Oakland Business Review – Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce

Most people do not know or realize that the Bay Area has become Wine Country in a very big and new way – not Napa, not Sonoma, but in the East Bay.
That’s right, Wine Country has now hit the city known for its thriving urban culture, Oakland, California.

Since 2005 this urban wine scene in the East Bay has been quietly growing, conceived from an informal chat over a barbecue by four wine lovers wanting to expand their businesses. Fast forward to 2010, and there are now 22 urban wineries that make up the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance (www.east bayvintners.com.) Most relatively small in size, these boutique producers make a vast array of wonderful wines in more than 20 different varietals, from traditional bold Cabs to the rare and harder-to-find South American and French styles.

The urban winemakers source fruit from some of the best vineyards in California and around the world, and bring them to their respective wineries to lovingly craft wines that are world class in quality and at an affordable cost. “Because we are not tied to land, we have the freedom to experiment and really let the fruit and the quality of the ingredients speak for themselves,” says Steve Shaffer, winemaker of Urban Legend Cellars and EBVA member.

Currently, there are 22 wineries and seven tasting rooms that make up the East Bay Vintners Alliance. All are located in the East Bay and many within min- utes of downtown Oakland. Almost every tasting room within the EBVA is open daily for locals and visitors alike to experience wine tasting, just like one would in Napa or Sonoma. Many of these tasting rooms are housed in modern, con- verted warehouses throughout the East Bay, adding to the redevelopment and exciting new changes in Oakland. “Grapes don’t care where they are turned into wine, they care where they are grown,” says Robert Lynch, winemaker of Irish Monkey Cellars and EBVA member.

Each year the EBVA hosts two annual events, “Passport to the East Bay” in the spring (where each of the seven tasting rooms are open individually to share their wine with the public) “Urban Wine Xperience” or “UWX” each summer. The “Urban Wine Xperience” is held at Jack London Pavilion where all EBVA wineries come together to pour their wares alongside local restaurants and purveyors under one roof.

EBVA wines can also be enjoyed at Jack London Square’s legendary Waterfront Hotel, where guests can enjoy free corkage on any EBVA wine purchased, attend a “Meet the Winemaker Fridays” from 5-6 p.m. in the hotel lobby, and enjoy an entire wine list dedicated to EBVA wines at Miss Pearl’s Jam House.
The EBVA’s mission is to create awareness of its group as the best local source for purchasing wine in the Bay Area, and also to create national aware- ness and excitement about this new, growing trend and chapter in urban winemaking.

For more information on the East Bay Vintners Alliance, to purchase tickets for either of their annual events, or to set up wine tastings at any of the seven tasting rooms, visit www.eastbayvintners.com.