Prima Materia Winery Tasting Room Opens in Temescal Alley | Eater SF

"Tucked within Temescal Alley at 482 49th Street, Suite B in Oakland, I find Prima Materia's compact 240-square-foot tasting room — seating about 10 inside plus roughly 10 on a small patio — where Piettro Buttitta explores historical wines and pairings. Buttitta, a classically trained chef and winemaker with a decade of experience, focuses on Italian grapes like Sangiovese and Barbera and rarer varietals such as Negro Amaro (unsulfured and served on tap; he estimates only 10–15 acres of it exist in California), and the current list includes 11 Prima Materia wines made from Lake County fruit. He’s experimenting with themed tastings and educational pours (weekend flights of different Sangioveses or a modernist Tuscan lineup, and even pouring other wineries for context), plans rotating daily small plates that probe historical themes — examples mentioned include a terrine with an ancient Roman spice blend or a paella that nods to its origins with beans and snails — and hopes to host monthly multi-course wine dinners that recreate vanished flavors. Prima Materia occupies the former Pain Shop/Doughnut Dolly space and is open Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m." - Janelle Bitker