti Malbec Joven
Tasting flights $20 from 5-9pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY: Special Holiday Flights Holiday...
We'll be pouring a curated selection, sampling delicious wines from our new Holiday Six Packs, including:
2021 Force Celeste Chenin Blanc
2021 Al Cantara Occhi di Ciummi Etna Bianco
2022 Birdhorse Wines Heliotrope Red
2022 Domaine de Sulauze Cochon VdF Rouge
Tasting flights $20 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm


* Holiday and Seasonal Six Packs available in store and online*  All delicious, dry and dynamic, food-friendly and crowd-pleasing - perfect for your holiday feast and gatherings. All wines in packs discounted 10%! We've got hundreds more here too... check out our turkey tags or ask our friendly staff to help you pick some out at any budget :)

Cheers,

Daniel

Seven long years ago, while many of you were listening to Lemonade, playing Pokémon Go, and watching Game of Thrones, Daniel, Glenny, Julia, and I were focused on getting Oakland Yard open in time for our first holiday season. Ok, maybe I played some Pokémon Go in our downtime, but one needs distractions; we were deep in debt, and I slept poorly that fall. SubRosa Coffee and Manifesto Bicycles were across the street, and Antidote Juicery was in the Tacos Oscar spot. The neighborhood was a little less hip, less polished and Amazon-equipped, and a little more DIY punk rock, but it really hasn’t changed all that much. You can still get your lumber, tile, toilet, and car wash here on Fortieth, where tony Temescal meets the realness of Mosswood. And now you may also find fine wine and conviviality.

In 2016, MacArthur BART had no towering Commons; it was just another train station, as was Oakland Yard back in the early to mid 1900’s. For 45 years, the Sacramento Northern's western operating hub was at 40th Street between Webster and Shafter Avenues. An important transfer point between the Key System connecting lines to Sacramento, 420 40th street was also where, when FDR was president, you could catch a train across the new Bay Bridge to San Francisco. We wanted Oakland Yard to continue as a stop along one’s way, a place to pause and rest, a comfortable point of connection, and thanks to you all, I think we’re achieving our goal together.

We are so grateful to the community we’ve found here, and for all of your support over the past seven years, and we hope you’ll join us to commemorate our anniversary this Saturday afternoon from 12 to 5pm. We’ve got an amazing lineup of local vendors for this year’s Artisan Market, with original art, vintage clothing, houseplants, flowers, jewelry, four fabulous food vendors, beer, wine, and DJ Chungtech on the turntables. I think we can all agree that the larger world appears in astounding disarray, that we are living through unprecedented times full of injustice and upheaval, and it is for this reason, more than any, that we should be together, outdoors, face to face, eating, drinking, and dancing, in celebration of one another. But first...

TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: French Whites and Reds:
2017 Laballe Les Sables Fauves Landes Blanc
2022 Rocher des Violettes Val de Loire Chenin Blanc
2022 Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon Macon-Villages
2021 Domaine Rimbert Cousin Oscar
2019 Florian Roblin Champ Gibault Coteaux du Giennois Rouge
2022 Jean Orliac Le Loup dans la Bergerie Pays d'Herault Rouge
Tasting flights $15 from 5-9pm and wines by the glass until 9pm

THIS SATURDAY 11/11... OAKLAND YARD turns 7! Come join the community and be a part of the celebration - Saturday NOVEMBER 11th from 12-5pm. There will be music and food and oysters and bubbles, raffles and prizes, and early holiday vibes. There will also be another fantastic collection of artists, curators, builders, and culinary delights... And lots and lots of wine! The 7 Year Anniversary Celebration and Artisan Market event is FREE! So spread the good word! Tasty treats from @okayxulo & @okkonpopup @shuck.buddy @sosbakeshop! Vendors and artists include @theofficialplantqueen @_ladha_ @pablo.cristi.studio @pleinware.ceramics @hataguchi_collective @likefamily___ @trussandore @thematerialsoul  @homebodybyentela @riseaboveprinting  @sosbakeshop There will be an outdoor beer and wine garden in the backlot too! See you there!!! 

Cheers,

Max