I’ve been writing about the Garagiste Festivals since they started in 2011, so I won’t bore you with too much of the history here. Summary: Focusing on small wineries, many with no tasting rooms, it started with an annual event in Paso Robles, expanded to Solvang, then to Los Angeles and most recently added an event in Oakland.
On July 9th, the 3rd iteration of the Los Angeles event, known as Urban Exposure, took place for the 2nd consecutive year at The Wiltern. This time, besides the VIP benefit of entering an hour early and tasting the Rare and Reserve wines as well as beating the crowds, there was an added option of attending a barrel seminar before the VIP session started.
Let me get this out of the way…
Standing on the stage of the Wiltern as Karen and I waited for the start of the seminar, I successfully [and thankfully] resisted the urge to pretend I was some rockstar and did not yell out “Helllooooo L.A.!!!”
[I think I used up my quota of rock and roll references in last year’s article, so I’ll try to skip those this time.]
Instead I sat back down with the other attendees as the curtain closed on us and we waited for the seminar to begin. Moderated by Garagiste Festival co-founder Stewart McLennan, the seminar “Understanding Oak Varieties – Tasting the Winemaker’s Spice Rack” was divided into two parts for us to learn and taste along with the experts. The first part was led by Michael Larner of Larner Vineyard, as we tasted three versions of his 2014 Syrah – one from wine aged in neutral barrels [the barrels having been used for several years and no longer impacting the smell and taste of the wine], one that had been aged in French Oak and the last in American oak. Similarly, in the second part of the seminar, led by Rendarrio Vineyards owner Ryan Rendar [who also reps French barrel maker Cadus], the wines were his Cabernet Sauvignon presented unoaked along with samples from barrels of medium grain and tight grain. In both cases, the wine were presented in order to show how the type of oak and the tightness of the grain impart oak characteristics to the finished wine, going from least to most. The winemaker then typically takes wine from barrels of these varying characteristics and blends them to result in the final wine for the consumer. This is a year-by-year process, as not only do barrels vary yearly, but grape harvests do too.
My own personal preference is for minimal oak treatment. I’m definitely all about the fruit and like to be able to taste the variances from year to year. But, understandably, the winemaker is not necessarily out to satisfy my tastes, but the tastes of the consumers of his or her wine, so he uses the whole “spice rack” of what he has available to make the best wine he can. And the big producers do everything they can to make their wine consistent from year to year, minimizing those vintage variations that I enjoy.
But no big producers at this event! As the seminar was wrapping up we could hear the activity on the other side of the curtain, so we hurriedly pushed and shoved….I mean carefully walked to the entrance to the main event.
Per the program, these wineries were pouring:
Alma Fria Vineyards [Sonoma]
Alma Sol Winery [Paso Robles]
Alta Colina Vineyards [Paso Robles]
Archium Cellars [Santa Barbara]
Artisan Uprising [Paso Robles]
Ascension Cellars [Paso Robles]
Bellissimo Cellars [Santa Barbara]
Bodega De Edgar [Paso Robles]
Brian Benson Cellars [Paso Robles]
Brophy Clark Cellars [Santa Barbara]
Caldera Cuvee [Paso Robles]
Caliza Winery [Paso Robles]
The Central Coast Group Project [Santa Barbara]
Chene Wines [Edna Valley]
Cholame Vineyard [Central Coast]
Cloak & Dagger Wines [Paso Robles]
Cordon Wines [Central Coast]
Coruce Vineyards [Antelope Valley]
Deno Wines [Paso Robles]
Dreamcote Wine Co. [Santa Barbara]
El Lugar Wines [California]
Golden Triangle [Paso Robles]
Graef Wine [Northern CA]
Hoi Polloi Wines [Central Coast]
JPIII Wines [Paso Robles]
Kaena Wine Co. [Santa Barbara]
Kaleidos Winery [Paso Robles]
Kimmel Vineyards [Mendocino]
Larner Winery [Santa Barbara]
Leverage Wines [Paso Robles]
Marin’s Vineyard [Monterey]
MCV Wines [Paso Robles]
On Your Left Wine Co. [Paso Robles]
Pagter Brothers Winery [Central Coast]
Per Cazo / Paso Port [Paso Robles]
Powell Mountain Cellars [Paso Robles]
Press Gang Cellars [Santa Barbara]
Pulchella Winery [Paso Robles]
Ranchita Canyon Vineyard [Paso Robles]
Rendarrio Wines [Paso Robles]
Rhythm Wines [California]
Ryan Cochrane Wines [Santa Barbara]
Tao Vineyards [Agoura Hills]
The Farm Winery [Paso Robles]
Theopolis Vineyards [Anderson Valley]
Tierra Y Vino [Santa Barbara]
Tlo Wines [San Luis Obispo]
Trail Marker Wine Co. [California]
Turiya Wines [Central Coast]
TW Fermentation Co. [Paso Robles]
Two Shepherds [Northern California]
Vinemark Cellars [Central Coast]
Vines On The Marycrest [Paso Robles]
Weatherborne [Santa Barbara]
West of Temperance [California]
As you can see, there were a lot of wineries pouring. Many from the central coast but some from farther afield as well. Many were Garagiste Festival regulars along with new participants. With so many wineries pouring multiple wines, I obviously couldn’t taste everything – my apologies to the ones I missed.
Next week, I’ll let you know my favorites.
Michael Perlis has been pursuing his passion for wine for more than 25 years. He has had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show him the way, as well as a wonderful wife who encourages him and shares his interest. After a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as he possibly could, he had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Now, as Contributing Editor for Eve’s Wine 101, he does his best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers. Michael is also Vice President of Eve Bushman Consulting (fka Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting) http://evebushmanconsulting.com/ and President of MCP Financial. Michael can be contacted at michaelthezinfan@aol.com or michael@evebushmanconsulting.com.
