Returning for the 12th year to Paso Robles, The Garagiste Festival comes ‘Full Circle’ as it showcases over 60 micro-production winemakers, including emerging winemakers and recipients of Cal Poly’s The Garagiste Festival Scholarship; events include a Rare and Reserve Tasting, Grand Tasting, Tasting Seminar and Keep it Rockin’ After Party
Paso Robles, CA – August 9, 2023 – America’s Best Wine Festival, The Garagiste Wine Festival, returns November 10th and 11th to its birthplace, Paso Robles, which was just named America’s Best Wine Region in USA Today’s 2023 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest. The festival showcases over 60 of the region’s best, most innovative micro-production winemakers, including many who are pouring at the festival for the first time*. Tickets are on sale now.
“Paso Robles is our home. It’s certainly no surprise to us that Paso was named the #1 Wine Region in the U.S. This is our 12th year and we are still discovering new wines and winemakers that are the embodiment of the variety and diversity of wines and styles here,” said Doug Minnick, Garagiste Wine Festival Co-founder. “There is really no place else like it in the world, and no better place to experience it than the Garagiste Festival, if we do say so ourselves.”
“For views, intricate diversity and five-star hospitality…it’s all about Paso Robles,” said USA Today about Paso Robles ‘Best Wine Region’ designation. “This region offers everything from small batch tasting…to some of the most breathtaking vistas…there’s a grape for every style preference growing in Paso Robles vineyards. In other words, no one leaves this place unsatisfied.”
Garagiste Festival Paso Robles’ fan favorite festivities are making a big return this year, including Friday’s Rare and Reserve ‘No Repeats’ Tasting at Pavilion on the Lake in Atascadero, and Saturday’s main event, the Grand Tasting, as well as the popular, beer-infused Keep It Rockin’ After Party. This year’s tasting seminar, “Coming Full Circle: The Path from Enology Student to Living the Garagiste Dream,” moderated by festival co-founder Stewart McLennan, is a special tribute to young, emerging professional winemakers, including some of the local winemakers who have come ‘full circle’ with the support of the Garagiste Festival scholarships at Cal Poly. Panelists include winemaker Phil Lamontagne, Jordan Crabtree (El Vinero Wines) and Janie Wilheim (Lumina / Dream Dweller).
“Since day one, our festival has been dedicated to supporting Paso’s small production winemakers while furthering the education of future winemakers, so we are especially proud to showcase some of those dynamic up-and-coming winemakers, including Garagiste Scholarship recipients, in the ‘Coming Full Circle’ seminar as we taste their delicious wines. This is a terrific opportunity for festival attendees to discover Paso’s newest wine generation: the wine rock stars of today and tomorrow,” continued Minnick.
Since its inception in 2011, proceeds from the Garagiste Wine Festivals have supported the Garagiste Festival Scholarship fund of the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo Wine and Viticulture Department.
Dubbed “tasting nirvana,” “strange and wondrous,” and “one not to miss” by the LA Times, the Garagiste Festival showcases under-the-radar, innovative, commercial winemakers who handcraft 1500 cases or less of wine and is renowned for its diversity of wines, renegade spirit, passionate winemakers, handcrafted wines and rules-breaking, ‘no snobs allowed’ ethos. It is the only wine festival that exclusively features high quality wines from commercial California ‘garagiste’ winemakers and, unlike other festivals, the wines are poured by the winemakers/owners themselves, offering a rare opportunity to interact with the creative forces behind the wines, while making brand new wine discoveries.
Among the wineries pouring for the first time at The Garagiste Festival in Paso Robles this year will be 12EC Vineyard, AMOK Cellars, Bajka Wine Company, Ella’s Vineyard, End of the Day Wines, Gagnon Cellars, Red Door Ranch Vineyards, Ruby Cellars, and Ulloa Cellars, joining Garagiste veterans Bodega de Edgar, Jacob Toft, Kaleidos, Tercero and more.
Event Line Up
The Garagiste Festival in Paso Robles kicks off on Friday night, November 10th at 6:30 pm at the Pavilion on the Lake in Atascadero, with the Rare & Reserve “No Repeats” Tasting, featuring a one-of-a-kind opportunity to taste barrel samples, reserve wines and more from over 30+ winemakers, as well as a sumptuous wine country buffet provided by Junction Food & Friends.
Saturday November 11th’s festivities begin at 11:30am for VIP ticketholders with the ‘Coming Full Circle: The Path from Enology Student to Living the Garagiste Dream’ tasting seminar. Saturday’s Grand Tasting, starts at 2:00pm (1:00pm for early access ticket holders) and features over 60 winemakers pouring 200+ wines and 25+ grape varieties, as well as a silent auction benefitting The Garagiste Scholarship. Complimentary cheese and charcuterie curated by Vivant Cheese will be available, along with shopping from local artisan vendors. The fun continues with the Keep It Rockin’ After Party from 5:30 – 8:30 pm, featuring live music and local brews. All of Saturday’s events take place at Paso Robles Event Center a.k.a The Fairgrounds.
Among the over 60 winemakers pouring at The Garagiste Festival in Paso Robles are:
12EC Vineyard*, Absolution Cellars, AMOK Cellars*, Autry Cellars, Bajka Wine Company*, Bella Luna Estate Winery, Bodega de Edgar, Bon Niche Cellars, Boonville Road Wines, Boutz Cellars, Burning Bench Cellars, Caelesta Vineyards, Cairjn Cellars, Concur Wines, Copia Vineyards, Cypher Winery, DENO Wines, Diablo Paso, Dubost Winery, El Vinero Wines, Ella’s Vineyard*, End of the Day Wines*, Etnyre Wines, Fest Wine Co., Gagnon Cellars*, Jacob Toft Wines, Kaleidos Winery, Kendric Vineyards, Manzanita Grove Vineyard, Marin’s Vineyard, MCV Wines, MEA Wine, Monroy Wines, Moose Mountain Vineyards, Pelletiere Estate, Powell Mountain Cellars, Red Door Ranch*, RF Fine Wines, Rivahil Wines, Ruby Cellars*, Sea Shell Cellars, Seven Oxen Estate, Stilson Cellars, Tercero Wines, Tomi Cellars, Torch Cellars, TW Ferm Co., Ulloa Cellars*, Zanoli Wines, and Zobeto Wines.
*First Time Garagiste Participants
Tickets are very limited for the Garagiste Festivals and always sell out. Tickets are available here.
https://www.cellarpass.com/
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Sponsors include:
City of Atascadero, ETS Laboratories, Farm Credit West,Travel Paso, VisitAtascadero.com, Pavilion on the Lake, G3 Enterprises, Glenn Burdette, Fortis/Digital Dogma, AgWest Laffort USA, MWWine School, New Times SLO, Poor Richard’s Press, Paso Robles CA, The Paso Oaks Hotel, and La Quinta Inns & Suites.
For more information and full Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure schedule details, go to: https://www.
About The Garagiste Wine Festival
The Garagiste (pronounced garage-east)Wine Festival (http://www.garagistefestival.
In addition to being named the US’ Best Wine Festival, the Garagiste Festival was named one of the ‘Top Nine Incredible Epicurean Vacations’ in the world by ABC News, “one of the premier wine events of the year,” by the LA Times and “Best Festival” by Sunset Magazine’s ‘Best of the West.’ The festivals 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.
Garagiste (garage-east) 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.
