Are you guys new? We're asked this frequently. Time is relative and I'm still not certain how to answer. About two and a half years is how I respond these days and then they say something along the lines of Whoa, where have I been?
Years ago in Brooklyn, I remember stopping into a cozy and kitschy local haunt, nestled nearly on the shoulder of the BQE. Like the restaurant, or much of New York for that matter, our server emerged with a strange smile, somehow from another time. Quirky and gregarious. A kindly, nervous over-sharer. We knew much of his life story within 10 minutes of sitting down, some of it missed due to particular phrasings and his heavy accent. And his propensity to start (and often end) most sentences with "please". Please would you like some water please? He told us he was new, hired a week prior, and was pleased to be there. He was pleased about New York. He was pleased it was Wednesday. And he was pleased that we were there.
You may not believe me, but think I've only sent food back to the kitchen twice in my life. For the most part you can serve me a shoe and call it chicken and I'll accept my fate. But on this particular night I ordered the catch of the day and it was frozen inside. Ice crystals. When our server checked in to see if all was well I spoke up. He shook his head in silence for a brief moment, magnifying the gravity of the situation. He looked pained and disappointed. Please in all of my time here, this has never happened...
Said the man hired a week ago. Time is relative indeed. Two and a half years on, we still feel less 'new', I suppose. I'm not sure 'established' is the word - but certainly more part of this neighborhood and this city everyday. We're elated to grow with you and are all ears for suggestions and requests. Someone had hoped we'd expand our vermouth selections. A neighbor requested we extend our Thursday night hours. Another suggested we we have more tables for the tasting bar - done and done and done. With all this sunshine this past week, the two most frequent requests have been for the outdoor artisan flea markets to return - and to have more rosé tastings. More on the markets soon... but for now, we hear you and agree: let the pink party commence!
SATURDAY 4/27: All French Rosé Flights. New arrivals and staff favorites. All dry and delightful and all for you. Flights $15 from 2-5 and wines by the glass until 9pm
SUNDAY 4/28: Domestic Flights: Wines from California and Oregon, and New York. Two whites and 2 reds. Flights $15 from 2-5 and wines by the glass until 8pm.
And first.. THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS! Red and white flights, just $12. This evening we'll be pouring crisp, dry and refreshing Gruner Veltliners for the whites and savory Sicilian Reds. Flights $12 from 5-9pm.
See you relatively soon,
Daniel
Three years ago, when we were first looking at retail spaces in north Oakland, we knew what kind of shop we wanted to open, but hadn’t agreed on a name. In the spirit of not spitting, I wanted to call the shop ‘Swallow’ but that didn’t go over with the rest of the gang. When we were considering a space in the Temescal Alley, our friend Stefan suggested ‘Back Alley Alcohol Solutions’. Also not a keeper.
We settled on ‘Oakland Yard’ after researching the neighborhood and finding that, for a good part of the previous century, it featured an enormous train station spanning our block, called the Oakland Shafter Yard. We would continue the history of the site, we thought, as a public place where all walks of life converge, and where connections are made.
The name was not already in use by another business - excepting a youth athletic club in Waterford, Michigan – so we registered our DBA and went to work on Oakland Yard. Since then, I’ve fielded only one call from a mother hoping to sign her son up for soccer camp; otherwise little confusion there. At least one sales representative has typed ‘Oakland Yard’ into their GPS and somehow wound up in the West Oakland train yard.
Daniel came across this headline right before Halloween last year: ‘People Find Severed Head In Oakland Yard, Take It To Police.’ I guess the assumed lowercase ‘y’ should have given us some comfort, but we were rather disconcerted, until we read on... ‘Police investigators on Monday were trying to determine whether a decaying human head found in an Oakland backyard belongs to a recently discovered headless corpse.’ Okay, still disconcerting, but at least not in our Oakland Yard.
My favorite shop name mix-up happened last year, when I answered the phone one afternoon: ‘Hello, Oakland Yard, this is Max’ and the fellow on the line said, ‘Yeah, is this the Yard Master?’ I thought about it, and smiled, unknowingly, ‘um, sure, I guess you could call me that.’ and he continued “I was driving number two-seven-four this morning on track five…’ and then I cut him off, ‘Oh no - I’m sorry - you’ve got the wrong Yard Master.’
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! FRENCH GAMAY OR SPANISH WHITES: Wines from Beaujolais, Cote Roannaise, Rioja & the Penedes - $12 tasting flights from 4 to 9pm.
SATURDAY 4/20: FRENCH SYRAH tasting flights – Perfect pairings for your Easter lamb: Syrah with Grenache & Syrah unblended, from the Rhone Valley, Provence & the Ardeche - $15 tasting - Flights from 2 to 6pm & wines by the glass until 9pm.
EASTER SUNDAY 4/21: LOIRE VALLEY tasting flights – whites & reds from the Touraine, Muscadet & Bourgueil – $15 tasting – Flights from 2 to 6 & wines by the glass until close*.
*Holiday Hours: Sunday 12-6pm
Cheers,
The Yard Master
Today is my birthday. Sitting here, thinking what to write about, it seems silly not to mention, I suppose.
I don’t have a ton of birthday stories. I recently chronicled a few memories when our shop turned 2 in November. But one emerging from the recesses this morning: I'm in my late 20s, returning home after an overnight on the coast. Three of us driving back that particular Sunday, my birthday, and I'm assuming we’ll surely get up to something that night in our neighborhood. But my friend gets a text on the way down - the owners of the wine shop where he works need him - and perhaps someone to help as well. He proposes I join him. Work? On my birthday? But then I'm thinking Oh, the old ‘get him out of the house for the evening, surprise party’ trick... and I agree to bar-back.
Cut to closing, "tomorrow's a busy day" my friends says, but he proposes a quick Manhattan at Colombo’s on the next block. Ah, yes - house party too obvious, everyone’s at the dive bar. Nice one guys. Mixing it up. We get to the bar and it's just he and I. Some conversation, one drink (maybe two), and he drops me home. OK, enough delay, here we go! Lights go on and there's no one home. No party. Nothing. Like much of my life that exists only in my head, it was equal parts disappointing and comical. I was no Columbo.
Funny thing though, looking back many years later on that night, it was actually a really great birthday. Helping a friend. Enjoying a quiet drink together. And, it turns out, he gave me a truly extraordinary gift too. My first shift at a wine shop. I started taking more of them there after that. I caught the bug, left my job and and took a harvest position in western Sonoma. The enthusiasm continued at a shop in New York where I met Max, and my wife. And now on my birthday, so many years later, here I am, writing you. I'll hit send, and can almost hear your voices, in unison: "Suprise!"
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! Thank you for showing up, for being part of this party here at OAKLAND YARD. Thank you for your presence. Let the joy continue, tonight - we'll be pouring French Whites and Italian Reds. And we've extended our hours on Thursdays... Flights $12 from 5-9pm! Wines by the glass too as always!
SATURDAY: Rosé Flights. All new arrivals. Still and sparkling pink delights from around the globe. All dry and delicious. Flights from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9. It's also Record Store Day and the block will be hopping early on. Tacos Oscar will be open at 10am - stop in for brunch and bubbles here or stock up on party and picnic provisions and keep the party going.
SUNDAY: Wines of Burgundy. Four wines, Blanc and Rouge. Beguiling beauties from Bourgogne. We'll be pouring a stellar selection from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 8pm.
Thanks for all the love,
Daniel
I have long revered the primacy of the present moment, preaching the gospel of ‘Be Here Now’. Que Sera, Sera, I say; plans are for the foolish and lead only to disappointment. I am also not a follower by nature, but, I admit, there are times when a careful look around is not enough, when the wisdom of others and lessons of the past can come in handy.
My friend, Scotty, an astute observer, was travelling through Greece as a young man, and he spent an afternoon on the coast, watching fishermen do the timeless dance they’ve been doing since there were fish and men. He was relaxing at the end of a rocky jetty, watching, smiling, enjoying himself, when, one by one, each of the Greeks packed up their lines and nets and set off back toward shore.
The final fisherman turned to Scotty and said something in the local dialect, his finger pointed straight out to Sea. Scotty looked to the horizon and thought, ‘yes, the Sea is quite beautiful.’ The man pointed again, more insistently, and my friend made out a rise in the water in the distance, a wave which he then understood would overtake them, submerging the rocks on which they stood, and he hastily, and thankfully, followed the final fisherman to the beach.
The Greeks have been making wine for over 6,000 years and have learned a thing or two in that time. Come by this Sunday afternoon, club members pick up your April wine club bottles and everyone taste some new arrivals from the old masters.
Also, we’ve made some observations of our own and noticed that plenty of you want to hang out at Oakland Yard later than 8 on Thursdays, so we’re expanding our hours until 9pm Thursday nights, regardless of the tide tables.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! ITALIAN REDS and GERMAN WHITES: Grignolino, Gaglioppo, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Gutedel, and Riesling - $12 tasting flights from 4 to 9pm!!!
SATURDAY 4/6: PORTUGUESE tasting flights – Reds and whites from the Dao, Douro, Monção and Alentejo- $15 tasting - Flights from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY 4/7: GREEK tasting flights & WINE CLUB PICK UP - New reds and whites from the Peloponnese, Macedonia, and Naoussa – $15 tasting (FREE for wine club members) Flights from 2 to 6 - and wines by the glass until 8pm.
Cheers,
Max
I'm frequently asked how I got into wine, and how the shop came to be. Motivations are rarely singular, and so the answer involves a series of simple, seemingly solitary descisions and indecisions. Saying yes one night to bar backing a friend at a wine bar. Renting a cabin on the Russian River. Following a woman to New York...
I randomly rediscovered this email, written six years ago, nearly to the day. I believe it marks the very first mention of OAKLAND YARD, if only a dream then. A letter within a letter...
March 25, 2013
Max,
Man, I'm such a sissy- my eyes welled up like crazy when I saw you wrote me. An email from me was long overdue, I confess, especially as I've been thinking of you so often these last couple of months. I was promoted a short while back and am now Wells' vineyard assistant at Copain, so things are challenging for me and will be getting very busy soon. The learning curve has been steep and I'm just trying to keep my head above water, to be honest- but being out in the vineyards and on long, lovely and lonely drives in the 'deep end' of Anderson Valley has been special. I'm enjoying life out here in the country as I expected I would, but have absolutely no real friends here and at the year mark it's left me feeling a little empty, in all sincerity.
It's made me miss the shop, Brooklyn, and obviously people like you. I don't think I ever articulated to you how much I learned from you- about wine, music, life. Being out here without interesting people like you in my life makes me feel like the world is just standing still while I grow old (don't know if that makes sense). Anyway, some days I love it here- some days I just want to move back to start our own shop. Maybe I can convince you and Julia to move out here and we can open one in Oakland... We can dream and scheme more about this soon when you're out here. Hard to believe you'll be here in six weeks- I really can't express how exciting that news is to me right now.
Talk to you soon, my friend.
Daniel
OAKLAND YARD is still a dream to me. We hope for you, too. You are ultimately the hero in this little origin story. Showing up once again at the perfect moment, to make this a better place. We're so thrilled you found us in our little corner of the world and we're so glad to have found you. The magnetism of California and the Northern Coast is as strong as ever. And we'll be celebrating this all weekend: This SATURDAY (3/30) we welcome Drew Huffine and Emily Virgil of Trail Marker Wine Co - always one of the most fun and extraordinary tastings, and certainly one not to be missed. Aside from being a talented winemaker and one of the most gregarious humans, Drew was the first to suggest I take that random shift at our neighborhood wine bar, 15 years ago.
Crazy where life takes us sometimes. Let it take you here, for now at least. Come connect and explore with us. In addition to their new 2018 Rosé of Carignan, Drew and Em will pouring a mineral driven Chablis-like Chardonnay from Mendocino, a fresh and vibrant chillable Zweigelt from Lodi and an earthy and elegant Pinot Noir from Saveria Vineyard in Santa Cruz Mountains. Special Tasting this SATURDAY from 3-6 ($15) and wines by the glass all day until 9.
SUNDAY (3/31): California Crush continues...
Flights of 'New California' wines from 2-6pm. All dry, vibrant, low-alcohol, low intervention and less manipulation. Some hands off and some completely natural expressions. Flights are $15 from 2-6 and wines available by the glass until 9.
But first TONIGHT... Thursday Night Flights! The Battle of the ñ. This evening we'll be pouring Albariño from Portugal and Spain for our white flight, and the red flight will be Pipeños (Mission/Pais grape) from Chile. Flights $12 tonight from 4-8pm and wines by the glass as always.
See you soon,
Daniel
Red or white? The quaint dichotomy is a convenient way to categorize fermented grape drinks, but, like most binary reductions, the choice is - thankfully - not so simple. The fruit itself wears skin of a certain color, but different winemaking methods dictate various flavors and appearances. Blanc de noirs, a common Champagne style, is a white wine made from red grapes. Very few ‘red’ grape varieties have flesh with color, so the juice is pressed, the skins removed, and the wine is clear, or nearly so.
And if the grape is pink, or greyish, then what do we call the wine? The berries of Gewurztraminer, Pinot Grigio and Trousseau Gris are a dark pink, almost reddish color, but pressed and vinified without skin contact, the wines are called ‘white’. in Italy’s northeastern province of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Pinot Grigio is macerated on the skins, as one would with red grapes, producing a style of light orange wine called Ramato, meaning auburn or copper colored. We have a sparkling Pinot Grigio from the Veneto right now with a dazzling crimson hue and a delicious balance of acid, tannin and fruit.
In the Republic of Georgia, it has long been the style to skin-macerate white wines, sometimes for many years, extracting colors from pink to brown to orange, along with tannins and other compounds found in the skins, adding structure and flavor complexity to the wine, and helping to preserve it without additives. The ‘orange wine’ style is as old as the hills, but it has been enjoying a newfound popularity as more of these wines are imported, and many of our American winemakers experiment with alternative methods of fermentation. We get a lot of requests, and we’re glad you’re curious. This Saturday, we’ll open several of these anomalies…and orange you glad I didn’t say ‘banana-wine’.
But first…Thursday Night Flights TONIGHT! 3 Italian Whites and 3 Spanish Reds. Flights $12 from 4-8 and wines by the glass.
SATURDAY 3/23: Skin Macerated ‘Orange’ White Wines
2016 Mocine Toscana Bianco ‘Alba’
2017 Salcheto Toscana Bianco ‘Obvius’
2016 Doqi Qvevri Mtsvane
SUNDAY 3/24: Wines of the Loire Valley
2017 Domaine de la Bregeonnette Folle Blanche
2016 Domaine des Aubuisieres Le Petit Clos Vouvray
2017 Les Athletes du Vin Grolleau
2015 Domaine de la Chevelerie Diptyque Bourgeuil
Weekend Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm
Cheers,
Max
One frozen February night, just outside Carroll park in Brooklyn, I kissed a woman (a friend, and co-worker at the time). The kiss wasn't coldly received, but there was trepidation. Who falls in love in the winter? she asked. I didn't have a good answer for that. And this wasn't just any winter. This was 2010. The winter of Snowmaggedon in the Northeast. And a strange time for me. And for a lot of folks there, perhaps. Everyone seemed a little reckless, a little confused. Frightened maybe. But excited too.
But as the song goes, you can never hold back Spring. The world dreams. The sun comes out. She and I would kiss again, and carry on with more levity and leisure and warmth in the months ahead. Years later there would be a marriage proposal at the same spot, just outside Carroll park in Brooklyn. And the Spring before that, a proposal to open a wine shop in Oakland with our friends.
In Spring everything feels possible. Something palpable in the air. This past week there was a beautiful buzz about, and we were happy to see lively crowds popping in and out, and wandering the sidewalk outside. Folks stopping in for bottles or for glasses, some feasting on tacos, others running into each other unexpectedly here, exchanging hellos and hugs. At some point in the late evening, noting that the whole neighborhood seemed livelier than ever - the block bustling and bumping- I asked a young woman at the register if there was anything unusual happening that night.
She dropped her wine into her bag and looked up, grinning, her eyes lit up.
Oooh, I hope so... she hollered on her way out, beaming.
This weekend we welcome Spring and wish winter adieu. But we won't be pouring rosé all day quite yet. This is still the East Bay, with some inevitably cool evenings ahead. So let's sip and sample some hearty and earthy reds one last time (for a little while at least). A special spotlight on SYRAH and MALBEC this weekend, eight wines ranging from savory and satisfying to bold and balanced. Classic as well as 'hands-off' and natural expressions of these varieties- with some unusual and surprising delights in the mix - Syrah from Morgon? Malbec from El Dorado? Anything is possible.
But first.. Thursday Night Flights TONIGHT! 3 White selections from South America and 3 Italian Reds. New Spring arrivals and new vintages - and a couple old favorites. Flights just $12 from 4-8 and wines by the glass.
SATURDAY (3/16): Syrah Spotlight...
2016 Domaine Chambeyron Cuvee Clara VDP
2017 Laurent Combier Crozes-Hermitage
2017 Piedrasassi Syrah (unsulfured)
2016 Domaine Petit Perou Desir Syrah
SUNDAY (3/17): MALBEC from around the globe...
2016 Cosse et Maisonneuve Solis Cahors
2016 Don Carlos Calathus Roble Malbec
2014 Hinojosa H Malbec
2017 Windchaser Malbec El Dorado County
Weekend Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until close.
See you soon,
Daniel
Oh, and a song for you.
I’d like to quote my favorite author ‘Rex’ from the esteemed manual, The Dangerous Book for Dogs, by Rex & Sparky when I say “owwww, ow, owwwww”.
If you haven’t yet read this genius piece of literature, I urge you to seek it out. For some strange reason my mom (she also ‘works’ at Oakland Yard) seems to find hilarity in all of the sweet golden nuggets of wisdom hidden throughout this mastery of writing. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t yet realize the joke's on her!
I started working at Oakland Yard several months ago and some of my duties include: cleaning up the bits of cheese and crackers off the floor, guarding the treat jar in the front of the shop, which I work hard each and every day to slowly empty, NOT peeing on the planters NOR the filing cabinet which as it turns out is a ‘no no’, entertaining all of the normal sized humans that everyone calls ‘children’ (they truly understand me) and finally... keeping my bed warm in case another dog wants to borrow it.
Back to the treats, this week we are featuring Banana and Peanut Butter biscuits from Trader Joes. By the way fellow pups, if you haven’t had a real banana covered in Peanut Butter you are truly missing out. At first I was skeptical but since each year I wake up with less and less teeth, I find them truly satisfying. The best thing about Peanut Butter is that when it gets stuck on the roof of your stinky mouth, you can lick your paws and keep tasting that wonderful nutty aroma with just enough sweetness from the banana to compliment the savory effect of the peanuts. I’ve truly learned a lot about flavors from the folks at Oakland Yard and I tend to agree with the ‘Natty’ crowd, the stinkier the better. My mom disagrees but I guess not everyone can get down with the flavor of lingering nutskin.
TONIGHT... Thursday Night Flights are on! My mom (they call her "Jessie", ha!), and Daniel and Max will be pouring a lineup of French whites and reds - and proceeds from tonight's tasting will help out some little folks who are closer to my size, the preschoolers at our local Duck's Nest school! Flights $15 tonight from 4-8pm.
SATURDAY (3/9) ... all New California wines! All dry, vibrant, low-alcohol and low intervention... 2014 Little Frances Semillon, 2018 Alfaro Family Vineyards Rosé, 2018 Gearhead Wines 'Simone' (chillable red!), and 2017 Piedrasasi Syrah. Flights are $15 from 2-6 and wines available by the glass until 9! I'll likely be tuckered out by 8 or so, but we'll see...
SUNDAY (3/10): French Gamay Tasting. Four wines ranging from fresh and easy-drinking to mineral and complex expressions of this delightful grape. Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 8pm.
OK, gotta go. My paws are killing me.
Ruff ruff and much love,
Turtle
If he hadn’t passed into another form in March of 1925, last Monday would have been Rudolf Steiner’s 158th birthday. We winos know Steiner as the father of Biodynamic farming, but he was also the founder of the Waldorf School, and a spiritualist who believed in reincarnation. A contemporary of Friedrich Nietzsche, Henry James, and Oscar Wilde, Steiner was born in what is now Croatia, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and gained early academic acclaim as a publisher, scientist, philosopher and critic.
At the request of a group of concerned vegetable farmers, Steiner delivered a series of lectures in June of 1924, in what is now Poland, in which he laid out the principles for a holistic, chemical-free, ecologically sustainable system of agriculture. These Biodynamic practices took planting and harvesting cues from cosmic motion, like moon phases, and incorporated the use of animal manure and natural botanical remedies made from nettles, oak bark, and dandelion.
There are now over 700 certified Biodynamic vineyards, covering over 25,000 acres, and while these techniques do not necessarily result in a tasty wine, they do ensure that the grapes are grown ‘naturally’ and sustainably, and I believe, as do many, that this engagement with, and respect for, the environment allows wines to speak of their place, to be wines of ‘terroir’. Happy Birthday, wherever you are, and thank you, Rudy, you wacky Austrian hippy, for getting us on the right track.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! FRENCH REDS OR WHITES: Wines from the Cévennes, the Loire Valley, Bordeaux, Alsace, & Gascony - $12 tasting flights from 4 to 8pm.
SATURDAY 3/2: CABERNET SAUVIGNON tasting flights – Sample Cabs from the Rhone Valley, the Languedoc, Bordeaux, and Mendocino - $15 tasting - Flights from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY 3/3: ITALIAN RED TASTING FLIGHTS & WINE CLUB PICK UP - ALL NEW Etna Rosso, Schiava and Barbera – $15 tasting – FREE for wine club members - Flights from 2 to 6 - and wines by the glass until 8pm.
Cheers,
Max
I can tell you a story about being caught in a snowstorm. With a van full of frightened middle school kids. But there might not be time for such detours. The short of this first chapter was that I was a public school teacher in my 20s, and at this juncture was part of a school-sponsored Science trip to the Grand Canyon. From Los Angeles. 500 miles, 80 kids, a 10 hour venture just getting there. The plan was to leave the school at 7am and arrive at the camp for orientation and early evening activities - we'd explore the rim of the canyon first thing in the morning.
But on the way there, climbing to higher elevations, some of the kids in my van started going wild. I was naive and hadn't considered that many on this trip had never seen snow, let alone held it. Being a pushover, I pulled over, to let them make snowballs. Just for a few minutes. OK, maybe long enough to build walls and have an all out snow fight with the kids in the other van who joined us. It was a bad decision. The sky turned menacing and we got back on the road but the storm was upon us. A white knuckled drive, eventually tailing an 18-wheeler to the nearest town. We ended up having to call the school and the parents and explain why the kids would be staying in a hotel an hour from the camp.
We joined the other groups at the learning center in the early a.m., only to find the canyon completely fogged in. We were told it would likely dissipate by late morning. Disappointed visitors and tourists meandered about as teachers brainstormed a plan for the group. I'm not sure how it started, but some of the kids (out of boredom or necessity) started building a snowman and others joined in, adding to the pack, until the figure grew to a remarkable size and height. Over the next hour the group tripled. Random kids from visiting families joined. The snowman had become a towering Poseidon. Fantastic sculptures were erected, and a wild whimsical snowscape was on full display. At some point, there was a commotion - and a wave of noise from the crowds as the depth and splendor of the canyon came suddenly into view. A silence.
Then the craziest thing. None of kids wanted to stop building, playing, creating. They collectively looked up and (maybe) smiled into the distance - and then just went back to their frolicking and creation. I remember my frustration: Will you not pleease walk up and look at the fucking Grand Canyon, kids! We had driven hours and stayed overnight for this. But they were in their own element. Almost defiant to the incomparable expanse and wonder of it all. And every damn last one of them just getting along, quiet and cooperative, united. How the hell could I admonish such joy? I finally surrendered to the serene lunacy of it all when tourists started gathering - a large crowd now - snapping photos of the kids' "installation" piece. With the damn Grand Canyon at their back.
I joined Kenton and DeAndre, who were trying to make snow crowns.
For the mermen!, they said. Obviously.
This Friday, February 22nd, the neighborhood unites. Come build something with us. ALL are WELCOME*. Come for the majesty of it all, or to roll in the snow. Be a part of something. That matters. Our friend, Shimeko, is fighting Cancer and the neighborhood is making crowns for the queen. Shimeko has been our neighbor at Marquee Salon since before we opened. She is a force. A creative light, a single mother, a creator and collaborator, a mystic, a musician, a searcher, a scholar, a bold and bright soul. From 7-9pm, Marquee Salon will be offering donation based cuts (bang and beard trims) next door, and there will be a Silent Auction with all kinds of Gift Certificates and goodies from artists, artisans, and local restaurants and businesses. There will be a PopUp with tasty delights from MKGold Bakery and we'll be pouring special glasses and flights all evening to raise funds to help a friend in need. Come be a part of something good. Something grand.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights. French Whites and Italian Reds. Flights $12 and wines by the glass until 8pm. Joy will not be admonished. Come explore and connect with us.
SATURDAY 2.23 & SUNDAY 2.24: Pinot Noir Tasting Series. Dynamic expressions from around the globe. France (Alsace and Burgundy), California (Carneros and Santa Barbara), and selections from Oregon, Italy, and Chile. Eight wines over 2 days, All PINOT NOIR Tasting Flights from 2-6 both days this weekend. Wines by the glass too as always, until 9pm.
See you soon, friends.
Daniel
*If you cannot attend the event on Friday and would like to donate to a crowdfunding page for Shimeko: a link is provided here: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/help-shimeko-survive-cancer
The fast-driving, hard patter of heavy rain on our tasting bar skylight, relentless as an Art Blakey press roll, is a newly familiar sound here at Oakland Yard, as the wettest winter in recent memory roars through town, throwing wind and water like a proper monsoon. Never have I been so happy to live above the store, as I was yesterday morning while I ambled dryly downstairs. It hailed last week, so steady that it coated the cars and sidewalk with a white sheet of icy pebbles, and customers returning from work across the bay asked if it had just snowed. No, just hail and rain here, but there was real snow last week up at Sky Vineyards, in the nearby Mayacamas Range.
It sounds like it’s not over yet, but thank you for keeping us company through the storm so far. Despite the dreary weather, we had a surprisingly fun weekend of wine tasting, with the shop full of locals looking to get out of the house, but not too far from home; the place felt like someone’s large and lively living room for most of Saturday afternoon, with friends gathering for wine and snacks, small dogs and laughter. It would have been a sad scene had you not come, the skylight drumming to an empty room.
Come join us again this week; we’ll be here - rain or shine - pouring the good wine to all comers of age. Speaking of age, if you see Jessie behind the bar tomorrow, be sure to wish her a happy birthday. We love you, Jessie!!!
But don’t wait until tomorrow; TONIGHT we’ll have THREE Flights, with a special additionalValentine’s Day ROSÉ FLIGHTS in the mix - and gorgeous Flower & Forage BOUQUETS from Alyson Vitt for $15 (while supplies last), as well as delicious, locally made Dandelion CHOCOLATE, and of course WINE (both in good supply).
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! FRENCH WHITES, GERMAN REDS, or VALENTINE’S DAY ROSÉS: Picpoul, Aligote, Cotes Catalanes, Spatburgunder, Dornfelder, and Lemberger - $12 tasting flights from 4 to 8pm.
SATURDAY 2/16: SICILIAN TASTING FLIGHTS - Red, White & Bubbly from the enchanted island – $15 tasting -Flights from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY 2/17: ORGANIC FRENCH TASTING FLIGHTS - Natty Red, White & Bubbly – $15 tasting - Flights from 2 to 6 - and wines by the glass until 8pm.
Cheers,
Max
It happened at least three times. The first, as I recall, on a late night market run when I was out of coffee beans and milk for the morning. Driving along an otherwise sleepy strip of storefronts along Park Blvd. near the old Parkway theater, I spotted a couple folks out in front of a some new space, both laughing and sipping drinks. It seemed a new neighborhood bar had opened and I made a mental note to check it out. I make a lot of mental notes, by the way, and many don't end up in a mental drawer or mental file cabinet and are regrettably lost. So I forgot about that curiosity until passing in a shared Lyft one night after meeting a friend downtown, there was somebody out front again with glass in one hand, cigarette in the other. A third time- a young man outside the space once again, texting. I must have been driving awkwardly slow as he took notice and gave a friendly wave as I passed.
A guy entered the shop the other day, and with the sunlight behind him, initially only a silhouette. It may sound strange- but in that moment, just seeing the silhouette, his stance, his shuffle - I knew it to be the same guy as more than just his face came into focus. I asked if he lived near Park and he confirmed what I was clumsily piecing together at that moment. It was him all of the times I passed. Solitary or with company, chatting, smoking, texting - with a glass in hand. There was no bar, just someone stepping out of his apartment and enjoying the night air occasionally.
I told him how I had mistaken the spot for a new lounge, or gallery space. I even confessed to secretly hoping there was some sort of speakeasy or something of the sort above the record store.
He laughed. "A speakeasy? Ha, no no, nothing like that. Just me stepping out for a smoke. "
But then, a propitious pause, he lights up and says in earnest: "I mean, you're welcome to come up for a drink next time you're passing by. So, I guess... that's a sort of a speakeasy. Right?"
I love this town.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights at OAKLAND YARD. SPANISH Whites (Albarino, Rioja Blanco, and an unsulfured Xarel-lo) or ITALIAN Reds (Barbera, Gaglioppo, and Nebbiolo). Flights $12 from 4-8 and new wines by the glass.
SATURDAY 2/9: Cabernet Franc Tasting. An earthy and elegant Chinon (Joguet), an intensely mineral Saumur (Fosse-Séche), and a bolder domestic expression from Bennet Valley (Phantomé Cellars). Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines b the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY 2/10: Wines of PROVENCE. Both classic and natural expressions from Southeastern France. Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 8pm.
See you soon,
Daniel
Oakland Yard has a number of Fairy Godmothers to whom we are forever indebted, friends and neighbors who’ve helped us over daunting hurdles and raised our spirits when we were down. Perhaps the most helpful and reliable of these beneficent Godmothers is our good friend, Matt Guidi. Philadelphian by birth, warm-hearted and curious-minded, Mr. Guidi has been our landlord’s right hand man for several years, and our go-to guy for any problem outside of our realms of expertise. In fact, compared with Matt’s practical knowledge, we have not realms, but little circles, rather small areas, of expertise.
Matt was there when we signed our lease agreement, he helped secure our zoning rights with the city, and he insisted on being present to help us navigate our first inspection from the Department of Health. So, when he told us last week that he’d taken a new job, we were crestfallen. Jake from Tacos Oscar looked positively lost when we discussed Guidi’s departure. Not only did Matt recently usher them through the gauntlet of city requirements, Jake said Guidi had gotten his knives sharpened last week and spent his lunch hour chopping onions with him for Oscar’s dinner service!
The more I thought about how much we were losing in Matt, the more I realized what we’ve gained and will never lose: nothing less than renewed faith in humanity, and a friend for life. Thank you Matt, erstwhile mayor of 40th street, heavyweight lifter of spirits, fixer of four-twenty. We wish you well in greener pastures and trust you’ll come see us from time to time. We will still call you when we have an intractable problem, or a particularly amusing story.
This week, come to Oakland Yard – where the air is tinged with excitement - and raise a glass to Matt Guidi and Fairy Godmothers everywhere. Matt is also a devoted father, so he rarely attends the weekend tastings, but you may find him here late this afternoon, kicking off our Thursday Night Flights with a smile and a kind word.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! FRENCH GAMAY or LOIRE VALLEY WHITES: Beaujolais, Bugey, Folle Blanche, Sauvignon Blanc & Muscadet - $12 tasting flights from 4 to 8pm.
SATURDAY 2/2: SPANISH tasting flights - Reds, White & Bubbly – Cava, Txakolina, Garnacha & Priorat $15 tasting -Flights from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY 2/3: CALIFORNIA TASTING FLIGHTS & WINE CLUB PICK UP - Red, White & Rose – $15 tasting – FREE for wine club members - Flights from 2 to 6 - and wines by the glass until 8pm.
Cheers,
Max
There is a billboard here in our neighborhood - maybe yours too - and it shows a man atop a ladder clearing away a pile of leaves from the edge of a rain gutter. Some creatives from Covered California are behind this one, and it mostly shies away from shock or much melodrama and, as such, it is not immediately clear on first glance that the ladder is falling back and away, though the man's extended hands and fingers (and his mouth agape) would suggest he has lost his grip.
I'm waiting to cross Broadway at the corner of 40th, just outside Clove & Hoof, and I notice this billboard for the first time. A dad and his child of maybe seven are a few feet from me, waiting too, and they are also looking up at it. The dad reads the giant text aloud, to his child or to himself or perhaps to no one in particular: Life can change in an instant. For a moment, I fix on the image and some adman somewhere gets his wings... I feel old and concerned and think about my back problems and odd health issues I've had in the past. That's when the kid speaks up.
Is he going to find some money hidden up there?
The dad and I smile at each other and there is levity. We feel excited about our week ahead. Invincible again. I step out first, crossing recklessly. Not looking any way but forward.
Maybe, the dad says, with a chuckle. Maybe...
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights. Italian Whites and all Malbec for the Red Flights. Wines by the glass too! Flights $12 from 4-8pm. All levity and all love here. Leave your worries at the door. Throw your homework onto the fire. Come out and find the one you love.
SATURDAY 1/26: Wines of Piemonte. Arneis, Erbaluce, Barbera, Nebbiolo! All vibrant, dry and exceptionally food-friendly wines from Northern Italy. Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY1/27 : Wines of Oregon! 2017 Bow & Arrow Melon, 2017 Kelly Fox Pinot Noir, 2017 Leah Jorgensen 'Tour Rain' Cab Franc/Gamay. These are three of my favorite wines in the store right now - come taste for yourselves and see why. Flights $15 from 2-6 and glasses until 8pm.
See you soon,
Daniel
I was rummaging around in our storage loft last week in search of a pair gardening gloves, and I came upon the trappings of hours of lost activity, the vestiges of countless hours spent, now relegated to the attic, distractions stowed since opening the shop, parts of me that I’d nearly forgotten. There are the many books, the pool cue, cello music, bicycle lights and clothing iron. Oh, iron, my old and neglected friend; how long it has been since I took you for a spin?
Tools of the trade, of course, vary with the trade, and some are more obvious to the outsider. Generally speaking, restaurant service requires a pen and pad, and a wine opener. Along with some degree of charm and attention to detail, add the uniform – apron, pressed shirt, pants, belt, socks, and black shoes - and you’re ready to roll. My first three restaurant jobs were in a beach town and called for khaki shorts and polo shirts, but when I came west to seek my fortune in Berkeley, and landed a bussing job at Chez Panisse, the shirt pressing began in earnest. For the next two decades, I was never far from an electric steam iron and a can of spray starch.
The power that be (there has never been more than one) understood that her bussers had neither the money to dry clean, nor the skills to make one presentable, so she enlisted the help of her dear friend, and tea consultant, Helen Gustafson, to educate the incoming class in the art of the iron. Helen gave very particular tea steeping classes, involving a thermometer, as well as detailed instruction for correctly pressing a long sleeved button-down shirt, and while my knowledge of tea service faded with time, this latter lesson proved surprisingly useful.
I can’t say I miss the daily ironing, but I did enjoy the neatening satisfaction, like the joy of mowing lawn, making something disheveled look snappy with a little heat and water. The shirt being the most difficult to prepare – and most visible - part of the uniform, made it a long time source of stress for me. Did I forget to iron? Did I forget my shirt altogether? Is it too dirty? Only in recent years have I gone unvisited by my most common anxiety dream: I am a waiter without the correct shirt. In this dream, I am late to the floor, having been sat several tables already in a sprawling, untenable section, and I can’t find my pressed white shirt. It is pure panic. I am looking forward to getting back to some of the activities I’ve stashed in the loft, but the nightmare of no shirt, I’ll happily leave behind.
Come taste with us this week at OAKLAND YARD – no dress code here, thought shirt and shoes are required, and maybe galoshes the way things are looking right now.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! GERMAN WINES, REDS or WHITES: Gutedel, Riesling, Dornfelder, Trollinger & Lemberger - $12 tasting flights from 4 to 8pm.
SATURDAY 1/19: EASTERN EUROPEAN tasting flights - Reds and whites from Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Georgia - $15 tasting -Flights from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY 1/20: PORTUGEUSE TASTING FLIGHTS - Red, White & Bubbly - $15 tasting - Flights from 2 to 6 - and wines by the glass until 8pm.
Cheers,
Max
A few months ago a wayward charter bus became familiar with my old Honda Accord. A gentle grazing mostly, but an all too intimate shave along the driver's side from bumper to bumper. Thankfully the driver left a note and their insurance sent me a check a few weeks ago, allowing me to upgrade my wheels to a used CR-V.
Enter Kate. I found a 2010 for sale on Craigslist and drove out to Lafayette to meet her. For the record, the universe enjoys frequently connecting me with older women. Kate is just a hair past 70. She reminded me of my mother in some ways, immediately talking at length about her children, this crazy world, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, the dangers of strangers, coupons. A self-identified Irish Catholic with an East Coast earnestness and a youthful, if electric, appearance - her hair died a vermillion red and brows pencilled to match.
I spent what would be an unusual amount of time in a parked car with her, listening to her stories. Most of the recent ones were sad. Her husband passing. Her neck surgeries. Through some DMV hiccups we'd have to meet up again, recently in Oakland, near the Cathedral (Safeway on Grand is not a shopping center, FYI) and a third time at the AAA in Walnut Creek. She talked about an upcoming trip to Ireland she is planning, and about the 'bells and whistles' of her new car. And like my own mom, with all her talking she is an exceptionally good listener too: I drove all the way home before spotting a gift she left for my one year old daughter on the back seat, a connecting plastic chain of colorful animal silhouettes. You can even put it in the dishwasher, Kate just texted me. With a smiley face blowing a kiss emoji and another with a sun, wearing sun glasses. We both agree the latter is peculiar. What a crazy world...
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights. Greek Reds & Italian Whites. Come explore and connect with us this evening! I promise to have some exciting coupons for the first few lucky guests. Flights $12 from 4-8pm and wines by the glass as always. Tacos Oscar open next door too, slinging tasty tacos and other treats all night. You are most welcome to bring in anytime!
SATURDAY (1/12): Grenache Tasting. Four wines from France, Spain, and California. Flights $15 from 2-6 and new wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY (1/13): RIOJA! From light, refreshing expression to bold and structured Crianzas. Dynamic and delicious Spanish Tempranillo tasting from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 8pm.
See you soon,
Daniel
The most of us, or the fortunate among us, will reemerge from our holiday retreats and pick up where we left off last year. When we do, let’s do so with new eyes, bringing more hope than fear to this new year; not thinking that we made it through, that we endured the last, but that another approaches with unknown potential.
As a child, I passed many of these Eves in Massachusetts with family friends, sledding, ice-skating, and watching the ball drop on a fuzzy black and white TV. When I was twenty, I spent a bone-chilling New Year’s at the one ‘nightclub’ in Longford, Ireland, taken in at night’s end by a kind stranger whom I’d hoped had romance in mind, but who really just wanted to share the novelty of an American visitor with her parents and little sister, all of whom I met in the morning, having slept on the couch. A few years later, I found myself alone, with my bicycle, walking down Berkeley’s Shattuck Avenue. When the clock struck twelve, shouts and cries erupted from the surrounding buildings, as I strolled slowly and contentedly home.
For many years now, Julia and I have gathered with our oldest friends, for several days of food, drink, dancing, games, and conversation. This party has moved from Vermont to New Hampshire, Connecticut, and California. It has shrunken and grown, some years with more than twenty at the table, but the gathering always centers on the down time more than the countdown. We dance for ourselves, because it feels good, and for the others, showing off our silliest moves. We laugh a lot, and when the clock strikes twelve, we cue up the Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want, our Auld Lang Syne. My hips still feel the flossing I forced on them a fortnight ago, with echoes of Robyn and Carly Rae like sugarplum fairies in my head, and we’ve got another day of lolling away.
Thanks to Daniel, Jessie, Ofri and Brenda for keeping the ship afloat while we recharge, and thank you all for a great 2018 at Oakland Yard. We look forward to an exciting year ahead, and - at the very least - may you all get what you need.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! BORDEAUX GRAPES: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon from France and California - $12 tasting flights from 4 to 8pm.
SATURDAY 1/5: TUSCAN TASTING FLIGHTS - Rosso, Bianco and Rosato - $15 tasting - Flights from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY 1/6: FRENCH TASTING FLIGHTS and WINE CLUB PICK UP with special guest TOM SWITZER - $15 tasting: Syrah, Mondeuse, and Jacquere - Flights from 2 to 6 – free tasting for members - and wines by the glass until 8pm.
Cheers,
Max
A regular stopped in one evening a while back, inquiring if his partner was here at the shop. Peeking around quickly and then noting the restroom was vacant, I told him I hadn't seen him yet. He explained that he was locked out of the apartment and was hoping his partner would stop here on his way home from BART. A couple weeks after that, a regular named Kim stopped in- she had the same inquiry, and I mostly the same answer. She had lost her phone and had no way of connecting with her husband. But it was simply understood, as she made her way to the bar for a glass of rosé, that he'd find her here, eventually.
It took me a few moments in both cases to realize what was was going on. But something resembling pride swelled when it clicked. Their understanding was this: If lost, or if all else failed... meet here. At OAKLAND YARD. This shop was their safe place. Their rendezvous point. Their fountain at 2 o' clock, their statue in an hour, their top of the empire state building. The simplicity if it really moved me and still does.
Funny enough, just this past weekend a dog was here making friends, and we had assumed it belonged to one of the guests here. At some point we discovered the dog had no owner present and so we called the number on the tag. Turned out it had gotten out of the house and made its way down 40th and, having recalled the good vibes here, just walked right into the shop with some evening customers.
Even dogs know this to be a happy haven. A warm and welcoming space. And It will continue to be in 2019 and beyond. The years change, but some things are fixed. This will always be your shop. A place to meet, to connect. And to reconnect again and again.
We are so honored to be your emergency contact. Here's to the warmth and holiday spirit never ending. And to a year of joy and wonder ahead..
An ALL SPARKLING weekend ahead...
Sparkling Flights to sample and savor, SATURDAY & SUNDAY! Saturday (12/29) we'll be popping corks and pouring dry, delightful bubbly from around the globe: Champagne, organic Prosecco, and a dynamic domestic sparkler from Anderson Valley. On Sunday (12/30) we'll be showcasing a stellar selection of Spanish sparklers. Flights $15 from 2-6 both days and wines by the glass until close (9pm SAT and 8pm SUN).
And first... TONIGHT (12/27): Thursday Night Flights! A crazy delicious lineup of 6 wines from Spain. Both Red & White Flights, just $12 from 4-8pm and wines by the glass as always.
Please note SPECIAL HOLIDAY HOURS:
OAKLAND YARD will be OPEN MONDAY (NYE) from 2-8 pm for all your party provisions and festive fixes! Bar will be open with drink specials too!...
We will be closed January 1st and 2nd and then OPEN again and back to regular hours and fun on Thursday, January 3rd.
Happy New Year, friends. Happy every darn day to you all.
Cheers,
Daniel
When Julia and I left Brooklyn for Berkeley, five years ago this February, the temperature was well below freezing, and the cobblestone streets met the sidewalk with a solid, sloping bridge of ice. If you’ve never been to New York City in the wintertime, it’s hard to imagine the initial calm, and the ensuing chaos, of a heavy snowfall. You wake to an odd quietude, city sounds fully muffled by the surrounding blanket, and through the window, where once were cars, trees, fences, and streets full of color, is a continuous, rolling flow of softly blinding white.
As a child, in western New York, I would listen intently to the morning radio on snowy mornings, as they read the list of schools closed for the day in alphabetical order. Our school, Victor Central, made for a long wait that rarely ended with the desired declaration. Apparently, it took a devastating storm to close Victor schools; even when countless others were shuttered, our buses powered through.
Smith & Vine, the Brooklyn wine shop where Daniel, Glenny, and I all met one another, did not close for weather, and the city required us to keep the sidewalk out front clear of snow and ice, so the first order of business in opening was the shovel and salt routine, sometimes repeated hourly throughout the day. We kept sidewalk salt in stock as diligently as we did dog biscuits, or wine openers.
There was never parking in Carroll Gardens, so I’d walk the half hour through the snow from Red Hook with doubled socks and long johns, past the vacant lot where the stray cats hang out. Each December, a nativity scene was installed in this lot, but this did not bother the cats, and many a morning, my sprits were buoyed, like those of countless other Red Hookers, by the sight of three tabbies, like sheep beside the wise men, or a calico in the crèche. I can’t say I miss the drudgery, but sometimes I miss the kitties in the manger.
We will be OPEN 12/24 for CHRISTMAS EVE from 11am until 4pm and we will be CLOSED on CHRISTMAS DAY. Happy Holidays to all y’all!
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! ALL FRENCH REDS or WHITES. $12 tasting flights of three wines from 4 to 8pm and wines by the glass.
SATURDAY 12/22: – CALIFORNIA TASTING FLIGHTS - Two whites and two reds from this great and temperate state - $15 tasting from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY 12/23: $15 LOIRE VALLEY TASTING FLIGHTS - $15 tasting from 2 to 6 and wines by the glass until 8pm.
Cheers,
Max
For many, choosing a wine feels like a bit of a crapshoot. It’s hard to know what’s inside the corked bottle. Will it go with my supper? And will I also enjoy it? European labels tell you where the wine is from, but rarely indicate grape varieties, or methods of production. We learn all we can about the wines we taste from our vendors, importers, distributors, and winemakers, gleaning details of production from online tech-sheets and personal discussion, but these details do not answer the above questions, and so the choice remains inscrutable.
I recently helped my parents clean out their basement, and, among the rusted antique farm tools and half empty paint cans, I found some crusty, forgotten bottles along the bottom rungs of the rack: some ancient Dry Sack Sherry, a magnum of ’07 Beringer White Zin which had turned brown, and a dusty, squat 750ml of something from Italy that looked like Prosecco, or Spumante, with a crown cap. We put the Sherry in the cooking cabinet, the brown zin down the drain, and the Italian bottle into the fridge for later.
When my aunt and uncle arrived for supper that night, I popped the mystery bottle and poured myself a splash. Pale yellow and bubbly, but it didn’t smell like much. I took a sip. It was lacking acid and had a nutty flavor, more yeasty than fruity. “I think it’s oxidized,” I said “maybe over the hill.” My uncle asked to try it and declared it drinkable “it’s not bad; tastes a little like beer.” I examined the bottle again, brushing more dust from the back label, finally uncovering the word Birra. Well, that’s just what it was! And we decided it tasted much better, now that we knew it was beer.
Here at Oakland Yard, we have an active tasting bar, where the secrets of the bottles are laid bare. Come on out and ‘try before you buy’ every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, as we taste through our new arrivals, and this week we’ll stick to wine only.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! ALL FRENCH REDS or WHITES. $12 tasting flights from 4 to 8pm.
SATURDAY 12/8: ‘ZERO ZERO’ NATURAL WINES – no additions; only grapes - $15 tasting Flights from 2 to 6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm.
SUNDAY 12/9: CALIFORNIA TASTING FLIGHTS $15 tasting, Flights from 2 to 6 and wines by the glass until 8pm.
Cheers,
Max