An Intro to Cellar Work: Sensory Evaluation and Bottling

​Join Tom Dixon and Brook Brooks from Last Ditch on Sunday, May 24, 2026, from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM in La Cienega for a special peek into Tom's cellar and bottling practices.

​Last year Tom experimented with splitting his white cuvées: some were fermented with the wild yeasts present on the grapes, others inoculated with a commercial yeast.

​We'll taste through these wines together and explore how yeast and fermentation choices shape a wine. We'll also discuss what drives the decision of what, and when, to bottle.

​We'll then bottle these wines together. Participants will learn how to sanitize lines and bottles, use gravity to move wine into bottle, and cork bottles for storage.

​We'll close by checking in on the other projects happening in Tom's garage: a hand-built camper and the ongoing work on his 1982 Subaru Brat.

​Around noon, we'll gather at a communal table to share wine from the vineyard alongside a vegetarian, gluten-free lunch.

​Suggested contribution: $45. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

​All levels welcome, no experience needed.

https://www.lastditch.wine