Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorena Porras.
Hi Lorena, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Having worked in the wine business for different distributors and brokers for over ten years, I was given the opportunity to work my way around the sales side and the rest of my life, I worked in restaurants and was able to get a grasp of the service side. The bar gives me both things I love, service and wine.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I always say it’s hard to complain about wine. When I think of what my job is, I believe that still. The struggles, as anyone in this business will say, it isn’t a job, it is a lifestyle. The struggle will always be about balance and of course checking myself when I overbuy in the wine!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a business owner, I am proud of the team. I am only as good as those that around me and it is true. I try to surround the bar with kind, hard-working, joy-filled people.
We seat everyone with our popcorn (before pandemic everyone got a splash of Lambrusco).
I am also proud at my attempts to make wine as approachable and enjoyable as possible. I do this through different events that help me be creative. We were the first in LA to have games for the tables. We were the first to create a wine tasting game combining tasting, comedy and actual experts with Wine School’d! We have held special evenings of live music with songs that best pair with different wines which we call Wine Song Brawl.
We serve everything by the glass (over 100 wines) and we work hard to make sure we are affordable so that if you want, you could visit us twice a week.
After a few years, I developed a house label red wine. We are now into our five vintage of Chingadera Malbec from Paso Robles.
Finally, I am most proud of the fact that we get to be a part of this incredible, ever-changing neighborhood. The art district of Los Angeles is ever-expanding and growing and we get to witness and be a part.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My favorite book for many years was Robert Sapolsky’s A Primate’s Memoir, and in my business I recommend The Wine Bible by Karen Macneil to everyone and anyone. I am a fangirl (hard to be at this age) of Jancis Robinson the wine writer and am always in awe of the Master Sommeliers of the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.pourhauswinebar.com
- Instagram: pourhauswinebar
- Facebook: Pour Haus Wine Bar
- Twitter: Pourhaus
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy_bLv6fHApLK2RdNpIa1nA
Image Credits:
Yasmina Cadiz
