Sipping in Solvang: 6 Years of Southern Exposure (of Wine and Danish)

Discovery. Finding wines are that are new, under the radar, barely available and hard to find. Yep, that’s fun. The Garagiste Festival 6th Annual Southern Exposure kicks off on Friday night, February 9^th in Solvang. Yeah, Solvang, that cool little Danish town in Santa Barbara Wine Country.

Having attended these events in Paso Robles and Solvang before has been a great opportunity, not only for me as a wine writer, but also a wine buyer and I brought a few of these wines into my wine department. (See that article HERE).

So, should you attend? Well, if you dislike the idea of uncovering hard to find wines, if you prefer to drink only what you know, they by all means stay home. Otherwise, here’s what’s in store:

★10 wineries brand new to Garagiste that you haven't tasted anywhere else.

★6 wineries pouring their very 1st vintage.

★Over 50% of the wineries participating have never poured in Solvang before. So even for those who have attended before, they will find plenty of new wines to experience.

★Only 11 wineries even have tasting rooms with regular hours - just 26% of participants - so now is the chance to explore.

★No waiting in line- they keep their winemaker-to-attendee ratio deliberately low to ensure a personal tasting experience.

There will other events along as well, so check the website for those details, but if nothing else, come Saturday for the main tasting and be prepared to be wowed.

 WWW.CALIFORNIAGARAGISTES.COM 

But also check out Solvang, which has its roots from 1911 when it was founded. If you get a chance visit Ingeborg’s Danish Chocolates – all Danish chocolates made right here in Solvang, at 1679 Copenhagen Dr. Also known for pastries, Solvang offers several places in town to check out for butter cookies, as well as art galleries, Danish clothing and gifts, not to mention Jule Hus – all Christmas all the time at 1580 Mission Dr.

Winemakers scheduled to pour include

Ascension Cellars, Caliza Winery, Camlow Cellars, Cloak & Dagger Wines, D. Volk Wines, Diablo Paso, Dunites Wine Co., El Lugar Wines, Golden Triangle, Hoi Polloi Wines, Kimsey Vineyards, Luna Hart Wines, Marin’s Vineyard, MCV Wines, Metrick Wines, Mollie Wines, Montemar Winery, Sycamore Ranch Winery, TLO Wines, Torch Cellars, TW Fermentation Co., Velvet Bee Wine, Vino Vargas, Volatus Wines, and Weatherborne Wine Co.