Drinking in French Wineries’ Appeal

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Plenty of L.A. lawyers claim to be into wine. Then there’s Matt Kanin.

Kanin is the type of person who self-identifies as a fan of cult wines from “the Northern Rhone and Burgundy” regions of France and described drinking one 2000 bottle as a “truly vivid experience.” And while he’s had a lifelong passion for food and wine, Kanin credits a 2012 visit to eastern France for launching his obsession with the fermented grape.

Kanin, principal of his eponymous law firm in Beverly Hills and outside general counsel for the Fairmont-Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, hopped a train from Paris to Dijon and went off exploring the historic winemaking region on his own.

“Most of the people I encountered were in a family business that they had been part of for multiple generations; they lived and made their wine, had their office and stored and aged their wine all in the same facilities,” he said. “There were no tasting rooms, no admission tickets – it was just raw.”

While France – the world’s most visited country – is famous for not going out of its way to cater to tourists, Kanin, 32, negotiated plenty of inside access – relying only on his knowledge of French geography, language and wine.

“Most of the people I interfaced with were extremely hospitable and happy to receive me – once I explained who I was and why I was in their driveway,” he said.

Lawyer’s Next Stage

As a trial lawyer, Doug Rawles is no stranger to competition.

The nature of his job as a partner in the downtown L.A. office of law firm Reed Smith pits him against other attorneys feuding over insurance-related disputes in court.

But last year, the litigator fought one battle at the Belasco Theater downtown instead of the courtroom. Rawles – a longtime guitarist – formed a rock band called Down by Law with four colleagues to compete in a Battle of the Bands contest against other L.A. lawyers.

“We start off with a cover of ‘Superstition’ by Stevie Wonder and end with ‘Creep’ by Radiohead and play everything in between,” said Rawles, 51.

Down by Law didn’t win last year’s competition, but the group plans to try its luck again next month at a firmwide partners’ retreat in Miami.

Attorneys from roughly 10 other Reed Smith law offices from around the world have also formed bands. The lawyer bands, Rawles said, are slated to battle on stage in front of about 700 partners at the Miami event.

There’s no money or award at stake, but he said his band is not taking the competition lightly.

“We have to represent,” he said. “You’re talking to lawyers here. We don’t do anything by half-measure. We’re going to play our hearts out and leave it all out there.”

Staff reporters Matt Pressberg and Cale Ottens contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].

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