July '12 Martian Ranch & Vineyard Tasting at Domaine LA

Domaine LA is a wine store in Hollywood, that I've been wanting to visit. I had heard good things, and based on their blog and tweets, they seemed funky and smart, with a preference for small and sustainable wines. With Domaine hosting Martian Ranch - a winery I've been interested in, it seemed like a good time to swing by.

Martian Ranch & Vineyard ($10 tasting, wines $18-$22)
 '11 "Uforic" Albariño, '11 "Mother Ship" Grenache Blanc, '11 "Down to Earth" Grenache Rosé, '11 "Ground Control" Grenache Noir, '11 "G" Mourvédre
Martian Ranch is a new winery that's based in Los Alamos, slightly north of the Los Olivos/Buellton/Lompoc area. They're opening up their winery for tastings very soon. The very popular Full of Life Flatbread bakery and restaurant is also in Los Alamos, so that would be a solid plan to visit Martian for a tasting and then have dinner at Full of Life.
There's definitely a unique vibe to Martian Ranch. The winemaker and "only employee" Michael Roth poured the wines - and was down to share lots about the choices that he made when creating the wines. All of the wines that were poured were interesting, inventive, well constructed and fun. All of the wines that we tried were well-priced, especially considering the high quality.
The Albariño was my favorite of the day. It was bright and crisp, with long lasting acidity and a late showing of minerality. The Grenache Blanc was a kick to drink - initially it seemed very serious, but after a few sips its bright fruit flavors and vegetal notes broke through. It had a low acid back-end, which balanced the wine nicely. The Rosé was a study of contrasts. It was very light colored - with a beautiful salmon tint. The wine had a floral nose. It was very light, like a Sauvignon Blanc - but featured Grenache Noir qualities, such as strawberries and vegetal notes midway. A strange and neat drink. The Grenache was also a unique wine - perhaps the most unique of the group. Michael Roth talked about how it went through carbonic fermentation, so it's ready to drink much earlier than your typical Grenache. Right off the bat the wine was very herby on the nose and early taste, then gave way to more serious and dark fruit flavors. There was a good tannic grip, but also remained light. The Mourvédre also show quite a bit of uniqueness. Also young, it displayed a vegetal flavor, but a very interesting hint of walnut showed through. A neat feature of the Mourvédre is that it did not have any sulfates added, the intention is to drink it young. The reds were so interesting, I can't say that I loved them as a go to wines, but they were both flavorful and well balanced. 
I dig living in LA. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I can go to a cool wine shop like Domaine LA and taste the inventive wines of Martian Ranch and talk to the to the winemaker. Life sure don't suck.
Experience: B+ / Wines: B+

LA for the Urban Wino - 55 Degree Wine (Atwater Village)

55 Degree Wine is largely responsible for my wine nerdom. My wife and I moved to a place just blocks away from them, and had heard good things from friends. Quickly we became regulars. The main staff people at the time, Stephanie, Tony and Wendy, were excellent hosts. They were truly passionate about wine and enjoyed sharing insights. They were great teachers, and put a lot of energy into making the experience positive for us. For us it was an ideal situation to learn to love wine. We visited frequently, and touted it to our friends.
55 Degree has a pretty sweet setup. You walk into a normal seeming wine store, brightly lit, with stacks and stacks of wines shelved delicately. The wines sold there aren't easy to find around town and some - like this one - are awesome. The major focal point is Italian wines, so the wine bottles are categorized by region, and then by other countries. As you approach the counter, a staff person directs you to a small staircase that isn't seen from the front of the store. Down the staircase you go, descending into a dimly lit, simply decorated cellar. It's definitely a unique spot. Once you find a table, a staff person brings you a menu that features the weekly wine options, broken up into four themed flights, each flight is comprised of three large tasting pours of wine. The themes can be based on a many different things - a specific region, a specific type of wine, and so on. There's a small food menu (cheese plates, pizza, hummus, etc.). You can also order wines by the glass and there are plenty of quality beers to choose from.
About a year ago, the bar began to lose it's luster. First off, the people that worked there that really knew wine began to leave. The weekly wine flight options weren't nearly as inventive or diverse. The new staff that came in weren't nearly as engaging or knowledgeable. It also seemed like the focus of the place shifted from a quiet neighborhood wine bar with an educational focus to a groupon fueled party spot. I'm not sure if that happened purposefully, but the ownership definitely seemed more interested in more people who visited once rather than a more moderate stream of people visiting regularly.
As we became less infatuated with 55, we began to explore other wine stores and wine bars. It became clear that the only advantage that 55 has over other locations is closeness to us. We discovered that 55 was charging a lot more for their wines than other wine stores, and that were other wine bars in the area that focused on a superior customer experience.
I'm not sure whether the 55 Degree will shift back to it's previous self. I have a feeling that a reason that the ownership was less invested in the regular customer was because they were focused on opening a sausage and beer restaurant next door (Link 'N' Hops - which received a less than stellar review from LA Weekly), and had to cut costs. So now that the restaurant is now open, perhaps 55 will receive more focus from the ownership and will return to its previous glory. My guess is though that the reason the restaurant was opened was because the wine store/bar model wasn't playing out as well as hoped, so potentially 55 will continue to underwhelm when compared to its past.

Experience C / Wine Selection & Prices C-