California’s Renegade Winemakers Are Pouring Weird, Wonderful Wines
By Andy Hermann
The story goes like this: Renowned wine critic Robert Parker was in France, visiting some high-end chateaux to taste their latest vintage. En route to his next appointment, he passed a small farm with a sign saying they were selling wine. Curious, he asked his hosts at the chateau about it.
“And the guy from the chateau haughtily said, ‘Oh you don’t want to try their wine. They are just garagistes,’” recounts California winemaker Doug Minnick. “Meaning they were [making wine] in their garage.”