The New Garagistes

In the past year, I’ve driven to Glendale for two reasons: acting class and movies at the Americana because I can park for free next door to the Galleria. And, oh wait, there’s a third reason! I also attended the Garagiste Festival , which made an impression on me last year. I was eager to return and engage more with these pioneering winemakers while sipping their (highly limited) wares. The original garagistes were Bordeaux winemakers who, yes, made wine in garages, and some of them hit it big with the critics. To wit, Chateau Le Pin was considered a proto-garagiste, and it is now one of the most highly regarded wines in Pomerol. However, THIS Garagiste tour features wines made in the US, producing under 1,500 cases. It toured through California and landed in Los Angeles for the Urban Exposure branch of the festival on June 22nd. Winemaking is not easy or (generally) lucrative, so I set out with a few questions and my iPhone voice recorder app to discover what makes THESE garagistes tick. Off the bat, I have to note these wineries’ numerous devotees. Like, if winemakers had groupies…well, it seems they do. It reminded me of my early days in Los Angeles, moving amongst friends in the indie music scene. Undersung (pun not intended) bands drew obsessive fandoms, albeit at more niche venues like Silver Lake Lounge or the Satellite (née Spaceland). If anyone remembers an indie band named Castledoor, I was OBSESSED with them; I still am. I’d go wherever they played, whenever. The bands were friendly with us fans as we were adoring of them. I got the impression that the Garagiste groupies follow in that tradition: They love their indie wine producers, and guess what? The producers love them back. The most frequent answer to my “What is your favorite thing about being a micro-producer?” question was a tie. Many loved that it allowed them to get to know the people drinking their wine. Benjamin Leachman of Forgotten Union most beguilingly described it as “scooping ice cream for adults.” I'd sum up the other answer I got as being their own boss—some expressed it as making what they wanted to drink, others as not having to answer to anyone…FREEDOM was a big part of what moved these garagistes. As for my “what is the most challenging thing?” question, money often came up. “It's not a huge investment; it’s also a huge investment,” explained Anna Lancucki of Final Girl. The monetary aspect of it goes hand-in-hand with the second most mentioned challenge, which is the PR of it all. Getting the wine into the market and finding the purchasers is another job on top of the winemaking. Some other answers that I loved to this question were “cleaning” and “the emotional rollercoaster of winemaking” (thank you, Kristin Fione of Adorato and the eponymous Dusty Nabor, for those). Let’s get to the wines that turned my head! I should preface this with the fact that I did not get to taste everything—it is a BIG festival, and even with several hours there, you couldn't unless you are speed tasting. Of what I did try, these were my top impressions. THREE CHARDS TO LIFE One of my first stops was a perennial favorite (both the wine and the person) [Thomas T. Thomas](https://delectable.com/search/thomas+t.+thomas), whose eponymous winery lies on a gorgeous hillside in northern California’s Mendocino, where he makes elegant Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays you can try in a tasting room rife with art, some of it his own. His Pinots are fun because each is incredibly unique and indicative of the vintage. However, I was also mad for his 2020 Chardonnay , which was downright handsome and golden, bringing ripe stone fruit and Meyer lemon with an under-ripple of minerality. I’ll follow this with a new favorite (both the wine and person, also eponymous), Dusty Nabor Wines , whose 2022 Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay was toasty as can be and rather Burgundian, barrel fermented in 25% new French. It had a bit of brininess and a hit of toasty apple if you can imagine such a thing (and if you cannot, try the wine). With Thomas and Nabor, I met the person and the wine at the same time. This last Chardonnay that thrilled me was made by a favorite person I’ve known for a few years, and I just now got to try her wines, and, omg, I am happy to also add them to the favorite list (and it does not always go that way). I’m talking about Kristin Fione of Adorato Wines . Her 2023 “Margaret” Santa Maria Laird Vineyard Chardonnay is juicy and fresh, speaking of lemons and linens, although also apples, just not the toasty type. It is remarkable how three favorite wines were all Chardonnay and all distinctly that variety yet SO distinct from each other #teamChardonnay FILM + CHENIN Sequence Wines was named for terminology used in the day job of winemaker Jasen Frisby, who works in tandem with his wife, Dana. He is a film editor, which influences how he names and labels his wines, with information laid out like film clips. “Cold Open,” a Chenin Blanc, was a favorite bottling of mine. It had classic Chenin telltales—hints of honey on citrus and apples with ripping acidity. Literally, the only physical note I made was simply, “I love Chenin.” Final Girl Wines also has cinematic influence. Winemaker Anna Clifford (no relation) named it for the horror film trope of the last girl left standing. She usually has a good head on her shoulders (and ideally keeps it there, metaphorically and literally [in the old sense of literally before it became basically a term for metaphorically]). And go figure, their Chenin was also a favorite, hailing from the Jurassic Vineyard in Santa Ynez. MORE GOODIES Stiekema Wine Co. is enchanting on many counts—enchanting bottle art, enchanting proprietor and enchanting wines. I suppose I should have come up with some synonyms for “enchanting,” like beguiling, charming, or spellbinding, but they are so hypnotizing; on the first draft, all I could think of was “enchanting, enchanting and enchanting,” so….the 2022 GSM Blend was spicy, tannic and bold but approachable, acid lifting ripe fruit and aligning with minerals. Trois Le Fou of Paso Robles is indeed a trois—founded by three wine lovers—two of them home winemakers—who decided to pool their passions into one label. My pick of the litter was the 2020 L’or de Fous (fools’ gold!), a 42% Merlot, 29% Syrah and 29% Mourvedre blend, showing pleasantly prickly tannins and oodles of blackberries and brambles. Polonium was founded by winemakers Taylor Harris and Ryan Rech, who were ready to spread their wings past the wineries for which they’d been working. Their 2023 Napa Valley Carneros Rosé of Pinot Noir, aged in neutral oak, is oh-so refreshing. Lightly peaches and cream, sparkly in texture but also creamy, I want it in my glass all summer. Perhaps my favorite from Sonoma Valley’s Forgotten Union was their 2019 Vidi Vitis Zinfandel . It is a more restrained Zin with some time in French oak (50% new). You get a little of the pepper and almost a touch of smoke. A tasty and on-the-refined side of Zinfandel.