Funky bottles, serious intentions, zero pretense
Temescal · Oakland · New American / Natural Wine · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 23, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Day Trip’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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.
Downtown Oakland · Oakland · Wine Bar
CoCo Noir is a genuine neighborhood wine bar doing honest, focused work in a city that deserves more of them. We'd send a friend here on a Friday — just tell them to book ahead.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Oakland · Oakland · Specialty Beverage Shop & Tasting Room
Alkali Rye is a twelve-hundred-square-foot argument that you don't need a long list to have a good list. If you're into natural wine, funky imports, and paying Oakland prices instead of San Francisco ones, this place is worth your time.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Oakland · Oakland · Wine bar and bottle shop
Bay Grape is the bottle shop you wish was in your neighborhood — a tight, genuinely considered list priced by people who respect your wallet. If you're anywhere near Oakland and care about drinking something interesting, this is a stop worth making.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Oakland · Oakland · Wine shop with tastings
Paul Marcus Wines is the kind of neighborhood shop that makes you mad you don't live closer to it — deeply curated, genuinely knowledgeable, and stocked with bottles that reward curiosity over brand recognition. If you care about drinking well without being lectured, this is your place.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
· Oakland · New American / Wine & Whiskey Bar
District Oakland is doing something quietly impressive: a whiskey bar with a wine list that would embarrass most dedicated wine bars. The pricing is honest, the selections have a point of view, and the all-glass-pour format means you can graze your way through regions without any commitment. Send a friend? Yes — especially the friend who thinks they don't like wine.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Oakland · Italian / Mediterranean
Bellanico isn't trying to be a wine destination — it's trying to be the best possible ending to a meal, and the wine list reflects exactly that. If you're into the Italian after-dinner tradition, this list is a small treasure worth seeking out.
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.
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