Carol Shelton, winemaker of her very own Carol Shelton Wines is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Carol Shelton is back on California Wine Country this week after a 14 month absence. She is called the Queen of Zinfandel. Dan tells about her great success with finding its character without having to be very high in percentage of alcohol. She also makes Petit Syrah and a white wine from Rhone grapes […]

Today’s show features Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery, with Sarah Quider, the executive winemaker, Rebecka Deike, the red wine maker. They have brought several wines for tasting. Joining Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger are Patrick Mukaida, Ferrari-Carano’s director of hospitality and Barry Herbst from Bottle Barn. Ferrari-Carano is Tom Simoneau’s Winery of the Year for 2018, which was announced on our end-of-the-year show, a month ago. Don and Rhonda Carano came from Reno and had a hotel and […]

Jed Steele of Steele Wines is our guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger, with Pete Foppiano sitting in again for Steve Jaxon. Jed Steele has been making wine for fifty years and Dan Berger has known him for a long time. Jed’s colleague Rusty is also in the studio today. Dan remembers that Jed made the first Ice Wine in California in 1975 and again a year later. It was made […]

Anthony Beckman, winemaker at Balletto Vineyards is our guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Pete Foppiano is sitting in for Steve Jaxon this week. Barry Herbst from Bottle Barn is also in. Balletto Vineyards will produce 19 different wines this year. There are 9 single vineyard Pinot Noirs, 5 different Chardonnays, Pinot Gris, Rosé, Syrah and Gewurtz. They have a new Pinot Noir vineyard, which they planted 3 years ago and […]

Nicole Salengo, winemaker at Berryessa Gap Vineyards, is our guest today on California Wine Country. Robert Larsen, the winery’s PR director, is also in. Robert Larsen worked at Rodney Strong Vineyards. Now he runs The Larsen Projekt, a PR agency specialized in the wine business, representing Berryessa Gap Vineyards and ZAP, the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers. He was introduced to the Berryessa Gap Vineyards Zinfandel at “ZIN EX,” the Zin Experience in San Francisco, which is […]

Bill Nachbaur from Acorn Winery is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Their first tasting is a 2014 Sangiovese, whose label suggests several Italian food pairings. Dan Berger explains that Sangiovese is a variety that very few Californians want to make, because we get so much sun that we can’t avoid having a plump wine. Californians like that the acids will drop out of the wines, but “…this one is […]

Tom Simoneau is on California Wine Country this week to present his 2018 Wines of the Year, with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. There are a lot of wines to describe and a few to taste, so we get started right away. After each wine, you will find links to the wineries’ websites. Tom Simoneau’s website is http://winecountrylive.com/. Winery of the Year Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery This stunning property in the deep end of Dry Creek Valley […]

Alan Baker, co-founder of Cartograph Wines, joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country today. They taste three wines: a Cartograph 2013 Brut Rosé Sparkling Wine, a single vineyard Pinot Noir and a blended Pinot Noir. Their first tasting is Cartograph’s first sparkling wine, a brut rosé, with almost all Chardonnay and 1.5% Pinot for the salmon color, and a small amount of sugar in the dosage. Steve finds it “adorable.” Dan Berger says […]

Theresa Heredia from Gary Farrell Winery is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Barry Herbst from Bottle Barn is also in. Theresa was on this show last year, on this episode from April 26, 2017. Gary Farrell had his own ideas, he wanted to pick his grapes earlier, rather than the trend at the time, which was to pick rather later. Theresa came to Gary Farrell wines and carried on Gary’s […]

This podcast episode is a repeat of the show from March 22, 2017, with Tim Bell, winemaker at Dry Creek Vineyard. (This week’s live radio show has been pre-empted by a Golden State Warrior’s basketball game on our home station KSRO.) The first tasting is a Rosé from Bonny Doon Vineyards in Santa Cruz. Dry Creek Vineyards was celebrating their 45th anniversary (last year when the show was recorded). Today they will celebrate with tastings of their Chenin […]

Dan Berger and Barry Herbst are in the studio today on California Wine Country, with guest host Pete Foppiano. Steve Jaxon has the day off. The first wine they taste is a 2016 D&L Carinalli Vineyards Pinot Noir, from Russian River Valley.  Dan points out that it is quite young, so it is a good idea to decant it, or even swirl it in the glass. Dan Berger tastes various berry flavors, but he likes the […]

Alquimista Cellars‘ Greg La Follette is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. He has worked with many familiar brands, as winemaker and consultant, but more recently, he has started his own brand, Alquimista Cellars. His wines are all sold direct to the consumer. Dan Berger says that the brand has become “a great underground talking point” and that the wines sell out because Greg made them. First he identifies great […]

Tom Simoneau is back today with Brian Maloney, winemaker at De Loach Vineyards, in to talk with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. He is also in charge of the Sonoma County wines of the Boisset collection and he also made a sweepstakes-winning wine for Buena Vista. Brian’s great grandfather planted vineyards and founded a vineyard at the turn of the 20th century. He was born and raised in Sonoma County and his family has farmed for […]

Harry Wetzel from Alexander Valley Vineyards is our guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Also with us is Mariangela Guarienti, CEO of Della Toffola USA, the US branch of the Italian company that makes top-quality world-class winemaking equipment. Mariangela Guarienti is CEO of Della Toffola USA,. Her family was in farming and produced wine. Her grandmother was of the Bertani family, who produce Valpollicella, Amarone and Soave wine in the […]

Eva Dehlinger from Dehlinger Winery is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. She tells how her father founded the winery over 40 years ago. Dehlinger Winery is small, independent family-owned and operated in the Russian River Valley. They specialize in four varietals, Chardonnay, Pinot, Cabernet and Syrah. Eva is the winemaker and general manager. Eva became a winemaker by being born onto a farm and having a strong connection […]

Tom Simoneau is back on the show with Allen Estate Wines owners Ron and Laura Allen, who join Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Allen Estate Wines winemaker Chris Taddei is here too. Barry Herbst is also back in the studio today, after spending a lot of time working on the setup for the new Bottle Barn online retail site. Steve begins by asking Ron and Laura to tell the history of their winery. Ron says that in […]