Explore Oakland's Unexpected Wine Trail

I'm Monique Soltani and I want you to join me on my journey. What's awesome about being in Oakland is that people don't expect there to be a fully functional winery. As we come together in your community by breaking bread. You gotta have fun with it. That's how you pour the best love into your dishes. Opening a bottle. Wine is becoming something that isn't seen as something that is only for a small group of people. And connecting through culture. I love Oakland because of the energy and the creativity. This is relaxing in Oakland. Our grape escape begins here in Jack London Square. Come along as we embark on an epic adventure exploring Oakland's urban wine trail. The unexpected awaits in one of the nation's largest cities. Just don't call it that. San Francisco's the city. Oakland's affectionately nicknamed the town. A term of endearment reflecting the sense of community. A symbol of solidarity. We represent Oakland really hard. So there is a difference between Oakland and San Francisco. We will let you know that it's that city that people will tend to overlook. But once they are here they see the authenticity of the food, culture, wine and people. This exciting and often underexplored town rises and shines with nearly 20 miles of California coastline. 120 plus parks and over 100,000 acres of trees. Including century old redwoods. The oaks it's named after helped build the city it shares a bay with. This urban oasis in the East Bay is rooted in activism, integrity and a history of firsts. Floating on Lake Merritt, I can tell you that this was America's first wildlife refuge. Officially designated in 1870, even before Yellowstone. Sky's the limit for this community that is as bright and bold as the 1,000 plus murals that paint the town's 78 square miles. It really makes a fabric of the city to have arts be a critical part of its culture. Oakland is alive and thriving. Bursting with pride for its community, culture and cuisine. There's something to whet any appetite in Alameda County. Come inside Coat West. This family run working winery makes California wines right here in the city. To the French, coat means hillside. But this UC Davis trained California winemaker is far from France. In 2017, he and his family created an urban wine experience in Oakland's Embarcadero Cove. What's awesome about being in Oakland is that people don't expect there to be a fully functional winery. So they come to the tasting room and half the time they don't even know that we make the wine on site. And so towards the end of the tasting, I'll walk them through that door, bring them into the barrel room. And they'll see the tanks and the barrels and they'll just be shocked that we make wine here. And it seems strange to make wine in an urban environment, but it's really not that crazy. Some of our vineyards are only 35 minutes away. We make old world style wines with premium West Coast vineyard sources. I learned how to make wine in Burgundy. And so that experience is really special to me. So I try to make wines in that style. Because we're in a working winery, we get to spit somewhere. Where are we going to spit? We're going to spit in the drain so I have no spit bucket to clean. Okay, so he doesn't have any more dishes to do. All right, I'm going for it. And is it hands on? Are the kids involved? Everyone's kind of all hands on deck when it's dunk time? Yeah, they're kind of winery kids. They like to run around in here. We'll give them chalk. They'll mark up the floors. When we first moved in here, we had that little red electric car. And my son and my daughter were small enough. They could both fit in it and they'd drive around the cellar and dodge the barrels. And because we're in a working winery, are you going to let us taste? Are we going to get to have that experience? Yeah, you want to taste out of a tank and barrel? I want to do it all. I want to do it all. All right, Monique, this is a 2023 Chardonnay from the Sienega Valley. All organically farmed. It's delicious. This is called a wine thief. I love that name. Yes, we're stealing a little bit of wine out of here. Born in Petaluma Gap, bred in Oakland. So fun. Such a unique experience. À la nôtre. À notre santé. Oh, what does that mean? To our health. To our health. I'll drink to that. Art is everywhere in Oakland. Even the wine bars look like galleries. Meet Erin Coburn. In 2015, she set up her chic wine shop in Jack London's historic 100-year-old produce district. There is beautiful architecture, really old buildings, a great art scene down here, and a lot to drink. Minimo obviously means minimal in Italian. Natural wine, it's good to ask people what their definition is, because there's no set standard for natural wine. There's what people say is conventional wine, which is the marketplace that most people are familiar with. And then natural wine, which means that on the farming side, the vineyards have to be organic or biodynamically or regeneratively farmed. And on the winemaking side, we say no unnecessary additions or subtractions to the winemaking. So there's probably the key factor in that is you cannot inoculate with selected yeast. It has to be a wild fermentation. I really think that what is happening here, particularly with natural wine, is there's such a group of people here who are so supportive and welcoming that I just hope it grows and that people come here and take part in all of that. Cheers. Cheers and enjoy. In Oakland, the Black Arts Movement Business District offers up diversity, and one businesswoman is bringing wine country to downtown. When people walk into the door of Coco Noir, they're like, oh my God, I didn't know this was here. Alicia Kidd is a second-generation Oaklander. In 2020, she decided it was time to sprout her business roots. And less than a half mile from Oakland City Hall, she opened Coco Noir Wine Bar. Oakland is the epicenter of just great food. We have the tap on the market when it comes to wine, especially that urban city experience of tasting rooms. And Alicia serves representation to wine tasting. If you want to break it down by data, women only make up like 5% of employees and owners. People of color POC, which is all of us, is only 3% and African Americans or Black people only make up 1%. So that's makers, producers. So I want it to elevate so that we can partake in this multi-billion dollar industry. Alicia is committed to selling wines by Black, Indigenous, and people of color. And of course, women. She says she's helping local winemakers in a competitive market if they want to use her tasting room to reach new customers. There's no barriers to the retail market. You're not competing against many. I have a personal relationship with the winemakers, so I think that you're not going to get that anywhere else. In a post-COVID world, she's had to pivot, holding corporate and nonprofit events and private parties to stay afloat. But... I could have closed my doors a long time ago. Alicia says she's committed to her community and to sharing its diversity with others. What keeps me going is knowing that I'm making a difference. A difference which sets this tasting room apart for any visitor looking to try something new. Coming up... Every time I do demos, the biggest tip I always say... A top chef shares his top secret to crushing it in the kitchen. When Wine-O-TV continues. Now let's meet a top chef who pays homage to his homeland, representing his roots with his family's recipes. I am in the kitchen with Chef Nelson of Alamar Dominican Kitchen. What do we do here? We're island boys, you know, Caribbeans. I want to ask you a little bit about your Top Chef experience. Yeah, I was on Top Chef Season 18. It was the height of COVID at that time. But it was a beautiful thing because we really became a family. We were at kind of our lowest time because the world was so negative. We're so down that we really bonded and lift each other up. I loved hearing that story of, you know, we rise again. And as a society, in certain towns specifically, we're all coming together. It's been so meaningful to me to represent where I come from, but also where I am, represent Oakland to the fullest. I'd love to hear the story behind this. Yeah, the pelenil. This is something that's normally really popular during the holidays for Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, too, and Cubans. We're all Afro-Latinos. And this is a dish that really represents all the influences that we have in our roots. The Spanish, the African, which is predominant, the Moors, which is the Arabic style, too. So it's a dish that really is the one dish that's like the main event during the holidays. It's the one that, you know, moms and aunties argue about who makes the best. And I got to know, did your mom or your auntie make the best dish? I got to give this one to my auntie. Oh, I thought for sure it was going to be your mom. All right, let's make these recipes, Chef. We're going to have the pelenil, which is already slow-roasted, so it's nice and tender and juicy. We're going to sear both sides, and then we're going to make a beautiful sauce. This is kind of a secret. It's a secret mojo. Mojo? Mojo, yeah. Are you going to tell us what's in it or no? He's like, no, it's a secret. I'll tell you some things, but definitely, you know, sofrito, which is this, which is a blend that we use for so much in our cooking. We have this beautiful sofrito butter. We're going to mop the sauce. We have some peppadew peppers, are from West Africa. It's going to give a lot of great acidity to the dish, too, and brightness. We have some fava beans, which are in season right now, some sweet potatoes, and, of course, some Holy Trinity. Hallelujah. Let's go for it. Let's do it. Let's do it. One of the tools that when people ask me, what can you not go without in the kitchen, what kind of tool, I would always say tongs. What is one quick tip you could give someone, like always remember to? Every time I do demos, the biggest tip I would say, don't cook on high heat because you want to be in control. Oh. Always stay in control. Stay in control. Yeah. You want to stay in control so you're happy while you're doing it. I love it. That's when you add the best, you know, your love to it. Add your love, stay in control. Stay in control. And what would you pair with that? This, I would pair a delicious Zinfandel. My favorite Zinfandel is from the McBride Sisters. Bon appetito. Oakland has rolled out the red carpet for us today. How lucky am I to be joined by the one and only Robyn McBride. McBride Sisters Wine Company, which is myself and my little sister, Andrea. We've been in the business for about 18 years now, and the thing that makes our story a little bit different from the average wine company is that we didn't know about each other growing up. Two sisters reunited and sent a ripple into an industry ripe for change. I don't think we ever imagined it would be what it has turned out to be, but I think that we were both very excited knowing that our lives were different, were changed for the better, and now that we would go forward with each other. Please correct me if I'm wrong on any sort of stat. Largest black-owned wine brand in the United States and female-owned. Second black-owned wine landowners in Napa Valley. You might know more stats than I did in my research. I don't have a script, but I do read about people. We definitely recognized when we started in the industry how much room there was for the industry to evolve. Their wines include McBride Sisters Collection, Black Pearl Magic Wines, and She Can Wines. Since 2019, the She Can Fund has delivered over $3 million of services and funds to help women in the wine industry and beyond. Wine is becoming something that's not just enjoyed by a small group of people or isn't seen as something that is only for a small group of people. And to see that people recognize that and that it has shifted. Our families have so much pride around what we've been able to do, and to see the family name on a bottle of wine is something they never dreamed of. Break the rules, drink the wine. Coming up, the Blues are back, baby. Meet one of the Bay Area's best. When Wine Oh! TV continues. Now inside an East Bay institution hitting high notes for five decades. We're sitting down at the restaurant at Yoshi's for sushi and sake and a little history lesson. The origin of Yoshi's did start out in 1972 as just a 27-seat restaurant. And it was actually started by three friends from Japan that kind of created it to create a small community. What I love about music is how it brings people together. I love the music aspect personally. That's what brought me to Yoshi's. Through the 70s and 80s, we had luminaries such as Chick Corea, Pharoah Sanders, even blues players such as Dr. John have, you know, graced the stage. The way our venue is set up, it's so intimate. It sort of forces you to sit and listen and watch the show. And I think a lot of entertainers love that about that as well. They ultimately love to play here because the experience they get from the fans. And this intimate experience that you're explaining and also this escape, you're united in the room. There's a pulse and you can feel it. And it sounds like that's something you guys are able to offer here, which is amazing. Ronnie Stewart doesn't sing the blues. Oakland musician is known for their versatility. He lives and breathes them. We can play reggae. We can play, you know. We can play the funk. We can play the, you know. We are versatile and we don't get locked into no styles. Oakland Blues, West Coast Blues was influenced by T-Bone Walker. So a lot of our music is, they call it mutt music because there's so many styles. So it's Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. What is the West Coast Blues Society? Well, we're a non-profit organization dedicated to the perpetuation of blues, jazz, and gospel as the right form of business to America. We don't have the opera or the ballet fine art forms, but this is born, bred and created in America and blues. And also, just for the record, all standard forms of music from even reggae, rock, country, all rooted in blues. A musician on a mission to bring Harlem of the West back to its heyday. Well, that's one of our goals, which we sort of reached. It's called Music They Played on 7th Street, Oakland Walk of Fame. And our goal is to continue to perpetuate blues, jazz, and gospel and continue to make people understand the importance of Oakland Blues. 7th Street, it was a whole community, mostly African-American. It was a place where your people come from out of town. They say, I'm looking for my cousin Joe. Well, he be down on 7th Street. Oakland is known for its rawness. If you can't sing or you ain't singing right, they're going to tell you. So Aretha Franklin, all of them had to go. And this is before Aretha Franklin even began to record. And she would come down to Slim Jenkins, hang out and drink white port and lemon juice with all the other guys and all this stuff. Because they knew they were going to get the real deal. They'd be like, uh-uh, that was no good. Try again. That rawness still exists in Oakland. If you ain't playing right, they'll tell you real quick. Can you teach me how to play a tune? One blues tune? One strum? Yeah. What do I do? I can show you a chord now. It's a minor chord. A minor chord. You have to play with your left hand. I am left-handed, so it works out perfectly. Let me show you. You see the three strings, them three? Move these fingers just this way. Okay, now hit it. See? Oh, you got it. Okay. I love it. All right. Well, ace is in their places, Ronnie. Ace is in their places. She got a C. I get a C off better than a D or an F. Let's let Ronnie play us out. Okay. Let's do a song that was written in Oakland, 1951. It made B.B. King's career. The Thrill Is Gone was written on 7th and Center Street. The Thrill Is Gone. We have a taste of the sweet life literally right here on Lake Merritt with Dolce Vita Gondola. This is a real gondola from Venice, Italy. I love this so much because when I was in Venice 10 years ago, I was too cheap to pay 80 euro for a gondola ride. How silly was I? We've got the real deal right here in Oakland. I was living in Venice. I owned a gondola, and I wanted to bring a piece of Italy to California and do something unique. So we shipped two gondolas in containers, and we arrived here at Oakland and made this our home. Prego, signora. Oh, grazie. See you later. I'm ready. Talk to me a little bit about why you've committed and dedicated really the better part of your career to covering the East Bay. There was a lot of Oakland history that still deserved to be shared that people hadn't been telling yet. So many facts about Oakland to uncover, but I'd love to hear some maybe underexplored stories, some things that people don't know about Oakland. Well, you know, one example that always blows people's minds is that Bruce Lee used to live here. One of his first studios, his dojo, was right over on Broadway. Give us some more. Give us some more fun facts about Oakland. Five fun facts, Liam. We're here for it. Oh, yeah. Well, this is not the AI answer, right? This is the real human deal. I want human interaction. I want humanity. Give me the human answer. Well, since we're right here floating on Lake Merritt, I can tell you that this was America's first wildlife refuge, officially designated in 1870, even before Yellowstone. They open up the channel between here and the Oakland Estuary. So in Lake Merritt, you'll see the same kinds of fish that you'll see in the bay sometimes. So that statue is called the Mid-Century Monster. And it's actually world famous because Sly of Sly and the Family Stone photographed one of his album covers where the band is kind of perched on different angles of the Mid-Century Monster. A week ago, Too Short, the legendary rapper, pioneered, just did a free concert right there in that bandstand. Hundreds of people came out. There was a two-day notice. Oakland just has so many great artists, entertainers, historians, storytellers. Well, one thing that anyone who lives in Oakland will tell you that they love about this place is the diversity. That goes back to the origins of Oakland. There was waves of, you know, European immigrants. And then during the Great Migration, during World War II, huge influx of black migrants from the south. In the 70s and 80s, a lot of Southeast Asian immigrants, people coming, you know, from Vietnam, fleeing the wars there. After that, Ethiopian, African immigrants. So there's just been wave after wave of people and bringing their cultures here, which is one of the reasons why the food here is so good. Yeah, the food's incredible. The people have been amazing. I just really have enjoyed this very quick grape escape. If you're coming from San Francisco or anywhere in the Bay Area, you could really make a full day and have an experience. And of course, if you're traveling up from Southern California or even internationally, there's so much to offer here in Oakland. And I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to come here and learn from you and everyone who lives here. My pleasure. And I know I don't need to tell you this, but there's a lot of great wine here too. I'll drink to that. Bravo! Thank you for joining the journey to Oakland and for watching Wine Oh! TV, where we get to the heart of every wine region. We'll see you next time. But until then, remember, break the rules, drink the wine. I'm super nervous, so I might need to ask you something. Let me see. Oh, you've got one. Please. It's not like you're having twins. No, I'm kidding. Robin and I were chatting. She's a fellow twin mom, and we're like, one? That's like having a puppy. Your kids must love this. Watching you spit. Well, I'm going to go like this to you to start, and then I'm going to go like this to you to stop. Oh, okay. How's that with the playing? Scratch my back. Signed in East Bay Institution, hitting five notes. Wait, wait. When I tap you, be slowly stop, and then I'll start talking. That's okay, we'll do it again. I thought you was patting to the beat. Well, I was! Now cheer!