The Wine Press: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Today in Wine News

The Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 2, celebrating the best in the previous year of film with the best food and wine the city has to offer. This Sunday’s ceremony represents the culmination of awards season in Los Angeles, which can be a make or break time for restaurants, sommeliers, and hospitality workers of all types as talent from all over the world descends on L.A.

But this year has been a bigger struggle than expected, due to the wildfires that swept through Los Angeles and threatened major film landmarks - including the Dolby Theatre - in early January. How has the Los Angeles wine scene started to rebuild after the devastation of the fires? And what challenges do wine professionals face as they rebuild their workplaces and communities during the busiest, most public facing time of year in the City of Angels?

Keep listening to learn more.

Fundraising for L.A. wildfire recovery is still a vital and pressing need. If you haven’t done so already, please consider making a financial donation to one of the many great organizations helping members of the wine community in Los Angeles. As of this publication date, $250 million dollars has been donated towards Los Angeles fire relief on GoFundMe, but there are still many individuals who need assistance.

Between Friday, February 28 and Sunday, March 2, 10 Ninths Wines will be donating 100 percent of online sales to Restaurants Care. During the month of March, 100 percent of all new 10 Ninths restaurant account sales will go directly towards Restaurants Care. In addition, Dave Baxter from the Vintertainment podcast has listed a few resources on his Substack article, “Los Angeles Wine Wildfire Relief”. Thank you for your generosity.

Further Reading

* “Los Angeles wildfires devastated the local wine industry. What’s next?” (Brianne Cohen/Decanter)

* “Los Angeles Restaurants Grapple With Wildfires” (Greg Warner & Mitch Frank/Wine Spectator)

* “How the L.A. Wildfires Have Impacted the Wine Community” (Matt Kettmann/Wine Enthusiast)

* “The Los Angeles Restaurant Community Needs Your Help — Here's Where to Donate” (Amelia Schwartz/Food & Wine)

* “Los Angeles Wildfire Wine Relief” (Dave Baxter/Vintertainment)

* United Sommeliers Foundation

In Other News

Here are some additional highlights from the week in wine news:

Four new Masters of Wine have been announced. The Institute of Masters of Wine has announced four new members of their prestigious organization: Jackie Ang MW from Singapore, Amanda Barnes MW from Argentina, Sarah Benson MW from the United Kingdom, and Kathleen Van der Berghe MW from Belgium. Congratulations to the four new Masters of Wine!

* “Introducing four new Masters of Wine” (JancisRobinson.com)

* “The Institute of Masters of Wine announces four new Masters of Wine” (Press Release/The Institute of Masters of Wine)

Canadian sommelier Joris Gutierrez Garcia has been named the Best Sommelier of the Americas. Finalists Joris Gutierrez Garcia of Canada, Mark Guillaudeu of the United States, and Nicolas Reines of Colombia competed in a live final round that included blind tasting of wines and spirits, a decanting task, proper preparation and serving of three aperitifs, food pairing exercises, and a lightning round identification challenge.

* “ASI Announces Winner of the ASI Contest Best Sommelier of the Americas 2025” (David Furer/Wine Business)

And finally, La Paulée, the world’s largest celebration of Burgundy’s famed estates, is taking over San Francisco starting today. Producer-focused seminars, wine dinners, and signature events like the La Paulée Gala Dinner will be held at restaurants like Verjus, The Morris, The Pearl, Saison, and The Conservatory at One Sansome starting today, February 27, through the evening of Saturday, March 1.

* La Paulée San Francisco Program

* La Paulée San Francisco sommelier team

* To purchase tickets to the La Paulée events in San Francisco, click the link here.

That’s all the news this week. Thank you for listening to The Wine Press! Check out the show notes for this episode at Brunello Bombshell dot Substack dot com.

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We’ll be back next week with a new crop of wine news. Until then, cheers, and happy drinking!

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