GaragisteUrbanExposure2022

“We are excited to be back in Southern California with another slate of remarkable and innovative wineries from almost every California AVA,” said Garagiste Festival Co-founder Doug Minnick in a press release. “The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure offers one of the most unique wine discovery opportunities available in the LA area.”

At a cost considerably less than a tank of gas for a trip to wine country, Southern California wine enthusiasts will congregate once more July 22 and 23 at the Garagiste Wine Festival’s Urban Exposure where they will taste wine from some of the best up and coming micro-production ‘garagiste’ wineries from across California, including Santa Barbara County, Paso Robles, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Los Angeles. Considered America’s Best Wine Festival by USA Today, The Garagiste Wine Festival, includes a Friday evening “Rare and Reserve” party, and on Saturday, a tasting seminar on ancient winemaking techniques made modern. All events take place at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. Tickets are on sale here, and Tickets are very limited for the Garagiste Festivals and always sell out. The non-profit Garagiste Festivals benefit the Cal Poly SLO Wine and Viticulture program.

Garagiste (garage-east), explains the Festival organizers, “is a term originally used in the Bordeaux region of France to denigrate renegade small-lot wine makers, sometimes working in their “garages” (anything considered not a chateau), who refused to follow the “rules,” and is now a full-fledged movement responsible for making some of the best wine in the world. The Garagiste Festivals were the first to shine a light on the American garagiste winemaker in 2011.”

“Most of these wineries do not have tasting rooms, and you will never find them on supermarket shelves, but you will find them all under one spacious roof in Glendale this July,” points out Minnick. “You’ll be able to taste a wide range of California wine country’s hidden, and one-of-a-kind, gems right in your backyard.”

Offering a diversity of wines, renegade spirit, passionate winemakers, handcrafted wines and rules-breaking, and a ‘no snobs allowed’ ethos, The Garagiste Festival showcases under-the-radar, innovative, commercial winemakers who handcraft 1500 cases or less of wine and is 

Unlike other festivals, at Garagiste, wines are poured by the winemakers/owners themselves, allowing wine enthusiasts to meet and interact with the creative forces behind the wines.

On 630pm Friday July 22, the weekend of events kicks off with the “No Repeats Rare and Reserve” party, where 200 guests will taste 50 extremely limited Club Only, Library and Pre-Release bottles, as well as some barrel samples. Ibarra Catering will provide a taco bar.

At 1130am Saturday, explore ancient fermentation and aging techniques in “Ancient Techniques in Modern Times,”  a tasting seminar with Garagiste Festival co-founder Stewart McLennan, Nathan DeCamps of Innate Wines, and Greg LaFollette of La Follette Wines. “Many of these techniques are labor-intensive and time-consuming, relying on a true ‘hands-on-every-barrel’ approach that typifies Garagiste winemaking,” says Minnick.

The Grand Tasting follows using a souvenir Stolzle crystal wine glass, and features over 40 winemakers pouring 150+ wines and 20+ grape varieties with complimentary cheese and charcuterie. Winemakers pouring at The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure 2022 include:
 
Acri Wine Co.*, Alms Sol Winery, Amrita Cellars, Arianna Wines, Boonville Road Wines, Bushong Vintage Wine Co., Caelesta Vineyard*, DENO Wines, Dusty Nabor Wines, Etnyre Wines, Ferguson Family Wines, Forgotten Union Wines, Greyscale Wines, Intent Wines*, Kaleidos Winery, Light of Day Winery*, Marin’s Vineyard, MCV Wines, Murder Ridge, Omega Road Winery*, Optio Vineyards*, Pine Mountain Vineyards, Prima Materia*, Purple Dragon Cellars, Rails Nap Wines, RF Fine Wines, San Rucci Winery, Seven Oxen Estate, Terre et Sang, Tomi Cellars*, Topophilia Wines*, Trois le Fou*, Turiya Wines, Two Papas Wines, Wander Must Wine, Wildflower Winery* and Zobeto Wines*. * indicates wineries new to the event.
For sponsorship info, email info@garagistefestival.com

The Glendale Civic Auditorium is located at 1401 North Verdugo Road, Glendale, CA with onsite parking for $6 and easy access from the 134 and 210 freeways. For more information and full Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure schedule details, go to: https://www.garagistefestival.com/los-angeles-2022

About The Garagiste Wine Festival

The Garagiste Wine Festivals (http://www.garagistefestival.com) are “committed to discovering the best and most innovative limited-production winemakers and promoting and showcasing them to a broad audience of discerning wine consumers. In addition to its flagship annual festival in Paso Robles, CA, the Garagiste Festival line-up includes Garagiste Festival: Southern Exposure, featuring Santa Ynez Valley garagistes; the Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure, in Los Angeles; the Garagiste Festival, Northern Exposure, in Sonoma; winemaker dinners, a newsletter, garagiste profiles and more.” Produced by Garagiste Events, the non-profit is dedicated to furthering the education of future winemakers and those training for employment within the wine industry. Proceeds from the festivals support the Garagiste Festival Scholarship fund of the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo Wine and Viticulture Department.