The Wine Down – Garagiste Festival and Paso Robles Wines

thelip.tv www.facebook.com EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Stewart McLennan and Doug Minnick, who run the Garagiste Festival in Paso Robles school us on the distinctions and points of pride of being a (very) small winemaker. Their festival exposes many small local labels that operate under the radar of most purchasers, but exceed the quality of most Chateau brands. They clue us into some of the labels that’ll be featured at the scenic fest, and also illuminate how to keep wine makers and drinkers approachable to eachother. We taste several gorgeous local labels and get our mouths wet for Paso Robles. GUEST BIOS: Stewart McLennan has been a Garagiste for over a decade. Though until recently never used the term “garagiste” to refer to himself or his (mis) adventnering he now finds garagiste the most apt way of describing both his present self and his future winemaking aspirations. Stewart was instrumental in forming Brothers of the Barrel in 1991. A group of guys from differing backgrounds and professions who came together to learn about winemaking through the process of drinking beer and making wine. The Brothers have now been making wine for over a decade and, yes, it isn’t half bad — scoring various medals over the years at Paso Robles’ California Midstate Fair. For the past three years Stewart has been involved in all aspects of wine marketing from the tasting room to national distributorship. He has worked for Four Vines Winery in this capacity and as such has gained valuable …