Hey wine lover! Yeah, you. Wanna go taste some interesting wines this coming Saturday? And by interesting, I mean probably mostly wines you’ve never ever heard of?

I’ve long said that one of the chiefest virtues of a wine lover is curiousity, so I hope I’ve piqued yours. To me, there are few things better than discovering tiny new wine producers. And wouldn’t you know it, there’s an entire wine festival dedicated to this idea? It’s called the Garagiste Festival, and it’s dedicated to showcasing the wares of those wineries that make only a few hundred to a thousand cases of wine per year.

I try to keep pretty good tabs on the thriving California wine industry, but wineries are springing up all the time like mushrooms after a rain. When I look through the list of the Sonoma wineries pouring at this year’s Sonoma Garagiste Festival, I’ll be honest, I only recognize a handful. And that’s a great thing.

So if you’ve got a couple of hours to kill and want to see what’s happening on the “micro” scale in Sonoma County, get thee to Sonoma on Saturday afternoon.

Sonoma Garagiste Festival
Saturday, April 30, 2022
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Sonoma Veterans’ Memorial Hall
126 1st Street W, Sonoma CA 95476 (map)

Tickets for the event cost $75, and should be purchased online in advance. As usual with these sorts of events, I recomend going with food in your belly, a good night’s sleep, and with the intent to spit, rather than swallow—the better to learn and appreciate what you’re tasting.