The Glories of Another Garagiste

In our current age--that is these terrifying last few weeks of Muskocracy--it's especially good to remember the wonder of a world writ small. Not everything has to be about huge numbers (of dollars, or corruption, or case production). Enter one of my annual favorite events, the Garagiste Wine Festival. This year we were fortunate enough to attend Friday's "Rare and Reserve Kick-Off Party," even more kicky as it featured a buffet of Cajun delights from Clean Slate Wine Bar. Chef Melissa Scrymgeour rocks it, even at the catering level, especially as she's sure to feature something for those who don't do meat (in Cajun that's spelled p-o-r-k). This night it was Gumbo Z'herbes, rich, redolent, and full of everything that grew green. This repast was perfect ballast for an evening of serious wine tasting.

In case you're new to what Garagiste means, it refers to folks who might, and sometimes do, make wines in their garages. We're talking tiny productions--you can't pour at the festival if you make over 1500 cases per year. For comparison, Meiomi--which some people consider wine--makes over 2700 cases of their sweet Pinot a day. 

That means what gets poured at the Solvang Veterans' Memorial Hall is made as passion product, as experiment, for the love of wine and agriculture and the hope to please people. That's highlighted even more on Friday, as winemakers pour their rare and reserve--older vintages, barrel samples, stuff so limited in supply that you couldn't buy it if you tried to bribe someone. But it does give you a beautiful picture of what creative, committed folks are up to in the wine world.

At least on this evening, most of what was poured was red, and much of that was more, let's call them chewy varietals--think Tannat, Tempranillo, or two grapes that despite their names aren't tiny in the slightest, Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah. Much of it was from Paso Robles, too, which might explain the grape choices--it's a lot hotter up there. So Fuil Wines' barrel sample of 2024 Sauvignon Blanc from Vogelzang Vineyard truly did stand out, but might have even in a more crowded white wine field. For as Chryss put it, "I want it to be summer, drinking this wine." And the red-heavy focus didn't stop the occasional oddball, like Winespread Panic Cellars 2022 Mourvèdre that looks light as a rosé, comes in at 12.9% ABV, and they suggest you chill. Owner Mitch Cahoon was happy when I suggested it was a summer porch wine, responding, "You can pound that shit!" Now that's not your usual marketing ploy....

But if you want the usual, you don't attend Garagiste. Instead you get things like Exprimere Wines, whose website has pages for both "Philosophy" and "Science & Art." The name, btw, is Latin for "to express or intone" (it just sounds like a fancy way to say experiment). What made their two pours rare was 2022 was their first vintage, and what you get is two Santa Rita Hills Pinots (I was told from Peake Ranch), that then gets trucked up to Sonoma where they do their magic. The Mia ferments at a cool temp, while the Persey gets exposed to some outdoor sun/heat during ferment. The former is lighter, racier, the latter richer, deeper. Given all the rest of the winemaking is consistent, it really does seem like some controlled experiment after all.

Then there's Boyd Shermis at Tomi Cellars, natty in his striped sports coat, sharing a no longer available Interlaced, a Syrah/Grenache blend. While a combo of those two Rhone grapes isn't anything new, Tomi's is, as they blend older Syrah, to give it more time to round and age, with younger Grenache. The result is a non-vintage wine with components from (in this case) 2019 and 2020. The result is a fully integrated delight. (There is a new NV blend out now, don't fret, but don't wait, either, as Tomi tends to make wines in 25 case increments.)

Speaking of small, we sampled the Pinot Noir and Syrah from Etnyre Wines, whose vineyard is a massive two acres in the SLO County AVA only 3.5 miles from the Pacific. Talk about complete care and control. Talk about cool climate, ocean effect. The Etnyres also had the good fortune to lean on more established wineries in their region to get started, with Alban clones for their Syrah and Talley Rosemary's clones for their Pinot. (People in the business can truly play nice.) Pouring library offerings, the 2016 Syrah was a true standout--gamey in that good Rhone way, with plenty of blueberry fruit and spice and a long finish. 

Garagiste also often gets to show off how those with day jobs in the business working for bigger concerns still run their own tiny labels. Take Sapien Wine, run by Trevor Bethke. He's also assistant winemaker at Cordon Wines and consulting winemaker at Buellton's Easy Street Wine Collective, so he's a busy man. But he's also got a crazy background with degrees in Biochemistry and Bioanthropology. Add it up, especially when he's accessing grapes like Pinot from Fiddlestix and especially an iron fist/velvet glove Grenache from Kimsey in Ballard Canyon, and you've got impressive, elegant wines.

Our only regret Friday was knowing we weren't coming back to do the full tasting with even more winemakers pursuing their visions on Saturday.