Garatiste Wine Festival returns to LA in Glendale on June 20th- Preview, Tickets

Garagiste Wine Festival Returns to Los Angeles June 20^th

Attendees can taste 150+ wines from 25+ grape varieties from 30+ micro-production wineries, from nearly every California AVA – all under one roof, in one day – without leaving LA County

Paso Robles, CA –May 14, 2026– America’s Best Wine Festival[1], the Garagiste Festival returns to Los Angeles for the eleventh Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure on Saturday, June 20^th, featuring 30+ of the best micro-production wineries from nearly every California AVA, pouring over 150 exceptional and under the radar wines. Angelenos can taste wines from Paso Robles, Santa Barbara County, Sonoma County, Napa Valley, Malibu, San Diego, and almost everywhere in between, all under one roof on one day, and for less than the average cost of two wine tastings in California wine country.  Tickets are now on sale:   https://garagistefestival2026LA.eventbrite.com

“The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure affords (pun intended) LA wine lovers the opportunity to taste small production wines from almost every wine region in California, made with an awe-inspiring diversity of grapes, without leaving town,” said Douglas Minnick, co-founder of the Garagiste Festival. “Whether attendees are savoring a bold Trousseau Gris from Sonoma, a funky Carignan from Mendocino, or a sparkling Picpoul Blanc from Paso Robles, the winemaker will be there to talk about the grape, the wine and how it is made, something that is rarely ‘afforded’ to wine enthusiasts in wine country.”

Among the winemakers pouring this year in LA are Rúakh Wines from Paso Robles, 10 Ninths from Santa Barbara County, Maylena Wines from Sonoma, Greyscale Wines from Napa Valley, Grá from SLO, Malibu Wine Company from Malibu, Hoi Polloi from Newhall, Effenberger Vineyards from San Diego, and more! In addition, for the first time, the festival will showcase a selection of wines from New Zealand small-production wineries.

The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure includes a Rare and Reserve Tasting, Grand Tasting, and a Silent Auction, all taking place at LA County’s Glendale Civic Auditorium.

“Garagiste is an astounding convocation of small production winemakers who are doing it for the love of wine and not the money,” shared Rex Pickett, author of the novel ‘Sideways’ about his recent experience at the Garagiste Festival.  “Each booth staffed with the winemaker sharing their unique stories with each pour. What a treat!”

Event Line-up

Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure festivities kick off on Saturday June 20^th at 1:00pm with the Early Access: Rare and Reserve Tasting where winemakers pour library, club-only or reserve wines, (only 150 of these Early Access tickets are available).

The Grand Tasting, the festival’s main event, is from 2-5pm, featuring 30+ winemakers and complimentary cheese & charcuterie from local wine bar Vintage Wine + Eats. Attendees will receive a keepsake crystal logo glass and have the opportunity to bid on the festival’s wines during a Silent Auction which supports the Garagiste Festival Scholarship fund of the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo Wine and Viticulture Department.

Among the over 30+ winemakers pouring at The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure are: 10 Ninths*, Alma Sol Winery, Ambyth Estate, Ascension Cellars, Bon Niche Cellars, Cutbow Wines, Effenberger Vineyards, Etnyre Wines, Final Girl, G&C Lurton Wines, Grá Wine*, Greyscale Wines, Hoi Polloi, Kaleidos Winery, Kendric Vineyards, Kiler Canyon Vineyard, Lyons Vineyard Estate*, Maylena Wines*, Malibu Wine Company, MCV, Montage Vineyards, New Zealand Wine Navigator*, Quench + Temper, Resting Roots, Rúakh Wines, Staysail Cellars, Stilson Cellars,  Sunland Vintage Winery, Terranean*, Thomas T Thomas Vineyards, and Vino Juan*.

*Pouring for the first time at the Urban Exposure Festival: 10 Ninths, Grá Wine, Lyons Vineyard Estate, Maylena Wines, New Zealand Wine Navigator, Rúakh Wines, and Terranean.

Renowned for its handcrafted wines from professional artisan winemakers who make less than 1500 cases, its renegade spirit, and rules-breaking ‘no snobs allowed’ ethos, personall

Glendale Civic Auditorium is at 1401 North Verdugo Road, Glendale, CA. There is plenty of onsite parking and easy access from the 134 and 210 freeways.

Tickets are very limited for the Garagiste Festivals and always sell out. Tickets are available:  Garagiste Wine Festival: 11th Annual Urban Exposure Tickets, Saturday, June 20  •  1 PM – 5 PM | Eventbrite

For breaking Garagiste Festival news and special discounts, sign-up for our free newsletter, The Dirt, at https://www.garagistefestival.com/garagiste-blog or follow us on Twitter (@GaragisteFest) or Facebook.

The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure festival is the third event of the 2026 Garagiste Festival season, preceded by Southern Exposure in Solvang in February and Northern Exposure Festival in Sonoma in April, and will be followed by the ‘OG’ Festival in Paso Robles (November 6-7).

Sponsors include:

WithWine, ETS Labs, Fortis Solutions Group, G3, Glenn Burdette, Hyatt Place in Glendale, Kelly Visel Photography, Laffort USA, MWWine School, and Pasadena Weekly. For sponsorship info, email info(at)garagistefestival.com.

The non-profit Garagiste Festivals benefit the Cal Poly SLO Wine and Viticulture program.

For more information and full Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure schedule details, go to: https://www.garagistefestival.com/upcoming-events

About The Garagiste Wine Festival

The Garagiste Wine Festival (http://www.garagistefestival.com), named “Best of the Fests” for 2019 by Fest Forums and the ‘Best Wine Festival in the US in 2018 in USA Today’s 10Best Readers Choice Awards, is the first and only wine festival dedicated to the undiscovered and under-recognized American artisan ‘garagiste’ micro-wineries who are making some of the best, most exciting, handcrafted small-lot production wines in the world. Founded by fellow garagistes Stewart McLennan and Douglas Minnick, the Garagiste Festivals are committed to discovering the best and most innovative limited-production winemakers and promoting and showcasing them to a broad audience of discerning wine consumers. In addition to its flagship annual festival in Paso Robles, CA, the Garagiste Festival line-up includes Garagiste Festival: Southern Exposure, featuring Santa Ynez Valley garagistes; the Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure, in Los Angeles; the Garagiste Festival, Northern Exposure, in Sonoma; winemaker dinners, a newsletter, garagiste profiles and more.

In addition to being named the US’ Best Wine Festival, the Garagiste Festival was named one of the ‘Top Nine Incredible Epicurean Vacations’ in the world by ABC News, “one of the premier wine events of the year,” by the LA Times and “Best Festival” by Sunset Magazine’s ‘Best of the West.’ The festivals are produced by Garagiste Events, a non-profit dedicated to furthering the education of future winemakers and those training for employment within the wine industry. Proceeds from the festivals support the Garagiste Festival Scholarship fund of the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo Wine and Viticulture Department.

Garagiste (garage-east) is a term originally used in the Bordeaux region of France to denigrate renegade small-lot wine makers, sometimes working in their “garages” (anything considered not a chateau), who refused to follow the “rules,” and is now a full-fledged movement responsible for making some of the best wine in the world. The Garagiste Festivals were the first to shine a light on the American garagiste winemaker in 2011.