The Casual Wine Traveler

By, fancyn

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One of my very good friends was coming to California for a few days, to work on content for her travelog. With Sally being a fun and outgoing world traveler, I knew I had to pull out all stops to find an afternoon plan that would at the very least guarantee that we had a hoot of a time.

Now, I’m known for my love to sip wherever the travel takes me. When in need of some rest, I prefer to look for an incredible wine bar, maybe attend a wine festival here and there, I might look for a comfortable place for some great food and delicious wine as part of the journey.

Knowing our personalities, an afternoon of wine tasting sounded like a perfect plan, besides it had been eons since we last hooked up, meaning we had a lot of catching up to do. As I was doing my research, I stumbled upon Malibu Wines & Beer Garden on Sherman Way, West Hills via www.travelzoo.com, and as one of my life mantras goes, some of life’s best and most beautiful experiences occur when you just let it happen, our afternoon was decided.

Before y’all think that I have a drinking problem, I’ll have you know that wine drinking is a common interest for most people nowadays, as people tend to be more and more interested in the origin of food and beverages of choice. It is no surprise that with wine consumption rising throughout the United States and globally, wine tourism is also rising. In 2018, according to data from Wine Institute, Americans consumed 2.95 gallons of wine per capita, adding to a total of 949 million gallons across the entire U.S. Americans, like many others around the globe, are also increasingly planning their vacations around wine.

Malibu Wines & Beer Garden in West Hills may not house zoo animals and large-scale art pieces like sister business Saddlerock Ranch, but the Semler family’s latest concept still delivers a unique drinking experience. The historic Spanish Mission-style hacienda—one-time home to silent film star Francis Lederer—now features a sprawling patio that holds 230 people. The setting touts trees strung with lights, a beehive-shaped fountain, tables shaded with red umbrellas and a shiny metal WINE structure that mirrors Robert Indiana’s famous LOVE sculpture.

To add the cherry on top of our fun filled afternoon, it just so happened that Maurice Njau, a super-dope travel photographer was in the neighborhood. He popped in to enjoy some drinks with us, and before we knew it, he started snapping away, and just like that, a fun wine tasting, blog-worthy afternoon with dear friends unfolded!