Los Angeles Wine Dinners Offer Rare Access to Legendary Vintages
For the serious collector, the challenge is often not finding a rare bottle, but finding the right company to share it with. Sommelier Ian Blackburn is addressing this by launching a series of intimate, high-end dinners in Los Angeles, designed to uncork historical "unicorn" wines alongside elite seasonal menus.
LearnAboutWine.com, a platform established in 1995, is curating a sequence of exclusive gatherings that limit attendance to between 8 and 14 guests. According to Blackburn, these sessions prioritize side-by-side tastings of legendary labels in a blind format, allowing participants to evaluate prestigious vintages without the distraction of preconceived notions.
Events are held at prominent venues, including the 71st-floor 71Above, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, and the three-Michelin-starred Providence. The series begins on September 10 with a Bordeaux-focused evening featuring 1983 and 1975 Pétrus, followed by a "Cult Wine" dinner on September 24 showcasing Harlan Estate, Screaming Eagle, and Scarecrow. Later in the season, the program highlights a $70,000 collection of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti expressions and a specialized evening dedicated to the Spanish icon Vega Sicilia, hosted by worldwide ambassador Dennis Fassett.
These dinners aim to provide a technical and sensory experience for connoisseurs, pairing multi-course menus crafted by chefs such as Javier Lopez, Luis Cuadra, and Michael Cimarusti with rare bottles. By strictly limiting guest counts, the organizers intend to ensure that each wine receives focused attention, turning the act of tasting into a collaborative study for those seeking to experience global viticulture at its most refined.
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