A16 Rockridge - Wine & Spirits Magazine

A16 Rockridge


photo by Kelly Puleio

Like its sister restaurant back in San Francisco, the new A16 outpost in Oakland’s ever-trendier Rockridge neighborhood is all about Southern Italian wines, from the powerful, savory aglianicos of Campania and Basilicata to the mineral whites of Italy’s western coast. Only here, the focus is just as much on seafood as pizza—a natural fit for executive chef Rocky Maselli, whose family hails from Puglia, the Adriatic-soaked heel of the boot. A wine like the electric, saline Clelia Romano Colli di Lapio Fiano di Avellino sings with Maselli’s crudos, most all of which come from locally-sourced seafood; it also works well with the creamy burrata and a crisp kohlrabi salad. Another advantage this branch has over its older sibling: a liquor license, which allowed wine director Shelley Lindgren to take full advantage of Italy’s diverse amaros and digestivos.

5356 College Ave., Oakland, California

Italian

510-768-8003

Longtime senior editor at Wine & Spirits magazine, Luke now works for the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.


This story appears in the print issue of October 2013.
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