America’s Best Wine Festival[1], The Garagiste Festival, returns to Los Angeles for the ninth time on Saturday, June 22nd, bringing 150+ extraordinary wines and 40+ of the best micro-production ‘garagiste’ wineries from all over California. Tickets are now on sale
Renowned for its handcrafted wines from professional artisan winemakers who make less than 1500 cases, its renegade spirit, and rules-breaking ‘no snobs allowed’ ethos, The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure is the only festival to provide Angelenos with the opportunity to be first to discover so many under-the-radar wines, wineries, wine styles, and grape varieties from almost every AVA in the state, including Paso Robles, Sonoma, Napa, Livermore, Mendocino, Santa Barbara County, and, of course, Los Angeles.
“Once again, we are bringing the best of Wine Country to Los Angeles with a scope of wineries and grape varieties that would take months, or years, of in-person research to find — if you could find them at all,” said Garagiste Festival Co-founder Doug Minnick. “At Garagiste, we have done the research for you. With our long history as the home of the micro-winery movement, these wineries now seek us out to get their wines to our audience. Our winemakers love to personally pour their wines for you – not only their artisan takes on fan-favorite wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay – but also the widest array of grapes varieties and styles you will find anywhere. And this is exactly what continues to make the Garagiste Festival such a popular and unique event.”
Minnick noted that Garagiste Festival winemakers, in their pursuit of passion, and without regard to the marketplace, produce tiny lots of wines vinified from a wide range of less well-known grapes, sometimes from extremely small plantings. For example, grape varieties poured at the recent sold out Garagiste Festival in Sonoma included Trousseau Gris, Carignan, Cinsault, Mencia, Symphony, Xinomavro, Picpoul Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Tannat, Fiano, Fruliano and many more, as well as better known varieties such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Syrah, Chardonnay, Merlot, Grenache Riesling, Malbec, and Mourvedre in a wide range of styles.
This is one of the many reasons why the Garagiste Festival has been described as “tasting nirvana,” “strange and wondrous,” and “one not to miss” by the LA Times; why the Sonoma Sun says of the wine makers: “if corporate mega-wineries are like the dinosaurs of rock music, these are the garage bands,” and The Press Democrat of the experience: “If discovering a talented, under-the-radar winemaker elicits the glee of unearthing a diamond in the rough, the Garagiste Wine Festival is designed for you.”
Along with festival favorites, this year’s first-time wineries– some pouring their very first vintage – include Above the Bay, Adorato Wines, Ciento Cellars, Cote of Paint Wines, Perlegos Family Wine Co., Polemonium Wines, Sequence Wines, Slouch Hat Wines, Staysail Cellars, Sunland Vintage Wineries, and Wilson Family Vineyard.
The one-day Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure kicks off on Saturday June 22nd at 1:00 pm with an exclusive “Early Access: Rare and Reserve” tasting (only 150 of these Early Access tickets are available) where winemakers pour library, club-only or reserve wines.
The main event, the Grand Tasting, is from 2-5pm. During the Grand Tasting, local wine bar Vintage Wine + Eats will offer complimentary cheese & charcuterie plates. In addition, samples from artisan vendors will include: BoccaBella Farms Olive Oils and LA’s own Letterpress Chocolates. Other vendors include Chic Chill and EE Home Style. Bottled water will be provided along with a keepsake crystal logo glass from Stolzle.
All events take place at Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 North Verdugo Road, Glendale, CA. There is plenty of onsite parking and easy access from the 134 and 210 freeways.
Among the over 40 winemakers pouring at The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure 2024 are:
*Above The Bay, *Adorato Wines, Alma Sol Winery, Bocce Ball Wine, Buckaloose Wines, Caelesta Vineyards, CalStar Cellars, Cairjn Wine Co, *Ciento Cellars, *Cote of Paint, DENO Wines, Dusty Nabor Wines, Etnyre Wines, Familia Hicks, Final Girl, Fuil Wines, Greyscale Wines, Hoi Polloi, Kaleidos Winery, Kendric Vineyards, Lunasa Wines, Marin’s Vineyard, Monroy Wines, Omega Road Winery, Oxlee Graham Wines, *Perlogos Family Wine Co., *Polemonium Wines, Rock & Clay Wines, *Sequence Wines, Six Clove Wines, *Slouch Hat Wines, *Staysail Cellars, Stiekema Wine Co., Stilson Cellars, *Sunland Vintage Winery, Temperance Cellars, Tercero Wines, Thomas T Thomas Vineyards, Trois le Fou Winery, *Wilson Family Vineyard, and ZANOLI Wines.
*pouring for the first time at the festival
Tickets will sell out: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/garagiste-wine-festival-9th-annual-urban-exposure-tickets-871263461467
For more information, visit https://www.garagistefestival.com
[1] The Garagiste Wine Festival was named “Best of the Fests” by Fest Forums and the ‘Best Wine Festival in the US in 2018 in USA Today’s 10Best Readers Choice Awards.
Terry Bunch
