Raleigh Studios (Hollywood, CA)
Ideal for anyone with an appreciation for, or interest in, fine wines, LA Wine Fest 2008 offers both connoisseurs and amateur tasters alike the opportunity to mingle with fellow wine lovers, rub elbows with Hollywood's elite, and partake in one of the most appreciated traditions on the West Coast. The festival takes place at Hollywood's historic Raleigh Studios.
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
All dates for this event have expired.
The last event was Sunday July 13, 2008 / 2-6pm (Sunday Pass). (view all dates)
This was the first wine event that I've attended where there were NO food vendors represented. It would have been nice to have something to soak up all the wine instead of having belligerent drunks fighting over scraps of melted cheese that had been sitting in the sun for God knows how long. Oh, but there WAS food there, only you had to pay an arm and a leg...maybe even a torso for the snippets of food Raleigh Studio Cafe offered. And the worst part...as I was leaving the event, a staff member called out to me,"Hey I need your glasses back...they're not free!!!" Once again, I've never had to give back a wine glass at an event that I paid to attend! What are they going to do...use the glasses again for another event???? Eeeeew!!! Evidently it was a pick and choose situation either that my breasts were not big enough because when I walk through the gates, there were a bunch of drunk women gathered outside all holding their wine glasses. That's L.A. for you.
If you are going to a wine event purely based on amount of wines available, I would recommend this. However that was about all it had going for it. The venue was hot and crowded (it was in the parking lot of the "historic studio") so not much ambience from asphalt. I was surprised that there was no food included (OK, there were 2 plates of cheese cubed into about the size of an eraser and a stack of crackers). Fortunately there were 2 food vendors setup to sell sandwiches. The lack of ambiance continued with the wall to wall tables of wineries and vendors that led to crowds wedged in at most of the winery tables. There also was no musical entertainment. To add injury to insult, they collected the "souvenir" glasses at the end and would not let you keep them (first wine tasting event I was at that did not let you keep it). Personally, I know lots of other venues with wine tasting in nice settings, with food, music, etc. (LA Paso wine festival, Laola Marymount wine tasting, Monrovia Food, Wine & Jazz, etc.) that I would recommend over this.
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We both got a pretty good
buzz, thought that the wines were pretty good, enjoyed the attitudes and enthusiasm of the vendors and the spectators. If it wasn't so hot and humid, we would have stayed longer than 1-1/2 hours.
I had a good time but I thought what was offered for the cost wasn't too great. I've gone on many wine tasting ventures and one of the nicest parts is you get to keep the glass from each vineyard as a momento. The gave us very nice engraved "Best of LA Wine Tasting" glasses to use and then wouldn't let us take it with is.
The LA Wine Fest is a brilliant idea and a great way to try more wines that you could imagine. I've gone 3 consecutive years now and have had a great time each year. The only problem is that they can't seem to nail down a proper venue. Two years ago it was in a club in Hollywood and it didn't really suit the wine tasting ambience. Last year it was on the Queen Mary which was very cool, but way down in Long Beach and difficult to get to. This year it was behind Raleigh Studios, in the parking lot, on black pavement. The space was good but it was just too hot with not enough shade. Great event though, will go every year I can.
As a side note, for some reason they hired "bouncers" to kick people out at the stroke of 6pm. One of them yelled at me while I was simply talking to a vintner post-6pm. I told the bouncer "this isn't a nightclub" which he didn't like. Sigh.
My group and I agree with many of the posted comments. We were not prepared to be outside and found it much too warm to be enjoyable. We, too, were accosted by the rental security personnel who went through our bags of purchases and removed our "souvenir" glasses. I have been to many wine festivals in various cities and have NEVER been told to return my tasting glass. We left the festival on a very sour note.
Medium to top-rate wines and great crowd!
TERRIBLE. TWO THUMBS DOWN.
I have no idea how anyone could have thought it would be a good idea to have a wine festival outside in Los Angeles in July. Badly planned and completely commercialized now. It used to be a great time. Where was the complimentary table of crackers that used to be provided. Where was the cheese lady? Where was the chocolate guy? It was a total rip-off this year... half the wine tables and twice as much nonsense. Whoever runs this now is a complete sell-out. How much did these vendors pay to sell their products and food. With this much sponsorship, you should pay people to attend this event now. Bad. Very bad.
I guess I had expected more from the festival - music, a larger space, and better wineries. I did not feel so bad at the end of it all because Goldstar made it possible for me to go to this festival at a great price.
Thanks,
Tarana
I went to this event last year when it was at the Queen Mary which was more comfortable since it was indoors instead of outside in the heat. During the middle of the event the heat started to make the wine a little too warm...which affected the taste unfortunately. They also were a bit skimpy on the cheese and cracker platters since last year they had a larger selection of cheese and fruit to nibble on. Overall a good event, hope they move it indoors next year and let us keep the wine glasses!
It was hot, crowded, took over 30 minutes on line to pick up tickets. No parking- had to park 3+ blocks away. No shade - will not attend again.
The event seemed very disorganized. No signs indicating were to park and how much it cost. There was only two people for will-call so it took a long time to get the tickets. The line went out into the street blocking traffic and no one from the event seemed to care. We thought the event would be inside but it was actually outside under the hot sun. We left after a couple hours. It felt too disorganized.
This event was outside...we did not know that going in and would have dressed more appropriately. The Lecture/Wine Pairing with the cheese was the worst thing I ever went to. They were unprepared, hence the lecture started late; they ran out of cheeses, and the lady talking talked too much about her personal business as opposed to cheese. We live in Los Angeles....everyone has celebrity encounters! I am a private chef/caterer and offered many time to help her get the act together, take her OFF your lecture list! Many people got up and left during her speech.
Not enough food to balance the amount of acolhol folks were drinking other than that I enjoyed it!
Great event. Lots of great wines, good food and good information.
The turn out was good, the vendors were accommodating and the (wine) selection was impressive. I would definitely attend again.
You should let people keep the wine glasses!!
Did not expect the whole event to be outdoors, especially on a warm and humid day. Also, unlike previous years, seems like the quantiy of exhibitors have gotten smaller. I did enjoy the variety of other tastings in addition to wines. Nice having a radio station present as well.
It was a great set up and location but the event was too hot!!! there was nowhere to get relief from the sun and we ended up leaving. Imagine drinking wine in direct 95 degree heat!!!
It was way too hot and too sunny to be serving alcohol. It should have been inside a sound stage or under umbrellas. They are lucky that no one passed out in the sun.
The Raleigh Studios in Hollywood is the longest continuously operating studio in the country. Some of the industry's most influential leaders have called the lot home, including Douglas Fairbanks, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Walt Disney, Bette Davis and Jim Henson and the Henson companies.
The 3rd Annual LA Wine Fest, California’s most exciting event for wine lovers, is coming to Hollywood. Ideal for anyone with an appreciation for, or interest in, fine wines, the two-day event offers both connoisseurs and amateur tasters alike the opportunity to mingle with fellow wine lovers, rub elbows with Hollywood's elite, and partake in one of the most appreciated traditions on the west coast.
The festival, which will take place at Hollywood's historic Raleigh Studios, is proud to work with several charities that will benefit from this event, including the YMCA, the Children's Tumor Foundation and Beyond Shelter.
Throughout the weekend, wine makers and world-renowned sommeliers will guide visitors through wine and cheese tasting, as well as give presentations to educate those interested in furthering their passion and understanding of wine. The event promises to be a fantastic mélange of locals as well as visitors to the Hollywood area. It's the perfect opportunity to plan a trip with friends or family to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience.
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