It was five years ago that we all stopped hanging out together. No customers entered Oakland Yard for a full year, and our bar was closed for sixteen months. One morning that first September when we were apart, the sun did not break through the smoke, and the sky glowed an eerie orange. Confused by the dark, our street lights stayed lit throughout the day.

This year is different and feels far from that time. For those of us who celebrate both Passover and Easter, and also have a surprising number of close friends with birthdays in April, the month exists as a second, less hectic holiday season. This month I’ll share meals and pass time with many of the people I love the most, and it’s good to remember what a blessing this is, our time together. We’ve got it back.

The tasting bar at Oakland Yard was full last night with unmasked locals, taking advantage of Welcome Wednesdays, talking, laughing, drinking, and eating Sandy Kim’s tasty treats, and I look forward to many such nights to come. This Saturday, our dear friend and neighbor, winemaker Megan Hughes will jump behind the bar to pour flights of her California whites and reds from 2 to 6pm, and we’re hosting Wednesday food pop-ups throughout the month, and a back lot market party Saturday May 31st. Bring a friend. Hope to see you soon!

TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Spanish whites and Italian reds. Taste new whites from Castilla la Mancha, Aragon, and the Basque Country, or new reds from Alto Adige, Piedmont, and Sicily.
2023 Frontonio Microcosmico Macabeo
2023 Gulp Hablo Verdejo
2023 Zudugarai Txakolina
2021 Weingut Ebner Schiava
2023 Tenuta la Pergola Il Goccetto
2021 Barone di Villagrande Etna Rosso
Flights $15 from 5 to 9pm and wines by the glass until 9.

SATURDAY 4/19: Special guest winemaker MEGAN HUGHES pours tasting flights of her current releases of Loella and Vignerons wines.
2021 Loella Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Gris
2021 Vignerons Santa Barbara Chardonnay
2021 Vignerons Santa Barbara Pinot Noir
2021 Loella Cuvée Bru Syrah
2023 Loella Piquette of Grenache Gris
Tasting Flights $18 from 2 to 6 and wines by the glass until 9pm!

With joy,
Max