Funky bottles, serious intentions, zero pretense
Temescal · Oakland · New American / Natural Wine · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 23, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Day Trip reads like a dispatch from someone who spent two weeks eating their way through the Jura and came home obsessed. It's dense, opinionated, and deliberately weird — in the best possible way. You're not going to find a Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay anywhere near this thing.
At 80–120 selections, this list punches well above the weight of a casual neighborhood restaurant. Loire Valley is the backbone — expect Muscadet and Anjou done right — but the Jura section (Trousseau, Savagnin) and a serious run of skin-contact wines from Slovenia and Friuli give the list real teeth. California natural producers like Broc Cellars, Dirty and Rowdy, La Clarine Farm, and Jolie-Laide round things out and keep it local without feeling provincial. The gaps? Conventional wine drinkers will find almost nothing to hide behind, which is either a feature or a bug depending on who you are.
With 12–20 by-the-glass options at $12–$18, the glass program is genuinely exciting — this isn't a spot where the BTG list is an afterthought padded out with bulk wine. Expect rotating pours that reflect the same funky, low-intervention ethos as the bottle list. It's a great place to experiment without committing to a whole bottle of something you've never heard of.
Jolie-Laide Trousseau Gris 'Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard' Russian River Valley 2021 — $76
At 111% markup this is the least punishing bottle on the list, and Jolie-Laide's Trousseau Gris from this old-vine Fanucchi block is legitimately special — textured, saline, and unlike anything else in California. You're getting a wine with a real story at a price that doesn't make you wince.
Pheasant's Tears Rkatsiteli Kakheti
Most tables will scroll right past a Georgian amber wine they can't pronounce, which is exactly why you should order it. Pheasant's Tears makes some of the most compelling qvevri-fermented wines on the planet, and seeing it on a Temescal restaurant list is a minor miracle. It's a conversation starter and a genuinely delicious bottle.
La Clarine Farm 'Jambalaia Rouge' Sierra Foothills
We love La Clarine Farm — great producer, honest wines — but at $58 on a bottle you can find at retail for $25, this one takes the biggest percentage hit on the list at 132% markup. Order the Jolie-Laide instead and put the difference toward another round of small plates.
Subject to Change Wine Co. 'Supermoon' Mendocino County + Cheese and charcuterie board
An orange wine with grip and oxidative edge cuts right through fatty cured meats and funky aged cheese. 'Supermoon' has the structure to handle a loaded board without getting lost, and the skin-contact texture gives you something to chew on between bites.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Day Trip is the kind of place that will either convert you to natural wine or remind you why you already love it — the list is deep, adventurous, and curated with a clear point of view. The markups sting more than they should, but the selection is good enough that we keep coming back anyway.
Piedmont Avenue · Oakland · Italian Wine Bar & Pasta
Enoteca Molinari is the rare neighborhood spot with a genuine wine identity — an all-Italian list that actually knows what it's doing, priced to drink, not to impress. Send your Italy-curious friends here without hesitation.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Jack London Square · Oakland · American with Mediterranean Influences
The Fat Lady isn't where you go to geek out on wine, but it's a genuinely enjoyable neighborhood classic with a historic Jack London Square room and a Wednesday half-price bottle deal that makes the steep markups a lot easier to swallow. Go on a Wednesday, spring for the Rombauer, and enjoy the patio.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown Oakland · Oakland · Italian-inspired Northern California, farm-to-table
Mockingbird isn't a destination wine list, but it's an honest one — fair prices, some genuinely interesting choices, and a room where drinking well feels easy. Send your friends here and tell them to order the Il Ramato.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Temescal · Oakland · Burmese
Burma Superstar's wine list shouldn't work this well for what it is — a short, unpretentious card at a casual Burmese spot — but a few smart picks and a legitimate Wine-Down Wednesday deal make it worth engaging with. Show up on a Wednesday, order the Riesling, get the Tea Leaf Salad, and stop overthinking it.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Uptown · Oakland · American / Japanese-influenced
Hopscotch is a cocktail bar that happens to have a wine list worth respecting — small, smart, and priced fairly for what it is. Send a friend here for the burger and tell them to skip the whiskey just once and order the Rosé.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Uptown · Oakland · Spanish tapas and paella
Duende earns its Wild Card badge by doing something genuinely rare in Oakland: committing fully to an Iberian wine program that matches the kitchen's ambition. It's not the deepest list in the city, but it's the most coherent one for what's on the plate — and that matters.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.