Renegade Wine Makers Celebrate Santa Barbara’s Richly Diverse Wines this April
The Southern Exposure Garagiste Wine Festival will see 40 artisan ‘garagiste’ wineries pouring under one roof at Solvang’s beautiful, Mission-style Veterans’ Memorial Hall this April.
‘Garagistes’ (garage-east) is a term that was originally coined in France’s Bordeaux region to describe the renegade small-lot wine makers who sometimes working in their garages. Refusing to follow the traditional rules of winemaking, there’s and is now a full-fledged garagiste movement that’s now responsible for making some of the best wines in the world.
This year’s ‘Garagiste Festival: Southern Exposure’ will showcase handcrafted red, white and rose vintages poured by over 40 hard-to-find, local garagiste winemakers like Artisan Uprising, Ascension Cellars, Casa Dumetz Wines, Clos des Amis, Coda Wines, Jalopy Wine Company, Larner Vineyard & Winery, Levo Wine, MCV Wines, McKinney Family Vineyards and Tercero Wines.
Dubbed a ‘wildly exuberant and fun wine event’ by the LA Times, Southern Exposure will also include a tasting seminar on one of the most widely-planted, but still little-known, varieties: Grenache. The tasting will be hosted by Zac Wasserman (Frequency Wines), Sonja Magdevski (Casa Dumetz) and Cris Carter (Weatherborne).
The fun kicks off on Friday March 31 with a ‘Rare & Reserve’ party with tastings of limited Club Only, Verticals, Library and Pre-Release bottles – and the fun continues until Sunday April 2, with Southern Exposure’s first Garagiste Passport Day, featuring Garagiste specials, discounts and events at local wineries.
The BEST WESTERN PLUS Black Oak Hotel is a perfect option for wine-lovers. The central Paso Robles location puts you within minutes of the more than 250 wineries that make up this stunning region. Family owned and operated since 1961, this beautifully landscaped property features a variety of well-appointed rooms and suites, along with an onsite restaurant, heated pool, sauna, hot tub and fitness center.
Image: flickr.com/photos/jonathanhoeglund/
This blog first appeared at bestwesternblackoak.com/paso-robles-blog
