Good tips @js76wisco! Thanks!
Thanks for putting it in perspective @DTLAeater & @js76wisco. I tend to be impatient or get frustrated with myself - like thereâs other worlds out there and other people no more sh__ about it than I do. 
Oh yeah, your replies remind me, I stopped receiving newsletters from DomaineLA on Melrose (next to Calif Chix Cafe). Iâd been shopping there since they opened, but @LAgirl hipped me to their $15 tastings w/snacks from local chefs. I gottaâ get back on their rotation.
They havenât had a Sunday tasting for a while, but I bet they will have several in the near future w/ the holidays coming up. If you feel like driving a bit further (to Los Feliz), LOU always has tastings on Sat. & Sun. afternoons (plus a couple nights a week too). No nibbles involved, but he has some interesting wines and lots of knowledge.
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Oh okay, cool.
We actually lived above BottleRock at the Met Lofts in DTLA temporarily last year. The owner was really friendly and chatty and would try to order whatever we wanted. They also had tasty bar food. The building had an entrance door to the shop, but it got so we wouldnât go during weekday days, because if he was working we would get snockered with his complimentary pours. 
âŚI just looked them up and theyâre gone! I thought they were doing well. The owner said they were so busy around the holidays they would stop doing tastings. But they had a big pre-thanksgiving sale. Boy itâs tough running a business in L.A.!!!
This is not wine, but breathes and changes profile like a wine. We will always be eternally greatful to Mr. BottleRock for introducing it to us.
Iâm not an ale fan (hubby is), but this had none of the strong aftertaste some ales have, instead it has wonderful coffee, orange peel and dark chocolate notes.
Whole Foods has it now and theyâre also selling small 4 pks which is great for parties.
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Today my method is going to be value. Kenneth Volk still has their Mystery case deals left and we blew through 3 of them already. $144 for their 2010-2015 well rested juice. A ridiculous value at supermarket wine prices. The only question is if we are coming back with 2 or 3 cases.
We were members for years way back when and always liked to stop in for tastings. If you happen to be in the area, you want a case.
Edit: 4 cases and a magnum later lol
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I canât imagine you could buy a better bottle of wine for $13. Kermit Lynch online shop free delivery over $125 is a real find.
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Wow, nice find!
$11 if you shop around. Alcoholâs a bit high for my taste.
I trust Kermit completely
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Question: A budget bottle I enjoy is 1000 Stories Cabernet Sauvignon from Trader Joeâs. Itâs bourbon barrel aged. One of my friends thinks wineries that age wine in bourbon barrels are doing so to hide something. Do you agree?
Not necessarily. Bourbon barrel aging is a âthingâ in the beer world so Iâd assume that wineries that use this method are more likely to be aiming at a demographic that identifies with it. Robert Mondavi does a bourbon aged cab so itâs pretty mainstream.
Beyond that⌠the flavor imparted by the bourbon barrel does probably mean that the underlying wine doesnât have to be as true to the grape as it would otherwise. Thatâs not necessarily an indictment of the wine but it probably gives the winemaker some extra latitude.
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Oh nice reply. Thanks. Said friend can be a bit of a purist (snob?) so I wanted other opinions.
A new wine barrel is just more expensive than a used whiskey barrel (then there is new American oak barrels vs French oak barrels). Even cheaper is to throw in wood chips and age in stainless steel.
Really just depends on the notes the winemaker wants to play imo
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If you want to be really nerdy about it take a look at LĂłpez de Heredia one of the oldest wineries in Rioja (Alta). They make their barrels in house -almost unheard of and keep using and repairing them until they are very old by barrel standards. It contributes to their house style.
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I am a nerd, so Iâm going to check it out. 
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Okay, I learned a new word today. Cooperage: where a cooper (also a new word) makes barrels and casks.
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Thanks in large part to Robert Parker, consumers have been trained to expect red wines to taste like youâre licking it off an oak plank. Used whisky barrels were a cheaper way of getting that kind of style. Apparently 1000 Stories was the first to do that. Personally I prefer wines with little or no new oak.
Oh cool. Thanks. I donât know if it has to do with the bourbon but itâs strong and if you like bold jammy every now and then itâs a good choice.
Btw⌠I asked about that $5 Hay Maker Sauvignon Blanc you posted about at TJs. They said it was a limited special and flew off the shelves. They do still have the Sauvignon Republic.
I look for napa valley . Southern Oregon wines or Washington Columbia wines . The rest have been dissatisfied. Talking the us here
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