574248 Fri Nov 21 16:12:44 -0800 2008 13 2 Los Angeles Area 0 4192900 I'm a New Yorker heading to L.A. for a few days and I'm looking for restaurants or wine bars that offer natural wines or just small-producer wines from regions such as the Loire, Burgundy, Jura, the Rhone and Champagne. I'm also a fan of good Italian wines. Some of my favorite importers are Louis/Dressner, Jenny and Francois (World Wide Wines), Rosenthal, Polaner Selections and Becky Waserman -- to give you an idea of the sort of wine lists I'm after. Thanks! Fri Nov 21 16:12:44 -0800 2008 53580 PamG 1 4192934 The obvious answer is Wine Expo on Santa Monica Blvd for your small-producer, grower Champagne and Italian. Fri Nov 21 16:26:03 -0800 2008 4192900 74905 jaykayen 1 4192950 Here are some better ideas: Depending on what part of town you in there are plenty of choices on the central to east side of the city. In Pasadena there is Vertical Wine Bar. In the central part of the city there is AOC. In Glendale there is Palate. And if you just want wine shops that double as a wine bar there is Silverlake Wine in Silverlake and Rosso Wine Shop in Glendale. Both have many of the importer wines you mention and do tastings certain nights of the week. Fri Nov 21 16:32:52 -0800 2008 4192900 76152 sebi 1 4193478 Nice list of importers/brokers. By all means go to Lou ( www.louonvine.com ). Guarantee you will be happy. Avoid Vertical in Pasadena. All looks and no substance. AOC is a good rec. Consider Sona on La Cienega. Mark & Noel run the wine program. Let them take care of you. Enjoy! Fri Nov 21 21:33:44 -0800 2008 4192900 12340 Grog 2 4198692 Just checked out Lou's site and it's very exciting. Many of my favorite producers including Clos Roche Blanche and Francois Chidaine are on the list. How exciting. Thanks for the tip and thank you all for your tips. I'll be staying downtown so not sure how far away the locations you've all mentioned are but if you happen to know of any places downtown then please let me know. Thanks! Mon Nov 24 13:32:15 -0800 2008 4193478 53580 PamG 1 4194082 I second Silverlake Wine...they're known for having unique, small-producer wines. Another place with the same reputation, better prices but no tastings (just shop) is Topline in Glendale. Sat Nov 22 09:31:43 -0800 2008 4192900 239935 megs8 1 4194092 Steve Goldun at the wine shop at palate food + wine has great selections from all of those importers - he's worked with them for years (previously at Woodland Hills Wine). Enjoy! Sat Nov 22 09:36:48 -0800 2008 4192900 240330 sfgirl22 1 4194340 Where are you getting un-natural wines? Sorry, just a scary thought. Sat Nov 22 12:13:03 -0800 2008 4192900 125536 luhkee 1 4231980 So, Pam, how was your search for natural wines in Los Angeles? Tue Dec 09 07:24:42 -0800 2008 4192900 246950 Plateau_de_fruits_de_mer 1 4236099 Have been hearing great things about palate food + wine, 933 South Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91204. Check out their description on Open Table for more info! Wed Dec 10 11:45:42 -0800 2008 4192900 247306 ljeanne 1 4236112 This may be too late for your trip, but for future reference: http://www.palatefoodwine.com/ Wed Dec 10 11:48:52 -0800 2008 4192900 247306 ljeanne 1 4236156 Great list of importers! Wed Dec 10 11:59:46 -0800 2008 4192900 28122 zin1953 1 4236945 The digression discussing what constitutes "natural wines" has been moved here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/579103 Wed Dec 10 16:01:35 -0800 2008 4192900 2 The Chowhound Team