.Redfield Cider Bar & Bottle Shop to Bring Orchard-Based Ciders to Oakland


Rockridge is getting a new cider bar with a focus on terroir and education.

Redfield Cider Bar & Bottle Shop will take over the formerĀ See Jane Run space (5815 College Ave.), with a projected opening date by the
end of the year. At that point, it will likely be the second cider-focused barĀ in Oakland, with Crooked City Ciderā€™s own cider house due this summer near JackĀ London Square. Itā€™s an exciting development for cider fans, who have beenĀ hard-pressed for a breadth of quality options in the area.

Redfield comes from husband-and-wife team and Berkeley residents Olivia MakiĀ and Mike Reis. Makiā€™s rĆ©sumĆ© includes event programming at San Franciscoā€™s 18Ā Reasons, Bi-Riteā€™s educational nonprofit. Reis, meanwhile, is an advancedĀ cicerone who served as co-director of the beverage programs at San Franciscoā€™sĀ Monkā€™s Kettle and Abbotā€™s Cellar. Under his guidance, Abbotā€™s Cellarā€™s bar programĀ earned a semifinalist nod for a James Beard Award.

For Reis, cider became an obsession after working at Abbotā€™sĀ Cellar and looking to increase the restaurantā€™s range of cider offerings. TheĀ owners of Tilted Shed Ciderworks, a cidery in Sonoma County, wound up mentoringĀ him, which led Reis to work for a specialty cider distributor. ā€œOne of my mainĀ goals was to bring better cider to retailers. ā€¦ At a certain point, I realized,Ā ā€˜Man, we really need more retailers,ā€™ā€ he said.

ā€œWe feel like thereā€™s a hole in the industry right now for someone to come inĀ and focus on this beverage and focus on education,ā€ said Maki, who plans to runĀ tastings and classes out of the space. She hopes to bring in producers to talkĀ to consumers as well as offer tasting flights.

Redfield will stock 10 to 12 ciders on a 16-tap system ā€” the remaining will goĀ to beer, with some wine also available ā€” as well as roughly 200 bottles thatĀ folks can enjoy onsite or take home. There will be a mix of domestic ciders ā€”Ā particularly those made in Northern California, the Pacific Northwest, and NewĀ England ā€” and imports from countries with rich cider traditions such as France,Ā England, and Spain.

ā€œThe ciders we plan on really showcasing are ones that show aĀ sense of place and a sense of the characteristics of the apple varieties thatĀ go into the ciders,ā€ Reis said. ā€œOrchard-based cidersā€ is the most common termĀ describing these types of ciders.

That means youā€™re not likely to find the sort of sweet, fruityĀ blends that make up most of the shelves at BevMo, but Redfield wonā€™tĀ exclusively sell 100 percent apple ciders, either. To pair with these
effervescent, gluten-free beverages, Redfield will offer a simple food menu asĀ well.


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