Garry Brooks, owner of Brooks Note Wines, is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. This is his first time on CWC. Garry grew up in Annapolis, Maryland. As he grew up the family had wine on the table. He served in the US Navy and got sent to France and Spain where he had a chance to learn about wine all over the world. After the Navy he ended […]

Steven Kent, owner of The Steven Kent Winery in Livermore Valley, joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. Dan Berger recently visited Livermore with his friend, winemaker Clark Smith, to investigate Cabernet Franc. Steven given Cabernet Franc a privileged position in his portfolio. For centuries, Cabernet Franc has been used as a blending grape, but Steven says it can do a whole lot more. He has brought four Cabernet Francs for tasting today, […]

Barbara Barrielle, publicist, writer, actress and producer, joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. She writes about travel, wine, food and entertainment and she also works for Anderson Valley Winegrowers, promoting the International White Wine Festival. Her documentary film about Anderson Valley wines features Dan Berger. The Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association is putting on the International White Wine Festival. The festival used to be called the Alsatian Wine Festival because it focused on […]

Henry Belmonte and Madisyn Goerlitz are here from VJB Cellars and Wellington Cellars, on a special podcast-only edition of California Wine Country, recorded last week on Jan. 20 on The Drive with Steve Jaxon, on Wine Country Radio. Henry Belmonte and Steve Jaxon go way back together. Steve used to say he lived at Portofino on 4th Street. VJB Cellars in Kenwood is a place with a family story behind it. They made a migration from […]

Courtney DeGraff, Executive Director of Anderson Valley Winegrowers, is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. They are putting on the International White Wine Festival, for the fifteenth year, on February 15 and 16 at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds. It used to be called the Alsatian White Wine Festival. The name change opens the festival to feature a wider variety of wines, such as Grüner Veltliner and Chardonnay. Dan Berger will […]

Ross Cobb from Cobb Wines and Ziggy the Wine Gal from The Krush join Steve Jaxon on California Wine Country. Dan Berger is away this week.  Ross Cobb first met Ziggy when he was at Williams Selyem in 1998 or 99, while he was working with Bob Cabral there. Cobb Wines is a winery inspired by creative freedom. A quote from Patti Smith provides context. Robb was always motivated by music and he lets “…Patti Smith […]

Mark McWilliams from Arista Winery is our guest on this edition of California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Dan’s weekly cellar dweller bottle is a 2022 Chenin Blanc from Les Atlètes du Vin in France. $15 a bottle at Bottle Barn. Chenin Blanc is coming back. You can get 7-9 tons an acre of Chenin Blanc and it makes nice wine. Mike says it’s refreshing. Mark’s parents started as grape growers when he […]

Julie Pedroncelli St. John is back as a guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Her last time on this show was this episode of April 26, 2023. The Pedroncelli family winery began when her grandparents bought some property in Dry Creek Valley that contained a vineyard, a home and a shuttered winery. This was seven years before the repeal of Prohibition. They sold grapes and then after Prohibition was repealed […]

Mike Carpenter, The Redd Collection owner is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. His last time on the show was this episode on November 3, 2023. Dan Berger has brought a magnum of a wine that he himself made 33 years ago. It is a 1991 Cabernet from the Napa Valley. Its aging was in an old French oak barrel. It was a project for his family, when his sons were […]

Dan Berger selections are the focus today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger, with Melissa Galliani special guest. Melissa was also on the show on this episode just about a couple of months ago, on Nov. 1, 2024. Joy Sterling from Iron Horse Vineyards was due to be our guest today but at the last minute she was not available. Instead, we have a table of Dan Berger’s selections, including one from […]

Dry Creek Vineyard winemaker Tim Bell is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Tim has been on CWC a few times but the last one was this episode on August 4, 2021. Dan Berger gives credit to Tim Bell for making wines that are interesting for their subtlety. He tells how his first exposure to wine was in retail. He went to UC Davis, worked at a custom crush facility […]

Clark Smith is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger, to discuss WineSmith unusual varietals and more. Clark Smith is an influential wine consultant, university instructor, scientist and musician. That is his website, Who Is Clark Smith? which is about wine and more. He is also one of the most frequently appearing guests in the history of California Wine Country. His most recent CWC show is this one last May. Clark Smith […]

Winemaker Jeff Mangahas from Williams Selyem Winery is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon today. Jeff has been on this show a few times before, the most recent was this episode from last March. Williams Selyem produces a limited quantity of wine in the Russian River Valley, primarily Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Most of their wines come from a single vineyard and so they express varietal and terroir characteristics. While Williams Selyem wines are […]

Christian Adams from The German Wine Collection is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Christian has brought three different German wines, each from a different producer. The 2021 Pinot Blanc is the first wine tasted. Its name Weissburgunder is German for Pinot Blanc, literally it means ‘White Burgundian.’ You don’t see much Pinot Blanc here in California but there is some in Menocino County and even in Idaho which Dan […]

Doug Nalle, co-founder of Nalle Winery, is our guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. The last time Doug was on the show was this episode of April 19, 2023. Doug Nalle and Dan Berger have been friends for fifty years. They have three Chardonnays to taste. First, a 2021 Chardonnay from Hopkins Ranch. Doug and his wife Lee founded the winery in 1984 and they just finished their 41st harvest. […]

California Wine Country today features Melissa Galliani, GM of Wine Country Radio, with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Melissa is a frequent guest on the show, and was with us most recently on this episode with winemaker Dennis McCarter. Dan Berger’s first wine today is a 2023 that comes from Bibiana Ravé called Shared Notes. It is 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon, aged on the lees for a long time. That is what gives it […]