Wine Lovers Have A Napa & Sonoma Bay Area Alternative
When you think of wine tasting in the Bay Area, Napa Valley and Sonoma come immediately to mind.
You most certainly don’t think about Oakland.
But the city across the bay has wineries, 11 of them, in fact. And you can visit them as part of the Oakland Urban Wine Trail, a self-guided tour downtown.
Oakland’s urban wineries are housed in renovated warehouses and offers tasting rooms in industrial neighborhoods, artist community spaces, even waterfront locations. Oakland vintners source their grapes from throughout California and bring a unique Oakland flavor to the trail, influenced by their different backgrounds and winemaking experiences.
Walk, Ride Or Take The Ferry
The trail is walkable and easily accessible by ferry, BART, Oakland’s free Broadway shuttle and Amtrak.
“You no longer have to travel to traditional wine country for great, quality wine,” said Alison Best, President and CEO of Visit Oakland. “These winemakers were drawn here because Oakland’s the place to try something different, like building your winery in a warehouse instead of a vineyard! We are proud that our vintners are putting a new spin on winemaking in our state, adding their authentic Oakland flavor.”
Wineries include Brooklyn West Winery (in Jack London Square), Campovida, Cerruti Cellars, Dashe Cellars, Irish Monkey Cellars, Jeff Cohn Cellars, Periscope Cellars, Rosenblum Cellars, Stage Left Cellars, Two Mile Wines and Urban Legend.
To help people navigate the trail, there’s an Oakland Urban Wine Trail brochure and map and Visit Oakland is installing street decals throughout the city that marks the closest tasting room.
Link: Oakland Urban Wine Trail
Leave a Reply