My mother is a great gift giver. Birthdays as a kid were always solid and I could count on her for a handsome enough sweater or soccer cleats in my actual size, maybe a drawing pad. Every few years, something really grand like a trip to Disneyland.
One year she was under the weather leading up to my birthday and let my father shop for me. Dad was more direct and asked me for a list. When the evening came, I unwrapped the mound of presents to discover that he got me nearly everything on the list. Amazing! But this was the list of a madman, or at least a 9 year old. Canisters of Pringles. A tub of Red Vines. Jumbo packages of E.L. Fudge cookies and Oreos and Fig Newtons. Kung Fu Shoes. A pile of lottery scratchers.
Mom gave him a look. That was maybe the last time Dad was in charge of that. Funny thing was, I thought it was the best. I kept everything squirreled away under my bed and ate like a king, decapitating Keebler elves at my leisure. My reign would be brief though, the ant army invading soon after.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! We got your list and heard your requests. Tonight is for you. We have stellar flights of crowd-pleasing varieties lined up! Indulge. No ants, we promise. White Flight: Sauvignon Blanc and Red Flight: Pinot Noir. Flights $12 from 4-8pm.
SATURDAY FLIGHTS: Syrah! French and American Syrah, Flights $15 from 3-6pm.
SUNDAY: Jura and Arbois Tasting. Blanc et Rouge. Flights $15 from 2-6pm
See you soon!
Daniel
As any New Yorker will tell you, January in New England is no joke, but we, as kids, had a lot of gear that made playing outside possible through the coldest months. We had ski masks, mittens, gloves, thermals, and those jackets with hoods that made us look like Kenny from South Park. All this meant the only thing that would freeze within the first few hours outdoors were our nose hairs.
On many of these numbingly cold weekend days, when the creek down the street was solidly and safely frozen over, my brother and I would be summoned by the local middle school kids, and we’d put on two pairs of socks, throw our skates over our shoulders, grab a shovel to clear the ice, and walk a quarter mile to the bridge. I was often the youngest and least skilled skater in the bunch, so usually ended up tending goal, with the appropriate safety gear: a baseball mitt, a football helmet and ski goggles.
My brother and I had an army-green canteen – this was before the age of water bottles – which we brought on our adventures, but the canteen did not make it on one of these days, or perhaps it was emptied to early in the game. Whatever the case, we were all sweating in our down jackets and had developed a terrible thirst. I found a small hole in the in the ice at the edge of the creek and I lay beside it. It was just big enough to provide a perfectly refreshing, cool clean draught of water, and I gulped it down, as did Dave, and Jason, and James, and the others. I remember it as some of the best tasting water I’ve ever had.
Over the next few days, one by one, we were absent from school, and we – or more likely, our parents – put two and two together. What tasted like the most glorious water was a country creek like any other, rolling through fields and pastures at every bend. In fact, it is called Mud Creek; that should have tipped us off.
A few days of barfing. Another lesson learned.
I, for my part, continue to taste liquids others eschew. Nowadays, is spit, but every week, for the past ten or fifteen years, I’ve tried every wine I could possibly sell for fifteen dollars or less. Usually, I don’t like the wine – the job consists of mostly saying ‘no thank you’ - but every once in a while, I do like it very much, and then it ends up on our Fifteen and Under Table. Daniel and I taste oceans of twelve dollar wine so you don’t have to wade through it yourself, and we have at least fifty or sixty wines for under sixteen dollars at any given time, all well-tested, tried and true. Come explore the world of ‘weekday wines’ we work so hard to maintain!
And come by this week taste some fresh new arrivals…
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! French Gamay & Austrian Gruner Veltliner from 4 to 8pm - $12
And this SATURDAY, December 20th: Tasting Flight: Wines of Piedmont, Italy from 3 to 6pm
SUNDAY, December 21st, we’ll be pouring Hungarian Wine Tasting Flights from 3 to 5pm - $12
See you soon,
Max
Rainy days were the worst in elementary school. Recess indoors was a drag but lunch in the classroom was extra depressing. My reputation by then was less a true troublemaker and more a frequent wisecracker. This earned me an assigned seat close to the teacher and surrounded by geeks and mutes. They likely have a similar story about having to pass rainy days with a jackass.
It always creeped me out watching my teachers eat. One of the nuns was known to literally chew her food 32 times before swallowing. We could barely keep conversations going, too often distracted by the spectacle of an everlasting apple or a slowly tortured ham sandwich. Looking back she may have been messing with us. That would have really been some commitment on her the part.
On rainy days I couldn't mix with my friends, as Sister Mary Anne Lenore would only allow us to "spin" our desks in one direction or another. So I'd end up adjoining desks with the likes of Grace Capul or Jason Steingart. It would be many years later that I'd look back on the rainy days and realize it was kind of cool having to break our routines occasionally. Kickball was still the best, naturally, but those odd, quiet gray days were memorable too. Playing Go Fish or Hangman or Chutes & Ladders with relative strangers and sometimes sharing stories, or disfigured animal crackers. Trading knock-knock jokes, or a Capri Sun for a Fun Dip.
Tonight at OAKLAND YARD: Thursday Night Flights! In the spirit of the new year we'll be pouring lesser known and under-appreciated new, unusual varieties. All exciting, dynamic, and delightful in their own way. White Flight: a Spanish Xarel-lo, an Italian Robolla Gialla, a Croatian Debit. Red Flight: Xinomavro from Greece, Negrette from France, and Alfrocheiro from Portugal. Flights $12, from 4-8pm.
The New & Unusual Varieties theme will continue on SATURDAY Tasting (1/13) with some higher end wines on the menu. Flights from 3-6pm, $15.
SUNDAY FLIGHTS: Sparkling! For any who missed the chance to toast to the New Year with us, stop on by from 2-6 and lift up and away with us with all bubbly flights! Let's do this, 2018.
Stop by tonight or roll in this weekend to OAKLAND YARD. Get out of the comfort zone of Pinot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. Try something new. Bring a snack to share if you want. Make a new friend. Compare notes and file them away in your Peechee folder.
See you soon,
Daniel
p.s. Stay sweet. Don't ever change. Hope we have classes together next year.
Happy New Year to you all and thank you sincerely for an amazing first full year of Oakland Yard. We know 2017 was a difficult year for many, but I hope we helped to soften some of its stronger blows; not with the numbing nepenthe of ethyl, but with the conversation, conviviality, and connection that a series of good suppers together can bring about.
And thank you also for your forbearance during our last three days’ hiatus - a much appreciated break for us. Three little piggies went to the coast (one very little indeed). Two little piggies ate oysters. This little piggy shaved his beard and went to Mexico, but Daniel and Jessie will be in today to reopen and pour tasting flights of Spanish wine. You’ll see my face next week, or at least that’s what the return ticket says; I may locate my turtle brethren and fail to resurface.
Speaking of turtles, a third hearty thank you goes to all of you who helped me just barely surpass Daniel in our holiday six-pack sales competition. Slow and steady did win the race, and I hope you enjoyed all of our celebratory selections, whatever your choices. And honestly, I will seek the company of those regal tortugas of the sea, but I’m looking forward to returning to another year at Oakland Yard. With last year under our belt, now we really know what you all like to drink (thankfully, it’s mostly what we like too) and I hope I speak for all of us when I say we’re ready to move into 2018 with renewed strength and confidence.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! All Spanish Whites or Reds from 4 to 8pm - $12
This SATURDAY, January 5th - from 3 to 6pm: Italian Wine from the Veneto! Tasting flights of Valpolicella and Garganega
This SUNDAY, January 6th, from 3 to 6pm: Natural Reds from France’s Languedoc-Roussillon and WINE CLUB PICK UP PARTY!!!
They say it in movies, and I'm almost sure I've heard a driver rage at another on occasion, but I can't say for certain that I've ever been told to Go to Hell! I'm not suggesting I'm missing out or anything, just sharing a fact. It's a moot point anyway, as I'm pretty much all set with regard to the afterlife. My mother explained, with notable rationale for a devout Catholic, that her heaven (she's definitely going, BTW) would not be her heaven without her family there. I think Saint Peter will find it hard to argue that logic (or he'll find arguing with mom simply tiring, even with the whole infinity thing). I'm in her circle - and so, by default of geometry, I'm IN. (Take that, Sister Mary Anne Lenore)
New Year's Eve is a funny thing. After years of party hopping or hosting with friends (and many friends of friends) dropping in and out and then on to other parties themselves, it took me a long time to realize that there is no fixed center. Or at very least, I wasn't it. If I was lucky enough to have a circle of my closest friends around me on such a night, each person there would have a completely different ring of their closest friends and so on. Most spend New Year's Eve chasing, or perhaps, jumping through these rings. I should have learned this much sooner, but I'm slow.
We strive to make OAKLAND YARD a place for neighbors and the broader community to connect, though we know we are not the center. But whether it's New Year's or the 4th of July, or any random solitary weeknight, please know that we are grateful and honored to be a part of yourcircle, part of your celebrations... to be connected to you. We are forever humbled and elated simply to be on your radius.
TONIGHT: THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS! All German and Austrian Red and White Flights. Crisp Gruner Veltliner and electric Dry Rieslings and fresh, vibrant reds (Zweigelt, Blaufrankish). Flights $12 from 4-8pm!
SATURDAY & SUNDAY: All Sparkling Flights at OAKLAND YARD. Rotating selection of Bubbles from Around the World, including holiday favorites for every budget. Flights from 2-5pm, 12/30 and 12/31.
See you soon!
Daniel
p.s. Please note our HOLIDAY HOURS:
OAKLAND YARD will be OPEN regular hours all weekend. We will be OPEN SUNDAY, New Year's Eve, from 11-8pm
We will be CLOSED New Year's Day AND January 2nd & 3rd. We will be OPEN and resume regular hours on January 4th (and will be pouring Thursday Night Flights as always:) Stock up for your weekend celebrations AND for the week ahead !!!
And Happy New Year from all of us at OAKLAND YARD!!!
At the close of our most recent post, my friend Daniel, outside of the moment, looking pong-wise - backward and forward - proposed a toast to the future. Unlike the toast of the future, which pops as you wake and butters itself, a toast to the future calls for a look ahead, with all the heady stuff of dreams, fears and hopes at its heart. I generally prefer to be here now. I refuse to set goals, make resolutions or otherwise occupy my thoughts with may or may not happen, but I do have some wishes for what lies ahead.
On this shortest day of Midwinter, I too look forward and raise a glass. I look forward to longer days passed slowly with loved ones. May we leave our judgment and anger behind us and use the short time ahead to fully appreciate and enjoy one another, to understand and to forgive each other. In the year to come, may we all laugh, unguardedly, wholeheartedly, with real mirth. May we laugh hard enough to forget who we think we are and regain a sense of the beauty of the uninterrupted world.
The toast of the future will be fine with coffee or juice, but a toast to the future requires something stronger. It is said, and so we’ve found, that wine with bubbles works well for this. We’ll be sampling several sparklers this Sunday. Come raise a glass to the end of 2017 and the beginning of the rest of our lives - the best of times!
This SUNDAY, December 24th, we’ll be pouring sparkling wine Tasting Flights on Christmas Eve from 2 to 5pm - $15
But first…TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! All Italian Whites or Reds from 4 to 8pm - $12
And this SATURDAY, December 23rd: Holiday Tasting Flights – featuring some of our favorite wines for your holiday table - from 3 to 6pm - $15
Cheers,
Max
A girl I dated in high school gifted me a mug that said "These Are the Days". Turned out to be true in a way, as we broke up that weekend. I kept the mug, though I still struggle with the sentiment, living in the moment. I too often ruminate about where things are headed, with how things began and where or how they end up. With connections and pathways, plots and turns and coincidences and all that. I guess life in general and, frankly, what follows. When I was in second grade, a priest at my grade school asked me if I wanted to go to heaven. Years later, he told me that I had replied with suspicion: "Do you think it'll be any fun?"
For the shop's one year anniversary, I recalled our first newsletter last month, and how Max and I met. How was I to know I'd also meet my wife at that same little shop? Max and I and Julia and Glenny opened OAKLAND YARD in November 2016 and had our grand opening on December 10th. How was I to know that one year later (last Sunday) that Glenny and I would welcome Ellery June into this world on that same day?
Two schools in Southern California are separated by a fence. I was at soccer practice (over 20 years ago) on one side, on the other a young kid named Brendan was likely practicing his saxophone (or practicing smoking). How was I to know that many years later we'd meet and would end up working together in a wine cellar in western Sonoma? He went on to art school, and then on countless other paths, playing music in various indie and country bands, sound engineering for Nickelodeon and NPR, bartending, and eventually working in wineries in Sonoma and New Zealand. He can sometimes be spotted here at the shop, and he has likely filled some of your glasses at our weekly Thursday night tastings. But this SATURDAY, December 16th, he will be here pouring his wine, from his new label, Phantome Cellars. Joining him will be Brian Jessen, winemaker for Irene Wine Cellars, and Philip Cuadra of Highlawn Wine Co.
These gentleman have been in too many cellars and vineyards to say they are just beginning. But we are thrilled to have these three rising stars all here together at OAKLAND YARD, showing what California wine can be: dynamic, expressive, and balanced.
None of us can see the future, but this Saturday you can taste it. Meet the Winemakers, SATURDAY from 3-6pm here at OAKLAND YARD! Four wines, $15.
And TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! WHITE FLIGHT: French Rhone Whites // RED FLIGHT: California Reds. Flights of 3 wines, $12 from 4-8pm!
SUNDAY FLIGHT: Burgundy! Chablis / Macon-Villages / Bourgogne Rouge. Flights from 2-6pm.
I've been out for most of the week, with amazing support from the OAKLAND YARD team, and from the local wine community with good folks like Matt Gerloff of Kermit Lynch and Cory Gowan of Mission Wines generously giving their time and pouring their delicious wines earlier this week while I was out. But Im back - and hell, I''ve missed you. So get down and say hello! There's so much to raise glasses to these days. If nothing else... to the future.
See you soon,
Daniel
We heartily thank all of you who participated in our East For North fire relief fundraiser at Camino last week. There are so many who helped in ways large and small, and together - with donated food, wine, raffle and auction items - we were able to raise $25,000 for the Latino Community Foundation’s efforts to benefit the underserved communities affected by the north bay fires. Thank you!!!
In addition to the money raised at the benefit, and with help from Schatzi Wines and local winemakers, like Emily and Drew at Trail Marker Wine Co. and Philip of Highlawn Wine Company, OAKLAND YARD was able to raise another $2,500 for the foundation, by donating all profits from California wine sales by the glass over the past two months. So, another resounding chorus of thank yous to everyone who made the California choice at our tasting bar these past two months.
How can we all continue to do good and feel good doing it? Show up for California and keep buying the local wines. We’ve got some of our favorite bay area winemakers pouring here for the next two Saturday afternoons, and we hope you’ll join us to taste their delicious wares, get to know them, and to continue to show your support. Thank you all, and see you soon.
But first…TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! All Spanish Whites or Reds from 4 to 8pm - $12
This SATURDAY, December 9th: TRAIL MARKER WINE CO will be here! Winemakers Emily Virgil & Drew Huffine pouring flights of their Pinot Noir, Zweigelt and Chardonnay from 2 to 5pm - $15
SUNDAY, December 10th: Portuguese tasting flights: Red, White, and Sparkling Rosé from 2 to 5pm - $12
And next Saturday, December 16th: Three Local Winemakers pour their wines! Brendan Willard with Phantômé Cellars Anderson Valley "Broken Leg" Syrah, Brian Jessen with Irene Wine Cellars El Dorado Mourvedre Syrah blend and Philip Cuadra with Highlawn Wine Company Theopolis Petite Sirah and Rorick Vineyard Albarino!
See you soon,
Max
An epic month. My folks toasted to 50 years of marriage. OAKLAND YARD turned one. We had our first real Thanksgiving with you all. Max celebrated his birthday just a couple days ago... and speaking of birthdays, it's probably time to mention the elephant in the room. Or, one might say, the elephant in the womb. OK, not an an elephant at all. Fun pun, odd image. But yes indeed, a baby girl is on the way. My wife, Glenny, is due December 12th. Seems strange to correspond with you so often and not mention this. It also seems appropriate to prepare you for my nervous energy, my excitement, and my occasional absentmindedness should you encounter a sleep-deprived or otherwise altered version of me in the weeks or months (or years?) ahead.
I have a lot of stories, but none really start until age 5. I certainly don't remember being an infant, nor a toddler. Apparently some do. I had a friend in high school named Todd who recalled witnessing, at age 2, his sitter stealing his mother's earrings from her jewelry box. Reflecting on it now, as I write this morning... she sounds like a pretty lousy thief, but maybe not an altogether bad baby-sitter (Still keeping a close eye on him while burglaring and all...) Anyway, I digress.
While we wait for this tiny member of the OAKLAND YARD gang to join us soon, I'd like to also welcome and introduce someone who has already joined us. Some of you have met Jessie, who started working here at the shop a couple weeks ago. Jessie rocks. If you have yet to introduce yourself, come say hello! She'll be behind the bar tonight for THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS! Join us for a stellar lineup of electric, dry German whites and vibrant, food-friendly Italian reds. New arrivals and new vintages. Drop in tonight! Flights $12 from 4-8pm.
SATURDAY, Rachel Miers of Henry Wine Group will be here pouring outrageously delicious flights of her holiday favorites, including some top tier gems! Champagne, Txakolina, Rioja, and Burgundy. Not to be missed! Drop in to OAKLAND YARD, Saturday (12/2). Flights from 2-5pm.
SUNDAY FLIGHT: MERLOT! All lively, fresh and energetic expressions of this often misunderstood grape. Come taste and see. And Believe! We'll be pouring Domaine Le Vrille et le Papiilon 'Chapeau Melon', Little Frances Contra Costa Merlot and Vignoble Lapierre 'Quietude' Merlot. Flights from 2-6pm!
A million thanks once again for letting us be a part of your holiday celebrations, and a part of all the grand or small personal celebrations between and beyond. Thanks for making OAKLAND YARD your shop.
See you soon (and you too, little one...),
Daniel
Just over five years ago, Hurricane Sandy brought four feet of water to our neighbors in Red Hook Brooklyn. As the flood receded, I grabbed two generators and a sump pump and headed to our local bar, the Red Hook Bait and Tackle, where the owner, Barry, was already dressed in a dry suit and wellies. Together with a few dozen neighbors, we began to clear out the flooded bar and basement. As the day progressed, many more came by to see if they could help, but there are only so many people you can put to work excavating kegs and cardboard. So Barry, bar owner-come community organizer, deployed the helping hands to the neighbors all around us. As that first day came to a close, the neighborhood gathered at the Bait and Tackle where without electricity, Barry managed a makeshift bar so folks could share a drink and a story and start to plan for the community’s recovery.
Throughout the following year, Barry and other small business owners became more than just shop owners. They worked together to raise money to help each other reopen, organized local politicians to respond to residents’ ongoing needs, and most of all, they made Red Hook a haven, giving a deep sense of purpose and place to those of us seeking it.
After the fires stopped burning in Napa and Sonoma Counties last month, and the smoky air in Oakland let up, I was brought back to that time in post-Sandy Brooklyn. Sharing stories with Allison Hopelain at Camino, of friends who had lost homes, wineries, and livelihoods, and inspired by the Red Hook crew, we cooked up a plan to bring together our communities in support of the folks who have been hardest hit. We are proud to be collaborating with Camino and Nokni to produce East for North, a benefit event this Tuesday 11/28. I hope you will join us.
Tickets include food, wine, and a raffle ticket. The evening will also feature a silent auction full of rare items and experiences like a private dinner at Zuni Cafe, dinner IN the downstairs kitchen at Chez Panisse, an overnight at the Scribe Hacienda, and much much more. More details can befound and tickets can be purchased at https://east4north.brownpapertickets.com/.
I was born in the last week of November, which means my birthday occasionally falls on Thanksgiving Day. Astrologically, this makes me a Sagittarius, but I am at odds with my sign. Sagittarians are meant to be extroverted, optimistic and enthusiastic; they embrace change and love travel. I am more often introverted, fatalistic and even-keeled, and I like neither change nor travel. I am, in essence, more of a turtle, but there is no turtle sign, no legendary tortoise, pinned by stars, crawling slowly across the night sky, murmuring softly ‘I told you this would happen.’
Daniel is an Aries, and this makes us very compatible. I’d hate to see what would happen if I spent sixty hours a week with a Virgo or Pisces. Aries are said to be actively enterprising, honest, and guileless, and, thankfully, Daniel embodies these characteristics, but he is rarely aggressive or egoistic, and it would be a stretch to call him organized. How about competitive? I didn’t think so, until he suggested we each design a discounted, pre-packaged, $99 six-pack of holiday wine and see who sells more.
So I said, ‘Let the games begin!’ and we each filled bags with our favorite, crowd-pleasing, food-friendly wines. These are wines we like to drink, mixed reds and whites, different styles to suit the tastes of your various and discerning friends and relatives. Come on down and check them out yourself, or give us a call and order one by phone and arrange for free delivery.
So far, we’re neck and neck, but we all know: slow and steady wins the race..
We’ll be open THANKSGIVING DAY from 10am until 4pm for last minute libations, including our solidly stupendous $99 HOLIDAY SIX PACKS curated by Max & Daniel
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights - French Whites and Italian Reds - 4 to 8pm
This SATURDAY 11/18 - RED BORDEAUX Tasting Flights:
Special guest Alex Finberg pours transcendent top shelf Bordeaux imported by Neil Rosenthal – Saint-Estephe, Saint-Emilion, Haut Medoc, and more - 3 to 6pm - $15
This SUNDAY - Thoroughly sophisticated Thanksgiving sippers: Tasting flights of unique and delicious wines for your holiday table – 2 to 5pm - $15
And Tuesday, November 28th, come eat and drink with us at CAMINO for a FIRE RELIEF BENEFIT to raise funds for the LATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION. Oakland Yard is joining forces with Nokni and Camino to aid underserved communities affected by the recent North Bay fires. Food, wine, silent auction, and raffle. 6 to 9pm $100 Buy tickets at EAST4NORTH.BROWNPAPERTICKETS.COM
I've always fallen for fall. Some sort of teenage feeling, I suppose. Or something more ancient in my blood maybe. I'm not a pumpkin spice latte nut or anything, it's more internal for me. A stillness in the air that moves me. A time of year I find myself saying autumn more readily (sometimes with an accent, when no one is around). And I become insanely maudlin- starting poems, watching dreary foreign films, favoring waltzes, playing guitar more and writing songs for my old cat.
I was a school teacher for ten years before (or, concurrently, while) getting into wine. This particular time of year, just before Thanksgiving, brings fond memories. I'll confess, the four day weekend was always a most welcome relief. But the week or two leading up was quite special. The world moving to a slower, secret rhythm. Everyone seeming to be looking for a little more warmth. We had an annual Stone Soup celebration. You know the folktale, right? A traveller, a village that keeps to (and for) themselves... he just has a pot and water- and a stone. He tells them he is making "stone soup", which would be much improved with a few carrots perhaps (which a reluctant villager contributes), and maybe some celery? (yet another skeptic adds), and some salt and pepper... You got it. In the end everyone feasts. All are happy. A socialist utopia maybe, but a pleasant sentiment about the nature of sharing, and of giving. The sum greater than the parts.
This past weekend we celebrated our one year anniversary. It was awesome. All kinds of warm, familiar faces and so many new connections too. It's silly, hokey even - but it got me thinking of Stone Soup again. How OAKLAND YARD is ultimately just a vessel, a large pot. What you bring to this space is everything. It's immeasurable, potentially infinite. You are the stock, the meat and potatoes... you are the magic spice. I know Thanksgiving is still two weeks away, but I wanted to thank you- for all you contribute here, for your patronage, for your very presence. For being such an integral part of this celebration. We hope to be a part of your celebrations this month and into the holidays (and beyond). We are honored and delighted to be your shop. Here's to many years, many feasts, and many celebrations ahead...
And here's to Oliver, my old cat.
SATURDAY: KERMIT LYNCH TASTING! Matt Gerloff will be here with Max pouring an exciting lineup of some holiday favorites from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant! Bordeaux varietals and cold weather reds. Flights from 3-6pm! Wines by the glass and Sparkling Sangria special too!
SUNDAY FLIGHTS: RIESLING! Electricity in a bottle. Stunning and wildly expressive. All dry, delightful and food-friendly- perfect wines for your holiday meals! Come taste and see! Flights from 2-6pm, and wines by the glass.
EVERY THURSDAY at OAKLAND YARD: THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS! All stellar new arrivals! Flights $12 from 4-8pm!
See you soon,
Daniel
The very first party I remember attending was my great-grandmother Rose’s hundredth birthday celebration. It was a modest affair, at her apartment on East 10th Street in New York City and, though I couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old, with a pageboy haircut and corduroy pants, I dubbed myself the ‘bartender’, and doled out ginger ale with ice cubes from the cocktail cart. I took great joy in this role - my first foray into the world of hospitality - and I’m pretty sure Grandma Rose had a good time too.
This Sunday, we hope you’ll join us for another birthday: One Year of OAKLAND YARD! Twelve months goes by awfully fast these days, and I think I can safely say that while Daniel, Glenny, Julia, and I have all worked harder in the last year than we ever have before, it’s really beginning to feel like it’s all come together rather nicely. Thank you all for your continuing support - your loans, laughter, patronage, encouragement, your thoughtful criticism and advice. And thank you especially for filling our place with life; your friendship, shared sorrows and victories keep us feeling valued and connected during what felt like a difficult year for all.
You usually come by here a few at a time, and many of you have met over a glass of wine at the bar, but we’ve not reached a critical mass of dancing and drinking since our grand opening party, and we barely knew you then. Now we know so many of you, some very well, and we’re looking forward to getting you all together to meet the others. I’m not as cute as I was back in the seventies, but my bartending skills are much improved, and will be in effect on Sunday.
THIS SUNDAY, November 5th, from 2 to 6pm, Nokni Oakland and Tacos Oscar will be serving up delicious food, we'll have beer from Temescal Brewing and, of course, you can count on amazing wines and bubbly by the glass and bottle all day here at OAKLAND YARD! House-made sangria too and live, cuban music by Calle Ocho!
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights!: Rhone-style wines - red and white - 4 to 8pm
And this Saturday 11/4: Portuguese Tasting Flights - red, white & bubbly - 2 to 6pm
I'm number six of seven. Certain things are inevitable when you have 6 siblings. As children, we could expect a fair share of Seven Dwarfs memorabilia around the holidays- greeting cards and ornaments and whatnot. One for each of us. It was a no-brainer that the infant, my little brother Timothy, would be "Sleepy". The oldest brother, "Doc", naturally. The occasionally ill-tempered brother accepted the "Grumpy" moniker with some pride, the shyest seemed happy to be "Bashful", but not too happy... you see where this is going. Yep. I got Dopey. Or rather, I was Dopey. Forever. Resistance was futile. It was simply by default, mom swore. I'd like to say I was skeptical, but I took her word for it. Like a dope.
Another inevitability of seven kids is an even (if not equal) distribution of chores. A certain symmetry to the working week. We were each assigned a day. Forever. It was known as our "Special Day". The rules were simple. You got to decide what was for dinner. And you had to do all the dishes that night. Amongst ourselves, we kids called it our "yucky day". Mine was Saturday. Always a big gamble: possible easy peasy, pizza night if I was lucky- or, at very least, the night older siblings were likely to be at friends' houses. But inevitably, the day would come when the big party was at our house. Then my nightmare was real: endless bowls of coagulated dips, grey guacamole, caked and crusted casserole remains. Everyone using three cups. I would pray that morning that there wasn't dessert. Root beer floats? You can all go to hell...
I am thrilled to announce that our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY celebration will be next SUNDAY! Not Saturday. Sunday. Sunday, November 5th from 2-6pm to be exact. And that's Timothy's "special" day so get down here and make a mess. It's going to be a hell of a lot of fun too! We'll be setting up an outdoor patio behind the shop (the store and tasting bar will stay open all day too)! Nokni Oakland and Tacos Oscar will be serving up delicious food, we'll have beer from Temescal Brewing and, of course, you can count on amazing wines and bubbly by the glass and bottle all day here at OAKLAND YARD! House-made sangria too and live, cuban music by Calle Ocho! Tell your friends. Tell your siblings. Tell Timothy to be ready...
But first... as always, THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS TONIGHT from 4-8pm! Vermentino or Gamay? 3 whites and 3 reds. A stellar selection this evening to be certain! Choose your own adventure tonight! Flights $12.
Also.. we are delighted to have HOUTSKOOL Dumpling House returning to OAKLAND YARD this SATURDAY from 4-7pm! We'll be starting the day off right with Flights from 3-6pm: Wines from Hungary! (insert hungry pun here). We'll also be pouring special wines by the glass all day and into the evening until 9pm.
SUNDAY: Sparkling Flights from 12-6pm. Bubbles and by the glass specials all day. Lift off with us!
Heigh-Ho... Let's do this.
Daniel
At this time last year, Daniel and I had quit our jobs, Oakland Yard was a large, dusty, empty box, with no shelving, no permits, and no inventory, and my friend, Jens, had just arrived to help us make a wine shop out of a whole lot of nothing. This Jens (the J sounds like a Y) is a sculptor, and a builder, a master plasterer, and an accomplished metal worker. He is also a devoted friend, an excellent cook, and a wellspring of tremendous laughter.
Jens flew to California with power tools and stayed in our home for a month, first itemizing our build-out budget, and helping us choose materials, then unpacking the truck he loaded in Red Hook, Brooklyn, full of wood and steel and more tools, and then working well into the night, day after day, with the mounting pressures of building and health inspections and a pre-Thanksgiving opening.
Our store plans were drawn by Jens’ partner, Gita, one of my dearest and oldest friends. A skilled architect, gardener, and critical thinker, Gita was equally generous with her talents. The work they did would have cost us a small fortune, but we paid Jens in dinners at Burma Superstar, and beers at The Avenue, and gifted Gita a set of ceramic plates thrown by my father. They asked for no more, wanting only for us to have a beautiful space in which to work.
It’s been a year now, but I think fondly of Gita and Jens every single day, when I unlock the door, turn on the lights, and see again what they’ve made for us. Such acts of kindness shine brightly into the dark corners of our world as few things can, and as we at OAKLAND YARD have watched our friends and neighbors struggle with the fires up north, we’ve been thinking of ways we can help out. Profits from our California wine by the glass sales this last week, and the foreseeable weeks to come, are all going to fire aid, and Julia has organized, along with our fellow shops, Ordinaire and Vintage Berkeley, a fundraising tasting for this weekend.
This SATURDAY, October 21st, we’ll be pouring tasting flights from 12 to 6pm, and wines by the glass until 9pm, to raise money for the California fire relief efforts. Local winemakers have generously donated wine for the cause. We’ll be featuring delicious reds and whites from Wind Gap, Highlawn, Trail Marker, Waits-Mast, Thee & Thou, and Vinca Minor, and every penny will go to those in need.
And don’t forget, TONIGHT…
THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS!: French Whites and Spanish Reds, from 4 to 8pm
And this SUNDAY: Flights of all new Italian wines, white and red, from 2 to 6pm
Thanks for reading these. Max and I have been switching off every week or so, sharing stories for a year now. Just a month ago Max wrote about Sky Vineyards and in my last email I was reminiscing about my time in Sonoma, working in wine production before opening this shop. I have so many stories and memories up there. For brevity last time, I edited out a recollection of the first winemaker I worked for inviting me and two other harvest interns to join his family for a proper home-cooked meal after those first few back-breaking weeks. We gathered around the table and ate well and drank good wine and even coaxed him into playing some guitar for us, with his young son scurrying around in his pajamas, his daughter grinning at him in her high chair.
That kitchen table, that entire home in Santa Rosa, is now gone. As are countless others. Sky Vineyards fell victim to the fire too. This week has been surreal and devastating. A customer was in the other day lamenting that "our wells are dry". Talking about how we normally can get though the day-to-day until a personal or broader catastrophe hits home. Then we go to the well. But in this current political climate, the daily injustices, shootings, hurricanes, earthquakes... what is left in the well?
We always wanted OAKLAND YARD to be more than just a shop. We hoped it could be a place for people to truly connect. A warm and welcoming space. A place of joy. We want these simple (and, maybe at times, silly) correspondences to be joyful too. We really do. It's just been a lot to deal with everything these days.
But there is light, always. It's been inspiring watching the waves of folks outside all week, dropping off water and clothing and respirators and blankets. Our neighbors at 1-2-3-4 Go! Records volunteered to be a drop off point for donations early on and we joined their efforts. Thanks to our neighbors, ten truckloads have been safely delivered to evacuation sites as of today. We will be coordinating with other East Bay shops for a Fire Relief Fundraiser tasting event next weekend (October 21st), stay tuned for details...
In the meantime, we will continue to be a place to gather and connect. A community well. We are now offering CA wines by the glass EVERYDAY, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to fire relief and bringing aid to all those displaced. Every glass helps. Drop in and drink up.
We also have THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS tonight, as always, White and Red Flights are all Italian lineups tonight.
Special SATURDAY CIDER TASTING. This will be a fun and unusual offering and something not to be missed. Flights from 2-5pm.
SUNDAY FLIGHTS: PINOT NOIR from around the world. We'll be pouring Flights from 12-6pm.
Know that we'll always be here for you. But right now you're needed here. To fill this well we call OAKLAND YARD. So stop in tonight or this weekend or when you can. Your neighbors need you.
See you soon,
Daniel
ps. Additional ways to help:
https://www.redwoodcu.org/northbayfirerelief
http://www.napavalleycf.org/fire-donation-page/
nbcbayarea/howyoucanhelpwithnorthbayfirereliefefforts
http://www.sfgate.com/local/article/how-to-help-north-bay-fires-napa-santa-rosa-12264095.php
Between my college years, I worked at several restaurants on Fire Island, a car-less beach community thirty minutes by boat from the south shore of Long Island. I’d stay at my grandmother’s house on the island, swim in the ocean every day, shoot pool in the bars after work, and slowly reel in the spending money that would get me through the winter. I also learned a lot about how not to run a business.
I made friends with the other young people working on the island, a mix of Long Island jocks and frat-boys, Irish kids working in the states on Morrison Visas, and some rough and tumble Manhattan kids who’d figured the beach was the better place to be during summer, even if you had to work and play with all of these jokers. I gravitated toward the latter group and made good friends with Sauce, Dan, Derek and Daryl, city boys with considerable experience in food service, and an irrepressible sense that the world was their oyster, or at least their Clams Casino.
After two seasons bussing tables, Dan helped me get my first job as a waiter, at an outdated but quaint little hotel dining room, with clear views of the Great South Bay, and arguably some of the better food around. There were a handful of waterfront eateries in the town of Ocean Beach, and they were all pretty terrible. Ingredient quality was poor – frozen seafood shipped to an island surrounded by fishing boats – and questionable preparation and technique further worsened the situation.
The owner, and chef, was a raging - is the only word – alcoholic, a lascivious and blustery mustachioed despot, who took it upon himself to sexually harass any marginally attractive young man within earshot. He drank a vanilla-flavored Italian liqueur called Tuaca, wore cutoff jeans and Timberland boots without socks, and chain-smoked cigarettes as he worked the sautee station, with long ashes dangling precariously over every sauce, as plated food and spouted obscenities. Dan hated him so much that he’d throw away the restaurant silverware along with the food scraps as he bussed tables.
If you were not there to pick up the food when it was ready, you were soundly excoriated, but if you stood in the kitchen waiting for the food, the abuse was even worse, so I attached a small mirror to the doorframe between the bus station and the kitchen, and I would stand just outside the door with my eyes trained on the countertop in the tiny looking glass until the food popped into view, then I would snatch it and run.
What did I learn there? If you want to do something, do it right - with integrity and kindness, sow only good seeds and they will grow likewise around you. Life’s too short for bad vibes, or second-rate food cooked without love. We’re very excited to be partnering with Julya and Steve of Nokni Oakland for tomorrow’s pop up Korean food and wine pairing event, because they share these values – and their food is amazing! No smoke, no mirrors, just quality ingredients and a welcoming, positive attitude.
We’ve filled up the second round of tasting, but still have space available from 5 to 6:30. Come by the shop or give us a call to reserve a spot now, or buy tickets online at brownpapertickets.com and stay tuned for more Friday Night Bites coming soon to OAKLAND YARD.
But first, TONIGHT…
THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Spanish Reds or Austrian Gruners from 4 to 8pm!
And weekend tasting flights:
SATURDAY: Sparkling Wine from France, Spain and Italy. Bubbly Flights from 3-6pm!
SUNDAY: Wines of Alsace. Flights from 12-6
See you soon,
Max
I got a job teaching right out of college. Ten years later, a fully-grown kid, I found myself living with two friends in a cabin in western Sonoma, perched above the Russian River, near Hacienda Bridge in Forestville. We had decided that winemaking sounded fun. Like most firsts, that harvest was memorable. The work was initially back-breaking for a wimp like me who rarely worked with his hands beyond correcting essays. Now I was climbing racks and scrubbing bins and cleaning tanks and steaming barrels, nearly always filthy and wet from sweat and spray. Things got crazy when the grapes arrived by the truckload, as tanks rapidly filled and dropped and fermentations progressed at varying speeds. Managing the many lots was tricky but exciting. Most things came together. Some things went sideways. A Chardonnay barrel topped with Syrah. A broken press. One of the other interns fell off a tank and shattered the bones in her hand. Get this: her last name was Tank. And the the last name of the hand surgeon? SEVERT. What a world...
As I write this, many winemakers, enologists, cellar crews, and interns I know are in the thick of it. I miss being up there this time of year. I miss the magic and mayhem, and the strange isolation coupled with the curious camaraderie of it all. I also miss how incomparably refreshing a cold beer could be at the end of a long shift. Folks up there like to say "It takes a lot of good beer to make great wine". And it rings true. So we thought it would be fun (for old times' sake, I suppose) to drink some good beer this harvest. Come join us for a SPECIAL SATURDAY FLIGHT and BEER TASTING. The theme will be Sour and Salty. Two new Barrel Aged Sours and a crisp, refreshing Gose. Flights $10, from 2-5pm.
SUNDAY TASTING: (THE LAST) ROSÉ ALL DAY! (for a while at least;). Come say a belated farewell to summer and send her off in style. All Pink Flights from 12-6pm and BTG specials!
And (first) TONIGHT: THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS!!! Portuguese Whites and French Reds. Choose your own adventure from 4-8pm. Flights $12. Wines by the glass too!
I have too many harvest stories to tell here. But you should roll in for some wine and ask me about the barrel that exploded, or the tank that imploded. Or ask me about the curious characters one meets living in the woods. Ask me about my days as a raccoon trapper, or about the "smoked salmon". Ask about the underground dwarf wrestling league that some there refer to as The Little Opera.
Let's laugh soon,
Daniel
p.s. Tickets still available for the Friday Night Bites: NOKNI at OAKLAND YARD on 10/6. Read more about it and purchase tickets here or ask us about it tonight!
As a child, I was often flown from New York’s Laguardia airport to Louisville, Kentucky, to spend time with my grandparents, Bonny and Bonnydaddy. On those occasions, they’d greet me with boundless joy and we’d marvel at the giant pegasus sculpture suspended from the ceiling of the Standiford Field airport on our way to baggage claim. This ritual started as soon as I was able to fly alone, which I think, back then, was around four or five. I spent many long weekends and school holidays at Bonny’s heels in the kitchen, helping her prepare Sunday Suppers. For anyone who has family from the south or has spent any time there, you may have some idea of what this looks like. At Bonny’s house, there would be no less than a brisket and a turkey, a dozen side dishes, homemade dinner rolls, and a variety of pies, cakes and cookies. For my grandmother and many of her guests, Sunday Supper was a spiritual act, a continuation of the morning’s church coffee hour, where my grandfather’s students, my grandmother’s mentees, and nearby friends and family would come together. My grandmother expressed love in many ways but the more bountiful the Sunday spread, the more dishes on the table, the longer folks would linger, telling stories and knitting their lives together.
When we were planning Oakland Yard, I knew we wanted to create a place that would bring people together around food and wine and creativity. And while we’re not recreating Sunday supper, I am pleased to introduce Friday Night Bites: a pop-up we'll be curating in collaboration with chefs who love to build community as much as we do. I’m thrilled that our inaugural event is with Nokni, Steve Joo and Julya Shin’s homage to the diversity of Korean food through the bounty of Northern California’s farms, fishermen, and ranches.
Join us October 6th for Friday Night Bites: Nokni at OAKLAND YARD, an evening of tasting flights and small bites. Tickets available here: http://oaklandyard.brownpapertickets.com
But first... TONIGHT (as always!) THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS! Spanish Whites and Portuguese Reds. Come relax and explore with us. Flights $12, from 4-8pm.
SATURDAY FLIGHTS: Pinot Noir from Around the Globe! Flights from 2-5pm
SPARKLING SUNDAY: All Bubbly Flights from 2-6pm and by the glass specials all day.
See you soon!
At the close of a cool, grey August in Oakland, the late summer sun kicked into overdrive, heating San Francisco to a record high, and baking much of the California countryside. Grape growers and winemakers picked frantically to avoid spiking sugar levels, with fruit shriveling to raisins on the vine, while we city dwellers sought refuge - sipping, snacking, slowing our atoms - in the bay area’s uncommon, well air-conditioned hangout spots, like OAKLAND YARD.
In addition to the thirst-slaking sparkling, white and rosé wines we always pour at our tasting bar, we’ve been offering chilled reds during the recent heat wave; and, no surprise, but it turns out that Steve Matthiasson’s Tendu Red and Broc Cellars’ Love Red are really delicious served slightly cold, as are many of the lighter, brighter reds we drink the most, like Casa Comerci’s beguilingly beautiful Magliocco Canino ‘Rosina’, and Martincic’s tart, refreshing Slovenian Cvicek blend; they’re all the more delicious having surrendered some degrees.
The lower temperature brings out the fresh berry flavors, tightening and brightening the wine into a sharper focus…and it feels good to drink something cold.
This Saturday, September 16th, from 2 to 5pm, when it’s stiflingly hot outside (again) and perfectly cool in here (always), come join us for a tasting flight of chilled light red wines.
But first, tonight…
THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: German Whites or Cabernet Sauvignons. Flights 4-8pm, $12
And this Sunday, September 17th, beat the heat with rosé all day! Pink flights and glass specials from 12-6pm.
Cheers,
Max