Sometimes a bottle belies our expectations. It can be frustrating, but this is not always a terrible thing. I was around 15 and pursuing Amy Romero for the second time in my youth. Mixtapes were the secret to wooing anyone and my sister always lent me her CD player for noble endeavors. There was a song released years earlier that stuck with me, an easy listening radio favorite. It was by John Waite and was called "Missing You" (Tina Turner would later cover this song in 1996).
You can write it off as 80's fluff, but I thought at the time that song spoke to our relationship, one that existed mostly through telephone wires. I didn't own this CD so I had to walk down to Music Plus (this was well before the internet and, perhaps, common sense). Flipping through the Ws, I thought I found it. One that looked promising at least. There was a faded image of a lovesick troubadour at his piano. I couldn't find "Missing You" on the tracklist but convinced myself this had to be it.
The album was called Closing Time. It wasn't by John Waite, but was the debut of Tom Waits. It was nothing like I expected, and not something I immediately embraced. But it later stirred in me. It struck a curiosity that I didn't fully explore until college, when I really walked through that mirror and into a world of sailors and saints, of thorns and thieves, of broken hearts and folks in a fix. Bourbon stirred with a rusty nail. True love. It was romantic and dangerous, like one's first carnival.
This Saturday at OAKLAND YARD we'll be pouring a fascinating flight of all natural wines. Rare releases offered by the glass too, all day long. These wines are unusual, gritty and honest. They stir and often later resonate. Full of fun and funk, at times both lively and confounding, exciting and strange. Like one's first carnival.
Come walk through the mirror this Saturday from 2-5pm. We'll have Hank Beckmeyer of La Clarine Farm pouring some of the most honest and dynamic reds you'll ever taste from 2600 feet up in the Sierra Foothills. Maybe he'll bring his goats. Andrew Nelson will be pouring Stirm Wine Co.'s racy Riesling along with his own Chuchaquis rosé from ancient vines in the Santa Cruz mountains. We'll have other oddities by the glass too. Nothing spooky, but all super natural.
This is not a tasting that anyone should be missing.
See you there,
Daniel
Before OAKLAND YARD opened, when Daniel, Julia, Glenny and I were trying to come up with a name for the shop, our friend Brendan suggested we call it Message in a Bottle, and only play The Police. I knew I couldn’t handle the Police part, but I liked the name. So many of the wines we carry are like old friends to me with distinct personalities. I’ve heard their stories before, but I don’t tire of them, and they’re a little different every time. Every wine here stands on the shelf like a tale waiting to be told; four hundred Sleeping Beauties, or Rip Van Winkles, ready to come to life, each from a different town around the globe. I think we’ve got an inspiring and varied collection, more accessible than a museum, less chaotic than a zoo, something like a liquid library. For the wine, OAKLAND YARD is a resting place along the way, the final station after a long journey. My friend Lorenzo considers his wine a performance piece that begins in the vineyards and ends at the dinner table, on a front porch, in a back yard, or at a grand celebration. Pop a cork, play your part, and be the end of the wine; we can help, but the final act is up to you.
Come by OAKLAND YARD tonight from 4 to 8pm for our Thursday Night Flights tasting. White flight or Red Flights- taste 3 wines for $12.
We’ll be pouring this stellar lineup of clean, fresh, and delightfully obscure wines.
And we might play some Police.
-Max
Flight 1: Reggatta de Blanc
2014 Domaine Ligier Cotes du Jura Savagnin
2015 Eugene Carrel Jongieux Jacquere
2015 Furst Elbling Trocken
Flight 2: Put on the Red Light
2014 Fronton de Oro Gran Canaria Tinto
2015 Andi Knauss Wurtemberg Trollinger
2016 Vina Maitia Aupa Pipeno Chileno
The first pet I ever had was a dog named Gretchen. She was a small mutt, some sort of dachshund/spaniel mix I think. I can't say for certain. I was very little. I mostly just remember her enthusiasm. I can recall specifically returning home one summer, falling out of our van after a multi-week camping trip and Gretchen tearing down the hill toward us, leaping into the air, repeatedly. She looked like she was trying to fly while having an epileptic fit. It was spastic and sweet.
Now, you might wonder why a family would leave their dog with their neighbors when they left for such extended vacations. That's the funny (and slightly pathetic) part. I didn't learn until much later in life- almost twenty years later, and long after she had passed - that Gretchen was not my first pet. She was never our dog at all. She belonged to Bill and Cathleen, to our next door neighbors.
OAKLAND YARD is not ours, not really. Its every neighbor's. It's yours and yours. Its here when you get back from that vacation. It's here to send you off to the next adventure. When you want to go out or remain at home, we'll be here for you.
We'll stay.
THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS from 4-8 this evening at OAKLAND YARD. Feel free to fall in love with one of these wines and call it yours. We'll be pouring whites from France's Loire Valley: all clean, minerally-driven and refreshing. The Red Flight focuses on Carignan: ranging from bright and electric to dark and lush and easy-drinking. Choose your own adventure from 4-8PM tonight!
SATURDAY at OAKLAND YARD from 2-5PM we welcome Cory Gowan of Mission Wine Merchants (Oakland, CA) and local winemaker, John Donaghue of Thee & Thou to take over the tasting bar. They will be pouring an amazing and eclectic lineup from the Mission portfolio, including John's Patois, a lively and delicious Syrah/Carignan blend.
Come connect at OAKLAND YARD.
See you soon,
Daniel
I don’t remember meeting any winemakers when I was young. Farmers, musicians, nurses, lawyers, potters, and many teachers, but no winemakers. Wine came from far away, in a bottle, and was put there by someone like the author of a book, or the composer of a piece of music. Or was it more like a biologist with a butterfly net? Or simply a factory worker, a monkey with a bottle and cork?
The French term ‘vigneron’ emphasizes the custodial aspects of the ancient vocation. As the vintner is traditionally also the grape grower, the vigneron is the one who tends to the vines, a specialized farmer preserving their fruit after harvest. The word suggests that a winemaker need not be particularly creative or visionary, but should rather be observant and responsive, a shepherd to the microbial herd. There is a romantic echo in its holistic, self-effacing idealism – the wine will make itself; the vigneron is there to guide the process.
Here in the US of A, we call them winemakers, and they make the wine delicious. We know they have a lot of tools in their bag and they craft the wine to the most desired flavor profile. Vines don’t make hundred point wines; winemakers do! Its not that we’ve forgotten that it’s an agricultural product…well, maybe that is a big part of it, but we as a country, and increasingly worldwide, rely so heavily on the values of agency, individuality, and commerce, that it’s difficult for us to accept the natural uncertainty of the process, and so we’ve chosen to standardize, industrialize and control it.
Of course, it’s not so black and white as that; France has their Michel Rollands and we have our Lore Oldses, and here at OAKLAND YARD, we seek out wines made by winemakers with light hands from many lands. We appreciate their skills, but recognize that the magic begins with water, sun and leaf, and can be snuffed out by too much manipulation. Ultimately, they’re all at least one part chemist, trying to understand their liquids, and thankfully, as we’ve supported them in their endeavors, many of them have gotten wonderfully good at it.
This Saturday, from 2 to 5pm, Oakland Yard is thrilled to welcome one of our new favorite winemakers, Laura Brennan Bissell, for our first ever winemaker tasting. We were so impressed with Laura’s Inconnu wines that we picked up three of them for the shop. And we’re not alone in our admiration; these wines are showing up on all of our favorite local restaurant wine lists as well. Come taste the excitement, ask questions, and indulge your curiosity with the amiable and talented Laura Brennan Bissell.
See you Saturday!
-Max
INCONNU Wine Tasting with Laura Brennan Bissell
Saturday, February 18th from 2 to 5pm
I was about 8 when Dave-O moved into the neighborhood. He was older than me, around 12 or 13, and was quick to inform me that he was a ninja. He dressed in black and occasionally sported a headband. He owned strange shoes that looked like socks with a split to accommodate his big toes. He said The Karate Kid was bullshit. I soon fell under his tutelage. I made throwing stars from cardboard and aluminum foil and fashioned nunchucks from a sawn broom handle and a discarded chandelier chain.
I called them "numchucks" back then. I hid them behind the headless stone frog, an ancient relic from previous owners, in the weedy plot beside the house. I trained hard but never got far. One session I clubbed my ear with such force I thought I had done permanent damage. Maybe I did. My mom noticed the redness and I told her I fell off my brother's Mongoose. At school I showed Selena Sullivan my battle wounds, hoping to secure her admiration. I told her I got into a fight near my house. With a ninja. I had convinced myself it was true, in a way. She wasn't impressed. She just looked at me with confusion, maybe even concern. We broke up shortly after that and I abandoned my nunchucks and my training.
OAKLAND YARD is my dojo these days. Every Thursday and Sunday at OAKLAND YARD we offer a much more enjoyable type of training. It is painless and, even still, extremely rewarding. We offer tasting flights to explore various regions and varietals from around the world- to further enhance our understanding and appreciation of wine. Max has been my sensei of sorts for many years now and has taught me much about wine, and life. He hired me at a shop in Brooklyn when I was still wet behind the ears. His tutelage is sage and serene. I've never had to sand the floors. Come train with us this Thursday from 4-8.
THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS 2/9
(Red or White, 3 wines for $15):
White Flight: Aligoté
2015 Berthenet Bougorgne Aligoté VV
2014 Goisot Bourgogne Aligoté
2012 Marc ColinBourgogne Aligoté
Red Flight: Gamay
2016 Pierre Chermette (Beaujolais)
2014 Chateau de la Greffiere Macon Serrieres Rouge
2015 B. Kosuge Gamay Noir (Carneros)
Sunday tasting will be ALL FRENCH BUBBLY ROSÉ! Lift off with us SUNDAY from 12-6pm.!
Cheers,
Daniel
(with an L)
When I landed my first gig as a restaurant beverage manager, my boss sent me to lunch with a seasoned New York wine buyer to help orient me to my new vocation. My dining partner bestowed two seemingly meager bits of advice over Chinese food in the West Village:
“Trust your palate,” he said, “and remember that no one is your friend.”
I then asked the veteran somm, who was drinking Coca-Cola with his lunch, for a book recommendation, something that would help anchor and guide my wine education, and he suggested Emile Peynaud’s Knowing and Making Wine, a copy of which I tracked down, with some difficulty, and found to be a mind-numbing technical guide to the basic chemistry of winemaking.
His words have returned to my mind over the last two decades. The first tip allowed me to gain confidence in my impressions, and the second made me wary of chummy salespeople with special deals, but didn’t stop me from forming great and lasting friendships in the business.
And, though the book struck me as dense and useless, eventually – not by my reading it, just by virtue of its existence - it changed the way I thought about wine. Herein are the scientific facts of the liquid, and all wine is simply a variation on these themes. These are the basics; the rest is just words, and there are too many out there to read. Peynaud’s book seemed to say, “Taste all you can, pay attention, and form your own impressions.”
Here at Oakland Yard, we pour themed tasting flights every Thursday and Sunday.
Come taste with us. Trust your palate. Use your words.
TASTING TODAY from 4 to 8pm: French Whites and Italian Reds
2014 Font-Mars Picpoul de Pinet
2015 Domaine de Seailles Cotes de Gascogne
2011 Bergerie de l’Hortus Blanc
2015 Le Cantine di Indie Polpo Rosso Nerello Mascalese
2012 Villa S. Anna Chianti Colli Senesi
NV Quaquarine Francesco Solorosso
Also, we do have a copy of Knowing and Making Wine here at the shop, in case you’re having trouble with volatile acidity or a stuck fermentation, or if you’d like to induce a nap.
Cheers,
Max
As the January rain brings new life to California, a wine club quietly grows in north Oakland.
Many of you have asked, in the two months we’ve been open, if we offer a wine club.
We’ve answered – yes - and countered with the question: ‘What are you looking for in a wine club?’ And we took it from there…
Oakland Yard is pleased to introduce our monthly 420 Wine Club. Each month, club members receive two outstanding wines for $42 + tax. (420 is our address, you see. $42, Zero bullshit)
These are wines we’re especially excited about: Perennial favorites, new releases, rare finds; The ‘deep cuts’ we squirrel away for ourselves.
Club wines will be available for pickup at the store on the first Sunday of the month, and every first Sunday pickup includes a complimentary tasting for club members. Members also enjoy a 20% discount at all weekly tasting events.
With each club installment we will share with you exactly why we love these wines, including notes on the producer, grape varieties, production information, regional history, tasting notes and recipes or pairing suggestions - a mini personal wine class.
Stop by the shop or give us a call at 510-808- 5129 and sign up today!
Cheers,
Max
P.S. THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS happening this evening!
$12 tasting flights – 3 reds or 3 whites - tonight from 4 to 8pm
2015 Vevi Rueda(Spain)
2015 Chateau Canorgue Viognier (France)
2015 Strub Soil to Soul Riesling (Germany)
2015 Bernabaleva Camino de Navaherros (Spain)
2015 Rozier Les Traverses des Fontanes Cabernet Sauvignon (France)
2015 Stoka Teran (Slovenia)
It's that time of year. Some of us are giving things up, others trying new things. Sometimes we'll do both. When I was in second grade I decided to changed my name. I can't say for certain how or why this started. Kids are strange. But one week out of the blue I insisted all my classmates call me Hawk. Even my teacher too. My hand would go up in earnest to answer, and when I was called on and acknowledged with "Yes, Daniel?", the dance would begin. I would slowly look behind me and then around, feigning politeness and confusion. She'd eventually concede.
"Yes... Hawk?"
Eventually all hell broke loose. By the end of the week Danny Fernandez and Matthew Magallanes wanted to go by Spike and Blaze, respectively. One kid even tried to get Serpentor to stick. But it was all pretty short lived. My proclivity for merriment landed me in the principal's office one afternoon. Nothing serious, but she called my mom and said "we need to talk about Hawk". My mom made sure that was the last time that name was used.
Tonight at OAKLAND YARD we are offering THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS. This weekly event is a celebration of new things. New regions, new varietals, new faces stopping in to explore, to enjoy, and to connect. It's all fun and fuss free. No pretense, no attitude. Tonight we'll be pouring a white flight from Burgundy and hearty reds from Southwest France.
Choose your own adventure tonight. Try something new.
All are most welcome to join. (Serpentor, you too.)
- Daniel
$15 tasting flights – 3 reds or 3 whites - tonight from 4 to 8pm
2015 Berthenet Aligoté
2015 PL & JF Bersan Saint-Bris
2014 Cameron Bourgogne Tonnerre
2014 Guy Capmartin Madiran
2013 Clos La Coutale Cahors
2014 Chateau Valentin Haut-Medoc Bordeaux
Hi there, Max here.
Last week, they gutted the small, Brooklyn wine shop where I spent six of the most interesting years of my life. The lease was up, the building sold, and Smith & Vine, with all its bottles, moved out of the tight-fitting, well-worn, pressed tin home, and into another storefront a few blocks down Smith Street. I have no doubt that KaMar and the gang will keep dream alive - the selection will still be scintillating and the staff will be passionate, candid and well-versed; but so much of my wine knowledge and so many important relationships are rooted in 268 Smith Street that it feels strange to know that the shop, as I know it, is no longer there.
It was at Smith & Vine that I first understood that wine is not a fancy drink for people in the know, but rather a basic agricultural product with long and varied cultural traditions, as mundane as it is satisfying and fascinating. To this little orange room lined with bottles, we lured our heroes: Pierre and Catherine Breton, Duncan Arnot Meyers, Roberto Voerzio and countless other legendary winemakers. Our colorful cast of regulars included cocktail maven David Wondrich, master brewer Garrett Oliver, and Plasmatics guitarist Richie Stotts, among many others. Our customers were also our friends, and we felt like a natural and integral part of the neighborhood.
This fateful place was also where I met Daniel and Glenny, and where they first laid eyes on each other, and this would change all of our lives tremendously. Our experience together at Smith & Vine was our inspiration for creating Oakland Yard, and while Smith & Vine moves on and slips into a new skin in 2017, I hope we can honor the memories and recreate some of the magic we witnessed at 268 Smith Street.
Let’s start tonight!!!
Accomplished oeno-magician, Brendan Willard, will be behind the tasting bar this evening, making bottles disappear with your help.
$12 tasting flights – 3 reds or 3 whites - tonight from 4 to 8pm
2013 Borell-Diehl Pinot Noir
2015 Vignoble Lapierre Quietude Merlot
2014 Touton & Torres Montsant
2015 La Staffa Verdicchio
2014 Fausse Piste Le Communard Blanc
2014 Domaine Alary La Grange Daniel Roussanne
A friend recently asked me how I remember all these stories from my youth. I grew up in a large family and the retelling of stories (particularly ones where I makes an ass of myself) was a favored activity. The repetition really anchored most of these tales.
But memory is a strange and fascinating thing and can be misleading. For the longest time I had two very distinct and special memories of my grandfather. He passed when I was still very little, but he always made such a sweet show of things when I’d visit him with my mother. He knew I was crazy for those Sunkist Fruit Gems he always had on hand, often in the freezer. They were not so unusual- just small, gummy pectin discs with a pleasingly textured sugary crust. But he would arrange them on a tray for me as if they were little delicacies and we’d split a Ginger Ale. Just two gentlemen, equals, sitting down for a drink and a simple treat. It was always the best.
The other memory is the more peculiar one. A rollercoaster at Disneyland. A distinct memory of riding this coaster with him. In my mind, forever, I am around 4 or 5 and riding the coaster on his lap. It's not Thunder Mountain but one of the smaller “kiddie" ones. But my mom set me straight on the math years ago. No way. No possibility of rollercoasters in his shape by that time. What we were able to piece together is that my recollection was a cloudy memory of visiting him in the hospital on various occasions toward the end. Such a large, white building with odd halls and banners and flags and crosses. And it was all so bright to me and there was, surprisingly, joy. He would be so happy to see his grandkids and he would put the smaller ones like me on his lap and wheel us around the hospital’s hallways with a great laugh, though he was likely in great pain.
The internet is full of folks chronicling what a wretched year 2016 has been, with so many great losses. I don’t know what 2017 has in store for all of us. But I thought of my grandfather this morning and remembered a man who could turn a hospital into Disneyland. It is this spirit that our little wine shop embraces, now and in 2017, and always. Whatever we all individually or collectively face- we will be here for you. A bright station on your journey. We are here with a smile, with a laugh- here to do whatever we can to make things better.
Since sitting on our laps would be a bit weird, come join us for a flight of bubbly to lift spirits and get the celebrations for 2017 started early. We’ll be showcasing 4 different sparkling wines and have additional bubbles available by the glass.
TONIGHT (Thursday, December 29th) at OAKLAND YARD
ALL SPARKLING FLIGHT- 3 wines, $15
TASSIN NV CHAMPAGNE (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay) Champagne, FR
Domaine La Taille Aux Loups NV Brut Tradition (Chenin Blanc) Montlouis-Sur-Loire, FR
Elke 2011 Madame Elke Brut (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir-MethodeTraditionnelle) Mendocino, CA
Please Note: OAKLAND YARD will be OPEN New Year's Eve from 10-8PM and will be closed on New Year's Day.
Introductions: Max and the Oakland Yard Wine Club
My name is Jonathan, but most people call me Max, and I am a dedicated wine lover.
If my business partner, Daniel, were Lou Costello, I would be his William "Bud" Abbott, lanky and laconic.
Unlike my friend, Daniel, I don’t have a lot of stories, but I would like to tell you a bit about our shop and some of what we have to offer:
Basically, we’ve collected as many of our favorite wines as possible- from decades of drinking and tasting - and we’re really excited to share them with you.
We have sixty quality wines, well-balanced and off the beaten path, available for under sixteen dollars a bottle, and another four hundred distinctive selections lining the walls, stellar examples ranging from the classic to the obscure.
We feature well-priced tasting flights of selected wines Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons, and we welcome folks at all times to enjoy bottles of their choice in the shop for a nominal corkage fee.
I’m also pleased to announce the launch of our Oakland Yard Wine Club. For $42 a month + tax, members will receive 2 bottles we think are extra special and delicious, as well as a 20% discount on all of our public tasting events.
Club wines will be available for pickup on the first Sunday of each month, at which time members are invited to join us for a free tasting flight. Please call us or stop in to sign up and receive your first installation on Sunday January 8th!
TASTING FLIGHTS AT OAKLAND YARD THIS THURSDAY, December 22nd
Two flights – one red, one white – three wines each - $12 per flight
This week’s lineup features the HOLIDAY FAVORITES:
2011 Biga de Luberri Crianza Rioja
2012 Yannick Pelletier l’Oiselet St. Chinian
2015 Harrington Central Coast Pinot Noir
2014 La Mesma Gavi
2014 Samuel Tinon Birtok Dry Furmint
2015 Teutonic Wine Company Willamette Valley Pinot Gris
Daniel and I enjoy, and are dedicated to, helping you find the wines you most like to drink. Drop in and try something new; we look forward to meeting you!
Cheers,
Max
My mom told this story to me when I was little. I can’t remember if it's an old joke or a memory. But it serves a purpose here, so I’ll proceed. An aunt is preparing either a ham (or a roast?) for a holiday dinner. She cuts off a couple inches from each end before putting it into the oven. Her kid inquires why she cuts off the ends. “Well… it, um kind of locks the juices in”. She trails off and calls her brother.
“Mike, why do we cut off the ends of the ham?”
“Just a couple inches from one side” he blurts out.
“No, Mike, I’m asking why”.
“Well… it’s um… gives it, uh, helps caramelize them, I think”.
This goes on and all eventually all siblings are called. Various prepping and basting techniques are challenged and they play phone tag into the evening, all the while continuing to argue the number of inches and the reasoning behind cutting off the end(s) at all. After some delay, they reluctantly go to the source, grandma.
Her head shaking can heard through the phone line. “I just cut enough off the end until it fits in my roasting pan.”
. . .
We’re gonna be rolling out our wine club next week. Some folks suggested we should just see what other shops are doing and offer something similar. I remembered the ham story.
Lets get this right, from the start. We are less interested in what other shops are doing and more interested to know what you would like, and how you want things done. We aim to make you happy. No discarded trimmings here. No random practices or arbitrary rules. This is your shop. Many of you have already shared what you are looking for (what kinds of wines you’d like to receive, ideal monthly costs, etc) and we are eager to put something out that will make you dance. Phone lines (and emails:) are open. DJ is taking requests. So give us a shout and let’s get cooking.
Speaking of requests…
I’ve had some folks ask recently if we’d do a tasting of unusual varietals that they might not normally try. So we are doing just that. Tonight! Thursday Night Flights are on, from 4-8. Bite your tongue, Tom Jones, we’re going Cyndi Lauper on this one. Six amazing, dynamic and delicious wines: $12 for 3 whites (Jacquere, Roditis, Gutedel) or 3 reds (Marsellan, Schiava, Kadarka). Unusual and awesome, like you. Choose your own adventure tonight.
See you soon,
Daniel
I'm mostly cautious by nature, until something captures my imagination. I fall in love quickly and hard. I’ll binge watch without remorse. The first time I attempted to ride a skateboard I immediately tried to ollie over a discarded toaster. No beginner's luck there. My chin proved to be very effective at breaking falls. Two years (and 16 stitches later) I would be ice skating for the first time. An axel looked easy enough on TV. It was not. I chipped off my two front teeth and split my lower lip wide open.
Against most odds I turned 10. Around this time I noticed that a new girl named Rosemary had moved into the neighborhood. Taking a predetermined route, I walked past her house one day to discover her friends, Anna and Carolina, doing cartwheels on Rosemary’s front lawn. My older sister was a cheerleader at the time and had taught me how to do a round-off. I thought it a stellar idea to dazzle these ladies with my secret talent. What girl wouldn’t want a guy who can do a round-off? One would think I’d have learned something about being so ambitious with my flourishes, but one would be wrong. I broke into a focused run and planted my hands. I didn’t know that their lawn had been watered the day before. The earth was too soft and my fingers sunk right it. I crashed in a clumsy pile but tried to salvage the moment, employing my momentum to summersault up to my feet. All part of the routine! When up and ready to accept my scores, I didn’t have to worry about hiding my eyes- no one was looking at my face. They were all focused on my hands, their eyes unusually wide and full of fright.
I had dislocated both my thumbs at both joints and they were bent back acutely nearly to my wrists. It was grotesque. I excused myself and once around the corner my eyes begin to water and my pace quickened to a panicked run. I kept my hands held high the whole way home, a ridiculous spectacle of surrender.
This Saturday is our Grand Opening Party, from 4-8pm. There will be no tears and (hopefully) no broken bones or chipped teeth. But rest assured that I have not learned my lesson. There will be no holding back this enthusiasm and fervor. Joy is unrestrained at OAKLAND YARD, this day and always. Thumbs up. And luckily for me, the team here is far more composed and far less clumsy than I. Max is calm and in control. He already has bottles of bubbly chilling, ready to be popped, and holiday wines selected and snuggled in happy 6-pack totes. Julia and Glenny are kicking ass in all kinds of ways, prepping amazing small bites for your enjoyment. Friends are joining us to pour and pass plates and put your minds at ease. And yes, you can expect a flourish or two. I'll do my best not to make a mess and to remain in one piece.
See you all Saturday, hopefully sooner.
Daniel
I grew up in a neat neighborhood for a kid: tiny, winding streets barely wide enough for cars to pass and little houses stacked on top of each other. We were the loud family, seven practicing troublemakers cycling about, reenacting scenes from Goonies and E.T. and Tron, mostly happy interrupting the serenity of this little hillside. We had colorful neighbors like Dan-the-Ice-Cream-man, his Red Rooster truck our personal candy store. There was the kindly Opal and Cecil and the elderly Norwegians, Leif and Hilda. We would sneak into their backyard and crowd into their hot tub. They would pretend not to notice. There was the widow Scarvacci. One of my brothers convinced me her late husband had passed and that she kept his body in there. I was a gullible (and often frightened) child.
Then there was Pearl. Pearl was infinite. She had strange, grotesquely disproportionate pillars erected outside her tiny house, a Gone With The Wind nostalgia project gone horribly awry. My brothers avoided her house on their walks, but I would often forget and would be beckoned with hard stares and cries of “Lemonaaaaade”. I had to make excuses why I had to be home straight away. One day though, she got me. She called out and locked on me. I stammered and simply went blank with no good excuse. I was in her Tractor Beam and walked to her door with a limp “OK”. With silent glee she led me to her kitchen and sat me down at her green formica dinette. I stared at the ceiling hoping to be saved by my mother’s distant call, while Pearl mixed her famous concoction.
A fun ending would be for me to share that it was the finest lemonade I have ever tasted to this day. That would be a good ending. But Pearl’s lemonade was, in truth, pretty awful. It was just an old lemon squeezed into room temperature tap water. She apologized for being out of sugar. I sipped in silence and eventually excused myself. At a polite distance from her home, I broke into a run.
This evening we kick off our wine tasting program. It will be nothing like Pearl’s lemonade (well almost: no sugar here either). These wines are the real deal. All lively and vibrant and dry. Crazy delicious. $10 for 3 wines. Red Flight or a White Flight. Choose your own adventure tonight from 4-8pm*. Additionally, there will be an all Rosé Tasting this Sunday from 12-4 ($10, 3 wines). We will be hosting tastings every Thursday night and on Sunday afternoons from here on. Get on board.
Finally, we are also thrilled to announce our Grand Opening Party on Saturday, December 10th. Small bites and free bubbly from 4-8. Magnum raffle too! Bring your friends, your trouble-making siblings, your kindly neighbors, or an elderly Norwegian.
See you soon,
Daniel
No stories today.
These are the days for your own stories. Turkeygates and surprise nut allergies. Burnt pies and surprise guests. Weird aunts you didn't know you had. Overindulgence. Late night calls from exes. Remembering an old friend, jello.
Celebrate hard. Love harder. Enjoy yourselves.
We are thankful for you.
And we are are here for you if you need us. We are open today from 10-4.
Stop by if you need a break from the in-laws, or any last minute wines, bad puns, or big hugs. We are here for you, happily.
Much love from Oakland Yard.
I don’t remember the precise age, but I can remember everything else about the day I first heard the words: sharkskin suit. My dad, who had just treated me to a cone of Chocolate Malted Crunch at Thrifty, was joking around with one of my older brothers about wearing such a suit to their Winter Formal dance. I laughed too, pretending to get the joke, but was secretly filled with fear and wonder.
Not even a week later, I would be even more captivated. Two words again, and truly spellbinding: Chicken Slacks. The oldies radio station was common ground for our family and there was a lot of Sam Cooke in rotation. I loved “Twisting the Night Away”, particularly after the very odd dance scene from Innerspace. There is a verse in the song where a guy is tearing up the dance floor with a woman in memorable pants, but instead of hearing “chick in slacks” I thought the line was “…he’s dancing with the Chicken Slacks!”
And I wanted them. I wanted their feathery fabulousness. I would show them all when the time came for my first Winter Formal. But the time would never come. I would quickly be crushed to find out that chicken slacks do not exist and would be teased mercilessly but my older brothers when I had inquired about such an outfit.
There will be no such disappointment for you, my friends. No one will crush your dreams. The whispers and rumors and fantastical tales are true in this case. The wait is over. OAKLAND YARD is officially open. And just in time. We will be twisting and laughing and singing and slinging wines all week, and we have an insane amount of fresh, lively wines that will be perfect for your Thanksgiving weekend. We are open from 4-8pm today and will be celebrating. We can’t wait to meet you. We are kicking off Happy Mondays tonight and all wines (every Monday night!) will be 10% off (and yes, that includes the 60 delicious wines in the $10-15 range we have here as well).
Put your troubles on the run and get down. We look forward to tearing it up together.
See you soon,
Daniel
Vader. Voldemort. Sauron. The Fratellis. El Guapo.
Many evils and many struggles, but good always prevails.
And now, sadly, a very real villain.
We too are are reeling from the final results of the election and our struggles here in our little shop seem insignificant in many ways. But we began this venture to create something that could, in a small or profound way, connect people. And we still think this is worth it.
We've come so far on our journey to bring you the best wines you can drink. Wines you can share with loved ones. Wines for commiserating or for celebrating. We have faced many trials along the way. We went mano y mano with the Department of Health. We were beaten back by the Department of Building. Our brave friend and fabricator, Jens, went finger to blade with a temperamental table saw.
But this is indeed a good fight and good will prevail. Sometimes it takes a while.
So with our hearts bursting, we wanted to let you all know that our planned celebration for this Saturday, November 12th, will be postponed. We’re asking you to wait just a little bit longer. We need you to stay strong, to survive. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far.
So many of you have stopped at our door to connect and to share your enthusiasm or words of encouragement. This has meant the world to us. Know that we are indeed in our final stretch here and that the wait is now measured in days, no longer months or even weeks. There will be shouting from the rooftops soon.
And while there is much fear and uncertainty of what lies ahead in the coming years, know that Oakland Yard will be a place of warmth and welcome for everyone.
We're with you.
Two things happen on the first day of kindergarten, September 1983.
Parents are invited to stay for the morning, and they sit beside their kids in a circle to begin the day. We go around sharing “fun things we do at home.” One mom teaches us what a “bear hug” is, and we all practice this new maneuver one pair at a time. When it's my turn, I freeze. I refuse to hug my mom in front of these strangers and won’t be bullied by the staff. She looks kinda bummed. I remember feeling badly about it. I still do.
The second act is different, although I wouldn’t necessarily say I redeemed myself. We’re in a circle again and are sharing songs we learned at home. A boy named Andrew opens with Twinkle Twinkle and suddenly everyone joins in. Whitney and her mom follow up with: “Baa Baa black sheep …” and soon it's a full chorus of “Yes sirs!” and smiles all around. This goes on for a bit. When it’s my turn, there's barely a pause before I strut into the center and belt out: “IF you think I’m sexy AAAAND you want my body, COME on baby let me know…”. There are gasps, daughters' eyes and ears are covered, adults exchange nervous smiles and some head shakes. The house is not “brought down” as I’d hoped. My mother looks somewhat mortified, but I know at that moment, deep down there is a swelling pride. A silent electricity. Her house wins. I don’t feel bad about it. I never do.
November 12th, 2016 is our Grand Opening. Our “first big day.” It will be a day of a thousand bear hugs. A thousand songs. It will be electric. Oakland Yard will not be a nursery rhyme kind of place. There will be no tidy circles. Dance, strut. Go on with your bad selves. Share your fun. Come be a part of this.
Saturday November 12th, 12-4PM. Bubbly, bites and bands. Free!
All joy. No regrets.
See you there, friends.
I'm not good at beginnings.
I'm worse at endings.
Selena Sullivan was not my first girlfriend, but she was the first girl I pursued. I decided I would write her. I was in second grade. It was a short note. It said: YOU ARE NICE. Mrs. Carnevali confiscated the note and moved my seat assignment elsewhere. This kind of heat was not encouraged.
I later chased a woman to New York in 2009. It ended much worse than my courtship of Selena. I took a job at a wine shop in Brooklyn. I was walking home after my shift one night and realized my bag was unusually heavy. I had only worked there a month but the manager had remembered my birthday. He had tucked a bottle of champagne away for me.
His name was Max. Max rules. He and I are opening a shop together. It's called Oakland Yard. You probably know that much already.
But there’s much more ahead. There is cause for excitement and celebration. A grand opening party, weekly wine and beer tastings, food trucks and food pairings... dogs and cats living together. All this and much more in the months to come. And you’ll always be the first to know. Thank you for signing up. You are nice. You are awesome.
Mrs. Carnevali is not going to stop this love.
It's going to be epic. Action and adventure. Big smiles, big love, birthdays and bad days turned around with bottles of bubbles.
This is just the beginning, and I’m not good at those. Its going to be too much fun to bother with an ending.
Let's do this.