I generally don’t talk to strangers when I’m traveling, but if they start up with me, I’m often willing to roll with it. Doing the security dance at JFK last week - the hour-long creeping weave, wall-to-wall in a windowless room with an all-ages, international crowd - I met a talkative Bulgarian named Svet. He first took a selfie with the herd, a natural response to the sardine can he’d entered, then he caught my eye. “Will it take longer than two hours?” I hoped not, because I had much less time to spare. He was going from his home in Maine, via New York, to Bucharest to rent a car to drive south to see his mother in Bulgaria, something he does about twice a year. He works from home in healthcare payments, and he supposed maybe I worked for myself because I looked ‘relaxed.’ He was right: I do work for myself and I try to stay relaxed, and the duration of Svet’s pilgrimage made mine seem easier. I gave him an Oakland Yard card in case he ever came to California, and we both made our flights.

We sometimes talk about the bubble we live in. The insularity of any community can limit one’s thoughts, but it can also be a source of comfort, safety, and belonging. After weeks travelling in the northeastern US, I’m happy to be back in the land of unpoliced pronouns, coed bathrooms, and widespread composting; farmers’ markets, fresh-baked bread, ranch-raised meat, and line-caught fish; redwoods, rainbow flags, and flowers; hummingbirds, morning fog, cool nights, pedestrians, and propositions; sunshine, tacos, and Jura wine tasting flights; and so many very different people, living together with mutual respect and appreciation and a healthy scepticism for authority figures. And visible from almost anywhere, our rock, the coastal range; those slowly moving hills, pushing upward to the east. It’s good to be back in this bubble - see you around!!!

TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Austrian whites & California reds
2024 Hiedler Loss Gruner Veltliner
2023 Heidi Schröck & Söhne Gelber Muskateller
2023 Schloss Gobelsburg Schlosskellerei Kamptal Riesling
2024 Jolie-Laide ‘Vinny’ Pride Love Red
2019 Blackswift GSM Red Blend
2023 Ultraviolet Mattern Vineyard Zinfandel
Tasting Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until close

SATURDAY 9/6: French Jura and Arbois flights
NV Domaine Ligier Crémant du Jura
2020 Domaine Courbet Côtes du Jura Savagnin Sous Voile
2023 Paul Benoit et Fils Côtes du Jura Trousseau
2020 Domaine Overnoy-Crinquand Arbois-Pupillin Trousseau
Flights $20 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,
Max