Glasses clink and the buzz of conversation bounces off the stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels stacked to the ceiling as Steve Shaffer pours wine for thirsty visitors. But outside the cellar doors is no stretch of sweeping green vineyard or neatly manicured garden.

This winery is parked firmly in the dusty reality of Oakland’s Fourth Street, one of nearly two dozen wineries that have sprung up in the urban environs of the east San Francisco Bay area.

“People look at you kind of cross-eyed when you say, ‘I have a winery in Oakland,’” says Shaffer, co-owner of Urban Legend Cellars. “If you step back and look at it, it makes sense. This is where the customers are. We’re in the middle of what has got to be the country’s best food scene. We’re constantly in contact with really innovative chefs and understanding what they’re looking for to really complement their food.”

“This is,” he says, “a fantastic place for a winery.”

Oakland isn’t the only place where vintners are discovering the advantages of putting their wineries where the people are, with clusters of urban wineries existing in cities from Seattle to New York. San Francisco, just across the bay from Oakland, also has a thriving winery scene.

For the east San Francisco Bay area vintners, the location means they’re close to a number of prime grape-growing areas, and they have the freedom to experiment without the hazard of investing in and caring for land.

The 23 member wineries produce more than 100 wines, ranging from familiar Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay to lesser-known varietals like Tannat, to the flat-out unusual, like the tropical fruit dessert wines produced by the Adams Point Winery.

And they’re winning recognition. Urban Legend Cellars wines took five silvers in the recent San Francisco Wine Competition. And a Zin from Rock Wall Wine Company in Alameda took gold in the Chronicle contest.

Shaffer was among a number of urban vintners who recently threw open their cellar doors for the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance annual tasting event showcasing wineries in and near Oakland.

“It’s getting bigger and better every year,” says Bill Galarneau, founder of Adams Point. Indeed, organizers sold about 800 tickets to the event, nearly double the amount from the year before.

Among the participants:

Dashe Cellars

Michael and Anne Dashe founded this winery which is known for its lineup of Zins, including a late-harvest dessert version. They also make Riesling from grapes grown in Mendocino County.

Rock Wall Wine Company

Launched by Shauna Rosenblum Cellars, daughter of Kent Rosenblum formerly of Rosenblum Cellars, this winery is in the island city of Alameda next to Oakland. The company, set in what used to be a hangar facility at the former Alameda Naval Air Station is a cooperative facility housing eight additional boutique wineries, Blacksmith Cellars, Carica Wines, Ehrenberg Cellars, Eno Wines, Joseph Gary Cellars, JRE Wines, Mercy Wines and R&B Cellars. Next month, Rock Wall opens a new tasting room next to the hangar building. Known for good zins, especially their top-selling Monte Rosso Zinfandel made from 110-year-old vines grown on the top of Moon Mountain in Sonoma County. Rosenblum also makes international varietals such as Tannat, Obsidian and Montepulciano that appeal to wine enthusiasts looking for something new.

Stomping Girl Winery

Stomping Girl Winery was founded by husband and wife Kathryn and Uzi Cohen, who began as home winemakers in 2003 and eventually outgrew their basement.  They specialize in Pinot Noir from Carneros, Russian River Valley, and the Sonoma Coast.

Urban Legend Cellars

Run by Steve Shaffer and wife, Marilee, and open just two years, this winery offers a variety of wines. A standout was the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. Made from grapes grown in Lake County, the wine was an intriguing blend of grapefruit and tropical fruit with an almost effervescent quality and a hint of flint on the finish.

When you think of Oakland, the other city by the San Francisco Bay, you probably don’t think of it as wine country.  There aren’t any vineyards, bucolic settings or palatial wine tasting rooms.  Instead, you find a gritty, industrial vibe, one that dares to thumb its nose at traditional wine country.  This is wine country in the city.

Twenty-three wineries now call Oakland and surrounding areas home.  This is more than a trend, not only in Oakland, but around the country. City Winery is in New York City.  Boedecker is in Portland and Henke is in Cincinnati.  While the labels may have appellations from Napa Valley to Long Island to the Willamette Valley, the grapes are brought into a downtown setting to be made into wine.

Part of the attraction for vintners going urban is cost.  They don’t have vineyards, and downtown industrial space can be a lot less expensive than a small plot in Napa or Sonoma. What you do find is real passion and talent for winemaking.  Most urban wineries make small lots, but it’s the wine they want to make, and drink.  The tasting rooms are accessible to a wider population too.  Imagine taking the subway to a winery.  You can in New York. Urban wineries are changing the landscape, so to speak, and definition of wine country.

The East Bay Vintners Alliance hosted a passport wine tasting on Saturday.  Pay one fee, drink at all the tasting rooms.  I’ve had many of these wines, but not in their urban setting. Since many vintners pour together, passport tastings are a good way to sample many wines under one roof.  These are some of the wineries and wines worth seeking out.

It’s not an urban legend, it’s a winery. Urban Legend Cellars was my first stop, where about five wineries were pouring. Their labels are fun, showing the cranes in the Oakland port that look like something out of Star Wars. They source grapes and bring them here where they crush and make the wine. The Sauvignon Blanc is zippy and lively, the Grenache is soft and fruity.

Stomping Girl Wines makes three single vineyard Pinots; the best one to me is the Sonoma Coast bottling, rich and brooding.  Asked about making wine in an urban setting, Stomping Girl Kathryn Cohen says, “We started in an urban environment, in our garage.  We didn’t think about going outside of Oakland.”

At Dashe and JC Cellars, where these two wineries share a warehouse space for tasting rooms and winery, more vintners were pouring. I went straight to Stage Left Cellars, where a crowd was waiting to try their Viognier and red Rhone varietals. Their motto is “Everyone needs an exit strategy,” and owner Melinda Doty left a career in sales and marketing to create Stage Left.

You had to be in the know to score Eno Wines “secret stash” of 2002 Zinfandel.  ”Caught red handed” is made from old vines in Dry Creek Valley and is full bodied, spicy and jammy.

These urban wineries are all close to each other, so you don’t have to do a lot of driving between them. This tasting had a party bus to shuttle participants between wineries.  I did see a police car sitting outside of one tasting room, ready to nab anyone who was under the influence.  That’s why you spit, and don’t swallow.

Cerruti Cellars is right on the railroad tracks.  It’s an edgy and and industrial setting that feels modern, a perfect reflection of urban wine country.  They put the finishing touches on this new tasting room this week.  I love the light fixtures — and found out that the folks at Cerruti made them. Oh yeah, the wines are pretty good too, made by Kirk Venge.

Andrew Lane Wines is also pouring at Cerruti.  Adoring fans are lined up to taste what winemaker Andrew Dickson is pouring.  I’m lucky enough to get the last drops of Boxing Girl Chardonnay.  ”It’s my wife’s wine,” he says. “She’s tough.”  It’s a good, unoaked Chardonnay.  David Dickson, Andrew’s father, launched the winery, naming it for his two sons, Andrew and Lane. They like fruit-forward wines, which is evident when you taste both the Chardonnay and the Petite Sirah.

Last stop for me was at Rock Wall Wine Company, on the former Naval Air Base in Alameda. You can’t beat the setting, with views of San Francisco across the bay.  Rock Wall will be opening a new tasting room here, with a grand opening for the public on May 14 and 15. While Rock Wall is known for Zinfandel, they make a very nice late harvest Riesling.  A perfect wine for sipping while sitting outside in the urban landscape that is now wine country.