Join us this Sunday from 3 to 6PM as Farm Fresh Seafood shucks oysters outside and we pour wine inside. Bottles we’re opening include the NV Parigot Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs, a Muscadet from Loire vigneron Eric Chevalier, and the 2009 Savary Vieilles Vignes Chablis. Click here for details and special advance purchase pricing. Wine and oysters available a la carte on Sunday as well.

PS - had we realized Hungry Cat’s annual Crab Fest was on the same day, we might have been more creative with our naming. Apologies for the similarity. Next time we’ll call it Oysterpalooza or something.

Lou Amdur, of LOU on Vine, has been hard at work putting together Los Angeles’s first Natural Wine Week. I’m remiss in announcing this, since it’s barely 7 days away. Go on over to the website Lou has set up to learn more about the variety of events around town exploring this controversial, fascinating, and never boring category of wines.

I’m actually hosting a pretty nifty event, in which Lou will be catering with local cheeses and meats, and five wineries will be sampling their wares. On May 15th, from 6PM to 8PM, swing on by Heath Ceramics to meet Abe Schoener (Scholium Project), Hank Beckmeyer (La Clarine Farm), Don Heistuman (Ah! Wine/Edmunds St. John), Jared Brandt (Donkey & Goat) and Kevin O’Connor (LIOCO), who will each be sharing an array of their super-small production, California wines.

Each of these producers makes wine that I believe truly showcases California terroir. For the most part, they all shun commercial yeasts, farm organically or with minimal use of chemicals, avoid overuse of new oak, and focus on single vineyard bottlings. And while some may fall more squarely in the “natural wine” category than others, they are all working without compromise to be true shepherds, rather than manufacturers, of the grape.

As I indicated, Heath Ceramics will be hosting the tasting and it’s a great match for the California subject matter, as Heath has always emphasized the concept of “local,” long before it became fashionable. They’re just a hop, skip and a jump away from dLA, at 7525 Beverly Boulevard.

Tickets (a reasonable $25) are available for pre-purchase online by clicking here, or in person at Domaine LA at 6801 Melrose Avenue. If you prefer to be more spontaneous, tickets can be purchased at the event itself for $30.

Hope to see many of you there!

Just a quick note to let you know that a week from today, on Monday, March 8th, 2010, I’ll be hosting the first domaineLA wine tasting event at Susan Feniger’s Street, with the Manincor winery of Italy. The importer and winemaker will both be present to chat about the five wines being poured (including an unusual and delicious dry moscato), and the wines will be paired with light bites.

The best news is that the event will cost just $15 a person…a bargain! Swing by between 6PM and 8PM — I hope to see lots of you there!

Susan Feniger’s Street, 742 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Oh, and you can buy tickets in advance, online by clicking here:

In a fit of curiosity (and market research) we’ve been exploring various options for pouring wine for customers. This is hypothetical, of course, since we’re purely clicks at this point, not clicks and bricks. However, this hasn’t quelled our interest in exploring this topic.

Personally, we’re intrigued by their efficiency, and the sleek Jetsons-like look of the Enomatic dispensers that provide 1oz pours to customers without a smidgen of human interaction; but we think taking away personal communication customers leaves a lot to be desired. And, less rational, we’re also skeptical of the argon preservation system…no matter how neutral we’re told it is, we still have a psychological block against the stuff, and are convinced we can taste a chemical layer on our wine when we know it’s been gassed. Yes, we know that’s totally irrational and wrong.

Now we’d like to hear what you think about the Enomatic systems and similar automated wine-pouring devices?

 Loading …