Saturday Wine Shopping: Holiday at the Beach

Being as how it's the holidays, and absolutely GORGEOUS here in LA, we headed out to Malibu for brunch at Marmalade Cafe, home of huge portions and fast service. They're tucked into a little shopping center with a wine shop (surprise!), so after we had our nosh I headed into Malibu Village Wines for a look around.

Malibu Village Wines is a small, independent wine store with wine packed floor to ceiling. What an interesting, thoughtful selection of wines they have, all clearly pulled together by real wine lovers. A wide range of Santa Barbara and local wines is complemented by truly eclectic finds from all over the world. Their Australian and Italian selections were particularly impressive, with multiple offerings from Kilikanoon and Thorne-Clarke.

My favorite find courtesy of their friendly staff's savvy wine-scouting was a 2005 Curran Grenache Blanc from the Santa Ynez Valley ($25.50). Kris Curran (of Sea Smoke Pinot fame) now has her own label, and this is one of her offerings. I've never had a Grenache Blanc, but I am looking forward to the experience! Other finds were a 2004 Snoqualmie Naked Gewurztraminer ($12.50) made from organic grapes and a 2006 Fetish Wines Moscato Field of Dreams ($16.00) from the Barossa Valley in Australia.

Their prices are very reasonable, especially given the chi-chi surrounds, and they offer mixed case discounts to their customers. For those of you outside LA: Malibu Village Wines doesn't retail over the internet, since they prefer to specialize in serving their local customers. But for those of us who live here--or are visiting this beautiful part of the world--take a moment to smell the fresh air coming off the Pacific and head out to Malibu.