The term “California Wine” tends to conjure images of big, buttery Chardonnays and blockbuster Cabernets at even bigger prices. But hard to find and harder to afford wines are not all that’s going on in the Bear Republic. Up and down California, many winemakers are bucking the trend of chasing points and just trying to make honest wine everyone can enjoy.

In this class we’ll explore a mix of classic and more experimental styles of California wine. We’ll start the class with a discussion of the ‘classic’ California style and where it came from and then move on to what the mavericks and daredevils are doing today. We’ll try five wines over the course of the class that we believe exemplify what California wine was, is, and what it could be.