12th Annual

Garagiste Festival
Southern Exposure

FEBRUARY 6 & 7, 2026

The 12th Southern Exposure Garagiste Festival is returning to the quaint town of Solvang in February 2026 to give you rare access to the region's best small, hard-to-find winemakers. At this engaging event, you will discover and taste amazing, cutting-edge wines from our roster of high-quality, micro-production, commercial wineries from all over California’s Central Coast.

Find out for yourself why we’ve been selling out our events for ten years and why we were named the #1 Wine Festival in the Country by USA Today! Meet the winemakers and hear directly from them about the ins and outs of their winemaking styles.

Most of our excellent, hard-to-find wineries do not have tasting rooms and can’t be found on “wine country” maps. Many sell out their wines quickly to their allocation lists. The Garagiste Festival gives you the rare opportunity to get in on the ground floor and discover some pretty unique wines and even enjoy a few first vintages! The wines showcased here are created from personal passion, not a marketing strategy. These are NOT supermarket wines, and the difference is astounding.

Located indoors in the beautiful Mission-style Veterans Memorial Hall, attendees can escape the usual large festival crowds and taste - with the actual winemakers and owners! - in a comfortable, quaint and personal setting. Tickets are limited so you don’t waste time in line and Early Access / Weekend Pass attendees get an extended 1.5 hours of tasting before the rest of the crowd is let in. No other event delivers this amount of one-on-one access to their winery partners.

Check out our blog post “What’s the big deal about being small?” to learn more about the core vision of our Festivals.

ALL FESTIVAL EVENTS

Solvang Veterans’ Memorial Hall
1745 Mission Drive | Solvang, CA 93463

WEEKEND ALL ACCESS PASS — $179

For those of you who want to attend every minute of the Festival, we have created a Weekend All Access Pass. Our best deal (over 20% off), with no coupon code required. Includes entrance to Friday Night’s Rare & Reserve Dinner & Buffet, Saturday’s Seminar & Tasting with Greg Brewer (details below), a box lunch from Panino and Early Access to the Grand Tasting at 1pm with a limited crowd. Eight hours of amazing wine fun, education & tasting!

- ONLY 50 Weekend Passes Available / *Discount Codes not applicable to these tickets

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2026

“No Repeats” RARE & RESERVE TASTING & BUFFET — 6:30pm-9:00pm — $89

Meet the winemakers as they share wines you won’t get to try anywhere else this weekend…and few other people get to try at all! This evening will showcase extremely limited Reserve, Club Only, Library and Pre-Release bottles – perhaps even some barrel samples – that truly showcase what micro-production winemaking is all about. This event is like digging for diamonds with an earth mover. You are guaranteed to find more than a few gems! Traditional Cajun-inspired buffer provided by Clean Slate Wine Bar and sweet treats by Solvang Bakery also included. Our most intimate event! Vegetarian options will be available.* Only 150 tickets available.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2026

VIP Seminar & Grand Tasting — 11:00am-5:00pm — $139

The day begins with one of our Signature Seminars, this year’s featuring one of Santa Barbara’s most acclaimed winemakers - Greg Brewer. This deep dive into Greg’s 30 years of winemaker in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA is sure to be both educational and inspirational. His knowledge and vast experience from the vineyard to the bottle and his commitment to the region and winemaking standards are what makes him stand apart. Get to hear how his holistic approach to his craft translates to the glass and enjoy tasting some of his award-winning wines. Also includes a box lunch from Panino and Early Access to the Grand Tasting at 1pm with a limited crowd. Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance.

Early Access Tasting — 1:00-5:00pm — $99

Early Access guests get 1 extra hours of personal access with our 30 winemakers pouring 100+ wines and 20+ varietals with a very limited crowd. This give you time to taste and chat - before the crowd arrives - more than any other Festival! Complimentary cheese & charcuterie plates provided by Cailloux Cheese Shop will be available from 1:00-4:00pm, along with bottled water and a crystal logo glass for you to keep. Artisan vendors will also be on hand for your sampling and shopping needs.

Grand Tasting & Silent Auction — 2:00-5:00pm — $79

The festival’s Grand Tasting is from 2-5pm with 30 winemakers pouring 100+ wines and 20+ varietals. Complimentary cheese & charcuterie plates provided by Cailloux Cheese Shop will be available until 4:00pm, along with bottled water and a crystal logo glass for you to keep. Artisan vendors will also be on hand for your sampling and shopping needs.

SILENT AUCTION

Our “All Wine” Silent Auction will be going from 1-4pm and is the ONLY way guests can take home some of these amazing, small lot wines. Don’t miss out on these unique bottles, winery experiences and special offerings from your favorite wineries! All proceeds from the auction support future winemakers via the Garagiste Scholarship Fund at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

SATURDAY SEMINAR: 11:00am-12:30pm

“Original Garagistes: A Deep Dive & Tasting with Greg Brewer”

We continue our series with a chat and taste with another Santa Barbara winemaking legend - Greg Brewer (Brewer-Clifton / diatom / Ex Post Facto)

Greg Brewer started his career as a French instructor at UC Santa Barbara before being trained in wine production at Santa Barbara Winery starting in 1991. He created his eponymous label, Brewer-Clifton with original partner Steve Clifton in 1996 and later designed Melville where he worked as winemaker from its' inception in 1997 to the end of 2015. He created his diatom label in 2005 to focus on starkly raised Chardonnay and additionally Ex Post Facto wines in 2016 dedicated to cold climate Syrah. In 2020, Greg was named Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

The primary focus of his wineries is the pursuit of refinement. He is engaged in all facets of the winemaking process from the vineyards to marketing, giving every level of the process his equal attention. The entirety of his career has been rooted in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation, which he helped to map, define and establish in 1997.

This seminar will explore his vision of winemaking and all facets of his 30 career, from start-up to national powerhouse, tasting a number of his flagship wines along the way. A not to be missed discussion with one of the pioneers and current stars of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA.

*The seminar is only available as part of the WEEKEND PASS* or Saturday VIP TICKET, which also includes a Wine Country Box Lunch provided by Panino and (1) hour early access to the Grand Tasting & Silent Auction. Doors open at 11am - Seminar Begins at 11:15am.

We hope if you need a place to stay during the Festival you will consider supporting one of our local sponsors.