Show 143, October 24, 2015: 5th Annual Garagiste Wine Festival, Paso Robles, CA

Garagiste FestivalThe 5th Annual Garagiste Wine Festival returns to Paso Robles from November 5th to 8th. The Garagiste Wine Festivals are the first and only wine festivals dedicated to the undiscovered and under-recognized American artisan “garagiste” producers who are making some of the best, most exciting, handcrafted small-lot production wines in the world.

It’s three days of fun and educational wine-centric events in a superb wine region. No wine snobbery here.

“We founded The Garagiste Festivals five years ago to gather and bring attention to, the growing but under-the-radar population of micro-production winemakers who we knew were making some of the most exciting, cutting-edge wines in the world,” said Doug Minnick, Co-founder of The Garagiste Festival. “As our Festivals have grown and expanded, they have helped spur the growth of our participating wineries, as well as of the Garagiste movement itself. It has been a true win-win-win: matching consumers with the hard-to-find artists they enjoy discovering, helping garagiste wineries find a highly targeted and self-selected audience, and all in support of our work with Cal Poly.”

The festivals (3 per year) are produced by Garagiste Events, a non-profit 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.

Co-Founder Doug Minnick joins us with the preview.

Show 129, July 4, 2015: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival

Garagiste FestivalGaragiste Festival: Urban Exposure produced by Garagiste Events, returns to Los Angeles on July 11th, from 2 to 6:00 p.m. with 50+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines in a new, and appropriately rock and roll, venue: the stunning art deco landmark, The Wiltern in Koreatown. Proceeds from the non-profit festival will benefit Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture program.

Tickets are available here. This Festival typically sells out early. Please plan accordingly.

A new element of the Festival is a first-time alliance with Artisinal LA that will see a mini pop-up of a sampling of their best artisan food producers offering tastes of their healthy, local, sustainable and delicious edibles.

“We have always felt that finding undiscovered winemakers is like discovering a new band in a club before they have a hit record, so The Wiltern’s rock and roll history is a perfect fit for these renegade, under-the-radar wine makers. Plus, it is a stunning place,” said Doug Minnick Co-founder of The Garagiste Festivals. “And, as our fans know, a really cool venue is an integral part of the garagiste experience. As always, we will have one-on-one interaction with the winemakers, an unmatched tasting range of amazing hard-to-find wines, a no-snobs-allowed atmosphere, and just plain fun.”

Show 129, July 4, 2015: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Continues…

Garagiste FestivalGaragiste Festival: Urban Exposure produced by Garagiste Events, returns to Los Angeles on July 11th, from 2 to 6:00 p.m. with 50+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines in a new, and appropriately rock and roll, venue: the stunning art deco landmark, The Wiltern in Koreatown. Proceeds from the non-profit festival will benefit Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture program.

Tickets are available here.

The Garagiste Wine Festivals, which first exposed the American garagiste movement, are among the most unique and influential wine events in the world. They are the only wine events that exclusively showcase ultra-premium, cutting-edge, micro-production commercial wineries that produce fewer than 1,500 cases (and many under 800) a year.

“Garagistes” 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.