When I was a child, one of the things I wanted most was to be famous. Despite an idyllic and nurturing upbringing (or perhaps as a result) I understood my insignificance early on, and this bred in me a wish to become well known for something, preferably something masterful, like exceptional athleticism or artistry.
Popular culture backed my plan with a hit single by Bowie, a flashy TV series about an urban art school, and Warhol’s fifteen-minute guarantee. Before the dawn of the internet, the Guinness Book of World Records - that perennial opener of minds - provided us kids with many heretofore unimagined superlatives for which to strive, and quite a few others to avoid. One could plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel, or be struck by lightning seven times, and live to be known for it.
As I grew older, I saw that I had no great skill that would put me heads and shoulders above the crowd, nor did I particularly enjoy the spotlight. Also, those who were famous didn’t appear any happier for it, so I abandoned my quest for fame and embraced anonymity. Now, I’m mostly known as the tall, quiet, bearded man at Oakland Yard, and I’m happy with my station: wine buyer, Daniel’s partner, Julia’s husband, Arlot’s keeper, and occasional writer of curious personal essays.
Yours,
Max
TONIGHT’S TASTING: Thursday Night Flights from 4 to 8pm! FRENCH WHITES or SPANISH REDS – three wines - $12
SATURDAY at OAKLAND YARD from 3-6pm we welcome Cory Gowan of Mission Wine Merchants (Oakland, CA) who will be pouring an amazing and eclectic lineup from the Mission portfolio. Flights
SUNDAY FLIGHT: All SPARKLING FLIGHT. Bubbles from 12-6, with special BTG!
I love road trips. I spent many summers of my youth packed in a Dodge Ram van with my folks and my six siblings, exploring the country and camping when it was time to stop. We put the Thomas Guide to the test. We passed our time singing along to oldies stations, playing "I Spy", and staying alert for out-of-state plates and graphic roadkill. There would be the occasional lull of long stretches and often the lovely, odd quiet of dusk.
My spot was rear bench, center, flanked by two older brothers. Sleeping was tricky, but I developed the curious practice of sitting on the floor facing backward, resting my head on the seat. When awake and alert, the perspective from this bench afforded me something I wouldn't fully appreciate until adulthood: my father's eye in the rearview mirror.
At some point on these drives, there would be an absurd observation, mistaken or mangled song lyrics, a ridiculous radio commercial, or a grotesquely loud fart. We'd predictably go nuts and from my spot I could spy my dad's eye in the mirror, watching the creases deepen with laughter. The impressions left an impression. What struck me most was that after the laughter subsided, when mom was back to her paper and the older boys their books, and some their walkmans and others their game of slugbug... my father's eyes would still be smiling for many moments more, the creases softening at their infinite leisure. A light that wouldn't go out, holding some triumphant, unyielding cheer. A joy reluctant to leave.
TONIGHT at OAKLAND YARD: Thursday Night Flights! German Whites and Italian Reds. 3 Wines, your choice, all joy. Flights $12 from 4-8pm.
SATURDAY FLIGHT: California LOVE from 2-5pm! Bright, zippy TENDU white, a gloriously dry and delightful Trailmarker Wine Co. Rosé and a savory Syrah from SKY Vineyards. Come explore and adventure with us.
SUNDAY FLIGHT: ROSÉ ALL DAY! All French line up. New arrivals too. All dry, delightful, and delicious. Think PINK with us, from 12-6pm. You may be reluctant to leave.
p.s. Happy Father's Day to all the good ones out there, past and present. And to all the big brothers or sisters who step up. To the single moms, the two moms, the two dads, the good neighbors, the sound sponsors, the coaches and counselors, the pastors and rabbis...
To all those who guide our vans.
As we approach our six month anniversary here at OAKLAND YARD, I’d like to express our genuine gratitude to all of you who have helped us get to this point. Daniel and I have spent most of those months sniffing, sipping, spitting, and staring into our laptops; working all the time, knowing there is more work ahead, rarely taking the time to say: ‘this is what we love to do, and thank you for helping us make it happen.’
We have so much to be thankful for. We appreciate your kind words and smiles, your commitment to supporting small local businesses, your interest and openness toward wines you’ve never tried before, and your wacky hairdos. We like your well-behaved children, your tattoos, and your many dogs. Thank you for all of the good vibes, the crazy stories, the funky shoes, and for caring where your wine comes from and how it’s made. Thank you for all of that and more.
Saturdays and Sundays are the most fun for us at Oakland Yard because there are no wine deliveries, no sales calls, no emails, and far less spitting. I’m so tired of Daniel by the time Friday rolls around, I’m ready to chat with just about anyone else. No, but really, weekends we relax a little, and we invite you to share some laughs, to learn more about and enjoy the fascinating liquids we peddle here on 40th street. We’ve got fun tasting flights lined up for every Saturday and Sunday afternoon this month, and we look forward to seeing you and enjoying your company.
This SATURDAY Sup! Street Food will be parked out front on our sidewalk, serving up several flavors of amazingly delicious summer rolls, which will go nicely with the Vinho Verde Rose, Torrontes, and Pinot Noir Flights we’ll be pouring! Come by for all that goodness from 2 to 5pm, and we’ll thank you in person.
TONIGHT’S TASTING: Thursday Night Flights from 4 to 8pm – reds or whites - $12
Herencia Altes Garnatxa Blanca
MA’D Tokaji Dry Furmint
Domaine Gonon Macon-Bussieres
Matthiason Tendu Red
DeForville Barbera d’Alba
Petrognano Meme Chianti
We love you, no seriously, we do.
-Max
It's late as I write this. Or early, I suppose. I have trouble falling asleep. It's always been this way. I'll close my eyes and lie still but my thoughts run wild into the night, playing tag with every imaginable subject. To be clear, there is no intellectual merit here. These are absurd thoughts: What if I have an unrealized fencing talent? Why aren't there more options for sandwiches in this town? I should exercise more... Do animals have inside jokes too? It's probably too late for an NBA career. Who is Victoria? And what IS her secret? Someone should form a Bon Jovi cover band doing country versions of their hits. They could be called Living on a Prairie. Good one, Daniel. Hey, thanks, me. It's lame, I know.
Since we opened OAKLAND YARD six months ago, things have been a bit different. When I crawl into bed these days most of my thoughts now connect to the shop, to wine, to weddings and special events, to deliveries and weekly tastings. To you. I think about what this shop can be and what you'd like it to be. I think about what we could be doing better and about what you may be needing from your neighborhood wine shop.
Please know that these weekly communications are two-way tracks. We're all ears. All eyes. All love. Send us an email or (better yet) come on in to the shop for a tasting flight or just to chat, anytime. Let us know what we can do for you and how we can help. Give us a call. Write us a haiku. Sleep well knowing OAKLAND YARD is here for you.
TONIGHT at OAKLAND YARD: Thursday Night Flights!
Spanish Whites and California Reds – 4 to 8pm - $12
SATURDAY FLIGHT: PINOT NOIR
Dynamic expressions from around the globe! Flights $12
SUNDAY FLIGHT: Rosé all day!
Pouring new arrivals from 12-6pm. All Rosé flight, $12
Hope to see you there,
Daniel
The oldest cities of the world are crowded with ghosts, but all of the spaces we inhabit are rich with stories from another time. From 1913 to 1957, our Oakland Yard wine shop was part of the Oakland Shafter Yard, a rail yard and station on the Sacramento Northern electric commuter line that occupied the entire block of 40th from Webster to Shafter Streets.
A few months after opening, I received a phone call from a railway historian eager to share with us what he knew of our site. He said he went by the handle ‘Key Route Ken’, after one of the early bay area commuter train lines, and he excitedly told me some of the history of our block, including the following:
“From 1913 to 1938, the trains ran down 40th Street to the Key System Ferry Pier, and from 1939 to 1941 they continued down 40th and ran across the lower deck of the old bay bridge to San Francisco. There were some six or seven wonderful electric interurban systems around the Bay, even up in Marin and the Napa Valley wine country.”
We chose our name to help ground ourselves in this place - to be rooted in the neighborhood - and also to call to mind the crossroads, a restful stopping place along one’s way. Please drop in and share a glass, a bottle, a smile, a laugh, or a story to add to the lines that continue to connect us all.
TONIGHT at OAKLAND YARD: Thursday Night Flights - Italian whites and Spanish reds – 4 to 8pm - $12
WHITE FLIGHT
I Clivi Ribolla Gialla
Tami Grillo
Il Palazzone Vignarco Orvieto
RED FLIGHT
La Capra Loca Tempranillo
Juan Gil Monastrell
Vina Zorzal Graciano
See you there,
Max
As you read this, know that I am in a happy place. Every year at this time, my father and my five brothers all converge upon a string of alpine lakes in the Eastern Sierras. It is a special tradition for us. Anyone who does not attend is demoted to cousin status for a year. We arrive with much zeal and fall quickly into our ridiculous routines: recalling odd neighbors and cruel teachers, low-brow films and high-drama exes, revealing secrets of early mischief and misfortunes that our folks never knew, and teasing each other mercilessly (the younger the brother the broader the target).
We rise early and spend most of the day fishing the lakes and occasionally the connecting creeks and streams. We fish and feast and laugh, we drink and sing silly songs, and pass the hours in-between recalling and rediscovering memories from the treasure chests of our youth. When we are not peppering a shoreline, we squeeze aboard a rented boat, exploring the lakes and enjoying a spot that is collectively ours. My brother Stephen emailed all of us recently to ask if anyone recalled which boat was the best to reserve.
My father responded succinctly: "The one that we are all on".
OAKLAND YARD is a happy place. It's best when you are there. Thank you for chartering these waters with us, for being a part of this adventure. The joy continues tonight and in the days and weeks and months ahead. Come be a part of the fun once again! Max and Arlot are all smiles all weekend, serving up all kinds of delicious wine and Julia and Glenny are there to help you too- and our friend Brendan has returned from cycling the Italian countryside and will be back behind the bar for THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS TONIGHT! French Whites or Italian Reds. Your choice tonight! 3 wines, $12.
SATURDAY: Special Tasting Event: Andrew Nelson, wine slinger and one man party will be pouring selections from the Grandes Places Imports portfolio along with cans of his Companion Riesling project. SAT 2-5pm. SUP Street Food will be here too with fresh Spring Rolls (Tofu, Shrimp, Pork). Don't miss out!
SUNDAY TASTING: REVEL WINES w/ Chad Hinds. The most exciting domestic portfolio showcasing 'New California' wines that are balanced, dynamic, and expressive. Game changers. Come see what the hype is about.
I can honestly say that I'm bummed to miss all the fun (but I think will manage). I'll be back on Sunday with stories, and (hopefully) a large trout or two. I'm looking forward to hearing about your good times too.
Keep OAKLAND YARD warm for me,
Daniel
Like my friend and collaborator, Daniel, I was also once a child, and a boy to whom music played an early and important role. I began playing the cello when I was six, and in the third grade, when asked to write a fantasy, I wrote that I wished Jimmy Page would come to my tree-house and teach me to play guitar.
He did not, but I continued to play the cello, and though I had little more than average musical talent as a child, I was able to travel and perform in New York, Finland, Jamaica, and even once at Walt Disney World, in Florida.
The Disney trip was poorly timed; I was fourteen and running with an older crowd. They’d introduced me to bands like to the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, and the day before the flight to Orlando, my friend, Spencer Houser, taught me how to bleach and spike my hair.
My parents were not happy, and my strict, conservative cello teacher leading the trip was especially pissed off. He chastised me soundly, and we all got on a plane to Florida. On arrival, we were informed by the Disney staff that I would not be allowed on stage with my half-orange flat top, because ‘this was not the image they wished to portray’. A few years later, I might have found my middle finger and put it to use, but at this tender age, and with the help of my forbearing mother, I found instead an aerosol can of dark brown hair paint. Thanks mom. The show must go on.
This Saturday at OAKLAND YARD - the day before Mother’s Day - we will be hosting our second musical event of the month, and I’m happy to say, we’ll exert no control over the style, appearance, or subject matter of our performers; we ask only that they wear clothes and don’t injure anyone.
TONIGHT 5/11:Thursday Night Flights! Red and White Flights from 4 to 8pm. Taste 3 Pinot Noirs or 3 Sauvignon Blancs for $12. All tasting wines 10% off.
FRIDAY 5/12: Kermit Lynch Tasting. A flight of three French wines with Kermit Lynch’s Matt Gerloff and special guest, winemaker Philippe Bernede from Clos de la Coutale in Cahors, from 5 to 7pm. $12.
SATURDAY 5/13: LIVE MUSIC with soul vocalist Jonathon Hampton from 4 to 6pm. Wines by the glass.
One the greatest invitations one can receive is an invitation to collaborate. The earliest request I can recall was simple and glorious: Do you wanna build a fort with me?
I grew up with many siblings (I am the sixth of seven- all boys, one girl). We were always on the lookout for free fun and fort building was high on the list. We'd seize discarded wood and cardboard boxes or occasional gems like cinderblocks and mud flaps around the neighborhood on any given weekend and have a go. But my most favorite fort to build was much cleaner: a house within a house... a room within a room...
Sheet forts for the win. Countless sullen Saturdays readily remedied with an excess of fresh and freshly stripped bed sheets, coils of string from god-knows-where (often my sister's yarn), and you name it: clothes pins, thumbtacks, duct tape, clumsy knots, and window clamps. Anything went. Nothing ever wrong. It was whimsical and free form, far more Gehry than Wright.
I can't really recall the forts themselves. But I remember the joy. The simple security of these semi-transparent and bright, sweet-smelling walls. And how, when it was 'complete', there was always a momentary, silent serenity. A quiet compromise now realized. A connection. Pride. And quite simply, something new that was ours.
At OAKLAND YARD a series of collaborations is underway, extending into the months ahead. Plans and pairings ranging from live music to literary crawls. Food carts and food pairings, guest winemakers and importers all claiming a part of this space on any given day. Stay tuned via Newsletter (and our website or Instagram oaklandyardwineshop). These good folks from all over will be joining us here in this space to collaborate and to build something. To make something new. Something that is yours, and that is all of ours. Come be a part of the fun.
TONIGHT 5/4:
Thursday Night Flights!
All French Reds and White flights, your choice for $12. Crackers and cheese included. All tasting wines 10% off!
SATURDAY 5/6:
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants at OAKLND YARD! Matt Gerloff will be pouring a handful of his favorites from the KLWM portfolio. Flights from 3-6pm
SUNDAY 5/7:
LIVE BAND! Calle Ocho will be playing Cuban music from 2-4pm. House-made Sangria and wines by the glass all day!
See you soon, friends.
Daniel
When our new tiny dog, Arlot, walked into Oakland Yard last month, he was wearing a scarf around his neck that said: ‘Adopt me’, and his name was spelled like Mr. Guthrie’s, without the silent ‘t’. He entered the store with his ‘foster mom’ and several other small dogs, and he ran straight for my dog-loving, dog-starved wife, Julia. She took him in her arms and looked at me with wide pleading eyes, and I knew that, unless I developed a sudden, life-threatening allergy, Arlo had found his home. He already knew his name, so we re-baptized him - Frenchified him – with a homonym, adding the ‘t’ in homage to one of our favorite Burgundy producers, Domaine de l’Arlot. He’s a shorthair deer head Chihuahua mix with a fawn blue brindle coat, a long furry neck, and a tendency to keep one ear perked up and the other flopped down. He is gentle and affectionate and when he stands on his hind legs, he looks like a meerkat. Arlot spends a lot of time in the shop with Daniel and me; he sits on his pillow in the sun, chews on cardboard, and follows customers around the store. When friendly large dogs come in, he dances Capoeira-like with joy, performing astounding aerial feats while they remain still and indifferent, and about once a day, he sneaks out the door behind an exiting customer and runs straight into the hair salon next door, where he knows there’s lots of love.
If you’ve yet to meet him, you should really come by and give him a hug. But Arlot’s not the only new arrival worth the trip; every week we’re adding unique and delicious new wines to the shelf and sampling the fresh juice at our tasting bar.
TONIGHT, from 4 to 8pm, our Thursday Night Flights tasting will feature this week’s newcomers to OAKLAND YARD:
Domaine de la Pepiere ‘La Pepie’ Muscadet
Fermi Bohigas Xarel-lo
Moulin de Gassac Guilhem Blanc
Tenuta la Favola ‘Fravolato’ Frappato
Camino de Navaherreros Garnacha
Vignoble Lapierre ‘Quietude’ Merlot
The week Prince died, I shared this memory with some friends. One of them encouraged me to share it with you, a year later, so here you go.
I was an odd little pipsqueak of seven years when Purple Rain came out. I have no explanation for how mesmerizing the film's poster was for me at that age. To be torn between distant cleavage and mysterious interiors and this singular, fierce male gaze was a predicament previously unknown for this Catholic schoolboy. The rush of exhaust or some otherly haze, enveloping Prince like angel wings (or a purple heart?)... it was all too much.
So I collected the film sections from our daily newspaper and cut out his likeness on that motorbike again and again (of particular excitement for me were the larger format, colored Sunday editions) and I created a wall collage above my bed, all of this same image. I thought it was glorious. I shared this room with three other siblings, and my three oldest brothers shared the adjacent room. Needless to say, I gave them all much ammunition to ridicule me for many years over this peculiar obsession. (having secretly changed my name at school to Hawk at that time was another matter, and their discovery of that choice did not help my cause).
Prince passed one year ago, but we still celebrate his music and his spirit here at OAKLAND YARD. A true artist. Always exploring, celebrating, pushing boundaries.
Starting tonight and running through this weekend at OAKLAND YARD, we will be following his lead. Exploring, celebrating, pushing boundaries. Let's go crazy. These tastings are the most dynamic in range we've had yet and are not to be missed. TONIGHT we have two visiting winemakers from Spain, sharing their amazing wines and their craft: Pere Mata and Celler Pardas pouring from 5-7pm! Sparkling Cava and Rosada from Pere Mata followed by a white and 2 reds from Cellar Pardas. 5 wines, $15 flight. SATURDAY: Trailmarker Wine Co Rosé Release Party! Winemakers, Drew Huffine & Emily Virgil, will be pouring their bright and delightful new Rosé of Grenache from Eagle Point Ranch as well as their Manchester Ridge Chardonnay and a domestic Zweigelt from 2-5pm! Come taste some of the most vibrant and exciting wines California has to offer. Sup Street Food will be out front pairing fresh Spring Rolls too! Finally, SUNDAY: SEQUOIA Sake! Master Brewer, Jake Myrick, will be sharing their lineup here at OAKLAND YARD. It's our first sake tasting and we could not be more excited! Check website for more details.
This is all going to be epic.
I think I'm getting butterflies. Touch, if you will, my stomach...
Daniel
Every year, as Easter Sunday approaches, we in wine shops across America field the two big questions: What should I drink with my ham? And what should I drink with my lamb? Here at Oakland Yard, we have a great and well-practiced love of both dishes, so we’ll have many a field-tested answer at the ready.
Lamb is such a rich and savory meat that nearly any red wine will taste good beside it, but if it is strongly seasoned, or grilled to a char, then a full-bodied, somewhat tannic red is best. Eric Asimov and Florence Fabricant suggest California red blends, Bordeaux, and Bandol as ideal lamb pairings. In Ribera del Duero, lambs from the local Churra sheep are roasted in a brick oven, and eaten with earthy Tempranillo.
In the bay area, we’re fortunate to have access to some amazingly delicious, locally raised, milk-fed lambs in springtime, from farms like the James and Watson ranches; and the roasts they provide are so mild in flavor, that I prefer to eat them with a lighter, less tannic red, like California Gamay, or Beaujolais.
A baked ham, too, allows for many pairing options, but its predominant sweet and salty flavors are best accompanied by a fruit-forward wine with at least a touch of sweetness. Sommelier Roy Salazar recommends California Pinot Noir with ham; others say a light rosé, a rich Alsace Pinot Gris, or a juicy German Riesling.
My dear vegetarians will find these holiday traditions challenging in ways unrelated to wine pairing. I am sympathetic to your cultural upstream swim and assure you we have plenty of wine here that will make your vegetables sing sweetly as well.
Whatever you’re cooking this weekend, we’ve got the perfect wine for the meal.
Come taste some of our favorite ‘ham-or-lamb’ wines today from 4 to 8pm.
2015 Marc Plouzeau Touraine Sauvignon Blanc
2015 Ransom Willamette Valley Auxerrois
2015 Leitz Rheingau Riesling
2015 Domaine des Hautes Noelles ‘Heho’ Rouge
2015 Broc North Coast ‘Love’ Red
2014 Domaine la Blaque Rouge de Provence
I'm often asked about how I got into wine. I feel like every year the answer changes slightly, or simply gets longer. My first harvest was obviously memorable but by the time I'm working in cellars I'm already hooked. Three earlier memories are always a part of the conversation.
One: I'm 22 and graduating. My best friend, Martin, is also graduating (from USF) and I'm lucky enough to attend a special dinner out with his family. His uncle presents a well-aged bottle (from his godson's birth year?) to the restaurant staff and there is much ado and ceremony. More than simply a decanter- a small team to oversee this ceremony. A candle, an unusual corkscrew, special stemware. Much is lost on me, but there is a certain romance to the gravity of it all that leaves an indelible mark.
Two: A year or so later I'm teaching Middle School. My salary is no threat to royalty and so I take a part-time job at a local wine shop where I'm first exposed to new varieties like Picpoul and Txakolina (I will find myself lucky enough to return to the mysterious and inspiring atmosphere of a wine shop at Smith & Vine in Brooklyn where I take the red pill and stay in Wonderland to see how deep the rabbit hole goes).
Number three: I'm around 24 and my friend, Drew, invites me and my girlfriend to join him and his exploring California's wine country. We book a cabin to spend a long weekend drinking more than we should. We are curious, enthusiastic, frequently inelegant, occasionally rowdy. We escape to the warm and dry rolling hills of Paso Robles, land of the Rhone Rangers. Tablas Creek becomes the first wine club I ever join. These Rhone varieties like Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier as well as others new to me then (Mourvèdre, Counoise, Roussanne) are all too easy to love. Lush and lively with ripe fruit and structure, wild and rustic and captivating (and, ultimately, delicious).
My palate often leans toward bright, mineral whites and lighter, lively, refreshing reds- but I always find much room in my heart for the Rhone still. When expressive and balanced these varietals can really sing. They can capture ones imagination. Maybe even leave an indelible mark.
Come see why tonight.
THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS at OAKLAND YARD: ALL RHONE for all 6 wines in tonight's lineup. Red and White Flights. Two French selections and one domestic in each. Three wines, $12. Choose your own adventure from 4-8pm. Invite a friend and come explore! You can be a little rowdy tonight, its OK. But don't let Drew give you a piggy back ride, it will end badly.
See you there,
Daniel
I started drinking California wine in earnest when I was 21. It was 1993, and I’d moved across the country and landed a stocking job in the wine room at Chez Panisse. I can still picture the colorful capsules in the numbered slots lining the walls. There, among the requisite French and Italian classics, I first saw the labels I now consider the ‘old guard’ of California. There was Chalone, Green & Red, Neyers, Au Bon Climat, Edmunds St. John, Ridge, Bonny Doon, Alban, Navarro and Sean Thackrey, along with the prodigal darlings: Stag’s Leap and Chateau Montelena; and I learned to give them a place at the table alongside their European forbearers.
Back in New York, in the early 2000’s, I relied on trusted and savvy distributors to turn me on to new wave of California producers, and though these wines were not inexpensive on the east coast, they were singular and dazzling. Over the past decade at Smith & Vine, we proudly introduced countless Brooklynites to the wines of Arnot-Roberts, Wind Gap, Matthiasson, Dirty & Rowdy, La Clarine Farm, Unti, and Donkey & Goat, among others.
Happily, I am again in California, much deeper in the game, and my patchwork pantheon of California producers has grown into a jolly mob, not coming in waves, so much as a constant wash of new and exciting wines, often grown in unfamiliar territory - Placerville, San Benito, or Lassen – with labels bearing different names, like Inconnu, Trail Marker, Thee and Thou, and Cote West. Their winemakers are our rising stars, and also our friends and neighbors, and we are delighted to connect them with the wine lovers of Oakland.
This Saturday, please join us in welcoming talented, young, local winemaker Bret Hogan, while he pours his Cote West Sauvignon Blanc and Rose from 3 to 6pm at OAKLAND YARD. After UC Davis, Hogan spent time at Stag’s Leap, and the revered Domaine des Comtes Lafon, and his wines are as precise and polished as they are satisfyingly delicious. Come taste the magic with the magician himself.
See you all soon,
Max
I moved up to Sonoma for my first harvest internship at Copain Custom Crush in 2009. Before fully committing to a life of professional drinking, I taught Middle School at a progressive K-8 public school in Pasadena (and later Altadena). I have many happy memories from those years and the daily absurdities yielded an arsenal of anecdotes and ridiculous recollections. I was thinking about our tastings this weekend and this one just surfaced. It's rather silly.
It's my first week or so. A lesson I had assumed would last 90 minutes is over in 34. I wing it from there, big time. (Turns out this would be how things would go for the next several years).
After dismissing my student for first recess I bolt for the teachers lounge or, more specifically, for coffee. I'm the first to arrive and find two tiny first grade girls waiting outside the door. One keeps her head down and looks as if she is about to collapse with guilt or grief. The other holds her friend's hand and is amusingly animated, imploring me to locate their teacher, Ms. Lauren. When I tell them I don't know her whereabouts (but I'm sure she's returning soon!) they ask me if I'll let them use the bathroom in the teacher's lounge. I'm not prepared for this. It's a reasonable request but I'm not sure about protocol here.
Passing for a grown up, I ask her the first question that comes to mind, trying to stall long enough for someone responsible to arrive.
"Um, do you need to go number one... or number two?"
She never looks up, just brushes her heel against her sock. So the animated sidekick breaks the uncomfortable silence- looking to her friend and then slowly up at me, her eyes now wild with an eerie desperation. Her whisper is solemn and stern.
"I think it's number three!..."
Starting TONIGHT and through the weekend at OAKLAND YARD there are not one, not two, but three opportunities to let go (so to speak). Come relax with us. We're here to hold your hand if you need any support. You can bring a friend too! THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS are ON tonight! Three wines. Your choice. White flight is Bordeaux and Red Flight is all Syrah. Choose your own adventure from 4-8pm for just $12.
Saturday, from 2-5PM at OAKLAND YARD, Jessica Smith will be pouring three of her favorite wines from H. Mercer Imports. There will be bubbly, rosé and red. This will be an amazing lineup and is not to be missed!
SUNDAY FLIGHT: SPARKLING! Feeling bubbly? Three wines, $15. All three stellar sparklers that we will be showcasing for the first time here at the tasting bar! Salty snacks and complimentary cheese while supplies last. Come lift off with us from 12-6pm.
See you there!
Daniel
In western New York, where I grew up, asparagus is kind of a big deal. We’d spend the winter eating potatoes, onions and winter squash, along with a lot of miserably out-of-season vegetables; and then, finally, the ground would thaw, little purple crocus blooms would start to dot the yard, and the first dark green asparagus would poke up through the straw in the front garden. They grow so fast, you can watch them add inches from one day to the next, and they taste rich and nutty, fresh and nourishing, and dense and meaty, and that’s when you know - for at least the next few months - you are back in the vegetable game in western New York.
Here in the golden state, the winter table features citrus fruits and avocados, chicories, fennel, and mushrooms, and so many other delights brought on by the cooler, wetter weather. When asparagus come around to popping their heads out, the stage is already so crowded, that no one seems to notice the fat little grass.
The Austrians celebrate asparagus unabashedly. After a winter like theirs, Spargelzeit, or spargel saison, is no joke, and the prized harbinger of spring is traditionally paired with wines made from their native Gruner Veltliner grape. Dry, salty, mineral whites with a vegetal edge and a spice like white pepper, these wines cut through the richness of the asparagus and let its fresh green flavors shine through.
Come taste a full lineup of Austrian Gruner Veltliners this Sunday at OAKLAND YARD.
Complimentary asparagus while supplies last.
GRUNER VELTLINER TASTING: Sunday March 19th, from 12 noon until 6pm
See you there,
Max
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)