The Wine Makers on Radio Misfits: Recent Episodes
The Wine Makers
A Podcast from Sonoma, CA featuring experts Brian Casey, Sam Coturri, Bart Hansen & host John Myers. Taking the stuffiness out of wine every Friday!
Hayden Stewart is a wine director, sommelier, and food & beverage consultant based in San Diego, California, with extensive experience across the wine industry — from vineyards and tasting rooms to large-scale events and private club beverage programs. He holds a WSET Level 3 certification and has worked in sales, distribution, fine dining, and education.
Stewart created the @the_angry_somm Instagram account as a satirical, snarky take on the wine world. The persona is designed to highlight what he sees as pretentiousness, hollow buzzwords, and overhyped marketing in the industry. Through humor, irony, and sarcasm, he critiques trends like chasing “rarity, prestige, and heritage” without substance, and argues that popularity doesn’t equal quality.
Hayden and his colleague Joe LoBue have started a new distribution company, Paragon Pacific Imports, to create a better way to communicate with small producers and buyers, reaching younger wine drinkers by meeting them where they are, and speaking to them in a way they understand. paragonpacificimports.com [Ep 423]
Why He’s “Angry”
His “anger” stems from:
Industry pretension — Stewart believes wine culture has become overly elitist and disconnected from everyday enjoyment.
Misuse of expertise — He criticizes sommeliers and marketers who focus on serving the same “five wines” without expanding their horizons.
Disconnect from younger drinkers — He argues the industry’s approach alienates the next generation, and that the true value of a sommelier is in meaningful, educational recommendations.
Pushing authenticity — He turns down most paid partnerships to focus on “subliminal education” that encourages people to care about the why behind a bottle.
@the_angry_somm
thewinemakerspodcast.com
acorkintheroad.com
Stacy Buchanan is the founder of Blood of Gods, the cult biannual publication that explores the unlikely intersection of heavy metal and wine. Based in Walla Walla, Washington, Buchanan is also the force behind The Annual Merrymaking, a festival of wine, art, and music that draws industry professionals and metalheads alike.
We were invited to come join the fun.
Brooke Delmas Robertson from Delmas Wines was the moderator for the event that included Super Somm André Mack, Tyler Balliet from the Rebel School of Wine and Tegan Passalacqua of Turley and Sandlands. Brooke sat down with us and Stacy in her newly opened tasting room in downtown Walla Walla.
We were also hangin out with Kelly Cornett, wine educator from Atlanta, who was in town for the festivities, and is also a writer for the zine’s wine reviews. She has her own podcast, A Cork in the Road, so we decided to join forces and get some interviews. [Ep 422]
delmaswines.com
@delmaswines
@bloodofgodszine
@acorkintheroad
thewinemakerspodcast.com
Tim Milos is a highly respected winemaker and consultant working across Napa and Sonoma, with current winemaking roles at Immortal Estate, Hidden Ridge Vineyard, and RD Winery, and as proprietor of Vino di Milos LLC.
He is a Napa and Sonoma-based winemaker with over 20 years of experience in wine production, vineyard management, and consulting. He is known for crafting terroir-driven wines using traditional winemaking techniques and a minimalist approach to highlight the unique characteristics of each vineyard block.
Tim has had multiple 95+ point ratings from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, was included in the Top 100 Wines of the World by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast and has had 100-point wines from Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck for his Impassable Mountain Cabernet Sauvignons RD Winery.
Milos began his career in the Finger Lakes before moving to Napa Valley, where he has worked with notable wineries such as Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Opus One, S. Anderson, and Cliff Lede RD Winery. He studied cell biology and biochemistry at Sonoma State University, enology and viticulture at UC Davis, and has experience in plant genome mapping at the USDA RD Winery.
His take on the chemistry of wine as it pertains to smoke taint is eye opening. [Ep 421]
@timothymilos
thewinemakerspodcast.com
Our good friend Artie Johnson returned for his third appearance on the show with one request: let’s talk about solutions instead of spending another hour dwelling on everything that’s wrong with the wine industry. As regular listeners know, we’ve always believed one of the best solutions is taking ourselves a little less seriously. So what better episode for that conversation than our milestone 420th episode of The Wine Makers Podcast?
We sat down with Artie and fired up a doobie… er, doozie of a show. Along with an impressive lineup of Le Artishasic wines—including some fascinating new bottlings from the Rocks District on the Oregon side of Walla Walla—Artie brought notes, receipts, and a clear vision for breaking out of the industry’s doom-and-gloom cycle. Better yet, he’s already putting that vision into practice with his own brand. The real question is: will anyone else be bold enough to follow his lead? Especially his neighbors in Napa Valley? You’ll have to listen to find out.
As for reaching 420 episodes, it’s entirely on brand that we somehow blew right past Episode 400 without so much as a mention. So instead, we decided to celebrate a number we know would have made John Myers smile.
More importantly, it’s a chance to say thank you. To the hundreds of guests who’ve subjected themselves to our interrogation. To our spouses, who somehow tolerate our love of hearing ourselves talk. To the entire Sixteen 600 team for everything they do behind the scenes. To Danielle Langlois for bringing a new voice to the show after we lost John. And, of course, to John Myers himself, who made this whole thing possible in the first place.
Most of all, thank you to the thousands of you who keep listening. You put up with the rambling, the occasional technical challenge, and all our nonsense. You buy the wines, visit the wineries, subscribe, leave reviews, and tell your friends (but only the cool ones). Without you, we’d have spent the last nine-plus years just talking to ourselves.
So pour yourself a glass (or roll yourself something)and settle in for Episode 420: The Gospel of Artie Johnson, Part III. [Ep 420]
This week we invited Lee Hodo, a veteran in marketing and promotion of wine and destination brands, who is leading the charge to showcase the amazing wines from this historical yet lesser-known AVA. Lee brought winemakers from three of the top Wineries in the area; Lava Cap, Edio from Delfino Farms and Starfield Vineyards.
At between 1,200ft-3,500ft, elevation is one of the defining features of the region. As air hits the Sierra Nevada Mountains it is forced to rise through orographic uplift. As the air rises, the adiabatic process causes cooling at a rate of around 4 degrees Fahrenheit per 1000ft of elevation gain. As a result, ambient air temperatures in the region are between 10-15 degrees cooler than the Central Valley below.
The complex topography of El Dorado further distinguishes the region as a location for a diversity of premium grapes. As the sun sets, cool air from the Sierra Nevada settles in low lying pockets, creating areas of cold night-time air surrounded by relatively warmer hillside and hilltop sites.
Lastly, the diverse soils offer a panoply of geologic and geographic settings that ensure maximum flavors will be concentrated within the grapes. Primary attributes of soils that are important to growers include, among others: mineral composition, soil texture, soil thickness, depth of root penetration, water retention properties, and resistance to erosion. The bulk of the vineyards in El Dorado are planted in young volcanic, granitic, and slate soils.
www.lavacap.com
www.starfieldvineyards.com
www.delfinofarms.com
lee@leehodo.com
www.thewinemakerspodcast.com
Erin Kirschenmann’s day job is managing editor of Wine Business Monthly. After spending her days immersed in the intricacies and moving targets that make up the wine business, she spends her nights curled up with a book and a glass of wine (or two). As both a writer and a wine lover, she naturally began pairing her reading with wines—a moody Pinot with a twisty thriller, for example. A couple of years ago, it occurred to her that there were other bibliophile-oenophiles out there who would love to do the exact same thing, so she founded Novel Pairings.
Novel Pairings exists at the confluence of a book club and a wine club, where quarterly wine shipments align with book selections and monthly gatherings. We sat down with Erin to learn more, find out how she chooses the wines and books, and see if we can do what Petaluma’s finest educators couldn’t: get Brian to read a book.
We’re always looking for new ways to bring wine into people’s lives, and people are always looking for more ways to be in community. Novel Pairings lands at just the right time. Whether it’s the monthly virtual meetups, the growing calendar of live events, the online quizzes, or now a SommSocial wine club, Erin has created an innovative platform—something the wine business needs more of.
When she’s not reading and sipping, Erin is closely tracking the business of wine from her desk at Wine Business Monthly. And if you’re not signed up for the DNE, how do you know what’s going on?
Given that this is the Year of Zinfandel, if we were going to pair a wine with this show, we’d suggest popping open a bold, bright Zin and enjoying it.
Novel Pairings
Wine Business Monthly
Daily News Email (DNE)
Instagram: @erinakirsch
Instagram: @novel_pairings
The whole thing started because we couldn’t remember the name of the Executive Chef at Wing & Barrel in Sonoma. One of our listeners that happened to work for Charlie Palmer reached out and suggested that we come for a visit to Appellation Healdsburg and meet the legend in person. We will never forget his name again.
Charlie Palmer is an acclaimed American chef, restaurateur, and hotelier, renowned for pioneering Progressive American cuisine and owning multiple Michelin-starred restaurants.
Charlie Palmer began his professional career at The River Café in 1983, where he became executive chef at age 23 and earned three stars from The New York Times. He trained notable chefs including Michael Mina and George Morrone. In 1988, he opened his flagship restaurant, Aureole, in Manhattan, showcasing regional American ingredients and his signature Progressive American cuisine, which reinterprets classic European techniques using American artisanal products .
Over the years, Palmer expanded his restaurant empire to include Charlie Palmer Steak locations in New York, Las Vegas, Reno, and Washington, D.C., as well as boutique hotels and other dining concepts such as Dry Creek Kitchen, AperiBar, and St. Cloud Rooftop Bar. His restaurants have collectively earned over 20 Michelin stars and multiple James Beard awards. In addition to his restaurants, Palmer co-founded Appellation Hotels, a culinary-first hotel brand, with properties in Healdsburg, Lodi, and planned locations in California and Utah. Each hotel features Charlie Palmer restaurants and interactive culinary experiences. His new cookbook, Wineland, that features many of our friends in wine country, is available now. [Ep 417]
www.charliepalmer.com/books/wineland/
Tess Housholder — Sommelier, Appellation Healdsburg
Tess Housholder is a Sommelier and hospitality professional based in Geyserville, California, with a background in wine education, hospitality management, and event operations. She was recently featured in Vogue Magazine as a Gen Z Somm to watch.
We were excited at the opportunity to speak with a young Somm running a high-profile project in wine country.
@tesshousholder
Winemaker Justin Ennis crafts Freestone wines with a deep attention to detail, capturing the distinct character of each vineyard while balancing the vibrancy of the terroir with a refined, elegant structure. Now, that deep-rooted vision comes to market, as Justin and the winery introduce these vineyard-driven wines to a broader audience for the first time.
“Everything begins in the vineyard. Through hands-on farming and careful attention, we work to bring in fruit that’s expressive and healthy. In the cellar, I practice minimal intervention winemaking so that the site, the varietal, the clone, and the vintage can speak for themselves,” said Ennis. “The wine is already in the vineyard; my job is simply not to get in its way.”
In the 1990s, Joseph Phelps and his son Bill set out to find a place in California’s wine country where they could produce superlative Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The search led him to a place no one suspected – a tiny, unincorporated town called Freestone, tucked away off a quiet highway heading toward the Sonoma Coast. Joe’s peers and friends deemed it too cold, too rugged, too remote for serious winemaking.
Starting May 1, these limited production wines became available in select restaurants and fine wine retailers across the U.S.
freestonevineyards.com
@freestonevineyards
@norcal_wino
Lulie Halstead is a globally recognized expert in wine business strategy, consumer insights, and marketing, with over two decades of experience shaping the wine industry’s research and advisory landscape.
We first met Lulie at the Direct-to-Consumer Wine Symposium a few years ago and frequently listen to her podcast, “A Question of Drinks” that she does with her friend Felicity Carter, available on all platforms. She was nice enough to stop by on her way back to London to discuss the top 10 challenges in the wine industry and offer some simple solutions.
Lulie is a globally recognized expert in wine business strategy, consumer behavior, and drinks industry marketing but is best known as the co‑founder and former CEO of Wine Intelligence, a leading research and insights provider to the global wine industry, which she established in 2002 and later became part of the IWSR Group. Wine Intelligence is widely regarded as the foremost wine‑focused consumer behavior insights organization, with coverage in over 160 markets.
Over the past two decades, Halstead has advised the leadership teams of some of the world’s leading wine businesses, combining academic research with practical industry application. She has been a regular keynote speaker at high‑profile international wine conferences and continues to teach and supervise on Masters and MBA programs in countries including Italy, France, Australia, Chile, and the USA. Her expertise spans marketing, branding, consumer behavior, research methods, and strategy, with a strong wine sector focus. [Ep 415]
Lulie Halstead – A Question of Drinks Podcast | LinkedIn
www.thewinemakerspodcast.com
On this week’s episode of The Wine Makers, we speak to Vine Pair’s Winemaker of the year Katy Wilson. Katy is a certified bad ass in the wine industry making wine for Anaba, Reeve, Bloodroot, and her own brand LaRue Wines. Katy grew up with agriculture in her blood, farming walnuts on her family’s farm. After double majoring in Wine & Viticulture and Agricultural Business at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Katy got the winemaking bug traveling the world to make wines with some of the greats.
Today we talk about all things carbonic maceration. Katy has been using carbonic maceration to make fresh delicious wines for her clients for years and advised our very own Danielle Langlois with her 2025 Gamay. Katy brought some really cool carbonically made Pinot, Grenache, and Sangiovese wines for us to try, some young, and spicy, and some fresh but subdued with a bit of age.
Katy also brought some bottles from her personal label LaRue. We tasted a coastal, mouth watering, acid-driven 2021 Chardonnay from H. Klopp Vineyards and an elegant and aromatically expressive 2023 Cabernet from Bedrock Vineyards. The Cabernet is from her Charlie LeRue series, a project with her Sommelier husband, David Meneses, and named for her daughter. Katy’s wines are elegant and nuanced, expressing a sense of place. If you have the opportunity to taste any of her wines, you won’t be disappointed. One of those opportunities will be at her yearly LaRue Summer BBQ, where you can taste through her current releases and some special library wines.
Get the last few tickets for Katy’s Larue Summer BBQ on 8/1 at the link below.
https://www.laruewines.com/product/2026-larue-summer-bbq-at-the-farmhouse
Find Katy’s wines at https://www.laruewines.com, anabawines.com , https://www.reevewines.com and https://www.bloodrootwines.com . Follow her on Instagram at @laruewines.
And don’t miss The Ramble, a charity event put on by Bloodroot Wines happening tonight and tomorrow 6/5-6/6. Tickets available at https://www.bloodrootramble.com
This week we sat down with Letizia Gini from Azienda Agricola Gini, one of Italy’s most historic family wineries. Founded in 1570, the Gini family has been making wine for 15 generations from the volcanic hills of Soave to the sun-drenched valleys of Valpolicella; their wines capture the rich diversity of the Veneto. The wines are distributed by Skurnik here in the U.S., we were joined by Omar Caruso and Joan Stagnaro, two of the reps for the wines in America.
The Gini family has roots in the Soave Classico region dating from the seventh century and owns 25 hectares of vineyards situated on the very best hillside position of the appellation. Extremely low yields, low-interference viticulture, and devoted attention to expressing the unique character of each cru results in wines that are not only among the greatest Soaves but also among the great white wines of Italy. Both tradition and the modern are reflected at Gini. The hand-harvested Soave Classicos is 100% Garganega.
Both the Soave Classico and the single vineyard “La Frosca” are vinified in stainless steel. The family’s prized “Salvarenza” bottling, from a tiny plot of centenarian vines within the La Froscà vineyard, is matured in barrel. The Re Nobilis is a rare representative of a botrytized style Recioto, northern Italy’s version of a German TBA, while the Recioto Col Foscarin is a delightful dessert wine, also great with cheese.
www.skurnik.com/producer/gini/
www.ginivini.com/en
@letiziaginiii
With Pride Month just around the corner, we invited two leaders from Sonoma’s LGBTQ+ community to give us the rundown on the events, celebrations, and activities happening throughout the summer.
Gary Saperstein, owner and co-founder of Out In The Vineyard, joins us to talk about creating LGBTQ+ travel and wine country experiences, including winery tours, special events, and the nationally recognized Gay Wine Weekend. The three-day festival brings together visitors from across North America for wine, food, entertainment, and community in Sonoma Valley.
We’re also joined by Lisa Storment, president of Wake UP Sonoma, who discusses her advocacy work and the organization’s efforts to support LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities, promote civic engagement, and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout Sonoma County. Together, they share what’s ahead for Pride season and why these events continue to matter to the community. [Ep 412]
outinthevineyard.com
sonomacountypride.com
wakeupsonoma.org
@wake.up.sonoma
BXT kept coming up in conversations over the last month. Casual conversations about bubbles always led back to one name, Tom Sherwood. Even friends who don’t live in California were talking about BXT and drinking the wines in their Instagram feeds. Who was this guy ? We reached out through Insta on direct message; he was willing to come. Even Todd Jolly, our friend from Sonma’s Best Wine Shop, wanted in on the action. The show was set, and finally we will meet this mysterious figure who is opening everyone’s eyes to grower sparkling wine in California.
BXT is an exploration of Californian viticulture through the lens of traditionally made sparkling wine. BXT Vines are personally hand farmed with additional grapes being sourced from talented, passionate growers across unique sites in California.
Grapes are hand-picked, gently whole cluster pressed and fermented in new and used French oak. The wine ages 6-9 months in barrel prior to being bottled with yeast and sugar. Secondary fermentation takes place in bottle, and the wine is then left undisturbed until ready. Bottles are then hand riddled and disgorged.
Small Batch. Traditionally made. Sparkling wines of California. [Ep 411]
@bxtwines
bxtwines.com
Brazilian-born and now based in the Bay Area, Ana Carolina Quintela joins us to talk about her path from journalism to wine. She earned her degree in journalism and began her career as a daily business reporter for Diário do Nordeste, the largest newspaper in Northeastern Brazil. After moving to San Francisco, she continued her work as a journalist with the bilingual paper El Tecolote.
Today, Ana is a wine journalist and critic covering Sonoma County for Decanter’s global audience, producing bi-weekly reports that focus on vineyard practices, regional trends, and the people behind the wines. She is also a certified sommelier, with experience in both wine and fine dining in San Francisco, and has come full circle by returning to her roots as a writer in the wine world. [Ep 410]
On this week’s episode of The Wine Makers, we sit down with Japanese winemaker Sonoe Hirabayashi of Six Cloves Wines. She talks about her roots in Nagano, her family’s long history of fermenting miso and sake, and how she found her way into wine, along with her connection to the art of Taiko drumming.
Sonoe originally moved to New York to work as a corporate accountant, but after getting hooked on wine, she realized that path was not for her. She headed to UC Davis to study winemaking, later returned to Japan to help her family make sake, and has since worked around the world. Today, she produces balanced, elegant, acid-driven wines under her Six Cloves label.
She shares her Chardonnay from Linda Vista Vineyard in Oak Knoll and her Alder Springs Pinot Noir, both showing a strong sense of place and her light touch in the cellar. She also makes Cabernet, Zinfandel, and a Grenache Pinot blend worth seeking out. [Ep 409]
Wines – sixcloveswines.com
Instagram – sixcloveswines
Hear Sonoe talk fermentation and play Tokai drums in San Francisco on Sunday April 26th at Sequoia Sake Company. bit.ly/3QftzQZ
Christopher McGilvray is an award-winning independent filmmaker based in Santa Cruz, California. Through his company, Nomadic Bear Productions, he has created content for a wide range of clients, including Oracle, EMI Records, and Ridge Vineyards.
We sat down with Christopher to talk about his current documentary, Eden, which follows the Patterson family, caretakers of one of California’s most historic vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Mount Eden. The property’s history dates back to the 1800s and includes names like Almaden, Paul Masson, Louis Latour, and Martin Ray.
The film tells a story of transition, succession, and passion over a seven-year period as the next generation returns home to take the reins. Cinematographer Isiah Flores captures the quiet, everyday beauty of life on a family-run estate, while composer Alex Kelly provides a moving score. It’s a side of farming and winemaking most people never see, including the reflection and family struggles behind every bottle. [Ep 408]
Check out the trailer at Edenfilm.info/trailer and explore the wines at Mounteden.com
Jennifer Rue has been the winemaker for Oakville Ranch Vineyards for more than a decade. Her connection to the site runs much deeper. Her career has effectively orbited Oakville Ranch from the start. Her first winery job sourced fruit from the vineyard. She later worked for an early iteration of Oakville Ranch, then spent years at Miner Family Winery working with relatives of the ranch’s ownership.
Different roles, same vineyard. Again and again.
Along the way, she has worked along side Phil Coturri and Enterprise Vineyards to help this important, historical site realize its potential and attain its rightful place among the vaunted vineyards of the hallowed appellation.
We talk a lot about the “only Grenache in Oakville,” but we’ve never really broken down the ranch itself,how it’s laid out, what makes it distinct, and why it behaves differently than the valley floor. Jennifer sat down with Brian and Sam and we got into it.
She also pulled a couple of unicorns, a 2015 Oakville Ranch Chardonnay and a very limited 2023 Oakville Ranch Grenache Rosé plus we got a look at what’s coming from the much touted 2023 vintage.
Finally, Phil Coturri popped by to help confirm or dispel a few of the Oakville Ranch myths and rumors we’ve all heard..and maybe even helped spread.
Sit down, pop a unicorn and lets head to the far eastern reaches of the Oakville District.
https://oakville-ranch.myshopify.com/
https://www.instagram.com/oakvilleranch/
PS – The book we talked about – Click Here
This week we welcome Robyn Sebastiani from the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance. Robyn serves as Executive Director of both the alliance and its charitable foundation, and she joins us to talk about what the SVVGA actually does and how it all got started.
We also get into a couple of upcoming events, including Sonoma Valley Western Reserve at the private Wing and Barrel Club this May, along with the 129th Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival, which takes place every year during the last weekend of September. Now’s a good time to start planning for both.
www.sonomavalleywine.com
This is one we’ve been wanting to do for a long time. We finally sit down with Mick Unti from Unti Vineyards and get into what makes his wines and his approach so different.
Unti sits right in the middle of what most people think of as Zinfandel country, but that’s not what you’ll find in the glass. Mick has built the winery around Italian varieties like Vermentino and Sangiovese, and he talks about why those grapes work so well where he is and how they’re farmed and made. You can tell pretty quickly this isn’t just business for him, it’s something he genuinely loves.
We also get into music, vinyl, and everything else that comes up when the conversation gets comfortable. By the end of it, it felt less like an interview and more like hanging out. There’s no wine club, the wines tend to sell out, and the mailing list is the way in. Trust us on that.
We had a great time with this one and learned a lot along the way. [Ep 405]
untivineyards.com
thewinemakerspodcast.com
Spring has arrived in Sonoma, the sun is out, and the new releases are finally coming out of the cellar. This week we sit down and taste through the latest wines from Dane Cellars, Jambe des Bois, and Winery Sixteen 600.
Along the way we talk about where the fruit comes from, the vineyards behind the wines, and how each bottle was made. The lineup gets a lot of attention, including the JDB Gamay, Bart’s Silver Cloud Sauvignon Blanc, and Sixteen 600’s Steel Plow Grenache. After about the tenth wine the conversation loosens up a bit. We tried to spit most of them, but a few were just too good to let go.
All of the wines we tasted are available now through the wineries’ websites. [Ep 404]
jambedeboiswines.com
winerysixteen600.com
danecellars.com
For a long time, it was easy for some to dismiss the wine world that Tyler Balliet and Morgan First have spent the last 20 years carving out for themselves as frivolous or unserious.
Second Glass, the zine Tyler started while working one of her first wine jobs, was a far cry from the glossy or stodgy wine publications that ruled the day. Their blockbuster tasting events, Wine Riot, sold out cities across the country but were often overlooked by the wine establishment in favor of posh Food & Wine festivals or a leading critic’s “master class.” Their Rosé Mansion pop-up experience was packed day in and day out by an audience much of the wine world didn’t realize it needed… until it was almost too late.
Now, fresh off Tyler’s James Beard Award nomination for her book The Rebel School of Wine, mainstream wine is finally listening.
We sat down with Tyler and Morgan during a California tour that included speaking engagements at the DTC Wine Symposium (perhaps you’ve heard of it) and the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, along with a party with friend of the pod Stacy Buchanan of Blood of Gods fame. We talked about how they’ve been working to make wine more fun, more colorful, and more accessible since long before those were buzzwords in the industry.
We also reminisced about the chaos of the Wine Riots, where they graciously included Winery Sixteen 600 back when Sam was as wet behind the ears as the ink on the first Stanley Mouse labels.
Most importantly, we talked about how, despite the setbacks they’ve faced, Tyler and Morgan have continued to succeed by putting their heads down and believing in their vision. It might look like its all rainbows and mirrorballs from the outside, but underneath it all are two people deeply knowledgeable about wine and completely dedicated to sharing it with anyone curious enough to show up.
This one’s a fun ride. Bust out a sticker book, some colored pencils, grab a couple bottles you love and buckle up. [Ep 403]
We wrap up our time at the Direct to Consumer Symposium with a relaxed final recording, catching up with friends and talking about what’s been happening lately in Monterey and back home.
We sit down with Jason Haas to catch up on everything happening at Tablas Creek Vineyard, then check in with Grant Wood about what’s new in his world at Patz & Hall. Kelly Cornett joins us alongside Jessah Diaz to talk about The Ultimate Hospitality Challenge game show, which Jessah won. It turns into a fun look at what actually makes someone great at hospitality and how you leave a lasting impression.
Big thanks to the Direct to Consumer Symposium and Free the Grapes for having us as the official podcast. We had a blast and already look forward to doing it again next year. Cheers. [Ep 402]
Marketing Strategy & Brand Storytelling from Outside the Wine Industry
One thing that sets the DTC Wine Symposium apart from most wine conferences is how many speakers come from outside the wine industry. Our friend Barbara Gorder taps into her Chicago ad-world network and brings in people who’ve spent their careers on the front lines of marketing, brand building, and cultural storytelling. The result is a perspective small wineries rarely get access to. Basically, we got a day at Leo Burnett University courtesy of Dean Barbara Gorder. As you might expect, the stories are as good as the insights.
Lane Soelberg was on the early digital frontier at Leo Burnett and has been building narratives ever since. His work has shown up on your TV, inbox, computer, and phone for brands like GM, Pillsbury, and the Olympics. Today, based in Southern California, he helps shape global storytelling and innovation at the XPRIZE Foundation.
Louie Monoyudis built his career at the intersection of fashion, brand, and entrepreneurship, from Leo Burnett to Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and John Varvatos. No doubt about it, if DTC handed out a Best Dressed award, Louie wins in a landslide. Today, through Groove Jet Luxury Travel, he applies that same eye for detail and design to crafting deeply personal, highly curated experiences around the world. He has plenty to say about wine and luxury positioning.
Mike Siska comes out of the creative agency world, where he helped shape culturally resonant brands and was one of the creators behind the iconic “Mayhem Like Me” campaign. His work lives where strategy meets humanity, exploring how ideas spread, how attention is earned, and how stories shape the way people connect.
Three conversations from outside the wine world, all circling the same reality. Wine does not compete with other wines. It competes with everything. If we want people to care, we have to tell better stories, tell them in better places, and pay much closer attention to who is actually listening.
Grab a notebook. Open a bottle. Class is in session. [Ep 401]
Four hundred episodes. In classic Wine Makers Pod style, this one sorta snuck up on us. Technically, we breezed past our 400th episode somewhere in the Monterey fog while recording at the DTC Wine Symposium. So we decided to package two of our favorite DTC interviews with two of our favorite people on the planet, Elaine Chukan Brown and Duskie Estes.
Both delivered keynote addresses, bringing the outside perspective we love so much about this conference. Elaine took us on a deep dive into California wine history, showing how past challenges mirror today’s conditions and reminding us that this industry has always found its way forward through collaboration and innovation. Duskie’s story, full of grit and infectious enthusiasm, laid out a path to success built on perseverance and community.
On the show, the conversations were mostly what you’d expect from old friends at a great conference; a chance to catch up, laugh, and reflect.
To mark the milestone, Brian, Bart, Sam, and Jasmine sat down to reminisce about eight years and 399 episodes. We revisited a few favorites and took a moment to appreciate just how far this little project has come. Most importantly, we raised a glass to everyone who helped us get here, the hundreds of guests, the thousands of listeners, and of course, our dear friend John Myers.
So sit down, pop something special, and get ready for the next 100 shows. Thanks for being part of this wild ride. [Ep 400]
Brian, Bart, Danielle and Sam sit down with the rest of the SORBET (Sonoma Organic Regenerative Biodynamic Educational Tasting) crew, Morgan Twain Peterson, Katie Bundschu and Alli Badar, along with special guest Ryan Woodhouse of K&L Wines, to discuss two new SORBET developments.
If you missed last year’s event at Fort Mason, don’t worry. SORBET will be back. But first we are turning our focus to friends in the industry who want to learn how to begin incorporating organic, regenerative and biodynamic practices into their viticulture. Morgan and Katie break down what to expect from the first ever SORBET Field Day on February 18. The day begins with a seminar at Abbott’s Passage covering animal integration in vineyards and the One Block Challenge, followed by a quick hop over Madrone Road to Bedrock Vineyard to see mob grazing in action. Sign-ups are open now.
Then the really big news. We are taking SORBET to LA. Ryan Woodhouse of the esteemed K&L Wines joins the crew to talk about how SORBET caught his eye, why these wines matter more now than ever, and what guests can expect when we take over the K&L Culver City store on May 3. Stay tuned for more details and a ticket link.
Until then, grab a glass, pop a bottle of organic, regenerative or biodynamically grown wine, and get ready for some witty banter, moderate shit talking, and a deep dive into obscure Sonoma Valley history. We also talk about good farming and great wine.
From muddy boots in Sonoma to pouring glasses in Los Angeles, this episode is about what happens when farming, community, and wine all live in the same conversation. [Ep 399]
https://www.sorbetwine.org/
https://regenerativeviticulture.org/resources/rvf-initiatives/one-block-challenge/
https://www.klwines.com
Steve Gross, Honore Comfort & Mark Barden
Wine Institute
Monterey, Calif. — Sitting down with Steve Gross has become one of our favorite DTC Wine Symposium traditions. Not only does he have one of the best radio voices in the wine business, but he’s spent nearly four decades on the front lines of wine shipping battles nationwide. Largely thanks to his efforts, residents of 49 states can now receive direct-to-consumer wine shipments.
Steve is always ready to update us on the latest state-level shenanigans aimed at limiting consumer access to their favorite wines. But his role has recently grown even bigger. Last month, he stepped into the role of interim president of the Wine Institute. Frankly, we couldn’t feel more confident having Steve Gross leading this crucial organization at such a pivotal moment.
One of the big-picture initiatives coming out of the Wine Institute is the Share Wine Co-Lab. To dig into how and why it came together, we were joined by a familiar face for Sonoma County folks, Honore Comfort, Vice President of International Marketing at the Wine Institute, along with marketing consultant Mark Barden.
Together, we unpacked the market research that led to the creation of Share Wine Co-Lab, and explored how wineries of all sizes, in any region, can use it to better promote themselves, their communities, and wine in general.
Sit down, pop a bottle, and get ready to go deep into the wine business. The dispatches from DTC Wine Symposium 2026 are just getting started. [Ep 398]
Learn more:
https://dtcwinesymposium.com/
https://freethegrapes.org/
https://wineinstitute.org/news/share-wine-colab/
While Evan Roscoe is a Napa native, he grew up far from Napa’s wine culture. So far, in fact, that his family’s mountainside cabin was technically on the Solano side of the county line. There wasn’t wine on the table growing up, and his family had no connections to the wine business.
Evan left Napa for college in Chicago and eventually found his way into hospitality and bar management. He returned home after the 2017 fires to find a wine industry already reeling, at the beginning of what would become a long stretch of calamities, corrections, and a few brief booms over the next eight years.
In that time, Evan formed some strong opinions about how the wine industry presents itself to the public and how it operates behind the scenes. With a keen sense of aesthetics and a sharp instinct for storytelling, he has turned his creative director skill set into a mirror held up to the industry itself.
Evan now posts provocative, thought-provoking reels nearly every day on Instagram @Evan__Roscoe, punctuated with taglines like “Wine is fucked” and “Wine is boring.” After months of sharing, reposting, and commenting on his work, and watching colleagues across the country do the same, we realized we needed to hear directly from Evan Roscoe himself.
Sit down, pour a glass, and settle in for this one. Evan has a lot to say. [Ep 397]
We sit down with Tom and Chrissy from Grand Scheme Wines and dig into a story that has more layers than it first appears. It begins in Carneros, where they bought a piece of land and started planting Barn House Vineyard in 2018 with a clear vision from day one. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were non-negotiable, and organic farming was always part of the plan.
What follows is a conversation about commitment, patience, and the reality of building something from the ground up. As they walk us through the decisions, challenges, and moments that shaped the vineyard, the bigger picture comes into focus, and it’s worth paying close attention to how it all connects.
We wrap things up feeling grateful for the year behind us and excited about what’s ahead. Happy New Year, and here’s to raising a glass together in 2026. [Ep 396]
We get together with Isabel Gassier and Jasmine Egan for a relaxed year-end catch-up, looking back at the guests, conversations, wines, and trends that stood out in 2025. It’s part reflection, part shop talk, and very much the kind of conversation that happens once the microphones are already on.
Listener questions guide a lot of where we go, including the critical ones, and we appreciate all of it. We wrap things up by raising a glass to the year behind us and talking about what’s ahead, with plans to keep pouring and talking into 2026. [Ep 395]
Jenny Murphy went to UC Davis to study forensics. While attending a job fair, she was lured into the wine business with visions of a laboratory filled with expensive, new equipment. She took a temporary position at Korbel Champagne and was bitten by the wine bug.
After accepting a job at Paul Hobbs, she moved up the ranks, finally settling into the Director of Winemaking, where she was responsible for numerous 100pt wines.
Jenny recently left Paul Hobbs and started her own label, Oxlee Graham, making precise Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, and some very interesting whites. She is perhaps the most detail oriented winemaker we have ever met, her attention to the wine, barrels, tanks and even corks set her apart from the crowd. The wines are expressive and speak to the vineyard sites, from Mendocino to Santa Cruz. We can’t recommend these wines highly enough, they are very small production so move fast. [Ep 394]
oxleegrahamwines.com
@oxleegrahamwines
The conversation this week features Keith Beavers, Tasting Director at VinePair and host of the Wine 101 podcast. He’s a self-taught wine geek who once ran the New York wine bar In Vino and co-owned Alphabet City Wine Co., and he brings that mix of curiosity and real-world experience to everything he does.
Wine 101 is his way of breaking down grape varieties, regions, and technical concepts so they feel clear and approachable. He focuses on helping people understand how wines are made, why they taste the way they do, and how to navigate the world of wine without feeling overwhelmed.
The discussion stretches across a wide range of topics, including standout American wines from outside California and a lively digression about “natural wine,” whatever that may mean on any given day. It’s an easy, engaging conversation with someone who knows the subject inside and out, and already feels like a guest worth welcoming back the next time he’s in California. [Ep 393]
@vinepairkeith
Born and raised in Napa Valley, Derek Flegal studied biology before moving to Spain and living abroad for much of his 20’s. After moving to Mendoza, Argentina, his passion for wine became apparent and he returned to the US to study Enology at Fresno State. Upon completion in 2014, he took a cellar worker position at Outpost wines, where he developed a working relationship with Thomas Rivers Brown. In the following years, he worked alongside renowned winemakers Michel Rolland, Aaron Pott, and Heidi Barrett, and began crafting wines for himself under the Blaine label.
Originally planted in 2003, Lewis Platt took the time to meet with the winemakers who would purchase the grapes in the early years: David Ramey (Ramey), Fred Scherrer (Scherrer), Eric Sussman (Radio Coteau), Ted Lemon (Littorai), and Carroll Kemp (Red Car). In a few years, Platt Vineyard grapes became one of the most sought-after and expensive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grown in California.
In 2022, French winemaking group AXA Millésimes bought the vineyard with the ambition to build a winery on site and to make estate wines from Platt that express the unique quality of this terroir. [Ep 392]
@platt_vineyard
@blaine_wines
Plattvineyard.com
This week, the crew welcomes back Todd Jolly from Sonoma’s Best — better known to many as @sonomawinemerchant. A certified sommelier and proudly dubbed “The Champagne King,” Todd serves as Wine Director for Sonoma’s Best and The Sonoma Cheese Factory, where he’s built an exceptional program that blends local standouts with global gems.
Todd shares his perspective on the current wine market, shifting consumer trends, and the importance of personal connection in wine retail. The group also talks about his deep love for the Oregon Ducks, his approach to curating unique lists, and what’s exciting him most in the world of bubbles and beyond. [Ep 391]
This week, the crew finally sits down with Jamie Kutch of Kutch Wines—a long-awaited guest whose Pinot Noir reputation precedes him. Jamie has shared a production facility with host Bart Hansen for years, so the team already knew his wines were special. What began as a career on NASDAQ trading floors turned into a lifelong pursuit of crafting world-class Pinot Noir, thanks to a pivotal invitation to work harvest at Kosta Browne—and he never looked back.
Today, Jamie makes just 3,000 cases a year, with his wines featured in top restaurants around the world. Recently, he purchased land in Sebastopol, once an apple orchard, now transformed into a Pinot vineyard rooted in Goldridge soils—helped along by a local badger serving as natural pest control.
A friend of luminaries like Rajat Parr and Ted Lemon, Jamie shares their commitment to balance, integrity, and a deep respect for terroir. It’s an inspiring conversation with one of California’s most thoughtful Pinot producers. [Ep 390]
kutchwines.com
@jamiekutch
This week the crew sits down with Brian London, Sommelier and wine buyer for one of Sonoma County’s most beloved spots, Table Culture Provisions. Known for its eclectic and adventurous wine list, TCP has become a favorite among locals and winemakers alike — and Brian is the man behind its carefully curated selections.
After falling in love with France during a trip with his fiancée, Brian began importing small-production wines to the States, eventually launching 4Play Wines, a boutique distributorship focused on producers with meticulous farming practices and distinct personalities. He shares stories from his travels, insights into sourcing hidden gems, and even kicks things off by pouring a 2014 Beaujolais and some White Burgundy — instantly winning over the hosts.
Plus, a special drop-in from Isabel Gassier wraps up this lively and wine-soaked conversation. [Ep 389]
@tcprovisions | @4playwines | @isabelgassierwine
Will Gondak has been chasing the dream. Experiences making wine in Napa, Sonoma, Australia, New Zealand, France, Santa Cruz, and South Africa have broadened his view into what is possible. The wide array of hands-on experience accompanied by the study of winemaking and viticulture at both Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and Napa Valley College has yielded one curious wine nerd. Will has been calling Sonoma County home since 2015 and is looking forward to his 18th harvest in 2025.
A full-time side hustle, Gondak Cellars was established in 2015. Will spends the majority of his work time helping make wines for several other brands while slowly building Gondak Cellars. [Ep 388]
gondakcellars.com
@gondakcellars
This week the guys sit down with Matt McDermaid, owner and winemaker at Staysail Wines, a small-lot Sonoma County winery inspired by his background in sailing. The name “Staysail” refers to a sail used to adjust for shifting conditions—much like how Matt adapts to each unique vintage.
With deep family roots in the wine world (his aunt and uncle run GlenLyon Vineyards & Winery in Glen Ellen), Matt built his own path, earning an MBA in Wine Business from Sonoma State and studying winemaking at UC Davis. After hands-on experience at Meeker Vineyard, he launched Staysail with a focus on low-intervention wines sourced from organically and regeneratively farmed vineyards.
He’s thoughtful, funny, and passionate—and yes, he managed to score some fruit from Rossi Ranch this year. Keep an eye out for those bottles, and definitely grab some Staysail while you can. [Ep 387]
Staysailwines.com
@staysail_cellars
This week, the crew sits down with Brandon Conley, head distiller at Brucato Amaro in San Francisco, for what could be called an Amaro 101—or maybe an Amaro Study.
Amaros have a long, fascinating history, evolving from regional tonics and medicinal tinctures into spirits that connect cultures. Before large-scale production, these bitter liqueurs were hyper-local, crafted from whatever produce and native plants grew nearby. Brucato carries on that tradition today with small-batch amaros that showcase the bounty of California. From sun-ripened citrus to wild foraged herbs, each ingredient is thoughtfully sourced to create a distinctive taste of place.
The conversation also covers the exciting new experiences at Brucato. Since April, visitors have been welcomed for tours and tastings, and Bar Brucato now serves fresh, seasonal dishes paired with cocktails that highlight the distillery’s unique amaros. [Ep 386]
Learn more at brucatospirits.com
The crew is back together again, and this week they’re catching up after International Grenache Day. They share memories from the celebration, dig into the challenges of this year’s harvest, and get Brian’s perspective on the London wine scene. Bart also offers a heartfelt and important PSA about his recent health scare. It’s a mix of stories, insights, and reflections that remind us why wine is about more than just what’s in the glass. [Ep 385]
Justin Harmon didn’t set out to be a winemaker, but the journey found him anyway. After studying in Philadelphia and working as a chemical engineer, he returned to Chicago in his mid-20s to pursue software engineering. Somewhere in between coding and commuting, his love for wine began to take over. What started as the occasional bottle at dinner soon filled his apartment closets, and weekends were spent roaming Chicago wine shops, devouring books, tastings, and seminars, with every trip planned around a vineyard visit.
Curiosity eventually pulled him out of the tasting room and into the cellar. By 2005, Justin was in Sonoma County for his first harvest, followed by internships in 2006 and 2007 that gave him a hands-on education in the craft. Not long after, the chance to buy grapes and ferment them in a professional winery presented itself, leading to the very first bottling under his own label: Argot Wines.
Today, Justin blends science, passion, and a relentless curiosity into every bottle. His story is proof that sometimes obsession really does lead to a calling. [Ep 384]
argotwines.com
@argotwines
We love stories like this. Two neighbors bond over their shared love of wine, make some in their garage, then decide to put in a vineyard. With no formal training but a passion for Rhone varietals, they pushed ahead. While walking their dogs, they “spied” on their neighbors’ vineyards and gleaned information from friends and local wineries.
The wines have purity and clarity to them, no over extraction or excessive oak treatment. “Our vineyards, located in the Middle Reach neighborhood of the Russian River Valley, just south of Healdsburg, are ideal for growing Rhone varietals. Benefitting from the effects of the river the AVA is famous for, we also see the largest diurnal temperature swings that provide richness and depth of flavor to our fruit without excessive sugars. Crux Winery is a Rhone specialist focused on crafting alluring wines made from meticulously nurtured fruit grown in our sustainably cultivated vineyards. Each bottle tells a story of the valley’s terroir, the vintage, and the varietal.” [Ep 383]
@cruxwinery
Cruxwinery.com
The team looks back at the recent S.O.R.B.E.T. tasting at Fort Mason, sharing highlights and feedback from the event. They also tackle listener questions ranging from winemaking to cellar tips, and reveal their favorite wines tasted so far this year. A lively mix of reflection, advice, and personal picks straight from the vineyard to your glass. [Ep 382]
This week Bart, Sam, and Danielle sit down for a long-awaited conversation with Chris Renfro, the visionary behind The Two Eighty Project and much more. The project began in 2020, when a neglected vineyard along San Francisco’s 280 freeway more or less fell into his lap. Amid the trials and turmoil of that year, Chris took it upon himself to revive roughly 65 vines that had been left for dead.
As the vineyard grew, so did The Two Eighty Project’s mission: creating meaningful access to viticulture and wine for communities of color and other groups historically excluded from the industry. The soil of Alemany Farm — and Chris’s little vineyard-that-could — became a seedbed for social and racial equity in wine.
Today, in addition to running the 280 Project and its vibrant apprenticeship program, Chris is making wine from grape varieties native to North America, hunting for forgotten vines and vineyards around San Francisco and beyond, and running one of the city’s hottest new wine shops, Friend of a Friend. This one’s got it all — inspiration, ingenuity, and indigenous grapes. [Ep 381]
@280Project
@friendoffriendsf
Matt Crafton took over the white wine program at Chateau Montelena in 2010, then became head winemaker in 2014. The rich history of the Chateau and the part it played in the “Judgement of Paris”, cementing the New World’s place on the wine map is discussed, but we went deeper in this conversation. Spend five minutes with Matt and you can tell why Bo Barrett put him in charge, with very little oversight. Matt understands the history of this iconic winery but is more focused on where they are going today. There is no tangible “style” of their wines, every vintage is an opportunity to create the best wine ever, always with an intention to age. Most consumers know them for the Chardonnay and Cab, but the Zinfandel and Riesling are a mainstay available only at the winery. There may even be some bubbles coming down the road, a celebration of 50 years is on the horizon, something deserving of a “pop”. [Ep 380]
@chmontelena
Alycia Mondavi grew up with a front row seat on the California wine stage. Growing up with that name gives you access but also may draw unwanted attention. Part of the deal is you must leave for five years before coming to work in the family business, something that we’ve seen in other family run wine operations.
Alycia took the break, focused on law, then came back to join her sisters.
She now heads brands that do 400 cases to 800,000 cases annually, some only available through allocation and others on every grocery store shelf. Her passion for design has helped her created unique labels on the wines, her allergies to gluten led her to add an ingredient label on the CK Mondavi series with nutritional information, including vegan, sugar and carbs.
We weren’t sure what to expect from this podcast, we had never met Alycia before, there was concern that she would just be a corporate talking head towing the family line. We realized quickly that she was an open book, sharing stories about her childhood, willing to talk about any subject on the table. We liked her. Hope you enjoy this one, lots of good stuff in here. [EP 380]
@mondavi_sisters
@ckmondaviwines
@humblebeginnings_wine
Brian Hurley isn’t trying to sell you a polished narrative. The winemaker behind Coteau Pavot tells it like it is, from getting his start in the wine world before he was even legal to drink, to listing every ingredient on his bottles. That includes tartaric acid and malolactic bacteria, the kinds of details that big brands tend to avoid but that spark some surprisingly candid conversations.
His wines speak just as clearly. Made from organically farmed grapes sourced from distinctive vineyards, they are fresh, clean, and full of personality. Even his Grenache Gris orange wine manages a rare purity that stands out in a crowded category. These are real wines made by a real person, and they punch far above their weight. If you’re looking for something honest and perfect for summer, this is it. [EP 378]
Drinkcp.com
@coteaupavot
Lyndsay Hoopes has a lot on her plate—and it’s not just wine. Napa County has hit Hoopes Vineyard with a public nuisance complaint over everything from tastings and visitation to a small animal sanctuary on the property. Now, they’re demanding nearly $8.7 million, a figure the family simply doesn’t have.
In this conversation, Lyndsay breaks down the murky regulations at the heart of the dispute and shares her frustration over what feels like selective enforcement. “There is no definition of visitor. There is no definition of retail,” she points out, raising fair questions about how anyone is supposed to play by the rules when the rules aren’t clearly written.
Meanwhile, the wines—crafted from prime Oakville fruit by winemaker Aaron Pott—are stellar. But behind every glass, there’s a story of one woman fighting for her business, her land, and some straight answers. [EP 377]
Hoopesvineyard.com
@hoopesvineyard
At a relaxed get-together of Rhône producers in Sonoma, a couple of unfamiliar faces caught my attention. They turned out to be Andrew Sides and Brad Buckelew from Lost Draw, winemakers out of Texas who were in town for the Rhone Rangers event at Cline Cellars. One conversation led to another, and soon we were setting up a proper sit-down to get their story on the record.
They brought more than just stories. The wines were strong, with a clear sense of place and purpose. We covered a lot of ground, from the geological quirks of the Texas High Plains to the hurdles of farming and distribution in a state still trying to earn its wine credentials. One thing was clear: these guys are not playing catch-up. They are building something real.
Perception is still catching up to the quality, but that gap is closing. Lost Draw is proving that Texas can deliver serious wine with character and identity. If you have not tasted what’s coming out of that region lately, it is time to fix that. [EP 376]
Lostdraw.com
@lostdrawwines
Danielle Langlois joins the guys to talk about her new solo venture, Jambe Des Bois—a deeply personal label focused on small-lot, handcrafted wines. After years as the winemaker at Lasseter Family Winery, Danielle stepped away to pursue her own vision, working with fruit farmed by legendary grower Phil Coturri and a bit of Syrah from a Carneros vineyard her husband Dan tends himself.
The conversation covers everything from Danielle’s winemaking philosophy to the unique challenges and freedoms that come with striking out on your own. It’s a great listen for anyone who loves Sonoma wines, respects vineyard-driven production, or just wants to support the folks doing it the hard way—by hand, in small batches, and with real intention. [EP 375]
Follow along at @jambedesbois and, if you can find a bottle, grab one. These wines don’t stick around long.
jambedeboiswines.com
Carlton McCoy’s journey from a DC kitchen to the pinnacle of the wine world is anything but ordinary. Bart and Sam sit down with the Master Sommelier and CEO of Lawrence Wine Estates to unpack the milestones and mindset that got him there. Carlton opens up about the moment wine first lit a fire in him, what it took to pass the notoriously grueling MS exam at just 28, and how that early obsession evolved into something far bigger.
At The Little Nell in Aspen, he found himself at the helm of one of the world’s most elite wine programs—and it was there that fate introduced him to Gaylon Lawrence. What followed was a dramatic leap into Napa Valley’s legacy scene, where Carlton now oversees iconic estates like Heitz, Burgess, and Stony Hill. He shares how he’s walking the tightrope between preserving history and staying culturally relevant in a rapidly changing industry.
The conversation also dives into his work with The Roots Fund, how he sees his role in breaking down barriers, and why his lens on wine always includes people, place, and purpose. And yes, there’s a juicy update on Season 2 of Nomad.
Grab a glass and listen in—this is one you don’t want to miss.
Follow Carlton:
@carltonmccoy
@lawrencewineestates
@rootsfund
And don’t forget: even though Bart’s Chefs Cycle ride just ended, there’s still time to donate and ease the pain he’s feeling… everywhere:
https://p2p.onecause.com/chefscycle25/bart-hansen
Also: Keep your eyes peeled for big news from our friends at the DTC Wine Symposium, returning to Monterey, CA on January 20-22, 2026. Got to www.DTCWineSymposium.com for more info.
A chance meeting led to a very cool show that turned us into total cider freaks. Amie and Lyndon happened to come in for a tasting at Winery Sixteen 600 on their way to a site visit at the local Sonoma Cider Shop, Pomme. They are based in Cedar Grove and Asheville North Carolina and make cider, pet-nat, piquette and wines from local sources. Their energy, enthusiasm and creativity were truly inspiring and everything we tried was amazing.
The winery supports local farmers using only sustainably and organically sourced fruits, including blueberries, heirloom apples, and unusual ingredients like hibiscus. The ciders and wines are raw, wild, unrefined, unfiltered, and unpasteurized, allowing customers to feel good about what they’re drinking. Ask for them at your local cider shop, or if you live in the south, go check them out, they are constantly doing fun events and pop-ups. [EP 373]
Botanistandbarrel.com
@botanistandbarrel
Though she carries one of the most prominent last names in modern Napa Valley history, Jamie Araujo didn’t grow up a wine brat or even a Napa kid at all. By the time the Araujos purchased the iconic Eisele Vineyard and launched their wine brand, Jamie was already in college on the East Coast. And she kept going east—eventually all the way to London’s West End, where she built a career as a professional actor.
We sat down with Jamie to talk about her fascinating journey: from theater and television to working with some of the biggest names in wine, and ultimately returning to the family business at Araujo Estate Wines. Along the way, we explored the next chapter for the Araujo family—Accendo Cellars—as well as Jamie’s own project, Trois Noix.
Most importantly, we discussed how Jamie is working to help shape Napa Valley’s future for the better in meaningful ways.
So pour yourself a glass of your favorite wine and settle in—you’re going to love this story. (Unless your favorite wine happens to be an old Araujo Syrah… in that case, please call us—we’d love to come over and listen with you.) [EP 372]
For more visit: accendocellars.com and troisnoixwine.com
www.instagram.com/troisnoixwine/
https://www.instagram.com/accendocellars/
What happens when the world’s leading non-Japanese Master of Sake Tasting joins forces with three sake brewery presidents and one of the most enthusiastic wine reps in the business? You get a deep, delicious dive into sake that’s equal parts educational and intoxicating—in the best way.
In this highly anticipated installment, Bella Pearson returns with “the Godfather of Sake” himself, John Gauntner, to walk us through the fascinating world of sake—from the rice fields to the bottle. Gauntner, the only non-Japanese Master of Sake Tasting certified by the Brewing Society of Japan, brings unmatched insight into the complex processes and centuries-old techniques behind Japan’s national drink.
Alongside Gauntner and Bella, we’re joined by sake brewery presidents from Takatenjin, Kawatsuru, and Rihaku, each offering up exquisite pours that showcased the staggering range of flavor profiles—from crisp and clean to rich and unfiltered.
Though we barely scratched the surface of this vast and nuanced subject, what we covered was intense, surprising, and nothing short of mind-blowing. [Ep 371]
Kampai (乾杯)!
Links:
John Gauntner – Sake World
Bella Pearson – Kome Collective
Bella on Instagram
Ballentine Vineyards, a Napa Valley staple since 1905, isn’t just a winery—it’s a living legacy. We dive into the story of a winemaker whose path to the vineyard wasn’t exactly a straight line. He started out aiming to be a brewmaster, dabbled in forestry and photography, but ultimately found his groove in Fermentation Science at UC Davis. A globe-spanning exchange program took him to Germany, South Africa, and Australia, shaping his winemaking style before he joined the family operation in 1999. Bruce and his wife Danielle also run their own project, Three Clicks Wines, a nod to the telegram code that signaled the end of Prohibition. A journey filled with science, tradition, and a lot of heart. [Ep 370]
ballentinevineyards.com
threeclickswines.com
This week, Sam hits the road with MJ Towler—The Black Wine Guy—for a special crossover episode recorded live in New Brunswick, New Jersey. They sit down with legendary restaurateurs and OG podcasters Francis Schott and Mark Pascal, the co-owners of Stage Left Steak and Catherine Lombardi, and hosts of The Restaurant Guys podcast.
Long before podcasts went mainstream, Francis and Mark were pioneering thoughtful, unpretentious conversations in food, wine, and hospitality, straight from their corner of the Garden State. Sam and MJ dive deep into Francis and Mark’s early days in the restaurant industry, the dramatic evolution of hospitality, and how New Brunswick emerged as an unexpected—and underrated—food and wine hotspot.
The conversation also revisits the wild, early days of podcasting, raising a glass to names like DiSpirito, Trotter, and Bourdain. With behind-the-scenes restaurant stories, old-school podcast wisdom, and heartfelt reminders about the timeless power of passion and hospitality, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.
Guests Francis Schott and Mark Pascal join co-hosts Sam Coturri and MJ Towler (The Black Wine Guy, Beats Vines & Life) for this special collaboration.
Cathy Corison is a legend, pioneer, and true trailblazer in the California wine industry. In the 1970s, when most women were limited to lab work, Cathy set her sights on winemaking. She earned her place at Freemark Abbey and Yverdon, eventually becoming head winemaker at Chappellet in 1980. While the wine world leaned toward big, bold, hedonistic Napa Cabernets, Cathy stayed true to her vision—crafting restrained, elegant wines that initially flew under the radar of critics like Robert Parker.
Today, under her own label, Corison, Cathy is celebrated as one of California’s most respected producers.
Joining the conversation is Grace Corison, Cathy’s daughter and the future face of Corison Winery. Grace played a key role in getting their vineyards certified organic—a recognition of practices they’d followed for years. She recognized the importance of official certification for transparency and for connecting with a younger generation of wine drinkers.
Also joining us is Anna Brittain, Executive Director of Napa Green, who organized the annual RISE Symposium, where both Cathy and Grace will serve as keynote speakers this year.
RISE is one of the most impactful events in the wine industry, bringing attention to sustainability and climate action through education, leadership, and collaboration.
Learn more at:
risegreen.org
corison.com
Hope to see you at RISE!
What began with a few DMs dunking on misleading “cover crop” Instagram posts—or maybe even earlier, on Napa Valley school bus rides more than 25 years ago—has grown into something much bigger: a groundbreaking tasting event focused on the future of responsible winegrowing.
In this first-ever crossover episode of The Wine Makers Podcast and Bedrock Conversations, Katie Bundschu, Morgan Twain-Peterson MW, and Sam Coturri join Chris Cotrell, Alli Badar, Brian Casey, and Bart Hansen to introduce S.O.R.B.E.T.—the Sonoma Organic Regenerative Biodynamic Education Tasting.
This inaugural event celebrates Sonoma Valley’s critical role in sustainable and ecological winegrowing—past, present, and future. The only two rules for participation:
1) Wines must be farmed organically, regeneratively, or biodynamically.
2) Wines must come from Sonoma Valley.
The result? A dynamic mix of wineries—from garagistes to corporate producers, from emerging natural wine stars to established legacy brands—offering everything from edgy small-batch bottles to ultra-premium pours.
The crew shares the origin of the event, what it means for the region, and why this kind of collective action is more important than ever. [EP 367]
Save the Date: August 17th at Fort Mason, San Francisco.
Get tickets here: Eventbrite – S.O.R.B.E.T.
Follow along:
@s.o.r.b.e.tasting
@bedrockwines
@abbotspassage
@sixteen600
Winemakers interested in participating: Reach out for an application—we’d love to have you join.
This week on the podcast, we welcome Anna Brittain from Napa Green to talk about the upcoming Napa RISE Symposium. Napa Green is a global leader in sustainable winegrowing, known for setting the highest standards for sustainability and climate action in the wine industry. The organization provides wineries and vineyards with the tools, resources, and certification pathways needed to level up leadership from soil to bottle.
The Napa RISE event series is designed to drive real sustainability and climate action across the entire wine industry and culture. Joining Anna are two RISE Leadership Award winners:
- Gita Mallya, Viticulturist and de facto Sustainability Lead at Domaine Carneros, who shares insights about their RISE Leadership Award for Energy, including their cutting-edge microgrid system.
- Sarah Richmond, Director of Operations at Clif Family, who discusses their RISE Leadership Award for Supply Chain, highlighting efforts like completing a full emissions inventory, switching to <400g glass bottles, eliminating foils and screw caps, and more.
https://risegreen.org
Instagram: @risegreenwine
Live at The Vine Club in Atlanta with Kelly Cornett, Sam Coturri, Eric Crane, and Taylor Sublett.
This episode was recorded live at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA, the Tuesday evening before the annual High Museum Wine Auction, as a crossover episode with Kelly Cornett of The Cork and the Road Podcast. Sam was visiting Atlanta, and we threw a “Tie Dye Before the High” bottle share and vinyl party to celebrate a bunch of people who make the Atlanta wine community so vibrant. We sat down with Eric Crane, the Director of Training for Empire Distributors, and Taylor Sublett, the owner of The Vine Club, who hooked up his space for the party. Even though we are on Kelly’s turf, we brought the wine makers podcast style and had a great Atlanta time. Dig in for Eric Crane’s deep Grateful Dead knowledge, Taylor’s unique wine club rules, and Kelly’s trademark enthusiasm for all things wine and Atlanta related. You can follow @acorkintheroad @sixteen600 @chauneuf and @thevineclubatl on Instagram.
Recorded LIVE at The Vine Club on March 18, 2025
This week, we’re tasting Bart’s Spring Releases from Dane Cellars. The only question is—will the Spring Offering hit your inbox just in time to match the release of this episode?
We also opened the floor to the greatest fandom in podcast land and, as always, you came through with some excellent listener questions.
And yes, there was a Signal text chain… let’s just say it ended in a lot of enthusiastic reactions.
Check out the new wines at www.danecellars.com
Wines of California with Elaine Chukan Brown (aka Hawk Wakawaka)
If you’ve been listening for a while, you know that when Friend of the Pod Elaine Chukan Brown—aka the legendary Hawk Wakawaka (or “Chuckavaka,” if you’re in the know)—is asked to write a book on a topic as broad as Wines of California, it’s not going to be your typical “Zinfandel was first planted in 18-blah-blah-di-blah” wine book.
In this episode, Bart and Sam sit down with Elaine to talk about their new book, Wines of California, coming next month from Académie du Vin Library. Elaine delivers a powerful, deeply researched take on the history of California wine—connecting the evolution of wine in the Golden State to larger patterns in American history, global politics, and cultural change.
With her trademark no-nonsense honesty, Elaine has written what might be called a tough-love letter to California wine—celebrating its innovation, leadership, and resilience while challenging the industry to reckon with its past and navigate the future.
We dive into:
- The real history of California wine
- The people, varietals, and regions that shaped it
- Surprises Elaine uncovered during their research
- How wine growers and producers can use history to tackle today’s challenges
Whether you’re a winemaker, wine lover, or wine industry professional, this episode is packed with insights that will enrich your love of California wine.
Pre-order Wines of California now through Bookshop.org and support your local independent bookstore.
Elaine Chukan Brown Instagram: @hawk_wakawaka
Académie du Vin Library Instagram: @academieduvinlibrary
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast to help more people discover real conversations about wine, history, and the people shaping the future of the industry.
This week, we sit down with Laurent Gomez from Domaine du Val des Rois, a winery whose name translates to “Valley of the King,” paying tribute to Valréas’ rich winemaking history, first planted in the 9th century by King Charlemagne.
Val des Rois is a 10-hectare estate in Côtes du Rhône, originally planted in 1965 by 9th-generation Burgundian winemaker Romain Bouchard. Located on the northern edge of the Southern Rhône in Valréas, the vineyard benefits from its unique altitude and southeast exposure, cooling nightly air from the Alps, and soils rich in limestone and deep clay. These natural conditions lead to wines with exceptionally high acidity, setting them apart from the typical Southern Rhône profile.
At the hands of legendary winemaker Stéphane Vedeau, Val des Rois produces truly distinctive wines. We had the pleasure of tasting:
- A White Blend,
- An 80-year-old vine Grenache,
- A Grenache/Syrah blend,
All wines are aged in concrete, giving them purity, vibrancy, and a true homage to their varietals.
A big thanks to Bella Pearson from Vine Connections for introducing us to this incredible producer.
Val des Rois
Vine Connections
Our friend Bella Pearson from Vine Connections introduced us to Ben Gordon from J. Bouchon Family Winery this week, and we were immediately intrigued by their deep history of farming Pais—known as Mission here in California.
The Bouchon family’s winemaking story began in the late 19th century when young viticulturist Emile Bouchon left Bordeaux, France, for Chile. Today, Julio Bouchon and his children continue the family’s fourth-generation winemaking tradition in the Maule Valley, blending deep soil research with innovative techniques to craft distinctive, terroir-driven wines that honor the region’s rich history.
One of the most fascinating aspects of their vineyards is how Pais grows up the trees along the vineyard’s edge, creating a stunning visual that had us imagining climbing ladders to harvest the grapes—definitely not OSHA-approved here in California! [Ep361]
Check out more about their wines and history:
J. Bouchon Family Wines
Vine Connections
This week, we had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Sophia Quercioli from Podere Le Ripi in Montalcino, Italy. Known for producing exceptional Sangiovese, the winery is farmed biodynamically by a team of young, passionate, and slightly crazy individuals.
Founded in 1998 by Francesco Illy, Podere Le Ripi is home to one of the most fascinating vineyards in the world—the Bonsai Vineyard, a high-density planting that defies conventional wisdom. Their gravity-fed crush facility and cellar took eight people four years and 250,000 bricks to construct, a testament to the dedication and artistry behind their winemaking.
“We don’t like to define where a vineyard begins and ends, because everything we do is based on an approach that considers what surrounds us in its entirety. Vineyards, woods, olive trees, gullies, rivers, all this is our ecosystem, and we want to take care of it without separating nature on the basis of production class. We accompany 34 hectares of vineyards inserted in a setting at least 4 times larger.”
The wines were absolutely stunning, and we’d like to extend a special thanks to Heather Gordon from DarkStar Imports for making the introduction. A heartfelt shoutout also goes to Chavo and Giulia, who weren’t on this trip but hold a special place in our hearts. [Ep 360]
Podere Le Ripi
@podereleripi
DarkStar Imports
Fresh from the DTC Conference and Unified Symposium, the guys sit down with two out-of-state winemakers who are making waves in their regions.
Todd Bostock – Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Sonoita, Arizona
Since 1995, Dos Cabezas WineWorks has been growing grapes and crafting wines in Southern Arizona. The winery and its 80 acres of vineyard were pioneered by the late visionary Al Buhl. Todd joined the team as winemaker in 2002, and by the end of 2006, the Bostock family took over operations. Dos Cabezas sources high-quality fruit from its two estate vineyards: Pronghorn Vineyard in Sonoita and Cimarron Vineyard in the Kansas Settlement. Curious about what grapes thrive in Arizona’s unique climate? Todd shares his insight on growing and making wine in the desert.
Dos Cabezas WineWorks – Website – Instagram
Kent Foulker – Cedar Ridge Winery, Swisher, Iowa
The Quint family has a long history of farming and distilling spirits, and in 2005, Jeff Quint founded Cedar Ridge with a mission to put Iowa bourbon on the map. As the first licensed distillery in Iowa since Prohibition, Cedar Ridge released its first batch of whiskey in 2010 and quickly became a leader in craft spirits. But Iowa isn’t just about corn. Kent Foulker dives into what it takes to grow grapes and produce wine in the heart of the Midwest, and how Cedar Ridge balances both wine and whiskey under one roof.
Cedar Ridge Winery – Website – Instagram
Tap your play button for a fascinating conversation about winemaking in unexpected places, the challenges and rewards of working in non-traditional wine regions, and how passion drives these winemakers to create something truly unique. [Ep 359]
The Marathon – Winemakers, Industry Leaders & The Reason for the Season, Steve Gross
In our final dispatch from the 2025 DTC Wine Symposium, we sat down with industry leaders, keynote speakers, and winemakers from across the country to explore the biggest conversations happening in the wine world.
The highlight, as always, was Steve Gross from the Wine Institute, the foremost expert on wine shipping regulations. If you’re a winemaker who relies on direct-to-consumer sales or a wine lover who enjoys having bottles shipped straight to your door, you have Steve to thank—and y’all better go to Free the Grapes and sign up now!
This episode is packed with countless insights, deep discussions, and incredible guests. Dust off a bottle (or two), settle in, and get ready—this one is an epic.
The Guest Rundown:
-
Rishad Tobaccowala – AI expert, futurist, thought leader, and author focusing on marketing and the future of work—now a bona fide friend of the pod.
- Substack
- Website
- Book: Rethinking Work
-
Susan Kostrzewa – Acclaimed wine writer and editor with extensive industry experience.
-
Website
-
Jason Haas – Our longtime inspiration and friend. Partner and General Manager of Tablas Creek Vineyard, advocate for organic farming.
-
Website
- Blog
-
Steve Gross – The great and powerful Vice President of State Relations at the Wine Institute, focusing on industry policies.
-
Website
-
Jessah Diaz – Director of Direct-to-Consumer Sales at Cakebread Cellars.
-
Website
-
Susan DeMatei – Founder of WineGlass Marketing, specializing in digital and DTC wine sales.
-
Website
-
Kasey Helt – Director of Hospitality at Center of Effort Wines.
-
Website
-
Anne Zwink – Winemaker at Soldier Creek Winery in Iowa. She heard last year’s show and came to the conference this year. It’s working!
-
Website
-
Anne Robie – Writer, speaker, and leadership expert focusing on workplace culture.
-
Website
-
Stephanie Wycoff – General Manager of Gary Farrell Winery in Sonoma.
-
Website
An essential listen for winemakers, industry insiders, and anyone passionate about the future of direct-to-consumer wine sales.
The DTC Wine Symposium Podcast Extravaganza – Part 2: The Wines and the People of Monterey County
Okay, we admit it—we’re Sonoma homers. Occasionally, we branch out and interview someone from Napa (gasp!). But despite our regional prejudices, the growers and winemakers of Monterey County welcomed the podcast crew—not to mention 700+ DTC Wine Symposium attendees—with open arms!
Jokes aside, the Monterey County wine community were fantastic hosts all week long. We were lucky enough to sit down with friend of the pod, Adam Lee—a longtime proponent of Monterey fruit—and let him guide us through a fascinating conversation with some luminaries of the Monterey wine scene.
Adam introduced us to legendary grower Gary Franscioni, owner of ROAR Wines, who helped develop and farm the vineyards that put the Santa Lucia Highlands on the winemaking map. We also met Sabrine Rodems, winemaker at the acclaimed Wrath Wines and owner/winemaker of Scratch Wines—an awesome lineup of wines that scratched an itch for the acid-driven, racy wine lovers among us. And we spoke with Rhonda Motil, VP of Marketing at J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, a family-owned winery with deep roots in the region. Jerry Lohr was one of the first to believe in Monterey’s potential back in the early ‘70s, and today, J. Lohr continues to produce intricate, terroir-driven wines from over 4,000 planted acres.
Of course, this was just a fraction of Monterey County’s wine story. Steeped in agricultural history, the Salinas River Valley and surrounding hillsides make up one of the most important farming regions in the country—possibly the world. We learned about the power of the Monterey Canyon, the vast and deep submarine trench off the coast that plays a defining role in the region’s climate. We also explored the rapid shifts in temperature, soil composition, and terroir that unfold as you travel north-south and east-west across this fertile wonderland.
All in all, we hope we didn’t make total fools of ourselves—because the wines were beautiful, the vineyards were stunning, and the people were fantastic. Here’s hoping they invite us back!
Monterey Vintners
Rhonda Motil
VP of Marketing – J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines
Website | Instagram
Adam Lee
Clarice Wine Company | Journalist, North Bay Business Journal
Website | Clarice Wine Company
Instagram | Instagram
Gary Franscioni
Owner – ROAR Wines
Website | Instagram
Sabrine Rodems
Owner & Winemaker – Scratch Wines | Winemaker – Wrath Wines
Scratch Wines | Instagram
Wrath Wines | Instagram
We kicked off our annual pilgrimage to the DTC Wine Symposium with one of the biggest names in wine: Karen MacNeil. Yes, the Karen MacNeil—winner of nearly every major wine writing award, founder of the Culinary Institute of America’s Professional Wine Program, Stanford University wine educator, and global authority on all things wine.
You know her from WineSpeed in your inbox, from PBS and Netflix in your living room, and from Come Over October, a movement championing wine’s place in culture. And, of course, she’s the author of The Wine Bible—Volumes 1 through 3, with Volume 4 in the works.
But behind the accolades is an incredible story: a determined high school runaway who discovered wine through an $0.89 Bulgarian jug red, bootstrapped her way through college working in restaurants, launched her food and wine writing career at just 19, and bulldozed her way to the top of New York’s wine world.
It was fascinating, inspiring, and educational—the perfect way to start our epic week in Monterey.
KarenMacNeil.com
@KarenMacNeilCo
ComeOverOctober.com
@ComeOverOctober
Professor Phil wrapped up teaching a master class in regenerative organic agriculture to a group of Harvard and MIT grad students at Liquid Sky Vineyard in Sonoma’s Moon Mountain AVA.
After experiencing firsthand the vineyards and tasting the wine they helped study, John sat down with the students to discuss how they plan to take the principles of regenerative organic farming into the world through their future careers.
This episode offers a fascinating glimpse into the minds of some of the brightest and most innovative thinkers in agriculture today.
Tune in and enjoy!
This week, we had the pleasure of sitting down with winemaker Isabel Gassier and viticulturist Phil Coturri to discuss their collaborative project, À Deux Têtes, which began in 2017 with the late, renowned French winemaker Philippe Cambie. Isabel has been crafting wine simultaneously at her family’s Domaine Gassier in France and Sonoma’s Winery Sixteen600, where all the grapes are organically farmed under Phil’s care.
Together, Phil and Isabel share insights into their approach and decisions for the challenging 2022 vintage. They discuss the new releases of Oakville and Rossi Ranch Grenache, as well as the 2023 Rosé of Grenache, offering a rare glimpse into the collaboration between grower and winemaker.
It’s an engaging conversation about their shared philosophy, their passion for organic farming, and the exciting results of their partnership. [Ep 354]
Follow their work:
@domainegassier
@enterprisevineyards
@isabelgassierwine
@winerysixteen600
Adam Frisch, a Los Angeles-based cinematographer, took an unconventional path to winemaking, diving in with no formal training to produce wines from historic varieties like Flame Tokay and Mission.
Adam’s approach to winemaking is as bold as it is thoughtful. “I tend to go for more restrained oak usage for the best expression, but I’m not opposed to oak if the wine demands it (and some do). My wines are typically bone dry, naturally fermented, with no added chemicals, and low in sulfites. I try not to filter or fine.”
We love passionate and adventurous winemakers like Adam, who defy trends and follow their dreams with reckless abandon. His portfolio is diverse, fascinating, and utterly delicious.
Adam joined us for this episode after being evacuated due to the fires in Southern California—proof of his dedication to his craft. You can find his wines through his website or follow his journey on social media. [Ep353]
Check them out:
Sabelli-Frisch.com
Instagram: @sabellifrisch
This week, we spoke with Martha Stoumen, a winemaker crafting unique wines from the warmer regions of Northern California. For the past decade, she has been building her own label and gaining attention with her eye-catching designs and surprising grape varietals. Her commitment to sustainable farming has set her apart, appealing to wine lovers who value quality and ethics. With a focus on natural acidity, her wines remain fresh, vibrant, and incredibly drinkable.
Martha spent eight years apprenticing around the world before launching her own journey as a winemaker. Starting as a self-funded, first-generation vintner, her goal was to answer a simple question: “What does California taste like?” She believes Mediterranean grapes thrive in Northern California’s warm climate, allowing her to create joyful, balanced wines. Her unexpected varietals and fresh takes on California classics offer something truly unique.
“We do things the right way,” Martha says, “even if it’s not the easiest or coolest way.”
Every year, Martha produces nearly two dozen wines. The blends and flavors may change, but her dedication to natural winemaking stays the same. Her wines are a celebration of the simple pleasures of drinking something authentic and thoughtfully made.
This conversation offers a fascinating look at Martha’s vision and her quest to showcase the best of California winemaking. If you’re passionate about wine, don’t miss it! [Ep 352]
marthastoumen.com
@marthastoumen
When we last checked in on Gloria Ferrer, the winery was undergoing a significant transition. With a new general manager in place, they were moving toward organic farming across their 300 acres, while also preparing for the retirement of their original winemaker and vineyard manager. Enter viticulturist Brad Kurtz, who not only spearheaded the shift to organic farming but also took a deep dive into re-evaluating every block of their estate vineyards—matching clones and rootstocks to specific soils for optimal results.
In early 2024, Kyle Altomare joined as Director of Winemaking. With experience at Raventos Codorniu and as Associate Winemaker for Artesa Vineyards, Kyle is now instrumental in crafting Gloria Ferrer’s sparkling wines and elevating the style and prestige of their estate. The goal: to refine and develop a signature house style defined by the purity of estate-grown fruit.
As this is the final show of the year, we encourage you to open a bottle of bubbles—preferably one made right here in California—and raise a glass to the bright future of California wine.
Thank you all for your amazing support of the podcast. Here’s to a sparkling 2024. Happy New Year [Ep 351]
gloriaferrer.com
Brooke Delmas Robertson is one of our favorite people, and for good reason. Her Delmas SJR Vineyard Syrah was just named #10 on Jeb Dunnuck’s Top 100 Wines of 2024, and shortly after, her Viognier earned a spot in Decanter’s Top 50. Her family has been raising the bar in the Rocks District of Walla Walla for years, producing only about 1000 cases annually—flying under the radar, but with outstanding quality.
Brooke’s commitment to sustainability and family legacy shines through in her approach: “We want our vines to outlive us and be sustainable and strong for generations to come. That expectation requires daily oversight and a commitment to sustainability and healthy plants,” she says. “The driving vision to create a small, family-estate operation has been a family dream since my brother and I were kids. My work on behalf of the estate will continue to be a tribute to my late brother, whom the vineyard is named after. To life!”
In addition to her winemaking, Brooke serves on the Board of Directors of the Oregon Winegrower Association, representing Eastern Oregon. She’s a Level One Mentor with Bâtonnage (Women in Wine) and founded the Vineyard Technical Group for the Walla Walla Valley, partnering with Oregon State University and the Rocks District Winegrowers to provide ongoing education for wine growers in the region.
We highly recommend getting your hands on these wines, especially the Viognier and SJR Vineyard Syrah. Better yet, plan a trip to Walla Walla, Washington, and see firsthand the incredible work being done there. [Ep350]
www.delmaswines.com
@delmas_sjrvineyard
Stuart Spencer began his career with the Lodi Winegrape Commission in 1999 as the Program Manager where he was instrumental in conceptualizing and guiding many of the region’s successful marketing, research and education, and sustainable viticulture programs, including LODI RULES.
His passion for Historic Vineyards runs deep and his knowledge of the local history in Lodi is impressive. Stuart wrote an article in March of this year that highlighted the growing concerns over foreign bulk wines flooding the California wine industry that is truly shocking.
www.lodigrowers.com/imported-foreign-bulk-wine-the-dirty-secret-no-one-in-california-wine-is-talking-about
Stuart also is the winemaker for St. Amant Wine, his family winery that first planted grapes in Amador County back in the eighties, then went on to make wines in Lodi. We had the opportunity to try some of his wines and they were “off the charts” amazing. Enjoy the show and pick up some of his wines.
www.stamantwine.com
@st.amant_wine
After first dipping his toes in the wine industry in the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia, Matt Crutchfield’s passion for wine truly blossomed in Charleston, South Carolina. Working in wine bars and retail shops allowed him to dive deep into the seemingly endless rabbit hole of wine knowledge. Initially, he planned to work a single harvest in Sonoma County to gain firsthand experience in winemaking before returning to hospitality in Charleston.
But after four harvests in Sonoma and another in New Zealand, it became clear that winemaking had completely captivated him. Instead of heading back to Charleston, Matt fully embraced the craft. Now the Assistant Winemaker at Ryme Cellars, he has been encouraged by owners Ryan and Megan to create some of his own wines. Inspired by Ryme’s skin-fermented styles, Matt has produced two chenin blancs—one fermented on the skins and one without—showcasing his unique approach to the varietal.
Enjoy our conversation with Matt and be sure to check out his wines! [Ep348]
https://www.mattcrutchfieldwines.com/
@mattcrutchfieldwines
We were joined by the lovely Patrizia and Romano Chiari of Tenuta l’Impostino in Tuscany. Crafting organic Sangiovese blends using biodynamic principles for over 20 years, their wines are a testimony to the tradition and innovation of a lesser-known corner of Tuscan viticulture, Montecucco.
tenutaimpostino.it
@tenutaimpostinowinery
This week on the podcast we have Ray Isle the Executive Wine Editor of Food & Wine and the Wine & Spirits Editor of Travel + Leisure. His articles about wine, beer, food and spirits have appeared in a wide range of national publications. He speaks regularly on wine at events around the country and is a frequent guest on national media, appearing on programs such as NBC’s Today, CBS Mornings, CNBC’s Squawk Box and many others. With those qualifications you might ask, what’s he doing on The WineMakers Podcast…We were able to catch him while he was in Sonoma County while he was promoting his recent book The World in a Wineglass. Enjoy this great conversation that we had with Ray covering all sorts of current topics in the wine business. [Ep346]
Follow his wine exploits on Instagram @rayisle
Aaron Pott is a true legend in wine country. Starting his career at newton Vineyards in Napa, he left the U.S. for a position as winemaker at Château Troplong-Mondot, a Premier Grand Cru Classé in Saint-Émilion, France. Aaron then moved to Château Troplong- Mondont after a year to become director at Château La Tour Figeac, a Grand Cru Classé located in Saint-Emilion. He spent five years there and, in the process, earned a degree in Viticulture from the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon, France.
Aaron eventually returned to Napa and accepted the position of head winemaker in charge of international brands for Beringer before taking over as general manager and winemaker at Quintessa in 2004. After buying a piece of property on Mt. Veeder, Aaron and his wife Claire started Pott Wines, making Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Grenache. He continues to consult for numerous wineries, when he’s not surfing or watching soccer. All the wines are stellar, but that Zinfandel and Cabernet Franc are still on my mind. [Ep345]
pottwine.com
@aaron_pott
This week on the podcast we welcome The River Club, a collaborative wine tasting space brought to you by two family-owned wineries, Belong Wine Co. and Paper Planes Wine Co. Just south of downtown Napa off the beaten path along the river in Napa’s Tannery District this hidden gem offers epic river views and a refreshingly modern tasting experience.
Sourcing from vineyard sites from the Sonoma Coast to the Sierra Foothills, they met in Napa where they became friends in 2017 and soon began making their wines at the same winery. Realizing their shared passion, they were determined to open a space where they could share their wines that exemplify their spirit of exploration and sense of community.
A great conversation about not only these two distinct wine companies but also about opening a tasting room with a modern look and feeling. Check out this episode and make a reservation to go tasting at The River Club soon. [Ep344]
https://www.exploretock.com/riverclubnapa
https://www.paperplaneswine.com/
https://belongwines.com/
Isabel Gassier is in Sonoma this week for one of her semi-annual visits to taste and blend the Sixteen 600 and À Deux Têtes wines. Naturally, we had to ask her—how are the vineyards looking in France? Isabel is joined by Jack Sporer of Fres.co wines and our very own Phil Coturri. Together, they opened some old wines and some brand-new ones, letting the conversation flow. There’s plenty of harvest wrap-up, vineyard talk, and fascinating blending discussion. Plus, we tease an exciting new collaboration wine between Fres.co and Sixteen 600. And most importantly… GO VOTE! [Ep 343]
Peter Mathis, an old friend of the podcast and an extraordinary winemaker, stopped by the Sixteen 600 Tasting House this week to update us on his new releases and share stories from his life working alongside Joel Peterson to build the Ravenswood brand, as well as his experiences in Sonoma County Wine.Enjoy as we hear Peter’s fascinating stories and taste a bottle of his 2010 Grenache and his 2020 UberBlend. Sit back, pour a glass, and enjoy! [Ep342]
mathiswine.com
Harvest is in full swing here in Sonoma, the guys take a moment to discuss how things are going, what to expect, and how the wines are tasting so far. The weather has been almost perfect, but a heat spike in the last few days may have affected some of the fruit, Sam has been out there every morning and weighs in on the issues. A compacted growing season has wine makers jockeying for tank space and press time, let’s see what the guys have to say. [Ep341]
danecellars.com
winerysixteen600.com
Paul Grieco has a storied career in wine and hospitality, beginning in his family’s Italian restaurant in Toronto and working his way to the heights of Manhattan dining rooms. He worked with the famed Danny Meyer and the-now celebrity chef Tom Colicchio when they opened the fabled Gramercy Tavern where Paul began as a server and eventually became beverage director. Despite all the accolades that come with hallowed halls of fine dining, Paul is most revered acclaimed and revolutionary wine bar Terroir and its now legendary Summer of Riesling. The guys had a chance to sit down with Paul and Tanner Walle of Valley Bar and Bottle when the Summer of Riesling hit Sonoma. We discuss the state of wine and hospitality in wide ranging and appropriately non-linear.
In short, the Summer of Riesling collided with International Grenache Day as we approached the Autumnal Equinox on the back porch of the tasting house…and the results are spectacular. [Ep340]
Bibiana is an absolute powerhouse in the wine industry, and we’ve been fans since she first appeared on the podcast 6 or 7 years ago. Her journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Raised in Medellin, Colombia, she dreamed of making wine as a teenager in a country with no real wine culture. Determined, she moved to France, graduated with honors from the University of Bordeaux, and went on to work at prestigious estates like Haut-Brion. She gained experience in Cote-Rotie with Michel and Stephane Ogier and Domaine Clusel-Roch, then moved to Alsace, Burgundy, South Africa, and finally, California.
In California, she worked for renowned wineries such as Peay, Qupe, Au Bon Climat, Lynmar, and Pahlmeyer before establishing her own labels: Cattleya and Alma de Cattleya. She also co-founded Shared Notes with her husband Jeff Pisoni—yes, that Pisoni. On top of her winemaking success, Bibiana now imports coffee from Colombia to roast in Sonoma County for a dedicated customer base. Oh, and did we mention she’s also a mother of two?
Her wines are remarkable, known for their generous acidity, depth, and length. She was recently featured in Sonoma Magazine, where she was photographed by James Joiner, with the photos even developed in her favorite wine. If you haven’t tried her wines yet, you’re missing out! [Ep339]
winesbybibiana.com
cattleyawines.com
sharednoteswine.com
sonomamag.com
Founded in 2011 by journeyman cellar hand and self-taught Winemaker Chris Christensen, Bodkin Wines disrupted the sparkling wine scene with America’s First Sparkling Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc in 2012. With one foot rooted in wine science and the other in craftsman- ship, Christensen’s minimalist philosophy guides his signature style of high acid, low alcohol wines. These wines have garnered over two dozen 90+ point scores in critical review over the past 8 years alone. In addition to being named as a ‘Winemaker to Watch’ by Esther Mobley of the SF Chronicle in 2017, Christensen was also selected to the Wine Enthusiasts’ 40 Under 40 Tastemakers list for 2020. As an African-American winemaker Christensen works to promote diversity and inclusion in the wine industry through speaking engagements, podcasts and mentorship opportunities for aspiring vintners and winery owners. [Ep 338]
Harvest has begun and Sonoma Magazine has a beautifully put together Harvest Issue featuring many of the “Grand Cru Vineyards” of Sonoma County, their sense of place, history and future. Joining forces with renowned Photographer James Joiner, Abby presents intimate portraits of wine-making and winemakers here in Sonoma Co.
Also joining us was Marrielle Tinsley, well-known photographer and winemaker in Sonoma.
It’s all about sense of place and Sonoma Magazine curates these stunning images 6 times a year. It’s a well done publication and you can order this issue and others by emailing Abby at abigail.peterson@sonomamag.com [Ep 337]
Rodrigo’s interest in organic farming began at the Universidad Catôlica in Santiago, where he wrote his thesis on organic pest control. This paper led him to work with some esteemed leaders in the world of organic grape growing, including Alvaro Espinoza, Alan York, Ann Kramer, and Paul Dolan and Mike Benziger. After working as Director of Winemaking at Benziger he returned to Chile In 2012. Huneenus Vintners hired Rodrigo to convert four Chilean wineries and vineyards to organic and biodynamic farming. Next working for the Huneenus family at Quintessa in Napa Valley. But his time working in Sonoma made him think about all the mountain vineyards that he wasn’t familiar with, which is when Far Mountain was conceived. “Far Mountain, describes the vineyard sites we work with and the greater settings in which those vineyards lie. There is a beautiful symmetry in these places, in that they are not only special sites for wine growing, but places we are physically drawn to because of their splendor.” [Ep336]
farmountainwine.com
@farmountainwine
This week the guys are joined by four farmers fighting for the future of Sonoma County agriculture. A ballot measure has qualified in Sonoma County, sold as ban on “factory farms”, but in reality will have ripple effects that threaten all ag in the county, including grapes and wine. Join us for an inspiring conversation with Doug Beretta from the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, Bronte Edwards from Rainbow Family Ranch, Loren Poncia from Stemple Creek Ranch and longtime friend of the pod Jennifer Reichardt from Liberty Ducks. Why are we talking about cows, sheep, ducks and chickens on a wine show? Because Sonoma County’s farms and farmers don’t exist in their own silos, they are part of an interconnected and symbiotic ecosystem and foodshed. And by golly there’s a shit shortage! Tune in, register to vote and if you’re in Sonoma County vote NO on J! [Ep335]
Doug Beretta
sonomafb.org
@sonomacountyfarmbureau
Bronte Edwards
rainbowfamilyranching.com
@sister_b_loves_food
Loren Poncia
stemplecreek.com
@stemplecreek
Jennifer Reichardt
libertyducks.com
drink.raft.wine
@jenniferreichardt
No on Measure J Resources-
noonmeasurej.com
@noonmeasurej
foodandfamilyfarms.com/
@foodandfamilyfarms
This week we sit down with Barbara Gorder and Brian Baker, veterans of the wine & spirits industry focused on sales and marketing. We discuss the current state of the U.S. wine industry and the challenges that many of us are facing in a rapidly changing climate. But don’t worry, they brought solutions. There is a lot of good info here for business owners and consumers. All of their contact info and assets are listed below so you can reach out and get involved. Remember – Wine is Cool !!! [Ep334]
Brian Baker
Cultivar Marketing
Website: https://cultivarmarketing.com/
Email: brian@cultivarmarketing.com
Phone: (707) 363-5931
Barbara Gorder
Undisclosed Location
Website: www.unlo.com
Email:Barbara.gorder@unlo.com
Phone: 312.972.2833 (PT)
Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium
Join us for the best DTC Wine education and networking in the business.
https://dtcwinesymposium.com/
January 21-23
Hyatt Regency Monterey, CA
Early Bird Tickets on Sale now until November 1, 2024
Pass My Glass
Wine Co-op program for 2025
Be a part of raising sales in the wine industry via OTT/CTV.
Click Here
Isabella Morano knew she wanted to make wine as a child on a family trip to Italy, identifying with how folks in her ancestral homeland connected over food and wine. However back home in Wisconsin, the only thing keeping teenage Isabella’s wine dreams alive was Anthony Bourdain TV shows. As soon as she was able she moved to California and started working her way up the wine ladder. Now she has several vintages of Isa Wines under her belt, specializing in vibrant Sauvignon Blancs, and a new vineyard planted in Majorca, Spain. Check out drinkisawines and @isa.wines on Instagram. [Ep333]
Marvella Castaneda is a Sommelier and artist from Atlanta that we met in Georgia last year. She had just left a restaurant called Lazy Betty, which received a Michelin star the week we landed. Currently in the middle of opening a new hotel in Atlanta, she took a week off to visit California’s newest AVA, the West Sonoma Coast, and spend time with some of the “coolest” growers and wine makers in the AVA. We coaxed her into stopping by to share her experience. As a special bonus, she walked in with Scott Kirkpatrick, some may remember him as the wine maker for Mountain Tides, a project that focused on Petite Sirah. Scott is now the wine maker at Dancing Crow Vineyards in Mendocino County. [Ep332]
If you would like to see Marvella’s artwork, you can follow her @drawntowine
@marvellacastaneda
@cellaringscott
R Five Wines Kieran Robinson started his journey in the finger lakes of Upstate New York. He took the opportunity to move to France and work for Pierre Gaillard, cementing his passion for Rhone varietals. Kieran returned to the US and took positions at Cakebread Cellars, Paul Hobbs and Jericho Canyon. He then decided to go out on his own, founding R Five Wines, specialising in Grenache, Syrah and Viognier. Now Kieran and his wife Kristie have opened up a tasting room and wine bar in his hometown Downingtown Pennsylvania, serving California wines with a “Philly” vibe. We tasted through the 2021 wines and they are amazing, truly set apart by their 100% stem inclusion. Available on their website. [Ep331]
Rfivewines.com
@Kieran_Robinson_Wines
Ross Cobb makes world-class Pinot Noir & Chardonnay from vineyards that are only 3-5 miles from the Pacific Ocean in Northern California. The extreme weather conditions and his numerous trips to Burgundy have definitely shaped his style, along with his previous positions at Williams Selyem and Hirsch. His parents purchased property at the coast in the late 80’s and Ross has since become an expert in cool climate farming. His other passions include skateboarding, collecting vinyl and playing guitar. Cobb wines are featured at the best restaurants in California and New York, we were lucky enough to try the new 21 vintages. [Ep330]
If you love Pinot Noir, you gotta check out these wines, available through their website.
cobbwines.com
@cobbwines
@rosskcobb
The Robledo family started farming in Sonoma County in the 1940’s. Hard work and perseverance enabled the Robledo family to eventually purchase their own vineyards and start their own winery. Vanessa has now started her own project with her daughter Jocelyn and mother Maria called Vintner’s Diary. Their first wine is a Rose of Grenache from Napa.
Daughter Jocelyn is creating videos that feature her grandmother Maria making traditional Mexican food to pair with their wines. We were lucky enough to get some guacamole and salsa made that morning from ingredients out of her own garden. [Ep329]
Vintnersdiary.com
@vintnersdiary
The guys sit down with local Sonoma County Winemaker, Mark Lyon this week. Mark is a fixture in Sonoma wine-making circles as he was Winemaker at Sebastiani for years and years. Now he is headlong into his own lifelong passion of his own brand, Eco Terreno, organic and fully regenerative farming, creating beautiful whites and reds from the Alexander Valley along the Russian River. [Ep328]
ecoterreno.com
@ecoterrenowines
Sam, Bart, and James Joiner sit down with Gundlach Bundschu CEO Jeff Bundschu, Sustainability Manager Meghan Murphy, Winemaker Joe Uhr, and special guest Phil Coturri to discuss how and why the 160-year-old brand pursued becoming fully Regenerative Organic Certified. They delve into the regenerative process and how it has impacted the vineyards, wines, and the company as a whole. The conversation also covers the brand’s rich history and the future of the Sonoma wine region. Along the way, they touch on topics like music, organic farming in Florida, and a scary wildlife encounter Meghan had on her first day on the job. [Ep327]
gunbun.com
@gundlach_bundschu
This week we focus on hospitality and service in the wine business. Grant Wood works for Bedrock Wine Co. in Sonoma, CA where they focus on highlighting historic vineyards that span the state. He achieved his Diploma in wine and spirits from the WSET as well as passed the Certified Sommelier exam through the Court of Master Sommeliers in mid-2021. Pursuing the MW program with the Institute of Masters of Wine is part of his five-year plan moving forward. His passion for wine and delivering meaningful and bespoke hospitality is what drives him to keep pursuing new challenges that continue to build himself both personally and professionally. [Ep325]
@bedrockwines
@jazegan
Kia Behnia is changing the wine industry one hexagonal wine bottle at a time. The wine-loving tech entrepreneur always dreamed of owning a piece of wine country. A flat tire led him to what became the Kiatra Estate Vineyard. The fires of 2017 galvanized his ambition to create Neotempo Wines. However, he’s never been satisfied with doing things the way they’ve always been done and questions everything from clones and root-stock to wine shipping. The guys sit down with Kia for a wide-ranging and inspirational conversation that didn’t come close to covering all the innovations Kia has fermenting. Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon! [Ep325]
This week we welcome Devyani Gupta to Sonoma for an in depth conversation about working for an internationally owned winery in Walla Walla. Devyani worked for some of the legendary leaders in the Washington wine industry before settling in to the Winemaker position at Valdemar Estates. The Syrah stopped the conversation as we simply stared at each other and smiled. Everything she is doing right now is inspiring on every level. Welcome the incomparable Devyani Gupta. Enjoy this one. [Ep324]
Valdemarestates.com
@valdemarestates
This week we welcome Alex Mitchell from MUST Machining & Fabrication to the podcast. MUST grew out of two different Napa Valley winery supplier/fabrication institutions York Machine Works and Burgstahler Machine Works, which had 70 years of experience innovating, leading, and servicing the wine industry. Alex, a former York employee began working with him in 2006, with the intent to purchase the business when York retired. In 2010, Alex and his wife, Michelle, assumed ownership. The Mitchells also met Wayne Burgstahler and told him that when he was ready to retire they were interested in purchasing his company, which came to fruition in late January 2020. The Mitchells combined the two shops and created MUST. Alex grew up in Napa Valley with his family growing grapes and making wine. Check out the show to hear the entire story.
instagram.com/mustfabricate
Matt Reid started his career making wine at his house in San Francisco. He fell in love with the process and enrolled at UC-Davis Viticulture Program. He then worked at Seavey, Quixote and Failla. Matt is now the winemaker at Benessere, working with obscure Italian varietals, as well as launching his own brand, Peoples Wine Revolution, bringing affordable wines to daily drinkers.
Benesserevineyards.com
Pwrwines.com
Todd Alexander has started a new life in Washington. Former winemaker at Grace Family in Napa, he looked at NASA weather models through 2050 and noticed Napa and Sonoma were all in “the red”. He jumped at an opportunity to move north and is now the wine maker at Force Majeure and some other side projects that we discuss on the show. BeatsVinesAndLife Podcast host M.J. Towler joins us on the show, recorded in Walla Walla, and do his hilarious impression of Christophe Baron. [Ep321]
@forcemajeurevineyards
@beatsvinesandlife
This week we are joined by winemaker Danielle Langlois of Lasseter Family Winery and wine director Christophe Tassan MOF, of Moon Hollow ahead of the second edition of the immersive Reach for the Moon wine event, June 1st at Monte Rosso. They provide expert opinions on the wines and vineyards of one of our favorite AVAs and share some of the great new wines they’ve made from the very different Moon Mountain District estates they represent. We even busted out a 2013 as a sneak peek into the highlight of the event–the Antonio Galloni-led master class, a celebration of the 10 vintage anniversary of the appellation’s approval. We even get a cameo by the winegrower who has become synonymous with Moon Mountain District. Care to guess who? [Ep320]
For more information about the event and to buy tickets visit: https://moonmountaindistrict.org/
And try these wines!:
https://www.moonhollow.com/
https://www.lasseterfamilywinery.com/
https://www.jambedeboiswines.com/
We sit down with Stacy Buchanan this week in his home town of Walla Walla. Stacy is the creator of the “Blood of Gods” zine, a biannual wine publication that was inspired by his history at Thrasher Magazine and his love for Death Metal. The zine was started a joke to poke a finger in the eye of the stuffy wine publications and draw some pretty cool comparisons between the wine business and the music world. Blood of Gods has now grown into a real resource and inspiration for wine geeks and those initially intimidated by the “old guard” in their ivory towers. The artwork is amazing and the stories approach wine in a way that is much more “palatable” to the casual consumer. Stacy was definitely one of our favorite people we met on our trip to Washington. Listen in and subscribe to the zine.
Bloodofgods.bigcartel.com
@bloodofgodszine
We are in Walla Walla at the Hospice du Rhone wine event. This morning we drove over to “The Rocks District” to meet up with Sean Boyd at Rotie Cellars tasting room, what Sean calls “the fish bowl”. The wall of windows provides an almost 360’ view of the Grenache and Syrah vineyard. The signature rocks flavor comes through in all of the wines, which are only available through the winery. [Ep318]
@rotiecellars
Rotiecellars.com
Writing notes for this show has been a challenge. Absolutely nothing compares to spending time with Justin and hearing her talk about the journey. You simply have to hear it. Justin is currently making five wines here in Sonoma, only 25 cases of each. Listen to the show to find out the best way to get a hold of these wines. [Ep317]
wardfourwines.com
@wardfourwines
Cal Poly Scholarship for Black, Indigenous, People of Color in Wine and Viticulturership
This week on the show we welcome Sarah Doyle. Sarah is the wine writer for our local Sonoma County newspaper the Press Democrat which was first issued in 1897. Sarah is a more recent reporter for the PD but her experience in writing about wine and other elixirs is a great part of her story that we hope you enjoy. When you’re done with the show we want to know what instrument she played, her favorite red varietal and what sort of dogs does she have? Enjoy the show and support your local newspaper, especially if they have wine writers. [EP316]
https://www.instagram.com/whiskymuse
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/sarah-doyle
Lance Cutler spent fifteen years as winemaker/general manager for the historic Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma, California. He almost single-handedly brought humor into the fine wine business producing the fabulous Gundlach Bundschu poster series, and the Sonoma Valley Wine Patrol, which masterminded the hijacking of the Napa Wine Train and the kidnapping of Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Then enters Jake Lorenzo, the author, any subject is fair game and Jake pulls no punches. Opinionated, controversial and beloved by cellar rats and winemakers everywhere for speaking the truth, he seamlessly intersperses fictional characters with real people, placing them in unique situations, and weaving the whole mishmash into mesmerizing stories. There is no source from which you will learn more about the inner workings of the wine industry. There is no source that will infuse your learning with more chuckles and outright laughter.
winepatrol.com
Mark Adams, Ledge Vineyards Musician, farmer, winemaker, and sound engineer on the cult classic Murdercycle.
We were “lucky” to catch Mark on his roundabout way home to Paso Robles from the Luck Music Festival in Texas. With a little guidance from his friend and neighbor Justin Smith of Saxum, Mark and his wife Ciera are making world class Rhone wines from their own property down the road from the James Berry Vineyard. Find these wines. [Ep314]
ledgevineyards.com
@ledgevineyards
markadamsband.com
Brian, Sam and John sit down with Cyril Penn, Editor of Wine Business Monthly to talk agriculture, wine trends and listener questions about up and coming varietals, making wine at home and how the 2023 Vintage is shaping up. A great conversation ensues. Cheers! [Ep313]
This week we welcome Julien Barrot from Domaine La Barroche, a property in Châteauneuf-du-Pape that has been making wine since the 14th century. The youngest in the family, he has the strong character of these winemakers who invest themselves in their profession and their appellation. Julien arrived on the estate in 2002, barely 22 years old, fresh from his training in oenology, with a business school diploma in his pocket. With an infinite thirst for learning, he is one of those “committed” generations where curiosity and open-mindedness perfectly complement the respect for the terroir and the know-how passed on by their elders.
After several vintages and meticulous parcel selection, the estate now owes him its various cuvées with such singular personalities: Julien Barrot, Pure, Fiancée and Liberty.
16, chemin du Clos
84230 Chateauneuf du Pape
@domainelabarroche
contact@domainelabarroche.com
Dutton Goldfield began as a handshake in a vineyard in 1988 when long-time friends Steve Dutton and Dan Goldfield recognized a shared vision between them- to craft wines that express the true nature and personalities of their cool-climate vineyards and which are made to love. Join the guys as they sit down with Dan this week on the Wine Makers podcast. Cheers! [Ep311]
duttongoldfield.com
Doug Stewart grew up in Sonoma and had no connection to the wine business. At some point during his time developing several truly sustainable companies wine and grapes started to come into focus. In 2000 they bought a historic sheep farm in Anderson Valley. Eventually a winery named Breggo was launched, vines were planted, grapes were sold and then Breggo was sold. A new winery was launched called Lichen Estate, then Doug and Ana bought Breggo back. Are you keeping up or confused? Well this is just a small part of Doug’s story so check out this week’s show and make plans to visit him in Anderson Valley. [Ep310]
www.breggo.com
www.lichenestate.com
www.avwines.com
The Yale Spizzwinks A Cappella Group
Enrique Tirado is the CEO and winemaker for Don Melchor, the most iconic wine brand in Chile. His focus is to create the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. The wine consistently gets mentioned in the top 100 wines and the 2018 vintage scored a perfect 100 points. The unique climate and soil conditions at the base of the Andes create ideal growing conditions for their Bordeaux varietals. We were lucky enough to catch up with Enrique as he was just flying in, on his way to spread the message in the U.S. about their world class wine. The wine can be found at good wine shops and is available online. [Ep309]
Donmelchor.com
@donmelchorwine
Like many of our guests Larry Brooks never planned on being a winemaker and how he ended up in this business is part of the story. We had a great conversation with Larry about winemaking, AcaciaWinery creating perfumes and his extensive experiences in and around wine. His latest winemaking projects and his new book Liquid Geography. Check it out! [Ep308]
https://larrybrooks.substack.com
https://www.instagram.com/avoluptuary
Scott & Jenny Schultz make small lots of beautiful wines made from unique varietals, using simple winemaking methods, whole cluster, foot crushed, indigenous yeasts, aged in cement eggs and neutral oak, with little or no sulfur added. They just moved to the neighborhood and Scott came over to introduce himself and tell us about the wines. [Ep307]
Jolielaidewines.com
@jolielaidewines
If you make wine, sell wine, ship wine, or drink wine, the conversations and presentations that took place here matter to you. We learned about emerging technologies, new tactics, eminent legal threats, changing consumption and much more over 2 days in Concord. If you couldn’t make it to the conference, missed a speaker you wanted to see or want to learn more about a presentation, this episode is for you. Over the course of 10 guests and nearly 4 and half hours of recording, we bring the DTC Wine Symposium directly to you! So buckle up and maybe head out for a road trip, this one is a journey! [Ep306]
Timestamp list of guests:
Cathy Huyghe, Enolytics 00:35
Lulie Halstead, Gérard Basset Foundation 22:03
Steve Gross, The Wine Institute 47:43
Walter Carter, Danza Del Sol Winery 1:23:40
Liz Thach MW, Wine Market Council 1:47:00
Jennie Gilbert, Red Chirp 2:12:05
Kat Gordon, The 3% Movement 2:38
Jennifer Freebairn, Lasseter Family Winery and Philipe Theibaud, Stone Edge Farm Winery 3:08:25
Rishad Tobaccowalla, Publicis Groupe 3:48
It’s the annual Á Deux Têtes release from Sixteen 600, timed to celebrate the dearly departed Philippe Cambie’s birthday, January 21st. Phil Coturri joined Brian, John and Sam to talk about his friendship with Philippe, how Isabel Gassier came into our lives and his deep love of Grenache. The guys taste the new releases as well as check in on the previous vintages. How are these wines aging? What is the cellar life and prime drinking windows? Listen in to see what the guys say, or if they can even figure it out! Tune in, turn on, and drink more Grenache [Ep305]
After Holiday upon holiday, COVID, so many parties and a huge New Years bash, the guys finally sit down for a recap of our favorite shows and wines of 2023, Plus, get a look inside Phil’s Wine Cellar and the upcoming DTC Symposium. Enjoy and Welcome to the New Year with The Wine Makers! [Ep304]
When Orson Welles famously slurred “We will sell no wine before its time,” he must have been talking about Slow Wine! The Slow Food Movement began 35 years ago, to celebrate local and traditional, to be thoughtful about where food comes from and how it was farmed—to be the opposite of fast food. Recently Slow Wine picked up from there, celebrating artisanal, thoughtful wine. In the process they created the world’s first wine guide where the baseline for inclusion is farming without synthetic herbicides. It’s the NO ROUND UP Wine Guide! Wine journalist and organic specialist Pam Strayer is an Editor of the Slow Wine Guide USA. Pam caught the organic bug when her work in health care journalism led her to the Pesticide Use Report and found out what farmers in California were really spraying in their fields. In addition to the Slow Wine Guide, you can find Pam’s work on WineBusiness.com and her own page Wine Country Geographic. [Ep303]
https://slowfoodusa.org/product/slow-wine-guide-usa-2024/
https://winecountrygeographic.com/
We first had Reid on the show with Cody from Desire Lines talking about his work at graduate school about the effects of microbiome of vineyards in wine. At that time he shared a wine that really caught our attention. Since then Tidings Wine Co had had its first release and was sold out within an hour. It is a nights-and-weekends project that Reid started, and only exists because of the many opportunities given to him by mentors on his journey, and the support of his wife and young daughter. Reid is a first-generation winemaker who found his calling to wine through a fascination with the natural world and has been lucky enough to work with some of the most passionate and generous people in the industry, near and far. Tidings is focused on crafting Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah that reflect the distinct ecology of where they are grown, to honor the history and character of the land, and the people who steward it. Also since then Reid has been named the winemaker for one of the most historic estates in Napa Valley Stone Hill Vineyards. [EP301]
www.tidingswine.com
https://daily.sevenfifty.com/understanding-microbial-terroir-in-wine/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33927711/
What do you do when Randall Graham and Elaine Chukan Brown (aka Hawk Wakawakka) show up at your back door with a box full of open wine bottles? You grab the microphones and some wineglasses and press record is what! What were Randall, the legendary California wine maker and original Rhone Ranger and Elaine, globe-trotting iconoclast and wine writer extraordinaire up to? They had met up for a fleeting moment to taste through Randall’s legacy project Popelouchum. What is Popelouchum? Is it wine brand? Is it a vineyard? Is it a quest for a new variety? And how do you pronounce it? Listen in to find out these answers and more! [EP301]
The 300th episode of The Wine Makers!!! Okay; IT WAS A PARTY and we ran up against the technology curve for the first 15 minutes, but it’s all great after that! Listener calls, Sonoma luminaries and past guests, even a call from MJ Towler in Italy. It’s all there and we hope you enjoy the show as much as we did. And a huge thanks to our awesome listeners at home and around the world because we couldn’t have done it without each and everyone of you. Enjoy! [EP300]
Brian, John and Sam spend the morning with Tim Zahner, Executive Director of the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau and cover all the reasons to visit and have a ball in Sonoma. Tim’s a great sport as we cover lots of ground from History, Vineyards and Wine to Cannabis tours. Sit back, pour yourself a glass and enjoy! [EP299]
Sam, Brian, Bart and John try to make sense of the crazy late harvest that as of Oct. 13th, is still only about 20% in. They talk all areas of California grape growing and even Arden Kramer gets in the act covering the Olive harvest for The Wine Makers. Lots of funwas had and the guys share their plans for a Listener Input 300th show! Wow, 300.It’s been 5 years of fun and work just for you, our incredible listeners and friends. Enjoy!. [EP298]
The guys got a special Grenache Day visit from one of the icons and iconoclasts of the Paso Robles rhone scene. Cris Cherry and family run Villa Creek Cellars and the MAHA Estate specializing in Grenache and blends that exemplify their West Paso terroir. The farming is immaculate and biodynamic, the wine making is focused and intense, Cris is passionate and wears his heart on the sleeve. A perfect combination to make for a fun show on a special day. [EP297]
This week we welcome Richard Bruno from Vinum Cellars. Richard pursued his interest in wine by going into the restaurant business in 1985. Working with Master Sommelier Larry Stone at Rubicon Restaurant in San Francisco as a waiter and bartender gave him the opportunity to taste rare and exciting wines from around the world; he also learned a lot about making the right decisions. It almost seems that Richard and Brian lived parallel lives for a while and most likely at least drank in the same places. But with plans to become a winemaker, Richard then UC Davis to learn Viticulture & Enology in 1994. While at Davis Richard met Chris Condos, where they bonded over their love of Chenin Blanc and other obscure grape varietals. They wanted to do things differently so in 1997 they started Vinum Cellars on credit cards and the help of friends & family. Richard also worked for various wineries from Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz to Rosenblum in Alameda, Alexander Valley Vineyards in Sonoma and Folie a Deux in the Napa Valley. [EP296]
www.instagram.com/vinumcellars.napavalley
www.vinumcellars.com
This week Brian, John and Sam go through Bart’s new releases. As always there are some other distractions and discussions about the current state of affairs in the wine industry. Bart’s new releases include a new source for Chein Blanc, yes it’s true, Dane Cellars makes Chenin Blanc.
Second up the guys taste the 2019 Valeria Rossi Ranch Grenache/Mourvedre Blend that was aged in amphora alongside the lot that was aged in a 500 liter French puncheon barrel. Last up is the first release of Malbec from the Lazy Dog Vineyard, let’s just say the intense color along with the concentration of flavors made a lasting impression on their teeth and glasses. [Ep295]
www.danecellars.com
@dane__cellars
Legendary concert promoter Bill Graham once said of the Grateful Dead “They’re not the best at what they do they’re the only ones that do what they do.” For decades, Tony Coturri was to natural wine what the Grateful Dead were to Jam Bands, as in, there wasn’t a name for what they were doing yet because they were the only ones doing it. In this episode, Sam and Bart, joined by guest host James Joiner, visit Uncle Tony’s house, aka Coturri Winery. You could say this is where it all began for the Coturri family but as you’ll learn in this episode, the Coturri’s history in wine goes all the way back to Tuscany, with stops at the Italian Swiss Colony in northern Sonoma County, a cooperage in pre-WWI San Francisco and a basement in the Marina District. This is a deep dive into Sonoma history and Sam’s family story as well as a frank assessment of the current state of Natural Wine. One for the archives! [EP294]
It’s a Sixteen 600 Phil Sent Me release party, AKA 4 guys and 8 bottles… This show includes breaking news, classic Wine Makers Podcast rambles and tasting through the wines of the Fall 2023 Phil Sent Me shipment. The latest release spans 8 varieties, 5 vintages, 4 vineyards, and two Valleys. Brand new wines are lined up with forgotten classics. There’s Grenache, there’s syrah, there’s splash of Clairette Blanche and Cab Franc. There’s pretty much something for everyone, there’s even a little Chenin Blanc talk. Enjoy! [EP293]
A series of haiku inspired by United States Poet Laureate Ada Limón sitting down with the Wine Makers Podcast crew plus guest host Phil Coturri- [Ep292]
A poet visits Terroir flows from every word Podcast Laureate
The native daughter Converses with nature, water, wine Aromas of life
Inspiration moves From roots to fruits and back down Must trust the process
Valley of the Moon Launching poetic rockets Europa or bust
Veraison eludes Sweetly seeking truest form Will patience abound?
Truly an honor To demystify poems And wine with Ada
Coral Wang is an artist, farmer, and winemaker of her new brand Maison des Plaisances. Coral's journey began in New Jersey but spans the globe. She spent time in the fashion industry in New York and LA before throwing it all to the wind and "WWOOFing" across Europe working in organic farms. She finally landed at Domaine Mamaruta in the Rousilllon learning organic farming and natural winemaking. Faced with mounting immigration and pandemic pressures, she returned to the US, where she headed west to California looking for the same wine and farming culture she found in France. Three years later, she is a fixture in Sonoma, a darling of the natural wine community. If you're lucky you can catch her on the floor at Valley Bar and Bottle, in the cellar at Magnolia wine services or pouring her wines at a wine fair near you! This week John and Sam were joined in studio by guest hosts James Joiner and Jasmine Egan. [Ep291]
maisondesplaisances.com
This week we traveled to Dry Creek Valley to meet with a true living legend, Jim Pedroncelli. The family purchased their property in 1927, they are bonded winery number 113. For nine decades they have been producing wines of high quality, tradition and heritage. When you have the opportunity to talk to a winemaker in their 90’s, sit back, lean in, and listen. [Ep290]
@pedroncelliwine
This week we sit down with Shalini Sekhar from Ottavino Wines, Tyler Kohfeld from Ricci Vineyards and Terra Jane Albee from Ownroot Collective to talk about the rare grape St. Laurent. We may have had some killer California Riesling too. [Ep289]
@ottavinowines @ownrootcollective @riccivineyards
This week we sit down with Dan Petroski, former journalist turned winemaker. He is an interesting, thoughtful and very talented person who has created a niche in culinary, digital media, art, and wine. His past has shaped his future, and his Mediterranean white wines are “off the charts” delicious. We only scratched the surface on his endeavors. Buy the wines, check out his Instagram page, and enjoy the ride. [Ep288]
Massican.com @massicanwinery
Nicole Rolet is one of our favorite people in the wine world. After converting a ninth century priory in Ventoux, France into a model of regenerative farming and world class wine production facility, she continues to travel the globe and spread the word about climate change. Chene Bleu’s unique position in the region allow them to produce some of the best wines in France, without the constraints of the AOC. Grenache is definitely the grape of choice and Nicole is a champion of this noble variety. [Ep287]
@chenebleuwine Areni.global
Hardy Wallace is always thinking outside the box, actually he smashes the box and burns it, then does his own thing. He is moving into Sonoma with a new tasting space downtown and we are excited. His experiences with sight, sound and smell drive his passion. Hardy will be curating a new tasting experience that you must hear about to believe. His wines are mind-blowingly good, and he is one of our favorite people on the planet.
Plus Phil Coturri joins us for a heartfelt tribute to organic viticulture pioneer Paul Dolan.
This is a “must listen!” [Ep286]
@winecoyeah Winecoyeah.com
When we heard about this think tank meeting in Sonoma about the future of wine we went to a very dark place. Then we heard that our friend Nicole Rolet her husband from Chêne Bleu were the founders. We thought there might be something good going on here. The week of June 19th there were a series of meetings and discussions about the future of the wine industry. Since we couldn't be there to report directly we had Xavier give us an overview of what's going on. It's a really great discussion about the current wine business and what might happen in the future. [Ep285]
areni.global instagram.com/areniglobal
George Walker lll is a trailblazer in the food and wine world. His passion drove him to cultivate a unique dining series that incorporated food, wine, art and music before being featured on the Somm TV show Sparklers. George was offered the position of Brand Ambassador for NBA star Dwayne Wade’s wine label in Napa and has been spreading the message of inclusivity all over the world. His energy is infectious and the stories are inspiring. Oh yeah, the wines are amazing too. Enjoy [Ep284]
dwadecellars.com @georgewalks3 @wadecellars therootsfund.org
Glenn Proctor - Puccioni Vineyards & Ciatti Company Glenn’s family immigrated to Dry Creek Valley in 1889 knowing they knew they wanted to invest in property. This led them to purchase Puccioni Ranch in 1904, the family has continuously farmed grapes on the property, and in the early 1920’s and 30’s operated Puccioni Winery. Today, Glenn is one of the proud owners of Puccioni Ranch and serves as the General Manager. In 2002 Glenn started Puccioni Vineyards, a small handcrafted Old Vine Zinfandel brand using the grapes from his family’s property. In 2003 he joined The Ciatti Company, the world’s largest broker of bulk wine and grapes and became a partner in 2003. After attending Healdsburg High School he graduated from California State University Fresno with a BA in Viticulture/Plant Science and then continued at UC Davis where he earned a master’s degree in Horticulture. Glenn has served on many wine industry boards over his career. We dive pretty deep into his family's vineyard and the wines they produce. We begin to talk about the bulk wine and grape business but there is a whole other show that we will have to revisit. This is a great show not to be missed. [Ep283]
www.puccionivineyards.com www.instagram.com/puccioni_vineyards www.ciatti.com
Hilary was raised in the wine industry, daughter of Fred and Nancy Cline from Cline Cellars. The family history dates back to Jacuzzi, yes that tub with the jets that has provided so much pleasure to most of us. We talk about the history of new generation of wine makers. The Cline’s will be hosting the upcoming Rhone Rangers event on June 24th at their beautiful property, wines will be offered from 30 different wineries. Hope to see you there. Listen to the show for special promo codes. [EP282]
rhonerangers.org
clinecellars.com
Now Chris knows how to show up for a podcast, just check the photo’s…
Born in New York and raised in Texas, Chris started to discover wine working in restaurants. Tynan decided that he wanted to learn more so he moved to Napa Valley enrolled in some classes and started with a vineyard management company doing irrigation management for vineyards across Napa and Sonoma counties. Following a harvest at Cain Vineyard & Winery in 2004, followed up with a harvest with the renowned winemaking and viticulture team of Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer at Blankiet Estate in Yountville. Next Chris became the assistant winemaker at Colgin Cellars. At Colgin, Christopher worked closely with Vintner Ann Colgin, Winemaker Allison Tauziet, and Vineyard Manager David Abreu. It was here where he learned and embodied the standard for excellence in all aspects of winemaking and viticulture. In 2012, Christopher joined Cliff Lede as winemaker and started his own project Christopher Tynan Wines.
christophertynan.com
@christophertynan
Charles Bieler was racing down ski slopes and lobbying to save owls when he got the call from his Father to help sell the family Rose.
“Just give me one year” his Father said. Charles sold wine out of his pink Cadillac when nobody was drinking Rose, he had to literally charm his way onto their shelves. Now decades later, he has partnered with some of the biggest names in the wine industry to bring delicious, affordable wines to the masses, both here in the states and in France.
@bielerwines
bielerwines.com
This week the guys deep dive into the Moon Mountain District with three luminaries of the AVA, Chris Cottrell, Robert Kamen and Phil Coturri ahead of next month’s Reach for the Moon! Master Class and Grand Tasting of Moon Mountain District wines in the historic Monte Rosso Vineyard. We cover the what makes this appellation so unique, it’s rich history, it’s present as one of the great Cabernet growing regions in the world and the future. In between, we opened some great wines and had great fun. Check out the Reach for the Moon! event at www.moonmountaindistrict.org [EP279]
The name Andy Beckstoffer is immediately associated with the finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in America. He drove the changes in Napa Co. grape growing until the farmers became an integral part of the wine making process and finally benefited financially from their labor. But it certainly wasn’t always like that in Napa. Hear everything Napa Cab from past to future on this episode of The Wine Makers. An excellent interview with the most famous farmer in the U.S. [EP277]
This week on the show we are talking about Lodi!!
Randy Caparoso is a full-time wine journalist who lives in Lodi, California, and author of Lodi! The definitive guide and history of America’s largest winegrowing region.
Greg La Folette is the winemaker at Marchelle Wines and it would be easier to list the things he hasn’t done in the wine industry. [EP277]
Marchellewines.com
@marchellewines
This show is hot! This show is smoking! This show is all about…prescribed burns? This week the guys are joined by Dr. Sasha Berleman, Director of Fire Forward, an organization spearheading efforts to bring “Good Fire” back to the wildlands of Northern California. The wIne industry continues to face an existential threat from smoke and fire but for Berleman one of the best ways to counter bad fire and bad smoke is good fire and good smoke. By conducting prescribed burns and building a community of trained fire crews, Berleman and her team are burning Sonoma County on their terms and it’s a beautiful thing. This one is informative, inspirational and a smokin’ good time! [EP276]
egret.org/fire-forward
instagram.com/fire.forward
egret.org
Joel Gott was definitely raised in a wine family. The fourth-generation California vintner, and wine and food entrepreneur was born in Napa Valley and raised in the Sierra Foothills where his parents started Montevina Winery. Joel later moved to Carmel and upon graduating high school went to work for Kenwood Winery in Sonoma County. But his first dive into business wasn’t just to start making wine, in fact he and his brother Duncan purchased a small market in Calistoga called Palisades Market. It was there that Joel started to discover what part of the wine business he wanted to make his presence known. Joel and his wife Sarah, (Phelps & Quintessa) started Joel Gott wines in 1996 focused on wines of quality and value. Last year with the purchase of the historic Edge Hill Winery in St. Helena you can expect to see Gott Wines enter the fine wine market. I think you will see that it’s done thoughtfully, well planned and something that will make an impact in the future.
gottwines.com
instagram.com/joelgottwines
gotts.com
instagram.com/gottsroadside
This week we sit down with vintner Dan Kosta, who has built wine lists at high-end restaurants, developed cult wine brands like Kosta Browne and collaborated with celebrity chefs like Emeril Lagasse. His new project, Convene Wine, is a study in Sonoma Coast and Russian River Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The wines are elegant and expressive, the conversation is lively, grab a glass and check it out. [EP274]
Website – www.dk-convene.com
Instagram – @dk_convene
This week we have a special show for an event called Napa R.I.S.E.
This three-week series of events is designed to accelerate meaningful sustainability and climate action transformation across the entire industry and culture of wine. The events are organized around the Six Pillars of Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership:
- ENERGY EFFICIENCY & SAVINGS
- WATER EFFICIENCY & SAVINGS
- WASTE PREVENTION & SUPPLY CHAIN
- PROACTIVE FARMING, SOIL HEALTH & BIODIVERSITY
- SOCIAL JUSTICE, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
- CLIMATE ACTION & REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
www.napagreen.org
www.risegreen.org
@napagreen
Patrick Cappiello is a distinguished winemaker and sommelier with over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry. He is the owner and winemaker of Monte Rio Cellars, a Food & Wine host for Playboy, and a founding member of Winemakers & Sommeliers for California Wildfire Relief. Cappiello’s wine career started in 2001 at TriBeCa Grill, and he has since been associated with four prestigious wine cellars, all recipients of Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award.” He has received multiple accolades, including “Sommelier of the Year” by Food & Wine Magazine and Eater National. In 2017, he transitioned to winemaking in Sonoma County, launching Monte Rio Cellars in 2018, along with Skull Wines and the Piquette Project. Patrick splits his time between New York City and Sonoma County, and enjoys collecting vinyl records, smashburgers, canned beer, and Mezcal. [EP272]
patrickcappiello.com
monteriocellars.com
Insta / Twitter – @patrickwine
Ren Harris is the “unofficial” Mayor of Napa. This year will be his 60th harvest and his accomplishments read like a novel about the history of Napa Valley. He is soft spoken but seems to get his way more often than not, and we all owe him for paving the wine road in California. You can still find him at the table in the back of the winery, looking out at his beautiful vineyard, sharing his stories and wines, still made by Heidi Barrett. Grab a glass and listen in, this one goes deep. [EP271]
paradigmwinery.com
@paradigmwinery
Jack Sporer is a leader in the new school of Natural Wine, experimental and adventurous, but also pragmatic and reasonable. He has made wine all over the world, from Bordeaux to Bedrock, and brings a fresh perspective to his own wine making for Fresh Wine Co. From style, to varietal choices to bottles and corks the wines are thoughtful, delicious and yes, fresh! Listen in as we go through the latest releases of Fresh Wines and learn all about Jack’s travels and experiences in wine. [EP270]
We all agree that wine is about the stories that are associated with them. Kira Ballotta began working in wine in 2011 helping a winemaker on her days off. Then while working in the field of Valuation she had the opportunity to analyze vineyard projects and felt drawn to the “going-ons” behind her spreadsheets. She was hooked Kira then made her way around Napa and Australia learning the craft of winemaking and engendering a true reverence and love for winemaking. She spent four years at Alpha Omega in Rutherford running Enology research. Then in 2019 she took as winemaker for Olivia Brion and in 2021 she started another inspired label called Cantadora Wines. She is dedicated to a business organized around sustainability and gentle practices for the earth. We talked about a lot of subjects and ideas and the time just flew buy. Check out the show and thanks for listening. [EP269]
oliviabrion.com
cantadora.wine
instagram.com/oliviabrionwines
Tor Kenward has been a part of Napa’s growth from the beginning, seeking advice from Robert Mondavi, getting tips from André Tchelistcheff, and collaborating with Julia Child. We share a couple bottles of wine with him at his house in Napa Valley to discuss his start at Beringer, his current label Tor, and his new book “Reflections of a Vintner”. There is a lot of history here. Enjoy [EP268]
Torwines.com
@torwines
By day, Kelly Cornett is an accomplished public health scientist, by night she is a wine educator, host of A Cork in the Road wine podcast, all around enthusiast and a ringleader in Atlanta’s wine community. She was in town to lead a wine class in between visiting some of her favorite wineries and seeking new exciting producers she learned about listening to our shows! We learn all about Kelly’s journey into wine, from her family dinner table growing up on Minnesota, to the burgeoning Virginia wine country to the vibrant and diverse Atlanta wine scene. In between, there’s some talk of Corgis, track and field and a whole lot of laughs!
@acorkintheroad on Twitter and Instagram
acorkintheroad.com
David Morell, Ph.D., Sonoma Ecology Center & Doug Beck, Science Officer at Monterey Pacific Vineyards.
David and Doug give us a good introduction to BioChar and its use with compost in wine grape growing. David gives us some background on BioChar and all the work that the Sonoma Ecology Center is doing here in Sonoma County and beyond. Doug shares his experiences and findings from a recently conducted four-year trial to test the impacts of biochar and compost as soil amendments on wine grape growth, water use, yield, and water quality. [EP266]
sonomaecologycenter.org
sonomabiocharinitiative.org
Scaling Sustainable Biochar Research Commercialization for Agriculture Conservationing Sustainable Biochar Research Commercialization for Agriculture Conservation.pdf
Brenae Royal runs Monte Rosso, one of the most historic vineyards in California, growing Cabernet, Zinfandel and Semillon since 1886. Brenae grew up in the Central Valley of California and was originally interested in animals, in part due to her exposure to F.F.A., future farmers of America. Weeks into college she decided to pivot, focusing on vines and taking a job with Gallo right out of school. [EP265]
Website
António Amorim – Amorim Corks
Corticeira Amorim is the world’s largest cork processing company and makes an unparalleled contribution to the business, market, economy, innovation and the sustainability of the entire cork industry. Founded in 1870, we are joined this week by its Chairman & CEO António Rios de Amorim. This is a great show, António’s knowledge and passion for the cork industry is infectious. You might be amazed to hear what cork is used for beyond the wine industry. The incredible sustainability that the cork industry has and practices should not be overlooked, and truly agricultural business. This show should answer most of your cork questions. And if they arent answered, let us know we will find out. [EP264]
Amorim.com
Instagram
Twitter
This week we attended the Direct to Consumer Symposium which is a benefit for the Free the Grapes Campaign. [EP263]
Our good friend M.J. Towler the Black Wine Guy was also in attendance so we decided to do some joint interviews. We hope you enjoy these conversations. https://freethegrapes.org
Hugh Scallon of Vayner Media will give us a look into TV 3.0 and he sees an opportunity for wine advertising. https://vaynermedia.com
Steve Gross, VP, State Relations, Wine Institute talks a bit about the implications of recent legislative wins and priorities for winery compliance in 2023. https://wineinstitute.org
Friend of the pod Jason Hass of Tablas Creek joins us to share some of his experiences in alternative packaging. www.tablascreek.com
Shana Bull is a Digital Storyteller + Marketing Educator, and Children’s Book Author based in the East Bay, CA (and Wine Country). She writes about Social Media + Food + Wine + Travel + Parenting on her blog, and other Bay Area publications. https://shanabull.com
Shae Frichette and her husband were living in Southern California when they met and got married. They wanted to move closer to family in either South Carolina or Washington. They used the flip of a coin to determine they would relocate to Washington. They wanted to create a business that would give them goosebumps. With a little research and cheerleading from friends, they decided to go into wine. www.frichettewinery.com
Ross Halleck planted the Halleck Vineyard in 1993, one of the first in the hills of Sebastopol, in western Sonoma County. The primary intent for this vineyard was to serve as a college fund for our three boys, Connor, Adam, and Quinn. Of course, a passion for Pinot led the charge. www.halleckvineyard.com
Barbara Gorder is a consultant and Owner Undisclosed Location, Inc. Over the past 20 years, she has helped to build and design some of the world’s most powerful brands. She has broad marketing and advertising expertise across all channels and disciplines with an emphasis on new technologies. Barbara is Kino chair for the direct to consumer wide symposium. https://www.unlo.com
Founder Robert (Bob) Craig began his career in wine at The Hess Collection on Mount Veeder in the 1980s. Prior to starting the winery, Bob’s passion for Mountain Cabernet had him spearheading the official recognition of both the Mount Veeder and Spring Mountain District AVAs. In 1995 22 acres were purchased at the summit of Howell Mountain – the vineyard property that would become their estate winery. Elton arrived in 2004 and spearheaded the overhaul and reinvestment of the farming, winemaking and sales structure at. Now the managing partner at the winery, he spends much of his time traveling around the country spreading the Craig word. Elton’s has brought his passion for old world wines to the new world of Craig with a production philosophy based on site expression. We had a great visit with Elton and his infectious passion for wine will come through the speakers and make you want to try these mountain grown wines [EP262]
robertcraigwine.com
instagram.com/robertcraigwinery
instagram.com/eltonslone2
It’s warming. It’s us. We’re sure. It’s bad. But we can fix it.
We are so excited to have this Sonoma Native on the podcast this week. After speaking to the international public for close to fifteen years about sustainability, climate scientist Dr. Nicholas realized that concerned people were getting the wrong message about the climate crisis. People were focusing on things they couldn’t change, hoping for systems to be put in place and for big business to step in and make changes. But what she knows it’s people like you and me that need to make a difference. Her book is a guide to help you make a difference, to help your community make a difference. Listen to the show, buy the book and read it. But while you’re reading it, start making some changes in how you treat the world today. The planet is going to be here, it’s how we exist on this planet that is changing, time to get to work. [EP261]
Please share this show!
www.kimnicholas.com
www.instagram.com/profkimberlynicholas
https://www.youtube.com/@kimberlya.nicholas3652
https://co2-calculator.climatehero.me/
This week we look back at some favorite shows of 2022, and answer more listener questions. Will we ever get to the bottom of where they hide the moguls in the summer? We also raise a glass of wine to Bob Benziger who passed away last week. [EP260]
This week John Myers returns to the show after an extended break, it’s great to all be back together again. We talk about a number of subjects, not that we ever get distracted…
Bart brings out three wines to taste that he plans to release early next year. Though of course Brian is disappointed to not great a review of the 2022 Rosé or Sauvignon Blanc [EP259]
Wines tasted
2020 Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Rancho Agua Caliente Vineyard
2019 Valeria Rossi Ranch Blend Sonoma Valley
2020 Sonoma Valley Malbec Lazy Dog Vineyard
www.danecellars.com
www.instagram.com/dane__cellars
Morét Brealynn was born in Patterson California at one time the Apricot capital of the world. We know how much all of you listeners love those California agricultural facts…
Though her name is French, she’s 100% Mexican, she was working in the nonprofit sector when she moved from Davis to Sonoma County in 2011. From that point the discovery of wine began, it wasn’t long until she got a job working in a tasting room. From there Morét curiosity found her spending time in the cellar, asking questions, helping wherever she could during harvest. But while helping produce a online happy hour during Covid the guest was winemaker Adam Lee EP (#243). Adam was impressed with the professionalism and organization of the show and after further discussions, Morét joined him as his General Manager. Morét’s exposure to the production side of the wine industry grew and her passion for making her own wine could no longer be ignored. It was Adam at encouraged her to make her own mark in the wine business. Enjoy this weeks show and be sure to check out Morét’s wines. [EP258]
www.moretbrealynnwines.com
www.instagram.com/moretbrealynnwines
www.instagram.com/moretbrealynn
This week on the podcast, our friend James Joiner puts us through a blind tasting of “gimmick” and celebrity wines.
Those wines that your family brings to a holiday gathering and you subtly groan as you open the bag. Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart, Game of Thrones and Hello Kitty among others are in the lineup. You have never heard such a mixture of glee and disgust in your life. We rate all of the wines separately then compare notes, you won’t believe the results. We hope you enjoy the show and aren’t too offended. Happy Holidays [EP257]
What does it mean to recycle? What do you think happens when you throw something in the recycling container? Would you believe that 75% of all glass that enters the waste system ends up in landfills. That's 110,000,000 glass bottles going into US landfills every single day. What would you think if your favorite winery asked you to return your bottles to be refilled? We have talked about this on the podcast before. Remember our conversation with Diana Snowden Seysses about her plans for her family's wine brand Cousins? This week we talked with Caren McNamara from Conscious Containers about the state of wine bottle reuse programs. We are also joined by April Nalle from Nalle Family Winery to hear what they are doing to move towards true sustainability. A glass bottle reuse program is going to happen. The question is can the wine business be leaders in this much needed system. We aren't reinventing the wheel here, these programs are in place in other parts of the world. [EP256]
consciouscontainer.com Instagram
nallewinery.com Instagram
This week the guys sit down with Artie Johnson for a wide ranging and deeply philosophical show. Artie's background is impressive, but we covered that in Episode 157. This show is all about the now and the future. This one goes from great to special when Phil Coturri throws his big diesel truck in reverse to sit down with Artie and gets really fun when Artie turns the tables and starts interviewing Brian, Bart and Sam! Pop open a bottle of syrah and give it a listen. [EP255]
instagram.com/winexyz twitter.com/winexyz
This week we sit down with one of our favorite winemakers, and cookbook authors, Jennifer Reichardt. Raised on a duck farm, she has been surrounded by bills and feathers from a young age, her family has supplied delicious ducks to all of the best restaurants in California.
Her journey pulled her into wine, working for some epic producers, before starting her own label, Raft. Jennifer followed that up with a new project called Little Trouble Wine Co. with her friend Sara Morgenstern. Now she has released her amazing cookbook, The Whole Duck, available this week. Quack Quack [EP254]
instagram.com/raftwines drink.raft.wine instagram.com/liberty_ducks libertyducks.com
Who knew that Instagram could get you a guest for your podcast. Well we do of course we don't know all of these people and that is exactly how we came to meet these guys. I'm not sure the first time I heard about the Stampede Vineyard but on an educational tour of East Lodi a past guest made a point of showing us the vineyard. Join us on this show to continue our education about the vineyards of the Lodi appellation. You can tell that Jeff & John have a deep love and understanding of Lodi, their family started farming in the 1950's after immigrating to California from Greece. Planted in the 1940s, the Stampede Vineyard is an own-rooted Zinfandel planting in the toe-hills of the Sierra Nevada mountains within Lodi’s Clements Hills AVA. With soils composed of decomposed granite, the Stampede Vineyard lies on a parcel that overlooks an old riverbed on one side, and the Clements Stampede rodeo grounds on the other. We welcome them to the podcast this week to help them launch they new winery project. Yes the growers have jumped into the winemaking side of the business with their "Mediterranean inspired, California grown" wines. We thing they are off to a great start. [EP253]
perlegoswine.com
instagram.com/perlegos_wine
instagram.com/zinyard
perlegoswine.com/sign-up
This week on the show we went to Haystack Farm in Sonoma to talk with Farmer Jerome Cunnie and Chef Duskie Estes. Farm to Pantry is a gleaning non-profit organization that rescues produce from farms and backyard gardens in Sonoma County that would otherwise go to waste, and delivers it to families in need—one in three people in Sonoma County is facing food insecurity. They glean produce from over 250 properties, with the help of over 350 volunteers, and deliver it to 85 community partners. The food is out there and Farm to Pantry goes and gets it—they are the bridge between abundance and need. In the case of Haystack Farm Jerome Cunnie and his team farm the ranch which was established to raise fruits, vegetables and flowers to be given away to those that are in need. Wait till you hear the numbers of how many people they are feeding. This is an inspiring show, get inspired, get involved in your community and help feed people. It feels really good to be part of a community like this. [EP252]
www.farmtopantry.org www.instagram.com/farmtopantry twitter.com/farm_to_pantry
www.instagram.com/duskie_estes www.blackpigmeatco.com www.twitter.com/duskieestes
www.instagram.com/thegardenkeeper/ www.instagram.com/haystackfarmsonoma/
This week we sit down with famed Washington winemaker Charles Smith. We discuss his humble beginnings in California, his journeys through Europe, and what eventually led him to Washington. His unique ability to discuss wine and wine-making in a straightforward way has helped him become one of the most successful and famous figures in the business, while maintaining his free-spirited identity. The conversation always came back to the wine, farming practices, and the simple approach to making delicious wines for both collectors and everyday wine drinkers. This is a good one, grab a bottle and enjoy.m[EP 251]
This week on the podcast we welcome Andriana Duchworth & Laura McGilley from the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers. We touched on a number of subjects from the upcoming Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival and some of the history behind this great event. The newly available Vinous Sonoma Valley Vineyards maps are finally finished and are really beautiful. These maps are must have for any lover of Sonoma Valley and the historic vineyards. The four of us had also been at the Phil Coturri Wine Grower Dinner at the Sonoma Mission Inn the previous night so we rambled about for a while. [EP250]
sonomavalleywine.com
instagram.com/sonomavalleywine
valleyofthemoonvintagefestival.org
instagram.com/sonomavintagefestival
From Napa to Burgundy to washable labels. This week's show was not really about wine but what does "wine" need to do to be truly sustainable. The work sustainable has been used and thrown around so much it really doesn't mean anything. I mean spraying a herbicide on the ground directly under your grapevines?
Ok, that's not what this show was about. We had a great conversation about a lot of things. Diana makes wine to two of the most coveted growing areas in the world, Burgundy and Napa Valley. She has installed a system in Burgundy to capture the carbon dioxide from the fermenters during harvest. Her newest project focused on a wine called Snowden Cousins, organically grown grapes with reusable bottles, no foils and water soluble labels. This show will have a part 2 and by that time we hope you will have heard more about this. What would you think about collecting bottles to be reused? Recycling is great but why melt down the bottles, why not reuse them?
www.instagram.com/dianasnowsey www.snowdenvineyards.com www.dujac.com/en/the-domain www.portoprotocol.com
The 3rd Friday of September is one of the best days of the year. We raise a glass or several really nice selections to celebrate one of the best days of the year. We invited two #FOTP "friends of the pod" to join us. Casey Graybehl The Grenachista shares some new releases and some not yet released wines and a few stories of harvest. We also get a chance to catch up with Sondra Bernstein to hear all about what she has been up to. Let's just say Sondra has been very busy creating, and has some insight on what the future of wine tasting and marketing might look like. We hope you will open a bottle of Sonoma Valley Grenache and enjoy this week's show. [EP248]
www.sondra-bernstein.com
www.instagram.com/4everkurious
www.thegrenachista.com
www.instagram.com/the.grenachista
This week on the podcast we introduce you to Sal Chavez, owner/founder of La Luna Mezcal.
If you’ve never had Mezcal before, get ready for an education, if you already love Mezcal, you need some La Luna.
We go deep on family history and traditions, terroir, fermentation and distillation.
The process is fascinating and Sal’s family story is inspiring, we strongly encourage opening up a bottle to sip while listening, and even grabbing some carne asada tacos to enhance the experience. Enjoy [EP247]
lalunamezcal.com/usa
instagram.com/lalunamezcal
instagram.com/saviorpchavez
This week on the show we answer your questions and you should question our answers...
We talk about the upcoming Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival on October 7th & 8th. The Winemakers Podcast is challenging our fellow winemakers to the Grape Stomp Competition, and hope everyone will come to the Grand Tasting on October 8th at the under the stars in the historic Sonoma Barracks on the Plaza. Bart also tells the story of his Amphora Blues. [EP246]
Enjoy the show
www.instagram.com/sonomavintagefestival
www.valleyofthemoonvintagefestival.org
James Joiner’s life in journalism has taken from a Cape Cod news room to the Republican National Convention and Willie Nelson’s tour bus but it was a chance encounter with a bottle of Coturri wine set him out on mission. In a career marked with bylines in publications like Rolling Stone, Esquire and the Daily Beast he’s now on a mission to photograph “wine people” all over the world and develop those photos in red wine! The guys sit down and swap stories with one of the wine industries great story tellers, James Joiner. [EP245]
Sam walks the gang through the Fall 2022 'Phil Sent Me' releases from Winery Sixteen 600 with a special guest appearance by photographer James Joiner (Google him or just wait for next week's show). We talk about how the wines were grown and made, how the line-up is chosen and how we talk about wine in general. Tune in and become a Phil Sent Me member today. [EP244]
This week we have Adam Lee the founder of Clarice Wine Company on the podcast. He began working with wine in 1989 at a retail store in Austin, Texas. At the time, he also dabbled in restaurant wine sales, and briefly pulled a bag as a wine distributor sales rep. A few years later, he began working as the Wine Buyer at Neiman Marcus in Dallas. In 1993, he moved to California and, while working in direct sales at various wineries, they started Siduri Wines in 1994. Siduri Wines quickly became known as one of California’s premier Pinot Noir producers and grew from 107 cases in 1994 to 25,000 cases in 2015. In 2015 Siduri Wines was sold to Jackson Family Winery. Clarice Wine Company is a new and truly unique type of winery, combining aspects of an online wine community, a wine education website, and a limited-enrollment wine club. Adam has focused on two Pinot Noir vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands the Garys’ and Rosella’s Vineyards. Did we mention that the wines are delicious? [EP243]
www.claricewinecompany.com
Eric Story & Alison Smith Story started their small wine brand Smith Story Wine Cellars in 2014, funded by Kickstarter. Remember when people did that? They are still sourcing small lots from family-owned vineyards farming organically and working with their other growers to improve quality and moving towards organic farming. Their dog, Lord Sandwich, has his own brand, his own charity and is an Instagram celebrity. We welcome Alison back to hear about what's new and about the challenges they have faced for the past couple years. [EP242]
smithstorywinecellars.com www.twitter.com/smithstorywines www.instagram.com/smithstorywines www.socksforsandwich.org www.instagram.com/sandwichthedoodle
(707)494-5575
This week on the show we welcome G. Love. We always talk about how wine should express itself from where it's grown, show it's Terroir. So the question is does music have a Terroir? If we take the definition and think about music then does the soil become the music that defines the area? For G. Love is that the Philly Sounds of the 60's and 70's? And the emergence of Hip Hop in the 90's becomes the influence of the vintage as we think of it. This might all be a stretch, but G. Love is likely coming to your Terroir in the next few months and you should go check him out. [EP241]
Instagram @phillyglove Twitter @glove www.philadelphonic.com
This week we welcome back Chris Cottrell to the podcast. Chris and his business partner Morgan Twain Peterson, MW met at Pet Wines, a small neighborhood store on the Upper East Side in Manhattan run by Phil Kotek, a man who cared deeply about the wines he sold. This was the start of Chris's education to the world of wine. In 2011 Morgan called Chris and said casually, "we should make a wine together." That conversation (and more bottles of good wine than one might care to admit) led to Under The Wire, a partnership project that focuses on single-vineyard, single-vintage sparkling wines inspired by the grower champagne movement. As the 2011 Under the Wire developed in bottle and Bedrock Wine Co. continued to find success, Morgan suggested to Chris it was perhaps time to move across the country and join Bedrock. Their simple yet unique premise is to make California sparkling wines based on an individual vineyard in an individual year. We hope you enjoy this show with Chris. He is without a doubt one of our favorite people in the wine industry. [EP240]
Cheers
@underthewirewine www.underthewirewines.com www.bedrockwineco.com
This episode started with Bart entering he and Sam in the 1st. Annual Stemple Creek BBQ Classic. But with careful consideration they decided that maybe instead of being one of ten contestants at the first event maybe they were best suited to be the only podcast to record at this soon to be famous event. Now you might be asking what does the Stemple Creek Ranch, a certified organic ranch raising grass fed cattle, lambs and free range Berkshire cross pigs that are raised in a large grove of Eucalyptus trees have to do with the wine industry. More than you would imagine which I think will become evident after listening to this show. Then enters the pitmaster Chuck "The Flavor Train" Matto and it seems like maybe Bart & Sam are there just to taste some good BBQ. Congratulations have to go out to the winner Dave Ross from Pueblo BBQ. We hope you enjoy this week's show and throw something on the BBQ to enjoy with friends and family. [EP239]
www.stemplecreek.com @stemplecreek
www.chucksflavortrain.com @chucksflavortrain
www.pueblobbq.com @pueblobbq
We met G.W. in Paso Robles at Hospice de Rhone this year. It wasn’t long into our conversation to realize that the enthusiasm and passion coming from this young man needed to be shared with all of you listeners. And on top of that #GWmakesChenin. [EP238]
In his own words it all began back in 2015. After serving seven years as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army, two combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, I returned home to the Napa Valley. You never know where or when a job opportunity will happen. For me, it was on a hot summer evening, on a Bocce court at Crane Park. That night, I began my wine career as an intern at Pahlmeyer Winery. There was no turning back once I experienced the art of making wine.
In 2016, my wine education continued at Williams Selyem where I honed my craft making renowned Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, as well as other varietals. Then, in 2019, with over three years immersed in all aspects of the wine industry, I challenged myself to launch Lussier Wine Co.
www.lussierwineco.com @lussierwineco
The cool blues and relaxing vibes of Tom Darling's new Sonoma Plaza tasting room will draw you in, his exploration of single vineyard wines from extreme coastal California will keep you there. The guys go on-location to Darling Wines and sit down with Tom to find out how a guy from Boston went from serves and volleys and serving wine at yoga events on the Eastern Seaboard to making Pinot Noir from vineyards mere miles from the Pacific Ocean. [EP237]
darlingwines.com
The guys sit down at the Sixteen 600 Tasting House to answer listener questions on the eve of Jasmine's wedding. [EP236]
Charlie Tolbert - we can’t wait for you to hear this show. Charlie has worked 50 harvest, starting off in the early 70’s at Buena Vista. Just sit back and enjoy hearing just a few of the stories he shares with us. The wine industry has changed a lot since then, there is a lot to reflect on for me from this conversation. We hope you enjoy it. [EP235]
Cheers
All of the guys sit down to talk crops, weather trends, drought and all things wine and Vinytl Sunday. Tune in and enjoy the laughter and fun. Cheers [EP235]
There was a lot of energy going into this show, not only were we all excited to be back in Paso Robles for Hospice du Rhone but we were also getting to meet our friend M.J. Towler "The Black Wine Guy Experience" IRL Add to the mix The.Grenachista, the one and only Kevin Burns, Jeff Cohn and M.J. brought his good friend Jeremy Leffert from Tooth & Nail Wine Co. If it sounds like a train wreck, well lets just say we all survived. What a great weekend let's all plan on heading to Hospice du Rhone in 2024. Cheers [EP233]
www.blackwineguy.com
@blackwineguy
www.toothandnailwine.com
@toothandnailwinery
@jeremyleffert
www.hospicedurhone.org
@hospicedurhone
The guys sit down with Podcast guest Roger Randall and discuss the aftermath of Hospice Du Rhone. Lots of fun to be had in discussing who made it to the every-other-year event in Paso. Enjoy and next week tune in for the shared show with MJ and The Black Wine Guy Experience podcast. [EP232]
Tracey & John Skupny, started Lang & Reed Napa Valley in 1993 with the goal to explore the distinct charms of Cabernet Franc. Their foundation of our wine experience began working in the restaurant trade in Kansas City. Having attained positions as wine stewards (sommeliers), the lure of vineyards and wineries brought us to California in 1980, settling finally in the Napa Valley by 1984. Named after their two sons, J Reed and Jerzy Lang. When Reed entered the wine business he decided to spend a harvest working in the Lorie Valley where he discovered Chenin Blanc. Enjoy this show hearing about this truly family owned and operated winery. Cheers [EP231]
www.langandreed.com
@langandreed
The guys sit down on a blustery day to talk about Sam's Sixteen600 Spring Releases. Besides the awesome wines there was Lots of laughter and fun follows. Enjoy our humour please! [EP230]
The guys sit down and talk weather, field and wine updates with Todd Jolly, Sonoma's Best Somm. It's always fun to sit down with the The Oregon Ducks Biggest Fan, Todd. Enjoy [EP229]
Take a Sonoma County boy and transplant him high in Texas where he can grow grapes and make Texas Wine. Ricky Taylor has some great stories about the trials and tribulations of trying to grow his dreams in the high country of Texas at 5400ft elevation. Needless to say we had fun. Enjoy [EP228]
Alta Marfa @altamarfa Altamarfa.com Ricky@altamarfa.com
Take a Sonoma County boy and transplant him high in Texas where he can grow grapes and make Texas Wine. Ricky Taylor has some great stories about the trials and tribulations of trying to grow his dreams in the high country of Texas at 5400ft elevation. Needless to say we had fun. Enjoy [EP228]
Alta Marfa
@altamarfa
Altamarfa.com
Ricky@altamarfa.com
The guys head into the eastern hills of Napa’s Oakville District. Second generation winemaker Maya Dalla Valle let Brian, Sam and John behind the curtains of her family’s esteemed Dalla Valle Vineyards estate, where there are no public tastings and there’s a waiting list to get the wines. Maya talks about growing up in Napa, the legend of her namesake wine and her path back to the family business. The wines are fantastic and corgi content is top-notch! [EP227]
The guys head into the eastern hills of Napa's Oakville District. Second generation winemaker Maya Dalla Valle let Brian, Sam and John behind the curtains of her family's esteemed Dalla Valle Vineyards estate, where there are no public tastings and there's a waiting list to get the wines. Maya talks about growing up in Napa, the legend of her namesake wine and her path back to the family business. The wines are fantastic and corgi content is top-notch! [EP227]
I don’t think there’s another guest I quite so enjoy having on the show than Bob Cabral. Back in the days of “Heard it through the Grapevine” Radio show on KSVY I had Bob as a regular guest. And he or Three Sticks have been on The Wine Makers podcast several times. He’s just that much fun to talk with. Talk about somebody with a clear definition of what life should be like, Bob’s own line Bob Cabral Wines is a beautiful and complete full circle. He set out to achieve this and he is doing so. Beautiful Bob, thanks for being our guest again. Cheers [EP226]
I don't think there's another guest I quite so enjoy having on the show than Bob Cabral. Back in the days of "Heard it through the Grapevine" Radio show on KSVY I had Bob as a regular guest. And he or Three Sticks have been on The Wine Makers podcast several times. He's just that much fun to talk with. Talk about somebody with a clear definition of what life should be like, Bob's own line Bob Cabral Wines is a beautiful and complete full circle. He set out to achieve this and he is doing so. Beautiful Bob, thanks for being our guest again. Cheers [EP226]
This week we sit down with “TJ” from Ownroot Collective, a wine club that shines a light on small producers, most of which have other jobs that support their passion. Terra showcases two wine makers each month and offers their wines to her subscribers. Then they do a Zoom where they are able to meet the wine maker and ask questions. This is a very unique business model and the wines are carefully selected, each bottle we tried was amazing. Our friend Ben Larks from Idle Cellars, a small wine maker with multiple jobs, sits in with us and opens up his portfolio of wines and humor. This was a very fun show.
@ownrootcollective
ownrootcollective.com
@idlecellars
idlecellars.com
This week Kimberly T. Johnson from Philosophy Winery & Vineyard located in Baltimore City Maryland joins us on the podcast. Kimberly, winemaker started Philosophy wines along with her friend and partner Sommelier Denise Roles Matthews in 2018. Working in the Maryland wine industry for over a decade, in many capacities she discovered that wine was her passion. She had finally found her purpose, exploring distinct agriculture (land & soil) and producing high quality wine that highlights diverse grape varietals as unique as Maryland itself. Kimberly and Bart met through "The Roots Fund" an organization which was created to invest in communities of color to provide opportunities to those seeking a career and education in all aspects of wine. The rest of the story is best told on the podcast.[EP224]
www.philosophywinery.com
@philosophywinery
www.therootsfund.org
@rootsfund
Rebekah’s passion for winemaking began when she visited Napa Valley with her parents at just 16, being from Washington DC she didn't grow up around wineries but that trip and a friend of her fathers explaining winemaking and wine tasting to Rebekah piqued her interest. The discussions from that visit left such a lasting impression that she went on to pursue a dual degree in chemistry and biology at Macalester college with the dream of becoming a winemaker. When she started gaining practical experience in the wine-growing regions of California, Oregon, Italy, and New Zealand, her path started to come into view. This week's show is best told by her, check it out the wines are awesome.. [EP223]
www.postandvine.com
Pushing 80 degrees on a February day at the tasting house wondering if we're just plunging headlong into Summer. Good lord! Jasmine Egan joins Sam, Bart, Brian and John for a Spring Release Dane Cellars party and they cover all thing wine for you organic listeners. Enjoy [EP222]
Viticulturist Jake Neustadt is a bay area native who was attending UC Davis, studying journalism and international relations. Like other stories that we have heard he discovered viticulture and winemaking and how that maybe this was to be his career path. Starting at Rock Wall Winery, some time in New Zealand and then to Ridge winery where he dove deep into old vines. But it's his time at Bedrock that has brought him to the podcast. What likely started out as a conversation about the Old Vine Palomino that grew at the Evangelho vineyard has become Soleras Del Pacifico. Flor-aged wines made from California's ancient Palomino vines. Ready for a bit of education about Sherry? Check it out. [EP 221]
www.solerasdelpacifico.com
@SolerasDelPacifico
Randy Hester, creator of the Lightning wine brand, has taken over Austin Texas by storm. With his family name carried on with the C.L. Butaud line and Frenchy's Rose, Randy and Brooke made the leap from Sonoma to Austin and did it right. 100% Texas wines is obviously a Really good thing in Austin and Randy tells all of the stories on this week's show. We sampled lots of great wines and heard and told lots of old friend stories. Enjoy.
clbutaud.com
Facebook @clbutaud
Instagram @clbutaud
Randy's IG @elrandin
Delmas/SJR Vineyard had a problem. It's a prime Syrah vineyard in the The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA in Walla Walla Valley but extreme winter temperatures were wreaking havoc on the vines and threatening the viability of the vineyard. Rather than keep doing what everyone else did, Brooke Delmas Roberts came up with a radical new way of pruning and training the vines-MHT or Mini Head Trained vines were born. Hear all about their vineyard, their wines and this premier OREGON appellation. [EP 219]
Lyle Fass is devoted to wine and sneakers. He's devoted, emotionally, scientifically and financially. His devotion would verge on manic if he wasn't so good at it. Never one to shy away from a story or an opinion, Lyle joins the Wine Makers via Zoom from Manhattan and breaks down, what he looks for in wine, how he finds and how he sells and tells us what he really thinks about natural wine...and Nikes. [EP 218]
This week's show is brought to you by Zoom. Yes we are temporarily recording by Zoom because of COVID worries, but hope to be back live with a new guest next week. This week we opened it up to listener questions, a vineyard update and Sam has more nice words about the loss of Phillpe Cambie. Thanks to all of your support and we look forward to a great year. [EP217]
Cheers!
Ever wonder why one wine label hits you and others just don't? Or how a label can actually represent what's really in the bottle with all of the wine's particular characteristics? Well, Tim Gatto has a lot of answers for you and it's a fascinating discussion. We explore how winemakers hit And miss the mark everyday and what you should look for in the wine aisle. [EP216]
Enjoy!
tim@gatto.design
gatto.design
To say Hardy thinks about wine different than all of us is a understatement. He seems thinks about life differently. The amount of energy, soul and excitement he has and spreads when talking about wine is infectious. Hardy shares stories about how he went from high tech to low intervention wines and now to Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah!!! [EP215]
Grab a glass of wine and hang on tight. Cheers!
www.winecoyeah.com @winecoyeah @dirtysouthwine
This week on the show we talk with Brad and Glenn about their time working for Mr. Mondavi. Brad got his winery job at Charles Krug working harvest in 1967, while there he accepted a second job working at the then new Robert Mondavi Winery in 1970. Perhaps the only person who has worked in both Mondavi cellars at the same time. Shortly thereafter Brad was promoted to Cellar Foreman, it was shortly after that time he interviewed Glenn Workman for a cellar position, after an extensive interview Glenn joined the team. This was a time in the California wine industry of growth and learning. These two men were working for one of the leader's that brought us to what we now know as the modern California wine industry. Enjoy their stories and check out Brad's wines Leto Cellars [EP214)
www.letocellars.com @letocellars.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-1{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
Ambassador James D. Zellerbach founded Hanzell Vineyards in 1953 with a vision to create wines that could compete on the world stage and he picked an amazing piece of property in Sonoma Valley. Over the past 68 years there have been some stellar teams at Hanzell. Today we talked with part of the current Hanzell Farm team. Both Jason and Brandons path to Hanzell is best told in their own words. Which is the story of how Hanzell has evolved from being a vineyard and a winery to a farm that continues to produce some of the most sought after, age worthy wines in California. They aren't the first to farm using some of the techniques but they might be one of the most thoughtful. Enjoy the show and we hope you have a great Thanksgiving. [EP213]
Cheers!
www.hanzell.com
@hanzellfarm
@jasonmjardine
@brandon.bredo
Will Bucklin and his family have long and notable history in Sonoma Valley. However that history is dwarfed by the history in their 150 year old vineyard, Old Hill Ranch. While tasting through the incredible line up of wines Will makes from the vineyard his mother and step-father saved from demolition nearly 50 years ago, we tried to capture some of te storied history of both the place and the people. Mostly we ended up talking about Grenache—and after nearly 2 and half hours we were all left wanting more. Look for Part Deux one day soon when we record from bridge of the Starship Bucklin! [EP212]
www.buckzin.com @willbuckzin.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-3 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-3{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
Returning to her second home from France, Isabel brought the rains, her wit and wisdom back to Winery Sixteen600. Isabel is the winemaker for A Duex Tetes (along with Philippe Cambie and Phil Coturri) and we tasted samples from Oakville and the Rossi Ranch Grenache from the latest harvest. Phil Coturri joins us a for a bit of organic farming insights.We give thanks for our listing in Wine Business Monthly as 2021 Industry leaders that made us all feel quite good. Enjoy the show! [EP211]
You might know Gustavo as the Winemaker at Scribe here in Sonoma Valley. Did you know that he and his wife Jackie their own wines under the Orixe Sotelo label? Focusing on Spanish varieties grown here in California. Or as they say it "singular wines from Alta California".
This is a good one and we hope you will not miss the chance to try their inaugural wines.
www.sotelowines.com
@sotelo.wines
@tintodecalifornia
Those of us in the wine business know this company and likey access something they publish on a daily basis. Looking for a job? Want to know the latest insider news? How about an in depth report on barrel producers, yeast cultures or on supply chain issues. This is the place to start. Cyril Penn (Editor in Chief) has followed the U.S. wine industry as editor of Wine Business Monthly for nearly two decades. In that time, Wine Business Monthly has emerged as the leading provider of information to the wine industry in North America. Cyril has explored wine regions throughout the world, is a frequent speaker at industry events, and is often quoted in the news media. He has more than three decades of wire service, magazine and broadcast experience. After graduating Fordham University in New York he started his career with Reuters in New York and later contributed to dozens of publications, specializing in energy, high technology and biotechnology. [EP209]
www.winebusiness.com
@winebusiness
This week the guys converse about a wide variety of topics and answer listeners questions. Did you know archaeologists have unearthed a 1500 year old wine production facilty in Israel ? Does Petrus taste better after spending a year on the International Space Station ? Did the SF Giants collude with weathermen in LA to knockdown Dodgers potential home runs ? We cover it all this week. Enjoy the show!!! [EP208]
winerysixteen600.com danecellars.com sonomasommwines.com
Sam, Bart and John are joined by Tanner Walle from Valley Bar and Bottle and cover all things harvest, shortages and Fall Releases from Dane and Sixteen600. Lots of listener questions and the Bix Clan is heading for Sonoma! [EP207]
This week we are celebrating International Grenache Day with The Grenachista, Casey Greybehl, who's entire portfolio consists of nothing but Grenache Noir and Grenache Blanc. This is one of our favorite days of the year and the bottles on the table far outnumbered the people on the show. From Pet-Nat to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, we drank it all. Enjoy !!!
grenachista.com
@the.grenachista
@internationalpirateday
David Rossi is a Jersey Boy who used to make wines in his basement, literally flying in fruit from different parts of the world to make 10 gallon batches to experiment with. Now known as one of the top producers of world class Pinot Noir in California, we discovered some of his favorite wines are the aromatic whites he crafts from cool sites up north. Having taught himself, he knows just about everything you should not do when making wine and his witty sense of humor is sharper than his skill set.
fulcrumwines.com @fulcrumwines david@fulcrumwines.com
It's all about harvest on The Wine Makers this week. Whites are rolling in and reds are coming up as we speak, the days are long but everybody is excited for a great vintage year. Brian has roussanne on the line and Bart's got Chenin coming up. Brian has a French Rose' dinner coming up at the Fairmont and damn if we aren't going to show up...with a reservation, not crashing it. Cheers and Enjoy. [EP204]
This week we sit down with Tony Biagi, one of Napa and Sonoma’s star winemakers. He is listed as winemaker at Hourglass, The Vineyardist Family, Amici Cellars and his own Patria Wines and consulting winemaker at Lasseter Family Winery, Jada Winery, Caliza Winery and Alma Rosa Winery. However if you ask Tony, the2020 Vinous Winemaker of the year, he prides himself most in mentoring young winemakers who lead these estates. While his career arc lines up with the rise of Napa Cult Cabs but if you really want to hear Tony wax poetic about wine, ask him about classic old California Wine, which is just what we did. Tony shared a bottle of 1985 Carment, made in the heart of what is now known as the Moon Mountain District. [EP203]
Birdhorse represents a vision for the future of California wine-making, a vision anchored in a passion for diversification And they make some really nice wines. Striving to use under-represented varietals Corinne Rich and Katie Rouse sure make good use of their backgrounds including Bedrock University and Scribe to turn out a diverse line of wines from Arneis, Verdelho and Valdiguie varietals and more. [EP202]
Sam, Bart and John do a bit of reminiscing about the podcast, all of our friends and listeners who made it possible and all of our incredible guests. And of course Ed Silha plays the best role as The Podfather himself, Despite drought, fires and pandemics we're still at it bringing you the very best of Sonoma winemaking. Cheers and Enjoy!!! [EP201]
This week we welcome Prema Behan from Three Sticks Wines and Nicole Garzino from the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers. Prema is the Director of Operations at Three Sticks and the current President of the board of the Vintners & Growers. Nicole is the new executive director of the Vintners & Growers. Three Sticks is a favorite past guest of the podcast, so we wanted to check in about what new with them. If you haven’t check out our episode with winemaker Bob Cabral it’s not to be missed. We also wanted to welcome Nicole to hear how she came to her new job and what’s new and exciting with the SVVGA. [EP200]
@sonomavalleywine www.sonomavalleywine.com
@threestickswines www.threestickswines.com
This week on the Wine Makers Pod-Two professors from Bedrock University, AKA Cody Rasmussen of Desire Lines Wines and Reid Griggs of Tidings Wines, visit to Bart, Brian and Sam for a conversation ranging from the microbiome of vineyards to the wine selection in Iowa college towns. Cody is the Associate Winemaker at Bedrock Wine Co. where Reid worked in 2016, one of his many internships at high profile wineries. Both are among the best and the brightest of California’s young winemakers. We dig into Reid’s research at UC Davis, Cody gets into the intricacies of fermenting Riesling, Brian discovers his new favorite California Cabernet and Sam dings wine glass until his finger turns black and blue. [EP199]
Jen & Sara were going to make wine together, and they knew that it started with organic grapes and that the wine would be a reflection of the vineyard. What they didn't know was what the winery would be called. Now inspiration comes in many forms and "Trouble" comes in many forms and after getting to know these two we think you will know exactly where the name comes from. [EP198]
www.littletroublewines.com @littletroublewineco
Sam, Bart and John cover Weather, Wind and Water after the holiday and answer listener questions. The heat spell is starting to fade a bit, Sonoma is beautiful and we're still in the mega drought. Enjoy a light-hearted conversation that's a lot of fun. Cheers! [EP197]
This week we sit down with Morgan Twain-Peterson, MW, founder and winemaker of Bedrock Wine Co. in Sonoma. If you listen to the show, you know Morgan is a bit of a phenom, making his first wine at 5, saving historic vineyards, starting a California “grower” sparkling wine program Under the Wire, M.W., the list goes on. If you want to know anything about wine, ask Morgan. We get into a lot of subjects on this pod, including drought, DOC instability, climate change, and the amazing investment being made by Morgan and his partner Chris Cottrell to release some of the best sparkling wine in California. Enjoy this one. [EP196]
-Cheers.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-4{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-4 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-4{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-4 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-4{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-4 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-5 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-5{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
How nice was it for the whole team to gather outback of the Sixteen600 Tasting House for a chat with John Musto and Tom Young from Drive Wines. These guys make some really nice wines and we actually got to taste some of their original garage-made that aren't for sale. But don't worry as they have plenty of great wines on their list and these are Micro-production, single-vineyard wines too. This is another great Sonoma area success story that started out in an old race car garage that ended up well. A beautiful day in Sonoma and an awesome show. Enjoy [EP195]
www.drivewines.com
Email -> john@ tom@ drivewines.com
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook -> @drivewines
La Prenda Vineyard Management is a full service vineyard management company. That means that not only do they have a skilled crew working in the vineyards and in this case orchards but they also have a winemaker on staff. Mike Cox is a Sonoma native who first started working at Hacienda Winery when attending UC Davis in the late 80's. Mike spent the majority of the last 30 years working at Schug Winery and he brought along a bunch of wines and a couple of ciders he made to share with us. We only scratched the surface of stories and experiences with Mike, so we hope you enjoy this episode and I'm sure there will be a follow up show so we can dive in to the wines we didn't get a chance to open. [EP194]
www.laprendavineyards.com
www.sonomacollectionwine.com
@laprendasonoma
Groove Wines isn't a canned wine company, it's a winery that puts some of it's wines in cans. We sat down this week with Nate Miles and Matt Nagy to talk about their new brand. Yes the same Matt from Benevolent Neglect, Nate and Matt met each other working for Steve Matthiasson in Napa valley, it was a great conversation check out the show. Nate says that Groove is a new wine company interested in making wines that you want to drink, bring you pleasure, and make you happy. We want to make your wine experience more flexible and convenient, a better fit for your modern lifestyle. We’re going to do this by putting your wine in cans. [EP193]
www.groovewines.com @groovewines
When we first sat down with David Ramey in October of 2018 we spent time talking about his start in the wine business and the winemaking techniques that he pioneered of which many winemakers use today. This time we are joined by his children Claire and Alan as David takes a step into the future helping guide his children toward running this family business. We also get some insight into the standards that this winery has build it’s reputation on. [EP192]
rameywine.com/ @davidramey @rameywinecellars
While studying chemistry at the University of Colorado at Denver, Danielle sensed that laboratory research was not fulfilling her passion. Throughout her young adult life, Danielle’s father, shared his love of wine, continually encouraged her to move to California and explore winemaking. Finally, in the late summer of 2013, she took his advice and moved to Sonoma. That year Danielle had her first opportunity in the wine industry working as a cellar intern for harvest at the Kamen Estate.
Dan, armed with a background in geology and a passion for organic agriculture. Dan moved to California with his soon to be wife, Danielle in early 2014. Phil Coturri gave him his start in wine-growing where he worked with the vineyard crews at Kamen Estate. Over his six years working with Enterprise Vineyards, Dan studied all aspects of organic farming, including biodynamic agriculture and Korean natural farming. While Dan keeps very busy in the vineyards, he is also known to lend a hand in the winery whenever needed. Dan is an integral part of the husband and wife Jambe de Bois Wines team.
Jambe de Bois was born out of Danielle’s yearning to study winemaking and develop her own unique style. Every vintage is different not only because of the weather that shapes it, but also the experimental and bold techniques employed to make the wine. “Jambe de Bois is her creative outlet. These small batches of wine are meant to be a discovery of different winemaking processes as I learn more every year. One thing I know about wine, is I will never be done learning.”
www.jambedeboiswines.com
Master Sommelier Christophe Tassan has spent his career hanging out in the most rarified air the wine and hospitality business has to offer. He grew up in his family’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Avignon, he worked for super star chef Alain Ducasse, he was the wine director of the legendary Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia, he attained literal heights running the wine program at Aureole in Las Vegas famous for the Wine Angels soaring 50 feet into the air to retrieve the best bottles. A career like his doesn’t lack for hardware either; he was awarded 2nd Best Young French Sommelier in 1988, Best Sommelier “South of France” in 1992 and became a Master Sommelier in 2000. In 2004 he was rewarded with the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France - Sommelier, France’s highest distinction for the trades. Today, his career has taken him to new heights-the top of the Moon Mountain District where Christophe oversees Moon Hollow a new wine label from Michael and Xochi Birch who own The Battery in San Fancisco where Christophe is also the beverage director. Through it all, Christophe remains a humble steward to the grape, to the wine and to the stories they can tell. [EP190]
www.moonhollow.com.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-6{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-6 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-6{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-6 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-6{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-6 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-7 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-7{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
This week we sit down with Paul Duroussay, former intern to our friend Jeff Cohn. Paul grew up and was educated in Burgundy with friends and family in the wine business. He now imports small production wines that would normally never see American soil. Follow the story from France to California and see what it takes to bring these incredible wines to us. Oh and there’s Champagne too !!! The wines are incredible and the prices are mind blowing for the quality. Viva la France 🇫🇷...
pierreclosimports.com
This week we checked in with two of our favorite guests, Blair Guthrie from Guthrie Family Wines and Joel Burt from Las Jaras Wines. We thought it would be fun to have them both on together to double your pleasure. This is a great show, covering a wide variety of topics, and a multitude of wines. Normally we tell you to pour yourself a glass, but this week you might want to crack a couple bottles. Enjoy !!! [EP188]
lasjaraswines.com guthriefamilywines.com
Well it’s been a year of Zoom for The Wine Makers during the Covid pandemic so to celebrate Spring, bud break and vaccinations, we did this show in person on the beautiful new deck at the Sixteen600 Tasting House. We cover a lot of ground today with lots of beautiful new releases from Bart and Dane Cellars plus new ones from Sam. This is an episode you should really enjoy. Cheers! [EP188].fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-8{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-8 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-8{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-8 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-8{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-8 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-9 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-9{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
This week we discuss Weed Slayer, no that’s not Sam’s nickname. The maker of Weed Slayer/ Agro Gold WS Herbicide and Fertilizer was hit with a false advertising class action lawsuit related to claims that the product was safe. We are now learning that this product contains glyphosate and diquat, which are both prohibited for use in organic production. What are the consequences and what do we do now? [EP186]
Scott Kirkpatrick moved out to California from Kentucky with $30 in his pocket. He discovered a love for wine, and for a woman named Allison. After working numerous harvests at a crush pad facility, he had an idea. What if we make Petite Sirah and treat it like the aromatic, lively beauty that it could be, instead of continuing to produce the masculine beast that most wine makers typically do ? Mountain Tides was born, with his artistic photographer wife crafting the labels, they started on a voyage of discovery into all things Petite. Now four years later they have attracted the attention of the wine world. Why do they do it ? How do they do it ? Give it a listen and hear for yourselves.
mountaintideswine.com @mountaintides
Paul Giusto and Michael Sebastiani met back in the day, working together at Viansa Winery in Sonoma. In 2004, they decided to partner up and go out on their own, taking their vineyard connections, Michael's wine making experience and Paul's marketing skills. These guys are true ambassadors of Sonoma County, showcasing fruit from some of the most prized and historic vineyards. Their wines are like them, accessible and approachable. Paul joined the conversation from the back of his truck, parked in the MacLeod Vineyard on Lawndale Rd. in Kenwood. Check it out. [EP184]
highway12winery.com
We welcome back Paul Mabray this week and he is joined by Erica Duecy, they are here this week to introduce us to their new company. Pix is a wine discovery platform that helps wine consumers find the right bottle: If you're looking for a specific wine, the website will help guide you to it, or to a great alternative. If you're exploring a region or variety, they will find benchmark bottles in the price range you specify. Pix locates bottles for in person pick-up or delivery. Set to launch in Spring 2021, Pix is a better way to find and buy wine. [EP183]
@pixwine @pmabray @ericaduecy.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-10{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-10 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-10{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-10 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-10{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-10 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-11 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-11{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
Bart Hansen and Sam Coturri are officially announcing their "Spring Release" wines. Dane Cellars is releasing the 2018 Chenin Blanc from the Buddha's Dharma vineyard and the 2018 Grenache from Rossi Ranch. Sam Coturri is releasing the "A Deux Tetes" series with a 2019 Grenache Rose from the Miller Vineyard in Napa, a 2018 Grenache from Rossi Ranch and the 2018 Grenache from Oakville Ranch. All the wines are currently available by visiting their websites. [EP182]
winerysixteen600.com danecellars.com sonomasommwines.com
Shaina Harding earned her degree in Enology & Viticulture at UC Davis, working for Domaine Chandon, Clos Pegase and Flora Springs before taking the position of Associate Winemaker at HUNNICUTT Wines. Natalie Coughlin grew up outside of Napa in Vallejo, with a love of food and wine,before becoming one of the most decorated American Olympic swimmers in history. How did these two dynamic women meet and decide to start a small production label called Gaderian Wines? Listen to this week's Podcast and get the whole story. [EP181]
Gaderianwines.com Hunnicuttwines.com Nataliecoughlin.com
This week we are joined by Fred & Jamie Pererson of Peterson Winery in Dry Creek Valley. Producing wines for the past 30 years and like most wineries in the Valley, they make Zinfandel but it's the other wines and their unique part of Dry Creek that are an important part of the story. Fred is an iconoclast with an old-world winemaking philosophy and a reverence for sustainable farming. The Peterson approach is to capture the essence of vintage and vineyard—a philosophy they call Zero Manipulation—with low tech, yet high touch winemaking techniques to produce wines of a place, wines with soul. Jamie was named assistant winemaker in the summer of 2002 and in 2006, they moved their production to Timber Crest Farms on Dry Creek Road, Jamie was given the overall responsibilities as winemaker. Together Fred and Jamie assess the grapes each evaluating how the weather, soil and site are interacting for the particular vintage. [EP180]
These are exceptional wines made with thought, care and have a lot of soul. We hope you enjoy the show.
Cheers
www.petersonwinery.com @petersonwinery
There are stories about people who leave their jobs in corporate America to pursue their dreams of working in the wine business. This week we have Sean McBride from Crosby Romann Wines on the show. Sean, his wife Juliana and their twin daughters did just that. Their first commercial release from 2007 was made at a custom crush facility and they have been moving forward ever since. They purchased an abandoned commercial building in Napa, completed its construction to be their production facility and tasting room. Just last year they purchased a 5 acre vineyard in Carneros planted to Sauvignon Blanc and a plan to replant part of it to some Bordeaux varieties for their own Estate Blend. Hope you enjoy hearing their story and that you will check out their wines. [EP179]
We are excited to be back and have a whole list of exciting shows for 2021 and can't wait to share them with all of you. Cheers
Crosby Romann Wines www.crosbyroamann.com @crosbyromann
The guys gather this week on the day after... No not New Years Day, the day after what can only be described unbelievable. We touched on a number of subjects, everything from what's going on in the vineyard to vineyard designated gummies. We are looking forward to 2021 and already have an entire list of guests we can't wait to introduce you to. Stay safe everyone and we look forward to a great year. Cheers!!! [EP178]
Laura joined the conversation while sitting on her lanai on Kauai sipping a Pellegrino in the morning sun talking about wanting to distill some rum. Ahh, the life of a winemaker right ?? Not exactly... Dig deeper and you'll find that she is extremely thoughtful in her approach to the wine business, almost like she has one eye on a barrel of Merlot and the other eye up in space looking down at the planet. She catches the attention of the critics, named Winemaker to watch in 2017 and recently having her Carneros Merlot selected as 1 of 12 wines that defined 2020 by Esther Mobley, but that is not her goal. Laura wants to make soulful wines made with intention for everybody to enjoy. Reacting to climate change, she has moved up to Washington to make more acid-driven white wines, in a cooler environment with lower overhead. She is not a fan of social media or even the process of selling, Laura simply wants to create beautiful wines. You can purchase some of these wines through Benchmark in Napa. Happy New Year, thanks for supporting us this year, it is truly appreciated. [EP177]
1614 Sixth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 (510) 883-3189 laura @ inconnuwine.com
Fine Disregard Wine Cowas founded by Mike Schieffer and Kara Maraden – both came to the Napa Valley drawn to wine from previous careers, Mike from Texas and Kara from Pennsylvania. Mike graduated from American University in Washington, DC – worked for the Discovery Channel – exploring a possible career in law – but then was bitten by the wine bug. His introduction to wine making came through a Rugby coach who connected him with several wineries in Bordeaux – Mike worked in Bordeaux in 2008 and later in the Hunter Valley in Australia where he was introduced to Sémillon – an introduction that would later influence his decision to work with Sémillon in the Napa Valley.
Kara graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture and Master’s in Plant Pathology. Trying to determine a career – she initially helped managed large estate gardens in Pennsylvania, sold beer for a stint before moving to California in 2010. Initially seeking a job in a tasting room, she soon discovered viticulture was a better match to her interests and background. She has been a viticulturist for Clos Du Val, Regusci and Foley Family of Wines. [EP176]
https://www.finedisregardwine.com
This week on the show we discuss the wines on our favorite year ending lists, Wine Spectator Top 100, Wine Spectator top 100 wines under $20, Esther Mobley's 12 California wines that defined 2020 and Jeb Dunnuck top 100. We also discuss automated tractors, future guests, supply chain inequities and our personal favorite wines of 2020. Happy Holidays. [EP175].fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-12{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-12 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-12{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-12 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-12{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-12 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-13 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-13{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
Ray has had a life full of adventures, from traveling around Asia after graduating college to signing up to help build a sailboat and the being on the crew sailing around the South Pacific. Ray's wine-making career began on various Sonoma Valley bottling lines in the late 1970’s. From there he worked at Kenwood Vineyards in the cellar for about 5 years. Ray also picked-up some Pinot Noir knowledge, by working a couple of harvests at Bouchaine Vineyards. In 1987 he began working as co winemaker for Laurel Glen Vineyards. When Ray first started, the wine world was a different place. He watched and learned as stainless steel tanks began replacing redwood tanks and concrete fermenters. He saw refrigeration become commonplace, and work in the vineyards and the wineries become more specific. He saw this willingness to change lead California to produce unique world class wines. Similarly, Ray developed as a winemaker first by following traditional procedures, then by following the more technical approach suggested by the University of Davis. Ultimately, Ray’s wine making style utilizes traditional, natural methods supported by technical knowledge. Ray is uniquely familiar with the difference between working with multiple vineyards to make one wine and using a single vineyard. In Argentina, the single vineyard concept is still new. Before Ray’s first visit, he knew very little about Argentina. Once he arrived, he found great joy in the people, the culture, the food, and of course--the Malbec. The wine industry reminded him of California when he first started out. At that time, there was an influx of new people and new ideas. Change for the better was in the air, grounded by an appreciation and respect for tradition. [EP174]
https://adelantewine.com/
The Wine Makers celebrate their favorite holiday of the year, Repeal Day, with Tom Wark, wine publicist, wine blogger and tireless advocate for wine consumers, producers and retailers. Perhaps best known for his Fermentation Wine Blog, where he never shies away from controversy and frequently takes on the archaic "Three-Tiered System" of wine sales that has allowed wholesalers to keep a stranglehold on the market since the repeal of prohibition. Listen in as Wark dispatches on 30 years in the wine business, the current state of wine shipping laws, neo-prohibitionists and much more! [EP173].fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-14{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-14 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-14{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-14 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-14{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-14 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-15 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-15{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
This week we gathered together on Zoom the day before Thanksgiving to answer some listeners' questions. As a request from a couple of listeners we will be asking for suggestions and questions that we can attempt to answer each week. But to always be on brand we recommend that you "Question the Answers". If nothing else we will eventually get the right answers to your questions. Brian, Sam, Bart and John are truly grateful for all your support for the podcast from you listeners. We love doing the podcast but it doesn't mean anything if no one listens. [EP172]
Bertus grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and knew he wanted to be a winemaker at the age of 15. He went on to study Viticulture and Enology at the University of Stellenbosch, then working in the cellars at Deetlefs Estate, Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons, Glen Carlou. In 2010 he came to California to work harvest in Napa Valley where he met Alli. But it wouldn't be until 2012 when they had their first date at Bouchon and shared a bottle of 2008 Domaine Tempier. Whether it was his South African charm or the Mourvedre that swept Alli off her feet only she knows. In 2017 wanting to celebrate everything they hold dear: love, adventure, a sense of exploration, and one ton of Mourvedre from El Dorado County Belong Wine Co. was on its way. Bertus is also the winemaker at Tank Garage and James Cole Wines in Napa Valley, we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we enjoyed his wines.
www.belongwines.com @belongwineco @bertusvz
Just the name makes you wonder about the wines and who makes them. It all started with Syrah, funny how a lot of our winemaking guests have told us it started that way. Matt Nagy and Ben Brenner both found their way to California from the East Coast working at different wineries in Napa Valley. In 2013 they came together and started making Syah from the Las Madres Vineyard in Carneros. Now they are sourcing grapes from the Alder Spring vineyard in the farthest reaches of Mendocino County and down to Carmel Valley in Monterey County. All with the focus of sourcing the best grapes and staying out of the way. Minimal intervention is likely the best way to describe our winemaking style. "The idea of the winemaker is to be the reliable translator – to take what was made in the vineyard from sun, water, and soil and let it become the finest wine that it can be." With that much time spent on the car I hope they are all caught up with all the episodes of The Winemakers Podcast. Check out this week's show and Matt & Ben's wines. [EP170]
www.bnwines.com
@bnwines
info@bnwines.com
This week we're joined by a trio of young winemakers who are making their voices heard about the future of winemaking in Sonoma Valley. Jack Sporer wears many hats, he runs the operations of Sonoma's newest custom crush facility, Magnolia Wine Services, he's the assistant winemaker for Bucklin Vineyards and has his own label, Fresh Wine Co. Through Magnolia he works with Dan Marioni who got hooked on making wine the hard way at Coturri Winery and now makes zero/zero Natural wines under labels D. Marioni Wines and Sonoma Mountain Winery. Rounding out this next-gen trio is a friend of the program, Isabel Gassier, who is making A Deux Tetes and some Sixteen 600 wines at Magnolia. Three different winemaker and winemaking styles all come together under the same roof in pursuit of the best grapes, the best vineyard and a true expression of Sonoma Valley. The future looks bright! [EP169]
To me a Journeyman is someone who has spent their career learning from those around them, expanding their knowledge and then sharing with their peers. If we agree on that then Mike Drash is truly a Journeyman since his first position at DeLoach Winery then on to J winery in the Russian River Valley. Next moving to the Napa Valley working at Far Niente and as Winemaker at Luna Vineyard and his own brand Tallulah. But not until taking a winemaking position in Southern Minnesota that he had to take all that experience and apply it to varieties and grape growing conditions unlike anything he had worked with, another time to learn. 2020 finds Mike taking on another chance to learn as winemaker for Stone Tower Winery in Virginia, I wonder if Thomas Jefferson would have anything to share with Mike. Hope you enjoy this week's show, but you can't listen until you have voted. Cheers!!!
www.stonetowerwinery.com @stonetowerwinery @winemakermiked
This week we virtually visit Anderson Valley and chat with the owners of Bee Hunter Wine. This region is typically known for Pinot Noir and racy whites but there is a lot more going on up there. One of our listeners turned us on to this "dynamic duo" and their funny way of talking up there. If you have never heard of Boontling, we will translate some of their favorite sayings. Super cool humans and talented winemakers. Do you know anyone that was born in a "fairy ring" ?? You will if you listen to the show, check it out...
beehunterwine.com @beehunterwine
This week we wish John Myers a Happy Birthday and talk about female wine influencers, UV light for grapes and smoke taint. [EP166]
Rosalind Reynolds started her journey into wine at a young age, working on experimental techniques in the lab for Gallo. Her passion for making wine pushed her to "harvest hop" around the world, finally settling in as assistant winemaker to Pax Mahle in Sebastopol. Rosalind then started her own label, Emme Wines, making small batches with unique varietals in a crushpad that can only be described as an incubator for young, talented winemakers. Sam and Brian were literally left speechless when she described some of the projects she was working on. Wine drinkers, meet your future, young winemakers that are more than willing to think outside the box and bring you fresh, interesting wines. She just released her new wines this week, I encourage you to act quickly if you want to try them.
emmewines.com info@emmewines.com @rosalindsreynolds
To attend the Voter Registration Party on Monday go to ashesdiamonds.com
This week we sit down with Jen Reichardt, owner-winemaker at Raft Wines. Jennifer was raised in Petaluma, born into a family of duck farmers. In 2016 she started her own wine label, focusing on unique varietals from interesting vineyards, maintaining a price point that was accessible to everyday wine drinkers. Her wines have also given her a platform to raise awareness about voting issues, supporting restaurant workers and obviously delicious duck consumption. In the midst of our current round of fries, we also discuss smoke taint and the issue of climate change. We encourage our listeners to follow Jennifer on Instagram and reach out to your House Representatives via the Capital switchboard to help us pass the Restaurants Act. Tune in, turn on, eat local, drink local... [EP164]
Capitol Switchboard - 202-224-3121 drink.raft.wine @duckdaughterjj @raftwines @miracle.plum
With the sale of the Benziger Family Winery to The Wine Group in 2015, Joe and Mike Benziger have left as well as Tim Wallace. So who stepped up to continue in the family tradition? Jill Benziger took over Consumer, Trade and outreach Liaison and her sister Jamie, named Wine Enthusiast Magazines 40 under 40 tastemakers in 2019, took over as winemaker at Imagery. We sit down with the new generation to see how the transfer of power is going. The commitment to Biodynamic farming and the passion for making great wine is still there. So what's different ? Give it a listen and find out.
Benziger.com Imagerywinery.com @imagerywinery @benzigerwinery
The Wine Makers is #9 on the list of Top 30 Wine Podcasts of 2020!
This week we celebrate one of our favorite holidays by sitting down with the two biggest champions of Grenache. The Haas & the Perrin Family changed the focus of the wine industry in California by introducing Rhone varietals to the New World. Sondra Bernstein from the girl & the fig forced wine lovers to step out of their comfort zones by only offering these wines at her hugely successful restaurant in Sonoma. These were not seen as smart business decisions at the time, but passion and focus sometimes override logic. Thank God, we hope you enjoy the show! [EP162]
tablascreek.com thegirlandthefig.com
@figgirl @tablascreek @MJ Towler @hospicedurhone.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-16{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-16 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-16{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-16 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-16{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-16 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-17 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-17{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
We are in the middle of Harvest and still dealing with fires, smoke and heat. This show was sort of a break from reality for us, some meat but also a lot of fat. Ramblin on. [EP161]
This week we have a little fun and taste through the new releases from Sixteen600 and Bart offers a special vertical Zinfandel promo. If you happen to listen to the entire show you will be rewarded with some stupid ramblings from the Wine Makers. You can tell we are suffering from PTSD. Sonoma Strong has become Sonoma Tired. Enjoy everyone... Cheers! [EP160]
We are experiencing fires in a large portion of our wine growing regions due to a lightning storm that brought over 11,000 strikes in a 72 hour period. The smell of smoke has become a part of our daily lives for the past two weeks. First and foremost our hearts go out to all the families that have lost loved ones and their homes. Being that the fires have started so early in the picking season, we have a new challenge this year, smoke. Vineyards that have prolonged exposure to smoke risk being "tainted" by the smell and flavor of the fires. What does that mean for this years harvest? This is not an easy or fun conversation to have but we thought it was important to honestly discuss the ramifications. Stay safe, tune in...
This week we sit down with MJ Towler. MJ is a wine professional with over 20 years of experience in all aspects of the wine business, Towler has worked retail, wholesale, auctions and also as a sommelier. On May 5, 2000, he became the first-ever African American fine and rare wine auctioneer. We had been following his Instagram account for a while and were intrigued by his choice of unique wines, especially his love of Rhone varietals. MJ will soon be starting a new project that includes a podcast from New York so we thought it would be fun to get the lowdown. We talk about marketing, music, race, and of course wine. MJ recently featured Hill of Tara wines on his feed so we brought along Danny Fay to make an introduction. This is a good one....
Sidenote - Fire season has officially begun here in California, we have multiple fires in and around wine country that are making things even more challenging for harvest than they already were, please continue to support our local growers and winemakers in any way that you can. Stay safe.
blackwineguy.com
Instagram @blackwineguy
The Black Wine Guy
19 Tower Hill Ave.
Red Bank, New Jersey 07701
To say Artie has spent a career working with the best in the food & wine industry is a laughable understatement. From Nobu in New York to the Versace Mansion in Florida, from Harlan Estates to Mayacamas in California, this guy has seen it all. Now producing his own wine brand using top growers like Phil Coturri, who makes a brief appearance on the show, Artie is making a name for himself among wine drinkers who appreciate his passion and attention to quality. These wines are not easy to get but well worth the pursuit. Sit back, pour a glass and enjoy. [EP157]
This week we talk about Cameron Diaz and her new venture into "clean wine". We might be a bit late to the conversation but felt we had to weigh in. What the Fuck is "Clean Wine"? The Wine Industry is in an uproar over labeling concerns but what is the real issue, and are we at fault for not addressing this and making it clear? You decide.
Left a good job in the City, working for the Man every night and day. In 2016, Todd Cavallo and his wife Crystal left their jobs in finance and bought a farm in upstate New York. The plan was to grow vegetables, make wine, raise chickens, and collaborate with like-minded people to create a biodynamic farm. They have gotten a lot of attention for their Piquette, a wine based beverage made by using the once used grape skins, fermenting them again and doing a dosage before bottling or canning. It's low alcohol, refreshing, delicious, fresh and cool. They have also made still wines from a grape called Marquette, a hybrid grape created by Cornell, their U.C. Davis on the East coast. For all of us that have wanted to truly "drop out & tune-in", this show is for you. [EP155]
wildarcfarm.com @wildarcfarm Wild Arc Farm, 918 Hill Ave, Pine Bush, NY 12566 845-419-3504.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-18{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-18 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-18{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-18 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-18{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-18 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-19 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-19{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
This week we travel to Israel, virtually, to chat with Guy Eshel from Dalton Winery in the area of Galilee. We heard about Guy through a mutual friend in Mexico City, the Taco Mensch. Guy Eshel grew up in Cali and Israel and has worked at wineries in France, Australia and California, including Broc Cellars in Berkley. We knew almost nothing about the wine culture in Israel so we cover a lot of topics, including terroir, climate, and the kosher certification. The wines Guy sent us were amazing, we discuss how you can get access to them here in the States. Enjoy the show... [EP154]
www.dalton-winery.com @daltonwinery @guyovino @TacoMensch
So, at first glance you might ask why we are sitting down and talking with someone who works at a bank. Let me take an excerpt from Rob's own "Professional Summary" to give you an idea, Rob McMillan is one of the top wine-business analysts in the United States and the author of Silicon Valley Bank’s highly regarded annual State of the Wine Industry Report. With decades of experience researching the wine business, his views are sought after and trusted by winery owners, journalists, entrepreneurs and investors. He is a prominent speaker, both domestically and internationally, and he is extensively quoted in national, regional and trade press. He has also been named several times as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in the US wine industry.
We cover a lot of topics on this show but we mainly focus on the general health of the wine industry, both pre and post Covid-19. You can find links below to his annual report that we think is extremely valuable to anyone in the wine industry.
Check it out....
Rob McMillan, EVP & Founder
Silicon Valley Wine Division
1300 First Street #466
Napa, Ca. 94559
www.svb.com/wine-report
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciEMUQcbFjI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG1wk3p3jVE
www.svbwine.blogspot.com
The guys cover a wide variety of topics this week including social media influencers, organic sprays, drought, cannabis farming and bottling lines. [EP152]
Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley region of Southern Oregon was originally planted by Dick Troon back in 1972. The property was conventionally farmed for over 40 years and was in need of some love. Craig Camp was brought on in 2016 to focus on organic, bio-dynamic and regenerative farming, bringing the land back to its original state, suitable for farming high quality grapes to make world-class wines. Their unique climate is very similar to Southern France and therefore perfectly suited to Rhone varietals. The wine making team of Nate Wall and Sarah Thompson have re-energized the land and brought a new focus based on the total health of the vines to create some serious and fun wines. Great story, check it out..
troonvineyard.com @troonwines
This show was our third and maybe the last virtual tasting of this series. Bart sent out a 2012 Chenin Blanc from the cellar and a 2017 Zinfandel just out of the barrel. Once again we were truly grateful for the support of our listeners and the incredible community they have created. We hope to be returning soon to our regular shows without the use of Zoom. Thank you all for the support over the last few months. Stay safe, tune in, drink more wine.
danecellars.com winerysixteen600.com
Mayacamas Olds was recently named as the new General Manager of Gloria Ferrer Winery in Sonoma. Her journey in the wine business started at a very young age with her parents owning Sky Vineyards on Cavedale Rd. between the Napa and Sonoma valleys. Maya has a Bachelor of Science in fermentation from UC Davis and has worked on multiple continents with large and small companies in the wine industry. She has known Sam since they were in diapers and used to work with Bart at Lasseter Winery when she was a part of the Enterprise Vineyards team. Mayacamas has big plans for Gloria Ferrer and a position with a lot of influence. She will be in charge of every aspect of the business from hospitality to viticulture all the way to winemaking and sustainability. We are truly proud to have one of our own running this great estate that greets wine lovers at the entry to Sonoma in Carneros. [EP150]
Check it out....
gloriaferrer.com
@gloriaferrerwinery
23555 Arnold Drive, Sonoma
866-845-6742
skyvineyards.com
@skyzinfandel
Today we officially reopen the tasting rooms here in Sonoma. But what exactly does that mean ?? We discuss the challenges of opening up for hospitality in Sonoma. Stay safe. Drink more wine. Cheers !! [EP149]
danecellars.com
winerysixteen600.com
This week we decided to "honor" one of our favorite grapes. Grenache doesn't get as much attention as some of the other varietals despite being THE most widely planted grape in the world. We invited on four of the local Grenache Masters; Casey Graybehl, the Grenachista, Peter Mathis from Mathis Wines, Jeff Cohn from Jeff Cohn Cellars and Dave Mounts from Mounts Winery. [EP148]
Sondra Bernstein from The Girl & The Fig joined the podcast as well, her love of this amazing grape has fueled the consumption for diners at her restaurant here in Northern California. She also hinted of a possible Sine Qua Non wine dinner at her Suite D event space.
Stay safe, tune in, drink more...Cheers...
jeffcohncellars.com grenachista.com mountswinery.com mathiswine.com thegirlandthefig.com
This week we are not talking about Covid-19, Corona Virus, PPP, PPE, SIP, N95, DTC, EDD, Ventilators, Curb-Side Pick Up, Social Distancing, etc. We needed a break. We thought you might need one too. We had an idea, let’s just talk about wine with interesting people and wines we love. Bart, Sam and Brian decided to each invite two guests, and not reveal our choices until we started recording the show. The result was the ultimate “blind date” [EP147]
This week we are joined by wine professionals on the retail side of the business to talk about how they are dealing with an increased direct to consumer demand. Todd Jolly from Sonoma's Best, Donald Moffat from Zachys and Alvaro Cardenas from Wine Stop give us the lowdown on sales, tariffs, pricing and market trends. After you listen to the show, reach out and buy some wine. Cheers... [EP146]
mywinestop.com zachys.com sonomas-best.com
We had another great virtual wine tasting with Dane Cellars & Sixteen600. This is just some "bonus" content if anyone would like to hear it.
danecellars.com winerysixteen600.com
This week on the podcast we invited some of our friends from different wine making regions in the world to discuss the challenges of selling wine in our current environment. We were joined by Anne Charlotte from Chateau Font du Loup in France, Elyse Perry from Bokisch Vineyards in Lodi, Dusty Nabor from Dusty Nabor Wines & NSO Wines in Southern California and Melani Harding from Bon Niche Cellars in Paso Robles.
dustynaborwines.com nsowines.com @dustynabor bonniche.com @barleyvondoodle @melaniharding lafontduloup.com @anne_charlotte_lafontduloup bokischvineyards.com @bokischvineyards
Cathy is the co-founder and CEO of Enolytics, a big data startup providing business intelligence for the wine industry. She also currently writes for Forbes.com about the business and politics of the wine industry, and for Inc.com about entrepreneurs with a special focus on women. She is the author of the award-winning book Hungry for Wine: Seeing the World through the Lens of a Wine Glass.
Cathy's writing has appeared in print and online for both general-interest and wine industry publications including the Harvard Business Review network, The Atlantic, Decanter, Food52.com (where she was the "Wine, Unfussed" columnist), DailyBeast, The Boston Globe, the Washington Post, Wine Enthusiast, GlobalPost, Grist.org, and Daily Candy.
She found a little time to come hang out with us.
cathyhuyghe.com
Cathy's Book, Hungry for wine
Cathy's Post on Balanced Glass
This week we finally sit down with Esther Mobley, former editor at Wine Spectator in New York and current wine, beer and spirits writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. What we have loved most about Esther since joining the Chronicle in 2015 is her ability to use wine as a backdrop to get at the really interesting stories about the people and issues behind the wine. Iconic wine makers and wineries are sometimes used as a backdrop to cover deeper stories of immigration, climate change and social inequity. Her natural sense of curiosity serves her well and endears her to the readers. We talk about what it's like to cover the wine industry in these strange times where personal contact is off limits. Pour yourself a Paloma and enjoy... [EP143]
Stay safe, order wine, tune in and turn on.....
sfchronicle.com
esthermobley.com
.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-20{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-20 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-20{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-20 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-20{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-20 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-21 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-21{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
This week the guys were supposed to have Esther Mobley on, wine writer for the S.F. Chronicle. Our Zoom invite somehow made it into her "junk" file but we decided to do the show anyway. Don't worry, we got her back for next weeks show. We discuss the origins of the podcast and how it has changed in the last few weeks. Stay safe, order wine, tune in and guzzle down. [EP142]
BONUS CONTENT! - On Friday the 10th of April 2020 The Wine Makers Podcast did their first Virtual Wine Tasting with Dane Cellars & Sixteen600. They recorded it and decided to release it as a "bonus" show for anyone that wanted to hear it. Thank you to everyone that signed up and joined us, it was nice to see all of your faces and we truly appreciate the support. Cheers!
The next virtual tasting is scheduled for Friday May 1st. Stay tuned for details.
winerysixteen600.com danecellars.com thegirlandthefig.com
"The Wine Industry doesn't have an education problem, we have an engagement problem". Paul Mabray is an outspoken voice in the wine industry when it comes to data collection and how to properly use it to engage our customers. We thought this was a good time to have him back since all of us in the industry are scrambling to connect with our customers in a meaningful way. Stay safe, order wine, listen in and turn on. Cheers [EP141]
Thanks emetry.io paul @ emetry.io
Jordan Kivelstadt joins us on "lock-down" this week to talk about his new project KIvelstadt Cellars Wine Garden & Eatery that was set to open April 18th in the former historic site of Fords and Schellville Grill. Jordan and his chef Matt Tucker have had to put things on hold so they shifted to a wine and meal delivery service to stay connected with their clients and the community. Sam and Bart talk about their new "virtual tasting" experience that rolls out this week. Stay safe, order wine and join us in the digital world, this could go on for a while. Go to Dane Cellars or Sixteen 600 websites below to order wine for the virtual tasting. Cheers. [EP140]
danecellars.com winerysixteen600.com kivelstadtcellars.com.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-22{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-22 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-22{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-22 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-22{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-22 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-23 { overflow:visible; }.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-23{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}
One of our favorite guests joined us on the show this week to chat about the state of the global wine industry, virtual wine tasting and how damn tasty moose can be when cooked properly. Enjoy !!!
wakawakawinereviews.com lilyelainehawkwakawaka@gmail.com
The "shelter-in-place" order has been given by our California Governor Gavin Newsom. The Wine Makers are working from home this week. We decided to practice "social distancing" and try out the Zoom app to continue to continue recording shows for our listeners. Sondra Bernstein, owner of the girl & fig restaurant, sits in and talks about the state of the food and wine industry going forward. Her restaurants and catering business closed on Monday with no projected opening dates. It's getting weird out there !!! We will continue to do our shows and bring some information and hopefully spread a little joy. [EP139]
Once we get familiar with our different app options with quality sound we will continue bringing guests onto the show. We hope that by continuing to record our podcasts we can bring some sense of normalcy into your lives. Enjoy the show.
thegirlandthefig.com thebitegoeson.com
In 1989, Carl Doumani discovered the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a Viennese painter, architect, ecologist and philosopher. Believing that the wine world had transformed a beverage of consummate pleasure into an absurdly serious pursuit, he commissioned Hundertwasser to design a winery to combat these notions. [EP137]
Imagine Alice in Wonderland meets Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Now about the wines...
The winery borders the famed Shafer's Hillside Select vineyards in Napa Valley's Stags Leap District. Winemaker B.R. Smith, who studied under Aaron Pott, crafts these deeply flavored wines under the watchful eye of consulting winemaker Philippe Melka. Cabernet Sauvignon is the obvious draw but the Petite Sirah steals the show, bringing grace and elegance to an otherwise dark and brooding variety.
Upon entering the barrel room, Smith's surfboard, perched atop the first row of barrels, lets you know these people have a zest for life and whimsy. Bruce Mackay is the tour guide and historian, with numerous stories of the property and it's eccentric inhabitants.
If you were visiting Napa and only had one winery to visit, this would be a fulfilling choice. Hope you enjoy the show.
quixotewinery.com @quuixotewinery
This week we sit down with Tanner Walle and Lauren Feldman of Valley Bar & Bottle and talk about the new wine bar and restaurant opening up in the former space of Harvest Moon. Both of these hospitality professionals have decades of experience servicing industry staff as well as visiting tourists. This funky space is destined to be a "hot spot" in Sonoma for wine and food lovers. Wine "geeks" like us are craving a place to hang out and drink interesting global wines with cutting-edge foods. They are in final stages of preparation and should be open by May 1st. Great show... [EP136]
valleybarandbottle.com @tannerwalle @laurenfeldman
This week we sit down with Korbin Ming from Korbin Kameron Winery, the highest elevation vineyard in the Moon Mountain District. His family produces world-class Bordeaux varietals in some extreme mountain conditions. We have waited a long time to get Korbin on the show because we are huge fans of the wines and think they are a rare gem in Sonoma. We also have Danny and Katie Fay from Hill of Tara, they source their grapes from Korbin's vineyard. Listeners may remember them from their inaugural release last year around St. Patricks Day. These wines are among the most coveted in Sonoma County and we felt honored to go through the whole portfolio. Danny and Katie will be offering their second release for Hill of Tara in the coming week, we highly encourage you to get in on the ground floor. Enjoy this show as much as we did...
korbinkameron.com @korbinkameron
hilloftarawines.com @hilloftarawines
This week we sit down with legends Philippe Cambie and Phil Coturri and discuss their new collaboration "A Deux Tetes". A project that focuses on New World Grenache with Old World sensibility and depth of knowledge. The Rose has been released and the Grenache Noir from two different sources, Miller Vineyard and Oakville Vineyard in Napa, is still in barrel but soon to be bottled. Isabel Gassier is the wine maker and translator of Philippe's ideas about the wines. She is the daughter of Michel Gassier, one of our favorite wine makers in France and she is an up and coming star in the California wine world. We discuss philosophy of wine making and Philippe's history and rise as the "God of Grenache" in Southern France. This is a really good show and we had fun recording it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Cheers......
This week we sit down with Taylor Berkley Boydstun, owner/winemaker of T. Berkley Wines. He makes wines inspired by the great wines of the Loire Valley. His journey started with a trip to Spain and France, a love affair was formed and he soon found himself making wine in New Zealand, Austria and Australia. Taylor currently makes small batches of Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc Rose. This is a great story and the wines are fantastic. [EP133]
tberkleywines.com @tberkleywines
Veteran of the California wine industry, Bettina Sichel, purchased this vineyard in 2011 from founder Patrick Campbell. Her first move was to hire legendary vineyard manager Phil Coturri, who had first worked this property when he was 13. She then brought in wine maker Randall Watkins, former General Manager at Moon Mountain Vineyard. The idea was not to change anything but to improve on the farming and raise the bar on the wines from this iconic vineyard. Bettina's father M.F. Sichel was the man responsible for making Blue Nun wines a household name in America. Great history here and the wines set the standard for Sonoma Mountain Cabernet. [EP132]
Laurel Glen Vineyard www.laurelglen.com @laurelglen 707-933-9877
The guys sit down with Ruben Morancy, Wine Director at Two Star Michelin restaurant Coi, pronounced "kwa", in San Francisco. Ruben is also a renowned artist with a passion for selling domestic and international wines. He started Les-sommeliers to start promoting unique fine wine events to an "under-served" community in the Bay Area and beyond. Ruben's next event is on February 15th at the Alice Collective in Oakland, featuring food by Chef Keith Corbin of Alta W. Adams in LA and jazz musician Marcus Shelby. This event will celebrate Valentines Day and Black History Month with a perfect pairing of fried chicken and tiny bubbles. Great history and stories here to share. [EP131]
Coirestaurant.com Les-sommeliers.com Ruben@les-sommeliers.com 415-425-8466
This week the guys, and Jasmine, sit down and talk about French wine tariffs, travel, North Carolina, taking the sommelier exam and the state of the wine business for 2020. We cover a lot of topics and get into almost ten wines in this episode, enjoy... [EP130]
This week on the podcast we sit down with Donald Patz, known for making "world-class" Pinot and Chardonnay at Patz & Hall Winery in Sonoma. He left this iconic winery when it was purchased in 2016 and has since started 3 small projects, Maritana, Terminim and Secret Door. He sparked our interest when he joined forces with Francois Villard, a master in Northern Rhone, to make some top notch Syrah and white blends from Mendocino. Lots of history here, great show. [EP129]
donaldpatzwinegroup.com
Donald Patz
Owner/Winemaker
707-337-2310
donald@donaldpatzwinegroup.com
@drpinot
Jung Min Lee
Owner/Muse/LKG
lkg@donaldpatzwinegroup.com
Jennifer Kelly
Vice President of Sales
707-478-5152
jb@donaldpatzwinegroup.com
François Villard
Domaine François Villard – Northern Rhône Valley, France Partner – Terminim villardfrancois@aol.com
DONALD PATZ WINE GROUP
P.O. Box 2096
Yountville, CA 94599 USA
This week on the Wine Makers we sit down with Brenae Royal, vineyard manager at the historic Monte Rosso Vineyards. Brenae grew up in the Central Valley of California and was originally interested in animals, in part due to her exposure to F.F.A., future farmers of America. Weeks into college she decided to pivot, focusing on vines and taking a job with Gallo right out of school. [EP128]
She now runs one of the most historic vineyards in California, growing Cabernet, Zinfandel and Semillon since 1886. She lives on the property with her dog and some pretty scary wildlife, it’s not unusual to see mountain lions and bobcats roaming the 250 acre property.
We get into it all, style, techniques and relationships, Brenae is an African-American woman under 30 working for a large corporation in a primarily white, older, male world. The landscape is changing, and she is a part of that movement, inclusion is key to the wine industries success and it’s important to see yourself represented.
Sam had some great wines open from a party the night before so we taste a little bit of everything. Great show....
In our continuing effort to de-mystify wine, we introduce you to Leo McCloskey and Douglas McKesson from Enologix, they can predict some things about wine that you may not have thought possible. What if someone told you to forget everything you know about wine in Northern California, like we need to rip out all of the Cabernet Sauvignon. We are going down the "rabbit hole"...
From Wikipedia... Enologix is a privately held California corporation that designs predictive analytics for luxury winegrowing. The company sells grape and wine quality indices, models, software and consulting products.
Enologix created the first algorithms that predict grape harvest dates, grading new wines, digital blends, and future market price, volume and taste scores. The most important metric among winemakers are digital blends and a taste index which predicts 100-point scores of consumer critics such as Robert Parker. It claims that the quality of wine can be measured chemically, and a score assessed, much like a wine critic.Clients include Beaulieu, Cakebread Cellars, Diamond Creek, Ridge Vineyards. Enologix's metrics have been correlated with market performance metrics, including 100-points critics' scores.
doug@enologix.com 707-938-9463
Paul Mabray has been a powerful change agent in the wine industry for over twenty years. He began his career working in traditional three-tier sales and marketing with Napa Ale Works and later innovating direct-to-consumer sales and marketing models with Niebaum Coppola. Since then, he has been at the forefront of all major digital trends for the wine industry, working with WineShopper.com and Wine.com when they entered the wine-digital space. He founded two companies that have significantly changed the US wine landscape for digital. First by introducing winery e-commerce with Inertia Beverage Group that transformed into WineDirect.com pioneering winery e-commerce and then again introducing social media and social customer relationship management with VinTank.com. He is considered the wine industry’s foremost futurist and thought leader, harnessing the power and potential of digital tools and methodologies to move the industry into the future.
A four-time American Wine Blog Awards finalist, he has been a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, UC Davis, Sonoma State as well as keynoting conferences, symposiums, and seminars. He maintains a blog and frequently contributes articles to business periodicals for his leadership in the wine industry.
Paul formerly sat on the Board of Directors for the wine business social network Openwineconsortium.org which was sold to FOHBOH, and the Board of Advisors for Snooth.com, Taste.com, and Cruvee.com (which was purchased by VinTank). He currently sits on the Board of Directors for the theappreciationengine.com and emetry.io and on the Board of Advisors for Proof Analytics.
This week the guys get together and talk tariffs, bottle size, boxed wine, sourcing barrels, Marin natural wine and a whole lot more. Check it out! [EP125]
What's it like to have one of your wines selected by Wine Spectator as the "#2 wine in the world ?"... We ask Braiden Albrecht that question on this weeks podcast. Braiden is a childhood friend of Sams and former employee of Enterprise Vineyard who is now the wine maker at Mayacamas and works closely with Andy Erickson to craft some of the most sought after Cab and Chard in California. We talk about the long, rich history of the winery and how they are moving into the next phase of development. This is a good one, Enjoy...
This week we are taking the show on the road to a "hidden gem" in the Dry Creek Valley. Nalle Winery has been making beautiful, low-alcohol Zinfandels that have been compared to some great wines from Burgundy. Doug and Lee have passed the torch to Andrew and April, it is truly a "family affair". We sat outside on the back deck, apologies for the windy background. Enjoy... [EP123]
nallewinery.com andrew@nallewinery.com 707-433-1040
Kieran Robinson joins the pod this week to announce the “almost” opening of his new tasting room in Philly. He has been doing the bi-coastal thing trying to make wine in Cali and complete construction in Pennsylvania.
The mystery of those strange tags in the Rossi vineyard is solved, Kieran is doing some consulting. Aron Rosenthal, podcast listener, joins the show and talks food and wine in South Carolina.
It’s Sunny in Sonoma! Enjoy
The guys welcome back into the fold Mr. John Myers. Steve Waymire, grower at Lazy Dog Vineyard sits in, fresh from a night pick of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. We might talk a bit about the fire too.
This week we sit down with our friend Todd Jolly, he runs the best wine program in Sonoma out of a small deli at the end of 8th St. East. Todd brings some epic Riesling for us to try. We cover a wide variety of subjects on this show including the future of Ravenswood and To Kalon. Check it out. [EP120]
sonomas-best.com
EP119: This is the 3rd year in a row that fire has dominated the conversation in October. Thankfully no major fires have started here in Northern California but our power company, PG&E, has decided that when conditions are favorable for a fire they will just shut off the power grid. We sit down and talk about how this affects the harvest and what's going on out in the vineyards.
Sixth generation vintner, Katie Bundschu joins the show and talks about her family history, life "on the road", cool-climate Cabernet and her lifestyle brand, Abbots Passage. Also, harvest is in full swing and we talk about what's going on out there. Oh and Bart makes Chenin Blanc...And Brian makes Roussanne...
abbotspassage.com gunbun.com
Gundlach Bundschu Winery 2000 Denmark Street Sonoma, CA 95476 707.938.5277 info@gunbun.com
The guys sit down with Tony Moll, retired offensive lineman in the N.F.L. and Sonoma native returning home to start his own wine label. Tony and his former team mates Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz own and operate Three Fat Guys Winery, with a small tasting room off the square in Sonoma. They make Rose, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, and it's good !!! Podcast listener Roger Randall comes to town and sits in on the show, bringing some special wines for us to try...
THREE FAT GUYS WINES 20816 Broadway, Sonoma, CA 95476 @threefatguyswines
Bart and Brian go "on the road" to visit with Tom Inners from Clif Family, on Howell Mountain, in the small town of Angwin. If you thought Clif Family wines would be mass-produced and available in every store like the Clif Bars, you would be wrong, very wrong. They make small lots of hand-crafted wine from select, organic vineyard sites. The wines are beautiful and expressive, and the way our guest Tom Inners talks about them, you would think they are still just making them for close friends and family. The hospitality is honest and real, and the company culture is about enjoying life through cycling, food and great wine. We hope you enjoy the show, we sure did...
cliffamily.com @cliffamily 709 Main Street St. Helena, CA 94574 707.968.0625
Joel Burt from Las Jaras Wines joins the podcast this week. Why would someone leave their job at Domaine Chandon to partner with actor/writer/comedian Eric Wareheim, who you may know from "The Tim and Eric Awesome Show", and make some of the most intriguing "natural" wines from some very unique varietals ??
Listen in and get the whole story....
lasjaraswines.com @lasjaraswines YouTube
We are on the road this week, traveling to western Sonoma County for a visit with Alex and Breauna Kanzler from Kanzler Vineyards. This famed Goldridge soil vineyard in Sebastopol is only 8 miles from the coast, allowing the grapes to slowly ripen, building complexity. As Danny Fay said before our visit, "you will be in Pinot Heaven". You can actually do a "farm stay" among the vineyards in their beautiful house with a pool, visit the website for pics and details... Enjoy the show.
kanzlervineyards.com
Facebook @kanzlerfamilyvineyards Instagram @kanzlervineyards
Breauna@KanzlerVineyards.com 707-827-3874
EP113: This week, Elaine Chukan Brown, aka Hawk Wakawakka returns to the podcast on the heels of her Screaming Eagle visit. We also taste some of the “hottest” celebrity Roses of the Summer. Sam pulls out a special bottle of Chardonnay from Mayacamas, the last vintage of this vineyard. Enjoy...
wakawakawinereviews.com
@hawk_wakawaka
Scott Kirkpatrick and Allison Watkins started Mountain Tides Wine in 2016 with a single vision, explore Petite Sirah in all of its forms. Unique vineyard sites and an openness to stylistic differences from a lot of other Petite Sirah on "the market" sets them apart and makes them unique. Being artists, they take a thoughtful approach to wine making and life in general, creativity is the journey and quality is the goal. Check out their story...
mountaintideswine.com
scott@mountaintideswine.com
989-492-6681
@mountaintides
@cellaringscott
@_allisonwatkins
EP111: Bart, Sam & Brian sit down and talk about the rapidly approaching harvest. Sam saves Brian’s birthday by showing up with some good Rose. Grenache day is around the corner and Sam is getting ready for a Vinyl Sunday. Check it out...
Steve Law and his wife Heather have moved into a new location, away from the square, to a country setting more suited to their warm and inviting personalities. The wines are always on another level, high-quality but different than other wines. Rose, Sav Blanc, Viognier, Pinot and Syrah, from a Scottish man that trained in France and now living in the New World. Hope you enjoy...
maclarenwine.com
EP109: We finish up our swing through Paso Robles with a trip to Tablas Creek, the epicenter of Rhone varieties in California. The guys sit down with Nathan Stuart, he and his dog Maya tend the bio-dynamic flock of over 200 sheep that keep this land in balance. The partnership between the Haas and Perrin families has advanced the spread of Rhone varieties in the New World and created some world-class wines. We talk about the history of the winery and touch on carbon-farming and desertification. Check out the TED talk by Allan Savory on
EP108: Brian and Bart travel to San Luis Obispo to sit down with Vicki Carroll, she runs the premier wine event Hospice du Rhone, annually at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and bi-annually in Paso Robles. We open a bottle of rose and talk about and her work with some of the wine industries legends.
hospicedurhone.org
EP107: Bart & Brian go to Paso Robles to see Melani Harding, a former guest on the show, who now owns her own winery, Bon Niche Cellars. Melani introduces us to Leon Tackitt from Tackitt Family Vineyards down the road. So great to see Mel and Barley Von Doodle living their dream, check it out.
bonniche.com tackittfamilyvineyards.com Instagram @bonnichecellars Instagram @barleyvondoodle
EP106: This week we catch Sam on his way to a tasting, so we run through his entire portfolio. Bart introduces us to a six dollar Vino Verde and Brian asks why there is no 100 point Rose’s.
Troika Wines is a newer winery based in Carneros but sourcing grapes from a wide variety of vineyard sites. Jeff and a couple of his good friends decided to start making wine, their first release was a Merlot made by famed consultant Phillipe Melka. Now with Sir John, they are making Pinot, Sav Blanc and Rose of Grenache. Check it out.
troikawines.com info@troikawines.com 707-492-8213
Jess Wade is a Sonoma native with strong ties to the community and our service industry. He is a "jack-of-all-trades" when it comes to wine, working in the vineyards, both here and abroad, tending to the cellar, and now creating his own label, Topophilia Wines. Jess makes small lots of hand-crafted Rose and Pinot Noir. He is in the process of planting Grenache on his family property. Enjoy...
www.topophiliawines.com Instagram - @topophiliawines
Our friends, Jeff Cohn from Sonoma, Anne Charlotte from France, have teamed up to make one barrel of wine, a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre from the Chateauneuf du Pape. We sit down and get the story behind the wine and taste some recent releases. Check it out!
jeffcohncellars.com lafontduloup.com
Eric Story & Alison Smith Story started their small wine brand Smith Story Wine Cellars in 2014, funded by Kickstarter, sourcing small lots from family-owned vineyards. They met while working for K&L Wine Merchants and used their combined talents to create one of the most unique brands in wine country. Their dog, Lord Sandwich, has become an inspiration for some fun projects and is an Instagram celebrity.
smithstorywinecellars.com Twitter Instagram Facebook 707-494-5575
EP101: The guys open some nice wines and reflect on the past 100 shows. We discuss the rain and its affect on the crop this season. Huge thanks to all of our listeners out there, you are truly appreciated. Here’s to another 100 shows. Cheers !!
Wine writer Elaine Chukan Brown, a.k.a. Hawk Wakawaka, joins the show and talks about her journey from Alaska to wine country. What a strange trip indeed, from a 1-900 psychic operator to a contributing writer for Wine & Spirits Magazine and organizing seminars for some of the most talented Master Som's in the world.
This is a great show, grab a glass and check it out!
wakawakawinereviews.com @hawk_wakawaka
The Wine Makers sit down with our friend Ian Blessing, former sommelier at French Laundry and Bouchon, now working for the "premier" Cab producer in California. We'll let him tell the story.....
The guys sit down with Rande Feldman & Aaron Cherny from the newly released Source & Sink Wines. Two guys from Chicago meet in Sonoma and start a new brand with unique varietals and a fresh attitude.
sourceandsinkwine.com
From her first un-oaked Chardonay to a true array of beautiful whites and reds. Cindy is one of Sonoma's best!
"Passaggio, Italian for 'pass through', reflects my winemaking journey; new adventures with each vintage, exploring traditional and off-the-beaten-path varieties. I'm fortunate to be able to source hard to find grape varietals along with traditional ones." - Cindy Cosco.
passaggiowines.com @passaggio Twitter @passaggio_wines Instagram
The guys sit down this week with Blair Guthrie from Guthrie Family Wines. From beginnings as a graphic designer in New Zealand to one of the valley's more interesting winemakers, Blair brings his youth, direction, energy and fun to his diverse line-up. He is also a long term winemaker for Stewart Cellars, making big, beautiful Napa cabs and more.
guthriefamilywines.com
EP95: Without a doubt, one of the most wonderful afternoons we've ever had at The WineMakers, was when Jean Arnold Sessions dropped by this week. Jean has been one of more influential people in the wine business in Sonoma, whether guiding business and marketing strategy as a consultant or being CEO of one the few iconic wineries, Hanzell. Jean prides herself on her story telling and this show is one of our best. Enjoy.
@WineScoutJAS FB: jeanlarnold jean@jeanarnoldgroup.com jeanarnoldgroup.com
The guys sit down with Jillian, owner and winemaker at Onesta and talk about how she gets to "travel up and down the West Coast, finding solutions for other winemaker’s problems" while making beautiful single-vineyard Rhône varieties that are true expressions of the place. Most of it is sold directly to the consumer, sold through the wine club and out of her tasting space at Feast it Forward in Napa. Johnson is launching a new brand, one she says “morphs honesty to guilty pleasure”: Mentida—a Spanish word for “a little lie.” With Mentida, she’ll focus on blends of different vineyards.
www.onestawines.com
Jennifer started raft wines in 2016 with the goal of making high quality wines for everyday consumption. Her father, Jim Reichardt, started Sonoma County Poultry in 1992 and has been supplying ducks to all of the top restaurants in California ever since. Listen to his story on "the bite goes on" podcast, available on the Radio Misfits Podcast Network.
raftwines.com
libertyducks.com
This week The Wine Makers get their travel visas stamped and crossed the boarder into Napa County to meet with a man who changed the wine business forever the legendary Mark Pope, founder of The Bounty Hunter.
EP91: Every once in a while a business proposition comes along that simply commands attention. One of those ideas has hit the wine industry and it is Nakedwines. We trek to Napa for a sit down with Alex Farber and team to find out just exactly what these "disrupters" are all about. At every turn of the conversation we were struck by their exactlng standards, comittment to quality and to wine itself. So make your own wine, make your statement to the world, be an Angel or just enjoy when you open the box... It's all fascinating and Hey we even have our own Promo Code. Use this at the end of the show for a special deal from Nakedwines -> https://us.nakedwines.com/misfit
The Original WineMakingNomad visits the podcast to talk Wine, work and the passions of his life. Danny Fay and his wonderful partner Katie,discuss life as a GM of Kanzler Wines and the excitement of creating their new wines under the "Hill of Tara" brand. From life on the road in France and around the world to the fun of everyday life, Danny always brings a great attitude and style to the podcast. Join us for a really enjoyable show.
Anne-Charlotte is a charming, fun and extremely talented wine maker from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region of France. Her unique soils and forest that protects her vineyards from the mighty Mistral winds allow her to make wines with finesse and elegance. Raised in a castle near La Crau, her closest neighbor is the world-renowned Vieux Telegraphe. One day while dropping her father off at the airport for a project he had started in Morocco, he handed her the keys to the winery and told her "you are now in charge"..Since that day, Anne has made some of the most beautiful wines in the world and we are honored to call her a friend. A very fun podcast....
Mail: contact@lafontduloup.com Web: http://www.lafontduloup.com
Podcasting from the Epicenter of organic grape farming and wine making, Winery Sixteen600, the guys sit down with Phil Coturri for a truly fascinating conversation.
The guys sit down for a real life look at being a Master Sommelier with the star of first Somm movie, Ian Cauble. Co-founder of SommSelect Wines, Ian talks all things wine and life after the movies...which sounds pretty damn good.
Garrett Sathrelays out his Manifesto on Valley wineries and it's another awesome marketing lesson in the making. Seriously, where's the love from the wineries? When did it go out of style to be genuine?
The guys head north to talk with Barry Herbst, 'Head-Guy-In-Charge' at Bottle Barn, Santa Rosa. You know you’re in the right business when so many of the Wine Folks in NorCal buy their wine, beer and more from your choice of 6000skus. Gotta love the French and Italian 6 packs-to-go on line too.
The guys podcast from the Atmospheric River covering most of Northern California. John answers a couple of email questions from Nakedwines.com and thinks he's an expert. Sam wants Cannabis AVAs'. No Roundup! Sam's new Kosher wine. The Sonoma Index Tribune photographer takes our photos for the paper. Enjoy.
Roaming the world and looking for an Idle Moment, Ben Larks is one of the more colorful people in the California wine world. Enjoy one of our most entertaining interviews as we talk the ying and yang of life as micro-winery entrepreneur. Join the Idle Movement!
Idlecellars.com
This week The Wine Makers go "on the road" to Victor, a small town near Lodi, Ca. to meet with Tegan Passalacqua. Most people will know Tegan as the wine maker for Turley Wine Cellars, but he has another, small brand called Sandlands that gets a lot of attention from people "in the know". These wines are made from lesser-known vineyards, most outside of Sonoma and Napa. Tegan recently purchased a house and a historic meat processing plant in Victor with plans to convert it into a production facility for his Sandlands wines. He is also the founder of the Historic Vineyard Society, a non-profit whose only goal is to identify and save old-vine vineyards in California.Tegan took us on a tour of the vineyards in the surrounding area and we ran into Markus Bokisch, you can see this on our Instagram feed... @winemakerspod
www.turleywinecellars.com www.sandlandsvineyards.com @ownrooted on Instagram
The guys are back for the New Year and bring you one of the most fascinating talks with anyone in the wine business, Tim Wallace, former President of Benziger Family Wines and currently the Executive in Residence at Sonoma State Wine Business Institute. This show is literally worth thousands of dollars in wine marketing and branding lessons. Enjoy.
We hope your holidays are excellent and filled with great wine. Listen now to find out how to win a limited-edition Sixteen600 tie-dyed T-shirt! We're back Jan. 4, 2019
Bart and Brian take a road trip to West Sacramento and sit down with Craig Haarmeyer, owner-winemaker Haarmeyer Wine Cellars. Sacramento terroir is the focus. He makes small batches of Chenin Blanc, Nebbiolo, Mataro, Syrah and Zin, their purity and soul shine through, winemaking at its finest from a historic warehouse facility. Thoughtful and non-apologetic, Craig makes wine that he wants to drink. Give it a listen and catch the “Sacramento Buzz”….
EP78: The Wine Makers team sits down with Todd Jolly talking wine, sports and our awesome listeners. Our favorite wine sales guy from Sonoma’s Best has lots of Holiday hints for listeners with Bubbly and French imports. We enjoy the Sonoma wine community and celebrate California liquid sunshine, wine and Equator Coffee. A special shout out to Dane Cellars for their incredible scores at the San Francisco International Wine Competition.
EP77: We sit down with Csaba Szacal and talk vineyards in Napa and Sonoma valleys, their fruit and the passion of winemaking. Steeped in four generations of Hungarian winemaking, Szakál’s approach is a mix of old-world tradition and new-world innovation. Csaba is passionate about Sonoma County Russian River coastal pinot noir and high-elevation cabernet sauvignon from three Napa Valley mountaintop AVA’s.
"[En Garde] wines show a fragrant complexity that seems something this winery obtains routinely." - Robert Parker
Engardewinery.com
Raj Iyer was raised in India, where his father let him try Chablis at a very young age. He recalls that memory in the wines he makes today from two famed Sangiacamo vineyards. A chance meeting on the Sonoma square connects Raj with the famous artist who created his beautiful labels. The passion and thoughtfulness come through clearly in his wines.
We recorded this episode at the Rhone Room, owned by Sondra Bernstein from The Girl & The Fig. Sondra sits down and reveals her newest project, a podcast about food called “The Bite Goes On"
http://www.oceanschurning.com https://www.facebook.com/OceansChurning/ 1-707-583-6819
This week the guys sit down with Tres Goetting of Robert Biale Vineyards in Napa. From a history of delivering jug wine in Napa to the leading producer of Zin in Napa, Biale wines are now crafted and overseen by Tres Goetting. Tres is both a tremendous musician and an extraordinarily talented wine maker. We talk about their vineyards, the highest quality fruit and Tres’s own style of crafting these excellent wines. You’ll also hear Tres talk about his new line “Aesop Wines”.
Robert Biale Vineyards: Instagram: @bialevineyards Facebook: Robert Biale Vineyards Twitter: @BialeVineyards Pinterest: Robert Biale Vineyards Website: https://biale.com/
Aesop Wines: Instagram: @aesopwines Website: https://www.aesopwines.com/
The guys sit down to cover Harvest 2018 in all its beauty. Sam and Bart report that while harvest may be complete, there is still lots of ‘round the clock work to be done. They’re joined by Isabel Gassier from Nimes, France and talk about the upcoming Grenache release and creating new wines in the style Philippe Cambie.
Chris Leonard takes a very thoughtful and tactical approach to making his wines and works with Roussanne and Zinfandel exclusively. How does a kid from Missouri end up making wine in California? Sometimes a chance meeting at Stinson Beach with a woman who happens to work for Caymus. Daan Smeets, Restaurant Man for 38 North and Sante sits in and teaches us about Dutch wines and that crazy language.
Leonard Wine Company leonardwineco.com 1801 Park Avenue, Napa, CA 94558
The Wine Makers proudly bring you an exceptional interview with the Godfather of Zin, Joel Peterson. From his early days and the beginnings of Ravenswood, to his current passion, the Once & Future Wine Company, Joel takes us on a journey through the world of wine like no one else can. Simply fascinating.
Onceandfuturewine.com
After her journey from South Carolina and Italy to Robert Biale Vineyards and Spottswoode in Northern California, Stephanie Cook is on a mission to create beautiful single vineyard designate wines while living life to the fullest and keeping a true sense of balance. With special guest Jeff Cohn.
http://wondermentwines.com
The guys sit down with yet another Sonoma County Icon, David Ramey. From his years in France at Chateau Petrus to Healdsburg CA., David Ramey is known as one of California’s best and most respected winemakers. His efforts have helped shape the way many wines in the US are made today. David lets us in on his own philosophies of wine making and life making for a truly authentic and tremendously interesting show.
http://www.rameywine.com
The guys talk it up with Cathy Huyghe, CEO and Co- Founder of Enolytics, Author of: Hungry for Wine, Seeing the World through the Lens of a Wine Glass and columnist for Forbes and Inc. magazines. A really fun episode that digs deep into understanding how and what consumers really think about wine. Of course, we taste, talk and laugh as Cathy helps put the World of Wine under analysis.
This episode was recorded at Suite D in Sonoma, where Sondra Bernstein was hosting an International Grenache Day party. We sat down with iconic wine maker Randall Grahm, founder of the Bonny Doon winery.
Randall is a true pioneer in the wine world and a hero to the Rhone community.
Robert Joseph is a wine maker for Le Grand Noir, a winery in the Languedoc- Roussilon. He has also written over 20 books on wine and is a former journalist for the London Sunday Telegraph.
www.bonnydoonvineyard.com www.legrandnoir.com
The guys sit down with one of the men that really started the Sonoma wine scene, Mike Benziger. Sitting in Mike's huge organic garden we talk history, wine and life. A Very special show, enjoy.
To say that Richard Arrowood is a Sonoma Legend is both true and an understatement. Richard Arrowood is an iconic winemaster who has been making wine exclusively in Sonoma County for more than for 50+ years. From 1974 through 1990, he created the wines for Chateau St. Jean, where he developed some of the first vineyard-designate Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon produced in Sonoma County. He has worked closely with Phil Coturri over the years to produce the best fruit with absolutely the best field management principles.
He and his wife, Alis, founded Arrowood Winery with the 1985 vintage. Each year, they made extraordinary small-lot varietals and vineyard designates. Richard was the winemaster at Arrowood Winery until June 2010, when he resigned his position to devote himself full-time to making wines for his estate winery, Amapola Creek Vineyards and Winery.
Facebook: @amapolacreek Twitter: @amapolacreek Instagram: amapolacreekwinery
Winery Address: 392 London Way, Sonoma, CA 95476 Mailing address: P.O. Box 1987, Glen Ellen, CA 95442 PH: 707-938-3783
This week the guys sit down with Jeff Cohn, owner/winemaker Jeff Cohn Cellars in Sonoma. Jeff recently received some very high scores for his last release and we were lucky enough to try his newest wines before anyone else.
Shortly after the recording of this show, we were told about the passing of Kent Rosenblum, he was a great mentor to many including Jeff Cohn. His spirit lives on through the wines he made and the wine lovers he touched."
https://www.jeffcohncellars.com/
Sonoma Tasting Room: T | 707-938-8343 E | info@jeffcohncellars.com
Alameda Admin Office: T | (510) 465-5900 E | monica@jeffcohncellars.com
The Wine Makers sat back this week and did a full-blown tasting at Three Sticks Winery. We were joined by special guest Marcia Macomber, who is a marketing and advertising guru in the wine industry.
Enjoy as Ryan and Bob do their (our) show for us!
The guys head to the Home Ranch of Sonoma’s Sangiacomo family to talk land, fruit and winemaking. Mike and Steve Sangiacomo along with Meghan Ainsworth really made us feel at home… in the middle of 1600 acres of beautiful vines and fruit. One Hell of a discussion follows and one not to be missed.
Website: http://sangiacomowines.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SangiacomoWines/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sangiacomowines/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SangiacomoWines/
The guys really dive in for a long talk with one of Sonoma’s best known winemakers, The Godfather himself; Michael Muscardini. This is one conversation you won’t want to miss. Enjoy.
Michael@Muscardinicellars.com Muscardinicellars.com 9830 Sonoma Highway Kenwood, CA 95452 707.933.9305
The guys take a deep dive into exactly what's going on in the fields right now in Sonoma and Napa counties. As harvest quickly approaches and everyone is gearing up for the immense job ahead, we take a minute to relax and taste some new wines along with covering what's going on around the area wine wise. Always a bit irreverent and casual, The Wine Makers certainly take the stuffiness out of the wine world. Enjoy.
The Wine Makers sit down with Cody and Emily Rasmussen of Desire Lines Wines. Working their way up the hard way, they are great people as well as stellar winemakers. Cody is also the assistant winemaker at Bedrock Wine Company, working with Morgan Twain Peterson and Chris Cotrell.
www.desirlineswines.com cody@desirelineswines.com emily@desirelineswines.com
The Wine Makers do a deep dive with a member of the very elite club, Winemaker of the Year as rated by the San Francisco Chronicle, Bibiana Gonzalez Rave. Bibiana is from Columbia, studied in France and has been a consulting winemaker at some of the top wineries around the world. Today she is making her beautiful wines in Sonoma County and we were lucky enough to talk with her on the show.
The Wine Makers host Amy Bess Cook of WOW along with Lulu McClellan of Handley Cellars and Katy Wilson of LaRue Wines. Both Katy and Lulu are incredible winery owners and their wines are simply beautiful. Amy also has a new Grenache called Sirsee and is promoting gender equality in the winery business.
EP57: After the holidays, the guys talk about what’s happening in the vineyards and all things wine. Enjoy.
Never have the guys met a winemaker as dedicated to quality, cult status wines and CHARITY. All of the finances from Bob Cabral Wines go to local school charities including some very pricey (but worth it) Imperials that provide virtual school budgets in Northern CA. The wines: Fantastic. The Mission: Pure and very functional. Bob is all action and very little talk. Hear what he does have to say this week on The Wine Makers.
The Guys get with a fixture in the wine industry, Bob Cabral, from Three Sticks Winery, to cover his background and the Three Sticks line up. Some very interesting and even emotional thoughts are shared as we wolf down the Three Sticks Rose' and generally learn a lot from Bob. Visit them online at threestickswines.com
This week the guys welcome Jordan Kivelstadt of Kivelstadt Cellars. Jordan, the Wayward Son has driven wines in all new styles of packaging, from wine on tap from a keg to premium wine in cans. Needless to say, a lively discussion occurred. Wine in CANS?! John is not a fan, Bart and Brian are. Will they agree to disagree? Try the Orange wine, you’ll love the “chugability factor”.
Recorded live at The Girl & The Fig in Sonoma, John is back after his hip operation and the Wine Makers’ host a party for Nicole Rolet from Chene Bleu in the French Rhone region. This is a fascinating and funny episode so don’t miss, special thanks to Sondra Bernstein for hosting.
EP52: Memorial Day 2018 - On this episode we welcomed Melani, a loyal listener of the show and an active duty nurse with the US Navy along with all of her friends from Tennessee, San Diego and Washington at the world famous Rhone Room to hang out and drink some wine.
Melani has recently decided to purchase a vineyard in Paso Robles and spend the rest of her life making and growing wine. It was a pleasure to meet them all and hear their stories.
Todd is a certified specialist of wine, sake professional, and currently runs one of the the coolest little wine clubs in Sonoma. Head out of town on Napa St. and drive eight blocks.On your left is a building with a deli and a wine shop. Ask for Todd.
Listen to this episode and you will see why. Enjoy
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sonomasbest/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sonomasbest/
Chef Ari Weiswasser cut his chops at some of New Yorks best restaurants, including Daniel, Corton and Picholine. After a couple years at the French Laundry in Yountville, the young chef decided to open up his own spot, Glen Ellen Star, with his wife Erinn Benziger.
We talk about food, family and balance.
Enjoy
This episode was recorded from our hotel room at the Hospice du Rhone event in Paso Robles. We were joined by Isabel Gassier who left her family winery in France to come work with Bedrock Wine Company and Enterprise Vineyards in Sonoma.
Phil Coturri stops by to talk about Saxum Vineyards and drinking wines way too young. The conversation gets heated when Ian Blessing from the French Laundry and Tasio Baserga of the San Luis Obispo Country Club discuss screw caps versus corks.
Hold on to your glass, this episode may ruffle some feathers in the wine world.
Gassier wines - http://www.michelgassier.com/en/wines/ Tasio Baserga - fbdirector@slocc.net Ian Blessing - Instagram @ianjamesblessing
Sheana Davis is an American cheesemaker, chef, culinary educator and owner of the Epicurean Connection in Sonoma. In 2009, Sheana proudly released her own cheese, Delice de la Vallee, which in 2010 won an ACS 1st Place. She talks about wine pairing, the history of cheese in Sonoma, and the current wave of young cheesemakers on the rise.
We are also joined by her husband Ben Sessions, formerly of Hanzell Winery, and Kyle Reynolds, cheese expert from the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn.
Pour yourself a glass and cut off a wedge of your favorite cheese for this episode.
Contact Sheana:
http://www.theepicureanconnection.com/
Instagram @EpicureanSonoma Twitter @EpicureanSonoma
The Epicurean Connection PO Box 1916 Sonoma, CA 95476
This week we welcome Ian Blessing from the French Laundry and open up some 1970 Margaux and some old non-vintage Champagne. Sam and Bart discuss the recent rain storms and how they'll affect the vineyards.
Recorded at Bart Hansen's house on Sonoma Mountain over-looking some of the most historic vineyards in the County.
This week we welcome Jeff Bundschu from the historic Gundlach-Bundschu Winery. This Sonoma landmark planted vines in 1858 and has been harvesting grapes ever since. Jeff shares his deep passion of music and wine, and their relationship to each other in his own life. We learn about his family hi-jacking a train and kidnapping Richard Branson. His story of last years fire is truly terrifying.
Ian Blessing, from the team at the French Laundry joins the show to discuss the new breed of sommelier. We open up a bottle of 1982 Gundlach-Bundschu Kleinberger, these vines have since been ripped out and no longer exist in California.
From the World-Famous Rhone Room in Sonoma, CA a conversation with two of Sonoma’s most innovative vintners ever, Morgan Twain Peterson and Chris Cottrell.
Discussing their ideas for an extensive new line of wines, saving Heritage Vineyards and what the 'wine life' is really all about. Drop by the General Hooker House when you’re in Sonoma to taste all of the incredible Bedrock Wines.
Catchin’ up on everything wine and fun, the guys blend their own wines with new fruit from Dane Cellars. Direct from the barrel, we all blended our own mixture. I was a bit heavy on the Syrah according to the instructor, Bart Hansen. Penalty Laps for Myers.
The Wine Maker's guest today is the man who helped put Zin in every store in the country, Peter Mathis. Peter grows his fruit (now mostly Grenache) and makes his wine here in Sonoma. Peter's Grenache and Rose' are beautiful and the conversation is great.
Land, Weather, Fruit and the art of winemaking. Bart, Brian and Sam discuss all of these and more on this week's episode.
EP41: Tom Gendall from Cline Cellars, joins The Wine Makers to talk land, fruit and winemaking. Tom's insights to making high quality yet accessible wines, gives us all a new way of looking at the wine we buy and drink.
The guys tackle the issue of the strange weather patterns we've had this year and how it might affect the crop and of course what they're doing about it right now.
The long anticipated interview with Maureen Cottingham, Executive Director of the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance. Their events are among the most popular in all of California's wine making regions, visit them at SonomaValleyWine.com
On the heels of last week’s discussion of the future, let’s look at reality and what we can do at every point along the way to make sure this year is spectacular.
The guys look forward to the new year and what it can bring in terms of new vineyards, beautiful fruit and the wine-making that goes with it. Let’s hope it’s different than last year in a very positive way.
An obviously over-served group of Wine Makers talk about exactly how to do a wine tasting right by comparing glasses of wine against each other and how Jeff Cohn makes such a beautiful red wines.
The guys kick off the year with two great guests: Ian Blessing from The French Laundry and Jeff Cohn of Jeff Cohn Wines. A quick review of last year and some predictions for the coming year.
The guys get together and reflect on all that happened in 2017, a crazy year to be sure.
Part 2 of our show from Sondra Bernstein's Rhone Room. The guys discuss Rhone wines and the state of the end of the growing season.
Since it’s the holidays, the guys found Jayme Powers, owner of SIGH Sonoma, the only Bubbly tasting room in town. Jayme describes just how hard it is to build a brand new tasting room and gives us all the details of Bubbly(Champagne in France), how to make it, open it and what to give as we approach the holidays.
Sondra Bernstein, the genius behind The Girl & The Fig, Suite D, The Fig Rig… wow, what a resume’ joins the guys at a live show from her newest creation, The Rhone Room. Featuring all Rhone style wines, The Rhone Room follows the wine list from The Girl & The Fig restaurant.
The guys discuss their love of music and wine with Casey Graybehl. This show focuses on Grenache and how long it takes to make; then how easy it and fast it can go down. Enjoy and thanks for listening.
Part 2 with our special guest Kieran Robinson from Kieran Robinson Wines. Kieran’s fascinating background has given him a true appreciation for the deep-rooted French and American viticulture and wine-making philosophies.
The guys meet up with Winemaker Casey Graybehl to talk over his line of Grenache wines and how all of this fits into the holidays. Brian and Bart get Casey really talking about his background, his time in France and what it’s like to move from a “Garage-ista” to having a full line of small batch Grenache: his wines are stellar and a treat for any holiday or in your glass right now. Sam is on special assignment in NYC and John is figuring just how much great wine he can get the family involved in. Happy Holidays from The Wine Makers
Brian Casey scores for The Wine Makers, bringing our good friend Kieran Robinson from Kieran Robinson Wines as our guest this episode. Kieran’s fascinating background, from Phili to the Cotie Rotie, has given him a true appreciation for the deep-rooted French and American viticulture and winemaking philosophies.
After being so rudely interrupted by the horrendous Nor-Cal fires, The Wine Makers invite you back to Sondra Bernstein’s Rhone Room for a show originally intended for release on October 13th. Let the world know Sonoma and Napa are indeed open for business and are really on track.
Our guests are Ian Blessing from The French Laundry and Brandon Montalvo from Sante’, two young Sommeliers who bring their fresh views to the show.
The guys finish covering the Nor-Cal fire and all the sordid details of unemployment and destruction. Help us recover by getting to Sonoma and support the best wine in the world.
Sam, Brian and John get together to provide an in-depth look at the Sonoma-Napa fire. Sam spent his week on the fire line providing the nation, via Facebook a close-up, brutally honest view of the fire, its current damage and the damage to come for the town of Sonoma. The fires are still burning in some hills and forests even now, 11 days after they started.
LIVE for the first time from Sondra Bernstein’s new tasting house, “The Rhone Room”, the guys introduce you to the new generation of Sommeliers. Meet Brandon Montalvo from Sante’ and Ian Blessing from The French Laundry.
We introduce Dane Cellar’s new Chenin Blanc and discuss the fine points of wines with a background story, from aging wine in shark tanks to Fable Mountain South African wines complete with selfies taken by the monkeys in the forest.
Brian describes the truly deluxe tour at Opus One and just how down-home and open everyone was… perhaps not your usual tour.
The Rhone Room is the newest tasting house in Sonoma and the only one dedicated to Rhone Wines Alone. What could be a nicer welcome to Sonoma than The Rhone Room?
The grapes continue to flourish in the fields. Weather has made a real impact on harvest because of the temperature swings over the last couple of weeks.
Sam and John kick around some of the Real history in Sonoma Valley and how it impacts the wine that is grown here.
We’ve got more memories of Sondra Bernstein’s International Grenache Day little “get together”. It really turned into a great event as a party for the vintners who are so stressed and busy right now. Be on the lookout for Morgan Peterson and his Bedrock wines… You’ll thank yourself for looking it up.
We end up chatting about Katie Bundschu and the Myers Wedding 17 yrs. ago on their back deck.
EP21: The Guys have a first taste of Pinot Noir in a can from up in Oregon. It’s also Bart Hansen’s birthday! Boxes, cans, screw-tops…it’s all in the fruit not the packaging. So drink more Grenache!
A special shout-out to Sondra Bernstein for throwing her intimate little party for Grenache Day and Bart’s birthday.
EP20 The guys are cut in half today because of the most important part of making wine…Harvest and Crush. Brian and John kick around the fact that Harvest workers put in the longest and hardest work weeks of the year in just getting the grapes off the vines and to the winery crush facilities.
We'll see you next week with a full report on crush and especially International Grenache Day
Bart and Sam rant about the Federal Gov. and labeling. A massive wine scam in France sent executives to jail. Sam and Bart say there are wineries in Sonoma that spill more in a day than the whole production of their small wineries.
Brian Casey tours The Lasseter Family Winery and their vineyard and gets the full treatment. The guys kick around Airline wines, touring France and finding wine in your local store that fits your taste profile. And Dirty hands mean you're truly doing your job in wine-making. Ever seen a barrel of wine with red stains on it? Well, we determine that it's all Bart’s fault. We also discuss what a “normal” year is when it comes to harvest and crush if there is such a thing anymore.
The guys are lucky enough to have one of THE Master Wine Makers in the US, Mr. Erich Bradley on the show this week. Erich helps pull back the curtain on what it really takes to make a world-class wines. We discuss everything from land and fruit to winemaking and John discovers the fact that Erich is the mastermind behind many of his favorite wines.
From Ag and field reports, this week’s show also addresses the impact the intense 100+ degree days have had on the vines and ultimately, what will be in your glass soon.
This week the guys hit hard on a new subject in the wine world; Bio-dynamic cultivation of Cannabis. Since Mike Benziger put his name on 400 acres of Organic Bio-dynamic Cannabis here in Sonoma the wine leaders are becoming the pot leaders.
The guys introduce you to special guest, Kyle Haraszthy. Sam reports on the Vineyards and finds them in great shape going into harvest mode. Kyle's family and background go all the way back to when the Very First grapes were grown here in Sonoma...About 1850 or so.
By the luck of the gods the guys get to taste a perfect Kamen Savignon Blanc 2013. Ingredients: Organic Grapes. The guys cover the growth, the experience and the the full trip from the mountain vineyard to your glass. What a long, strange, fascinating trip it really is. They "Phil" out the show with two more Phil Coturri Savignon Blancs from Hamel Family Wines and Stone Edge from the top of Cavedale Road. High quality but certainly not soft spoken.
EP13: The guys are back, this week discussing Sam's recent bottling, the state of grapes in the field, great local wines they've discovered and more!
Sam's on special assignment. John, Bart & Brian check out a Spanish 'organic' wine, but is it? Bart's Chenin blanc is being blended. Is there a new trend in red blends? Would you drink wine from a can?
EP11: There's a lot of action in the vineyards as crews trim the canopy correctly to ensure proper growing. Bart & Brian talk about the /natural/organic/synthetic faze; WHAT"S THE POINT? How about a 40oz. Rose' or a can of wine. Yes on one for everyone and John rants 'No to the canNot For Me!'
The Spanish are sending "Unacceptable" wine into France and the French strike back by attacking the trucks. SYNTHETIC WINE? NAH; No thanks. Just not wine to us. The process of growing fruit that is perfect and then spending the rest of the year actually making what you drink in your glass, is too much for us to think that synthetic wine is anything but the Velveeta of the "wine flavored drink".
The guys enjoy an older wine with no label, that once the cork is examined, turns out to be a '55 Bordeaux Sauternes and are really happy it wasn't worth $50,000.
The Equinox has passed and the grape fields are moving from Chaos to Order. How and why wine really gets its beautiful deep red color. Can you buy too much wine? The guys talk about their favorite distributors around the country so no matter where you live, you can get some of our favorites.
The guys kick around vineyard real-estate in Sonoma and Napa. Our listeners have more questions on Rose' and we talk about blends, colors and styles from around the world. Tipping at tasting rooms, yes or no? Is the old tasting room model broken? Ever had a headache from sulfites? The guys kick discuss the Üllo Wine Purifier.
EP7: It’s Zin Day with The Wine Makers! We're in mid-June are amazed at how well the fields are doing. Sam leads a discussion on the variety of growing areas within Sonoma Valley and all of Sonoma County. Learn why the fog helps the grapes and how.
A couple of rainy days don't seem to have a negative effect on the grapes due to wind and the balance of growing conditions and we discuss the price of grapes in Napa and hidden gem vineyards.
The guys kick around establishing great wine oriented relationships and what's happening in the field. Bart details "bloom" and "set" as the fruit develops, John can't figure out "dropping fruit" while Sam explains "Creating order from Chaos in the Field" and ultimately, why every bunch of grapes should hang with integrity, in dappled sunlight".Bart explains exactly how you really make Rose' and why it’s the new “Patio Pounder”.
As much of California's grape crop is just starting "Blooom", a very fragile state of developement, the guys focus on wine, The Dead and Sam's trip to The Shoreline Ampitheatre. Brian focuses the group on all things "Natural" when it comes to wine. Brian details exactly what Can or Can't be called a "Natural" wine. Most wine drinkers think that grapes are picked, squeezed and stored in a vat or barrel and that's that. Learn what reality is these days.
The guys get in deep with Steve Law from MacLaren and his Syrah, his land, the fruit and his winemaking. They focus on Syrah and even kick around proper wine storage on a serious note. John tells us how to ruin cases of Silver Oak just by being stupid.
Sam talks about wine tasting being a high-mileage sport...get out there and taste as much as you can, get bold and try new wines...find out what you really like.
Learn the real definition of Debauchery and see if you want to implement it yourself.
LIVE from the MacLaren Tasting Lounge with owner/winemaker Steve Law, "Sonoma's Own James Bond" and true Scotsman. They take a deep dive into what's happening in the vineyards from bud break and bloom to creating the perfect organic bio-system...or as Sam says "creating order out of chaos".
Not only did we taste a beautiful Viognier and a Syrah from MacLaren. Steve talks about growing his 2016 crop and how great the fruit turned out. Brian and Sam brought a couple of great bottles along including Landmark Syrah. John rants on the whole concept of Two Buck Chuck. Don't bring any of that over to his place for a party.
This week John, Bart and Brian kick around drinking wine in restaurants and getting away from sticker shock. “Wines DON'T have to cost a fortune to be fun and drinkable”. Brian rants on reasonably priced wines and how to get them with Spanish, Italian and other foreign wines. Learn how to do a "Parking Lot" wine tasting and end up with wine you love. The guys just kick around drinking and eating well anywhere you live or travel.
EP1 - Host John Myers introduces you to the Team: Sam Coturri of Winery Sixteen600, Bart Hansen from Dane Cellars and Brian Casey, local Sommelier at one of the very top restaurants in California.The guys kick around why and what they love about wine and its role in life for fun, entertainment and education.
Live from Sonoma CA., they take you on a trip around the extensive grape varietals grown and the wines made in Sonoma while making their way through a big, beautiful Grenache Rose on a hot, sunny afternoon. And they have a hell of a lot of fun doing it for you.