Wine Party!

In previous posts, I’ve written about the perks of being a member at a winery, so just consider this another endorsement of wine club membership.  Last Sunday was Malibu Family Wine’s annual “Member Pick-up Party.”  This event is special because it is only open to members and their guests.  Another thing that makes is special is the fact that the party is actually hosted by the owners, in the vineyard, and in their backyard.  When most people think about Malibu, their minds jump directly to the beaches, and for good reason- we have some awesome beaches.  But, lost in all of the beachy glory of Malibu are the mountains that surround Malibu.  These mountains make wine growing possible, and a little valley was the site of this party.  Malibu, while mostly a beach town, has a large number of ranches up in the hills.  Up any of the numerous canyons, you can find ranch estates that have horses, stables, and that are just all-around beautiful country estates.  Malibu Family Wines owns one of these estates.

After turning into the driveway of the estate, we still had about a five minute drive to the parking lot.  The driveway twisted through the vineyards, around fields around horses, camels, and even zebras, and passed next to ponds, hiking trails, and gorgeous views.  The parking lot was just an open field that would usually be a place to ride horses, but today it was the dusty, bumpy parking lot that all of the Porches, BMWs, and Mercedes struggled to traverse.  The Jeep did just fine in case you were wondering.

From the parking lot, it was a short walk to the grassy field that was the setting for the party.  We all had to check in and receive our glasses for the day.  Each person at the party was given one glass.  This glass was ours for the day and could be filled and refilled with free wine as often as we wanted all day long.  After getting our glasses, the next mission was to have them filled.  Malibu Family Wines were on the menu (obviously), and featured today were a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Rose, and a Sauvignon Blanc.  Being our driver, I wanted to go straight for what I liked best rather than trying out all of them so I went with the Cabernet and then began to make my way through the food tables.  The food situation was a bit overwhelming (probably 12 different tables all offering different options), but I found the cheese table and, after preparing a nice cheese plate, went to go find a seat in the field.  We got comfortable, ate, drank, and listened to the live music for a while before walking around the party a bit, refilling our glasses as needed. 

We were entertained by the miniature ponies for a while, but really found entertainment in people watching at the party.  It was fascinating to see all the different people that were wine club members.  Most of them were middle aged (in fact, the four of us in our early 20s were definitely in the youngest 2% there), and most of them at least appeared to be pretty wealthy.  We didn’t really fit in with the crowd except for the fact that everyone there loved wine.  It was interesting to hear all of the conversations around us, especially those about wine.  The conversations were made all the more interesting because we were all drinking pretty much the same wines.  I heard some nice commentary on some of the wines, and I also heard several things about the wine that I know to be false.

The hours drifted by lazily, but quickly at the same time.  As the party started to thin, we made our way back out to the parking lot to be greeted by our going away present- our wine!  Often lost in the fun of parties like these is the fact that we do pay for this membership, but that this membership entitles us to wine!  I received a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc that was being poured at the party and a red blend that is new for Malibu Family Wines.  I’m excited to drink both and, after a great party like this, I’m re-energized with wine and am eager to continue learning about it.  I’m already looking forward to next year’s party and all of the other, smaller parties that will come in the months between now and then.