We interrupt this coverage of the Wine Crawl to alert you to a new piece of news: It's official. I live in the wine drinking-est part of town in L.A. Why do I make this declaration? Because I spent the evening at yet another neighborhood wine-tasting event. This one was ostensibly a fundraiser for a local school, an excuse they've been making for 10 years, apparently. It's now a tradition, as are the chicken empanadas from Gigi's that accompany all that vino.
There were 18 selections, ranging from refreshing Rosés to mellow Malbecs. The choices were charmingly offbeat, courtesy of Larchmont Wine & Spirits and its resident wine guru, Simon. Simon is something of an icon in our neighborhood. Pleasant to listen to (he sports a British accent), even more pleasant to look at, he attracts a regular number of local hotties craving wine advice. (Sorry girls, he's happily married). At the wine tasting, he held court at his table, dispensing wisdom along with half-glasses of yummy stuff. My tidbit for the evening: screw-caps are not the 100% solution I thought they were -- some wines, most notably Syrahs -- actually require a little air in the bottle to reach their poential. Wine technicians worldwide are apparently experimenting with glass technology in order to improve the situation. However, nothing beats a screw cap, said Simon, when you're hosting a wine tasting -- it makes handling the thirsty hordes very easy.
I was too busy gabbing to work my way through all the selections -- but here are my favorites from the ones I did try: 2007 La Playa Cabernet Rose, Chile. It's $9.00 a bottle! Put it in your fridge for the summer. Put many bottles in your fridge, actually. 2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc, Santa Barbara. This one's a little more spendy at $19, but it's delicious. Perfect for balmy weather and winsome cheeses. 2005 Bricco Buon Natale Il Podere Dell'Olivos Teroldego, Santa Barbara. Also about $19. Made from a little-known grape from Italy's Alto Adige region, it's got a velvety texture and goes down just like buttah. The winery makes a kick-ass Barbera as well. 2005 Chapel Hill Shiraz/Grenache, Australia. Also $19. (I seem to gravitate to a certain price point, don't I?) Plummy, berry-laden, Ozzie version of Rhône-style wines beat a path right to this girl's heart. 2004 Tritono Malbec, Argentina. Ahh, here we are -- a $40 bottle of wine. Unusually spendy for Argentina, but very, very good. Bold, spicy, intense -- just how I like my polo players.
Given that you probably don't live in my 'hood (or I'd see you tipsily traipsing down the sidewalk with the rest of the neighbors), feel free to use the handy "Snooth Search" box on the sidebar to find out where you can buy these wines in your own 'hood. And email Wine Giques headquarters if you want a list of the remaining wines. Saluté! (Photo of the fountain at the Getty Museum by Endless Lazlo, courtesy of Flickr.)
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