The House of Blues is legendary in the world of live music, and it’s only fitting that the HOB on Sunset is playing host to Rock ’n Roll Wine’s first L.A. residency.

Rock ’n Roll Wine was originally conceived in Las Vegas by Chris Hammond and Sonny Barton, two best friends who love wine but realized that not too many people knew how to approach drinking it. Instead of taking the traditional path and pairing their wines with food, they opted to make their favorite beverage more accessible by pairing it with music.

“Our goal,” says Barton, “is to provide people with great new music and great new wines.”

Their setup at the Foundation Room of the HOB does just that. Although you don’t get to hear each suggested pairing through the night, you’re given a brochure at the beginning with a list of wines and the song they should be tasted with. This is totally unorthodox, but you know what? It works. With three rooms and 16 wines to taste (buffet style, no less!), you’re guaranteed to find at least one good wine, and most likely several.

If you’re new to the wine game, no worries, the pourers are knowledgeable and friendly. They know exactly what their wines taste like and are more than happy to pour you generous portions so you have ample time to really see what they’re talking about.

“We’re Martian terraformers,” said one pourer. “We like to go ahead and pave the way for people. We teach them how to think about wine.”

In addition to great, little-known wines, Rock ’n Roll Wine also features live music at each of its events. At the first event, attendees were treated to the stylings of Jeremy Cornwell, whose cover songs proved to be the perfect accompaniment for the evening. The Sept. 11 event will feature acoustic rock from Coffey.



For more information, visit rocknrollwine.com.