Paso Garagiste Festival
www.pasogaragiste.com

There is an old joke that the best way to make a small fortune in the wine industry is to start with a large one. Winemaking can be a very expensive proposition.

But, what if you don’t have a large fortune and still want to make your own wines?

Well, you have to be very hands-on, pretty much doing it all yourself, cutting corners everywhere except for the quality of the product you are putting out. You have to really love what you are doing, as the work is as hard as it gets. And, quite often you are doing this in your “free time”, as you probably have a day job somewhere else, maybe at another winery. These are the wineries I’ve been most excited about over the years, the artisan, boutique, “garagiste” wineries, where you can taste in every glass the passion that the winemakers have put into their wines.

The term “garagiste” originated in France as a term of derision towards those winemakers that did not make wine at the big chateaux, but rather out of their own garages. Now, the expression is one of respect towards those winemakers who have the courage to go their own way.

Last year was the inaugural Garagiste Festival, held at Windfall Farms in Paso Robles, focusing entirely on these small wineries.

Many of them do not have tasting rooms, and the festival offered one of the few chances to taste [and purchase] wines from a few dozen of these small maverick producers, as well as interact directly with the winemakers.

The Festival is coming up again the weekend of November 10th  and It has expanded into a four-day event! There are also pre-festival events happening at various venues in Southern California in the weeks leading up to the Festival.

Check their website for more information and tickets, and sign up for “The Dirt” newsletter.

Enjoy!

Michael Perlis provides outsourced controller services to businesses that do not need a full-time controller. He balances this with his interest in wine: reading and writing about it and, of course, drinking it. He is still trying to figure out how to combine these two pursuits. Feel free to contact him about either at mcpfinancial@aol.com or michaelthezinfan@aol.com.