Well, no, of course it isn't. But in that case, we should probably clarify something.

The word garagiste. In French, it's a mechanic, or someone who owns a garage.

In wine (spoken fluently here), a garagiste winemaker is someone who makes really good wine in really small amounts.  (In the interest of full disclosure, I'm sure some of them make less-than-stellar wines, but of course we don't sell those.) These are the wines that you dream of finding being produced in some out of the way place while you're taking a lovely bicycle ride through the countryside. Lots of romance.

In the real world, these are also the wines that are really difficult to find, and thus somewhat frustrating to look for. Also, the operations are really hands-on, so they aren't likely to taste the same vintage to vintage, and in fact may not be available every vintage.

But they're definitely worth the effort. The reason most, if not all, winemakers go into the business is for the love of it. It's expensive to start up a winery, after all, and like every other agricultural endeavor, there's no telling what nature is going to throw at you from year to year. Garagiste operations are run by passionate winemakers, and their love of wine and the winemaking puzzle really can show through in their wines.

Next week, Brad Lewis' e-mailed newsletter should be showing in your in-box (and will be posted online). He's got reviews on a lot of small winemakers from the Pacific Northwest, with some really good wines in there. Keep an eye out for it.