The Garagiste Wine Festival – the term plays on French slang for people who makes wine in their garage – is a gathering of the best wines you’ve never heard of – yet.
A hit in Southern California, where the L.A. Times called the exuberant event a ‘wine tasting Nirvana,’ the festival of small-lot producers makes its Northern California debut on May 12 at the Sonoma Veterans Building.
The event features undiscovered and under-recognized American artisan producers who are making some of the best, most exciting, handcrafted small-lot production wines in the world, explains festival co-founder Douglas Minnick. Most aren’t widely distributed or having tasting rooms.
“Bringing these winemakers onto the radar of passionate wine fans on the lookout for new wine discoveries is one of the great pleasures of the festival.” Minnick says.
Offered during the afternoon event will be 150 different wines made from 15 varieties.
The lure of making a new discovery appeals to Alan Campbell, co-owner and grower of the Camlow Cellars and a Sonoma native. These are wines “you won’t find in the grocery store,” he said. “These are small lot winemakers with rare and hard to find wines,”
Adds co-founder Douglas Minnick. “Bringing these winemakers onto the radar of passionate wine fans on the lookout for new wine discoveries is one of the great pleasures of the festival.”
The Sonoma Garagiste Festival kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with the seminar: “The Garagiste Variety Show: Exploring the Diversity of Small-Production Winemaking. $115. The Grand Tasting ($65) runs from 2 to 5 p.m.
For the full schedule, more information, go to: http://garagistefestival.com
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