A Word About Wine at the Hollywood Bowl
My husband and I went to the Hollywood Bowl this past weekend with another couple. We were there to see Paul Simon on the second night of his two-month 2026 tour he’s called, “A Quiet Celebration.” I didn’t know until after the concert that the tour had this name, but in retrospect, I understand why he chose that name--the evening was both quiet and celebratory. More on that later. But first, a word, about wine.Rather than deal with traffic and parking, we took a bus to the event from Lakewood, carrying a couple of ice chests and picnic accoutrements. As we approached the entrance to the Bowl, we noticed a sign informing guests that no wine bottles (or aluminum cans) are allowed inside the venue. We had both. But since we had recently done the same on a previous visit to the Bowl in 2025 to see Joni Mitchell and had passed through inspection without incident then, we weren't overly concerned. If the policy had been in effect, someone had apparently chosen to turn a blind eye and let us through. We assumed the same would be true this time.
Unfortunately, when we got to the inspection tables, our two inexpensive (I won't say "cheap") bottles of Chardonnay were flagged. No blind eye this time. We were given the option of either tossing the bottles or checking them in and picking them up after the concert. We obviously opted to check them in. Why throw away unopened wine bottles, especially when you know someone will take them home after the concert. Free to good home?
We learned later that the Hollywood Bowl’s alcohol policy depends on the type of event you're attending. According to the website, "For LA Phil-presented events, feel free to bring your own wine, beer, and more (glass bottles are permitted). For lease events outside alcohol is not allowed.” Ah, the fine print.
We’re still confused as to why we passed inspection the last time we came to the Hollywood Bowl. The Joni Jam was presumably a lease event. Whoever turned a blind eye at our concealed glass bottles at that event probably lost his job. But for the moment, the only issue at hand was that we had no wine. I felt a bit like Jack Sparrow: “Why is the rum gone?”
No need to explain why we had carried in our own wine other than to say we had a hunch the wine on site would be ridiculously expensive. Should we overpay and plunk down too much money or go without? Needless to say, the desire to sip wine beneath a starry sky while listening to one of our favorite artists trumped our desire to save money, so, yes, plunk we did, a little over $100 for a couple bottles of the least expensive (cheap) Chardonnay.
Lesson learned: Read the Hollywood Bowl Lease Events Policy before packing up a picnic.
Concealed bottle of cheap Chardonnay in Igloo
