Garagiste Wine Festival returns June 17 in Glendale

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News release 

The Garagiste Wine Festival returns to L.A. for the eighth time on Saturday, June 17, with over 40 micro-production, commercial “garagiste” California wineries from Malibu, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara County, Paso Robles, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Baja California, and more.  

The festival was co-founded 12 years ago by Doug Minnick, owner of Double Trouble, a wine tasting room in Old Town Newhall. 

The festival, which takes place at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, features winemakers Dusty Nabor (Dusty Nabor Wines), Anna Lancucki (Final Girl Wines) and Jessica Gasca (Story of Soil). The festival also includes a “No Repeats Rare and Reserve” early access hour.   

“We love bringing The Garagiste Festival to Los Angeles because it is the only wine event in L.A. that brings together so many high-quality, small-production winemakers from so many different areas,” Minnick said in a prepared statement. “It’s a whole California winery road trip all in one place on one day.”  

Minnick added: “Our winemakers all have interesting stories. We have a winery that began on California Street in Huntington Beach, the ‘Miracle Vineyard’ that survived the Malibu fires, our first across-the-border winery pouring wines that reflect the Baja California terroir, and many more. You will discover a multitude of delicious, one-of-a-kind wines, all while talking to the winemakers themselves.” 

The Garagiste Festival showcases under-the-radar, innovative, commercial winemakers who handcraft 1,500 cases or less of wine.   

“Over the years, some really exciting wines have been poured at our festivals from the Happy Canyon (American Viticultural Area). So, we’re pleased to dedicate this year’s VIP tasting seminar to its wines,” Minnick said.  “Happy Canyon is the warmest AVA in its region and, like our garagiste winemakers, it is small, still quite undiscovered, has no tasting rooms and stands alone in producing stunning wines not typical of its region, all of which makes it a very happy match for our festival.”  

The Happy Canyon AVA tasting seminar kicks off the festival at 11:30 a.m. for VIP ticket holders and is moderated by Garagiste Festival co-founder Stewart McLennan. The seminar is followed by the “No Repeats Rare and Reserve” early access to the festival at 1 p.m., offering an exclusive opportunity to taste over 30 extremely limited club only, library and pre-release bottles, as well as some barrel samples. Saturday’s main event, The Grand Tasting, starts at 2 p.m. and features over 40 winemakers.  

Garagiste (garage-east) 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.”  

Tickets ($10-$135) are limited for the Garagiste Festivals and are expected to sell out. Tickets are available at www.eventbrite.com/e/garagiste-wine-festival-8th-annual-urban-exposure-june-17-2023-tickets-576177722077. The nonprofit Garagiste Festivals benefit the Cal Poly SLO Wine and Viticulture program. All events take place at Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 North Verdugo Road, Glendale. 

More information is available at www.garagistefestival.com/los-angeles-202. 

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