It's amazing how many wine events there are in town. We're in San Diego, but the same seems to be true nearly everywhere. There are special tastings, winemaker dinners, classes, and festivals. Huge crowds aren't our favorite scene, but the are plenty of smaller, low-key events to choose from.

Finding Fun Events

Start by signing up for The Juice. It's a free email newsletter from LocalWineEvents.com that can be customized to send you a weekly listing of wine events in your area.

Do you have a favorite wine bar? Many have their own email newsletters, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds, so sign up to get their updates too. If you're in San Diego, we recommend Village Vino in Kensington. They were recently named the best wine bar in San Diego by San Diego Magazine and regularly have special tastings and classes that can be a lot of fun. For example, we attended a wine and cheese pairing class a few months ago that was edulicious! (That's educational + delicious.)

Elyse Winery at Village Vino 

I met our friends Dave and Sarah at Village Vino last Tuesday for a winemaker event. (Sally was on a business trip and couldn't attend.) Ray Coursen, Elyse's winemaker and owner, was on hand to pour his wine and chat about Vino. We split some hummus and a flatbread while sampling five of Elyse's wines. It was a great way to catch up with friends after work.

My favorite was the 2008 Le Corbeau. It's a Grenache blend that is very versatile with a wide varieties of food. The 2007 Le Corbeau was outstanding and Coursen told me that the 2008 will taste just as good after another year of aging.