Skip to main content

California Wine: Blend Your Own With A Kit

Support Provided By
wine-apothecary-600-400

Perhaps you've never given much thought to the percentages listed on the back of a bottle of wine. Enter the Wine Apothecary, a new kit that lets you play with wine. You get a box filled with bottles of syrah, grenache, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot, some cool tools like a flask and pipette, and you get to go to work, trying to make a mix that pleases you. After you do, you mail your percentages in and order bottles of your blend, accompanied by a label of your design. Think of it as the ultimate adult chemistry set.

"After taking a crash course in nearly every wine position under the sun, I began to realize a significant aspect of the industry was somehow being overlooked," says Wine Apothecary owner/creator Billy Dim. "That aspect involved the wine-lover's ability to engage the industry they love in a fun and creative way. Early on -- whether in sales, management, or production -- I was blown away by the enthusiast's desire to learn and participate; but other than tasting, I began to realize how few conduits there actually were for one to do so. That coupled with the idea that each of us is the best discerning judge of what he or she actually likes, led to the inception of Wine Apothecary."

Dim, once a struggling musician, lived with his family in the Santa Ynez Valley between tours and took a job in the wine industry. "I believe the evolution went something like this: Tasting room clerk to tasting room manager, then I worked harvest and production, then sales. Then I got involved in restaurants and became a buyer, sommelier, wine director, and general manager all in the course of six years. You wouldn't believe me if I listed all my roles, but most notably for education purposes I'll mention Beckmen Vineyards and the Los Olivos Café."

As educated as Dim is in the wine world, he's still surprised by what people come up with for their blends. "The amazing thing about Apothecary is that you're creating a blend that you yourself gravitates toward," he explains. "A mentor once told me that my role as a sommelier is to guide someone towards what they themselves might've chosen."

The wine you get to blend comes from a variety of noted sources from Santa Barbara to Paso Robles, and the company, like many smaller producers in Santa Barbara, operates out of Central Coast Wine Services in Santa Maria. In addition to your ability to buy your own blend, Wine Apothecary offers two complete wines of its own, a red blend called Vermillion ("an oddly unique blend, but don't ask us the percentages, we'll never tell") and a limited production chardonnay with grapes from Riverbench.

But it's the ability to blend away that makes Wine Apothecary so much fun. "The kit comes equipped with a step-by-step instruction manual that offers a ton of information on how to best create your ideal blend," Dim informs. "Blenders can take the process as seriously and scientifically as they'd like, or as loose and casual as a drinking game. Remember, the goal is to have fun and create something that you love for you. It's up to you how much the chemist or how wild you wanna get. Hopefully you manage to have a little fun and learn a little something about your wine preferences along the way."

Support Provided By
Read More
A black and white photo of an adult dressed as the easter bunny with a giant costumed head, holding a little girl on their left who gives it a kiss on the cheek and, with his right arm, holding a little boy who brings his hands to his eyes as though wiping away tears.

Behold the Bunnies and Bonnets of L.A.'s Past Easter Celebrations

The onset of the spring season heralds the arrival of fragrant flowers in bloom — and all the critters that enjoy them, including the Easter bunny and families who anticipate his arrival with egg hunts, parades and questionable fashion choices.
A black and white image of an elephant holding a broom with its trunk. A man is seen near the elephant, walking towards the animal.

Lions and Tigers and Cameras! How the Movies Gave Los Angeles a Zoo

The early days of the movies in Los Angeles inadvertently allowed visitors to experience the largest collection of animals in the western United States. When animals weren't appearing in a movie, they were rented out to other film companies, performed for studio visitors, or in the case of filmmaker William Selig's collection — an opportunity to create one of Los Angeles' first zoos.
A vertical, black and white portrait of a blonde woman wearing a sparkly four-leaf clover costume as she holds her arms out and extends a leg as though in a curtsy.

Irish for a Day: L.A.'s History of 'Going Green' on St. Patrick's Day

Whether it was a parade, dance, tea party, home celebration or just enjoying a good ol' wee dram of whisky, here's a photo essay of how Los Angeles donned its green apparel to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and embrace the luck o' the Irish over the years.