If there’s one small-town tradition that’s a pretty big deal for several micro-wineries each year, it’s Solvang’s Southern Exposure Garagiste Festival.
More than 150 wines from 30 artisan vintners—many with no brick-and-mortar tasting room to call home—are set to be poured during the two-day program’s grand tasting event on Feb. 8 (preceded by a rare and reserve tasting on Feb. 7).
“Without a tasting room, it’s important to have places to meet wine consumers, introduce yourself and your wines, a put a personality to the label,” Santa Ynez-based winemaker Kira Malone said in an email interview. “Last year, I attended the Solvang Garagiste Festival as a consumer, with the goal of returning this year to launch my 200-case production label.”
Malone worked for a handful of producers along the Central Coast for about two decades before establishing her own boutique wine brand, Pars Fortuna, in 2023. She bottled her first two wines last year.
“I released my first vintage in late October with 200 cases, and here we are,” Malone said.
She’ll be pouring both of her two pinot noirs—“our first and only releases for Pars Fortuna to date”—during Solvang’s Garagiste Festival, which she described as a wonderful opportunity for small-lot wineries to showcase their wines face-to-face with customers, all while supporting a good cause.
“It is an added benefit that proceeds from the Garagiste Festival are donated to a scholarship fund for students in Cal Poly’s wine and viticulture program, where I found my passion in winemaking,” the Cal Poly alumna said.
Malone isn’t alone when it comes to the Garagiste Festival’s first-time pourers this year. BeckersChild Wines, WineSpread Panic Cellars, Tabalipa Wine Co., Sapien Wine, and Exprimere Wine are among the micro-wineries set to mark their Garagiste Festival debut at Solvang’s 2025 iteration.
“Any time I have the opportunity to spend time with others who share my passion, I get excited,” said Gregory Becker, a probate and estate lawyer by day and winemaker by night, whether it’s while he’s asleep or awake.
“I go to bed thinking about my winery. I dream about it. … Wine is a passion for me,” Becker, founder of BeckersChild Wines, said over email. “[The Garagiste Festival] has interested me for years. I first learned about it through friends who raved about the Solvang event. This was before I entered the industry.”
Visitors of Becker’s tasting booth at Solvang’s 11th annual Garagiste Festival will get the chance to try at least two of his wines, including his most popular release, the Black Widow.
“It’s a big red blend from Paso Robles. The fruit-forward cabernet sauvignon combined with a brambly berry petite sirah get the taste buds jumping,” said Becker, whose winery also sources fruit from Ballard Canyon and Sta. Rita Hills.
“[The Black Widow] is also a low tannin wine,” Becker continued. “Its velvety smoothness comforts the palate. … On the back end is a second layer of fruit brought in by a unique malbec. … Some taste dried apricots, while others [taste] white peaches and nectarines.”
Unlike Becker and Malone, WineSpread Panic Cellars founder Mitchel Cahoon mainly uses fruit grown in areas outside the Central Coast. Pouring at Garagiste for the first time, Cahoon—whose background in sales and sommelier work led him toward winemaking—will share some of his wines tied to vineyards in Lake County and Madera County.
“I’m really small-production—around 150 cases a year—so I only have three wines currently available,” said Cahoon, who’s based in Mammoth Lakes but resides in Palmdale while caregiving for his 90-year-old mother.
“I don’t get [many opportunities] to get out and promote my brand,” Cahoon said over email. “I need to take advantage of events like these to get my wines out there and meet as many folks as possible. … I chose the Solvang event because of my love and familiarity of the area.”
When Cahoon’s in town for the fest, he’s hoping to stop by one of his favorite Solvang staples, Coast Range.
“The food and wine list are great. … I’ve become a huge fan of chef Steven [Fretz] … I’ll more than likely be posted up at his bar when not at the [Garagiste Festival],” Cahoon said, noting that the chef is a “super chill guy.”
“We’re also huge Dodger fans, so there’s that.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is rooting for everyone at the fest. Send corky comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 6-16, 2025.
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