POURTAL WINE TASTING BAR

104 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

REGISTER HERE FOR THIS TASTING: http://wtflafromoz.eventbrite.com/

WTFLA returns to the Westside for another free pop-up tasting this time with a very special guest host!

Stewart Noble, creator of Australian-based Wine Without BS, has crossed the sea and set up a mind-blowing tasting of Aussie wines for our collective tasting pleasure. Seriously. It’s like the stars aligned.

The awesome folks at Pourtal will be featuring small plate deals to compliment the tasting for basically the classiest cheap-night-out you can get without attending a wedding.

SRSLY, THO.

http://wtflafromoz.eventbrite.com/

The brand new Vivid Bliss Blanc de Blancs Brut

To kick off the new monthly Wednesdays at The Olive, the creators of the brand new French bubbly Vivid Bliss will be in attendance on 11/3. They’ll be pouring a taste of their Bliss Blanc de Blancs Brut (a dry, sparkling wine from France made from Chardonnay, Ugni Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Colombard grapes) for folks there for WTFLA.

Everyone who stops in at the Olive and orders any of the 1/2 price wine, beer, well drinks, and appetizers from 7-9 will get a ticket to taste.

*Please note: this is not a full tasting, just one wine. Hey, they only have one.*

by Leah Hennessy

TERRIOR: a french word meaning “of the land” commonly used to describe a sense of place in a wine.

You’ve heard the word before: terroir. Or maybe you haven’t. Who cares? It’s a term commonly bandied about by the douchefolk that introduce themselves as “wine aficionados” as well as by people who are not douches but sometimes sound like they are.

Since the definition above is pretty useless, in order to understand terroir think about dialects for a minute. When you hear someone speaking with an accent, you can immediately tell where they are from just by listening to them – assuming you’re familiar with the accent.

If someone were to say the word “yard” and it sounded like “yaaaahhhhhd,” you’d know that person was probably from around Boston. Lots of people that are from Boston have a similar accent, so if you know what it sounds like, you can identify those folks and call their fair city “Beantown” and repeat the phrase “Haaaaahvaaaaahd Yaaaaahhhhd” over and over until they leave your immediate vicinity. Or punch you. Depends on which part of Boston they’re from.

Anyway, it’s the same with wine. Basically. Terroir is like an accent wines carry with them that tells you where they are from. Much like people and dialects, terroir is developed during the growth stage of life. Certain conditions in the weather, soil and climate of a place will impart similar characteristics in the scents and tastes of wines from a region. For example, red wines grown in the Paso Robles region of CA are known for being very bold and almost always smelling a little like violets. (True story.)

So the next time you hear or read someone discussing terroir in a wine, make a quick mental reference to the Jersey Shore and there you have your “sense of place.”

Or don’t. I don’t care.

photo by Britton Orrange

First Wednesday of Each Month on the Sunset Strip

DEALS:

3 wines, cheese & charcuterie flight for $15

50% off all wine, beer and appetizers

Win stuff FOR FREE from The Olive’s sister shop (and WTFLA fave), The Oaks Gourmet.

Grab all this for just $15 (seriously) every Wednesday at the Olive with WTFLA. (photo by Britton Orrange)

Designed for today’s working wino, one Wednesday a month from 7-9pm the folks at The Olive Kitchen + Bar will be taking in the WTFLA huddled masses and offering special (ie: really cheap!) deals on all our faves.

Give us your tired, your blackberried, your business drinks. Travel to the central meeting place of Sunset & La Cienega – a magical block that actually has a public parking lot on the north side. Seek shelter inside or on the patio among 50% drink and appetizer specials until 9pm and feast upon three wines, cheeses and charcuterie for only $15. Enter to win the free stuff from The Oaks Gourmet that will be given away. And then be sure to expense your bill.

1st Wednesday each month, 7pm – 9pm

The Olive Kitchen + Bar

8462 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069 (map)

photo by Britton Orrange

Are you a hardcore Venetian? A militant We-Hoe? Adamant Silverlakester?

Help us decide what neighborhoods to invade with upcoming WTFLA events!

Leave a comment here with the neighborhood YOU want and make your voice heard.

There will be no WTFLA Happy Hour on November 6th.

A peek at June's wine flight at WTFLA's City Sip Happy Hour. Photo by Britton Orrange.

We’ll be doing it up MONTHLY in Echo Park at City Sip Wine Bar, where the rebel yell is WINE FOR THE PEOPLE.

City Sip is offering WTF’ers a particularly badass wine/cheese flight deal for only $14 (that’s 3 wines, people), as well as 50% off wines hand picked for WTFLA. It’s just for 2 hours, so be sure to get there before 7 to get the deals.

Raffling it up at WTFLA Happy Hour. Photograph by Britton Orrange.

RAFFLE!

Enter to win free stuff just by writing WTFLA HAPPY HOUR on our facebook wall then show up at happy hour.

We get new stuff every month and so far we’ve given away over $1,000 worth of awesomeness from local businesses. Here’s some of the free stuff we gave away at our past happy hours:

Academy Mixed Martial Science – Because it’s not enough to figuratively kick ass. 1 Month Free Training in MMA – $300

YAS Fitness Center Silver Lake – Because we’re all about health. ish.
5 Free Classes – $80
Yoga for Athletes DVD – $15
White Diamond Towel – $10

Happy, Los Angeles – Because it’s like a warm gun, sometimes.
Sagaform Stainless Bowl – $16

The Oaks Gourmet – Because you CAN have nice things, but only if you consume them immediately.
Vinturi Wine Aerator – $25
Gift Card – $25

EcoNuts – Because your mind isn’t the only thing that’s dirty.
Bergamot Linen Spray – $10

The Fix Burger – Because when has a delicious burger not solved all your problems?
French Fries! – $5 (free fries with any burger)

EVENT INFO:

City Sip
2150 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(Sunset and Alvarado)
Parking: street
first come, first serve.

It was so crazy, we didn’t even have a chance to grab our camera! Fortunately Stan Lee of DrinkEatTravel was there and hooked us up with his lovely images.

Check them out:

Founder Leah Hennessy guiding a tasting. Photo by drinkeattravel.com

Lining up at WTFLA's Byron & Cambria event. Photo by drinkeattravel.com

Leah prepping folks for tasting. Photo by Drinkeattravel.com

WTFLA tasting the overflow crowd at the Cambria Byron event on the patio at Hotel Erwin. Photo by drinkeattravel.com

Johnathan Nagy, winemaker at Cambria Winery, at a WTFLA event. Photo by drinkeattravel.com

One of the stars of WTFLA's Venice event, on ice. Photo by drinkeattravel.com

Photo from June's Happy Hour at City Sip by Britton Orrange

Tomorrow, Saturday July 10th from 5pm – 7pm we’ll be doing it up once more in Echo Park at City Sip Wine Bar, where the rebel yell is WINE FOR THE PEOPLE.

City Sip is offering WTF’ers a particularly badass wine/cheese flight deal for only $14 (that’s 3 wines, people), as well as 50% off wines hand picked for WTFLA. It’s just for 2 hours, so be sure to get there before 7 to get the deals.

RAFFLE!

The raffle is back people – with more free stuff!

Here’s the deal. Each of these raffle prizes has been given by a BADASS local business. Regardless of whether you win or lose, be sure to check these guys out and tell them you heard about them through WTFLA.

To enter, just write WTFLA Happy Hour in a post on our facebook page - be as creative or as literal as you want. Then swing by the happy hour at City Sip between 5-7pm to claim your ticket and be there for the drawing.

Here’s some of the free stuff we’re bringing you this weekend:

YAS Fitness Center Silver Lake – Because we’re all about health. Good thing wine has antioxidants.
5 Free Classes – $80
Yoga for Athletes DVD – $15
White Diamond Towel – $10

Happy, Los Angeles – Awesome and eccentric, the home & gift stuff in this Los Feliz boutique always makes us… well… happy.
Sagaform Stainless Bowl – $16

The Oaks Gourmet – If you’re getting this email, you like wine. If you like wine, we’re pretty sure you’ll love The Oaks in Franklin Village. We do. Like a lot. We would live there if we could.
Vinturi Wine Aerator – $25
Gift Card – $25

EcoNuts – This local company focuses on sustainability… through laundry! Part of each sale is donated to environmental relief in the Gulf – be sure to check these guys out!
Bergamot Linen Spray – $10

The Fix Burger – The Fix brings you free fried goodness. This addicting shack in Silverlake will surely put a delicious wrench in your “beach ready body” plans. Not that we know from personal experience or anything. Jeez.
French Fries! – $5 (free fries with any burger)

Post WTFLA HAPPY HOUR on our facebook page to enter, then show up for the drawing from 5-7pm on Saturday 7/10.

EVENT INFO:

City Sip
2150 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(Sunset and Alvarado)
5-7 pm.
Parking: street
first come, first serve.

Like this, but with wine.

Wine Tasting Crash Course

If you love wine but feel like you don’t know much about it, WTFLA‘s Wine Tasting Crash Course is the perfect place to start. This course covers the basics of both winemaking and wine tasting. During the 2 hour class, we taste through 3 different wines and discuss the identifying factors of each using wtfla’s Observe & Report method of tasting. Wine Tasting Crash Courses Cover:

• Basic Winemaking
• Varietal Profiles – 3 wines
• Science of Tasting
• Observe & Report Deductive Tasting
• Guided Tasting – 3 Wines
• Most Terrible Wine Myths
• Q&A session

SIGN UP HERE

When: Sunday, June 27th 3pm-5pm

Where: WTFLA Loft – 201 N. Westmoreland, Loft 110, LA, 90004

Cost: $36