Julie Pedroncelli joins Harry Duke and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. She is the President of Pedroncelli Wines. The Pedroncelli family has been making wine for nine decades. They are into the third generation of active winemakers. They are well known for grape growing as well as winemaking. The Pedroncelli 2022 Rosé of Zinfandel comes from a single vineyard that they have been using since the 1940s. They changed the packaging in the 2022 vintage […]

To go along with today’s April 26, 2023 episode with Julie Pedroncelli, here is an encore presentation of a 6-year-old episode, also featuring Julie Pedroncelli and her husband Ed St. John. As Dan Berger ages wines in his cellar, we can also dig a well-aged podcast episode.  From Pedroncelli Wines, Julie Pedroncelli and her husband Ed St. John, join Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. Also with us in studio are Sajive, owner […]

Our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today is Doug Nalle from Nalle Winery. Their story starts in the 1890s with his first Swiss ancestors arrived in Sonoma County. In the 1920s, his wife’s grandparents bought property that they still have in Dry Creek Valley. They founded Nalle Winery in 1984 and they built the current winery in 1990. Dan Berger and Doug Nalle have been friends since the 1980s. They […]

Tom Simoneau has brought Steve Dveris, head of the Healdsburg Wine and Food Experience, to California Wine Country with Harry Duke and Dan Berger. Steve Jaxon is away again this week. The Healdsburg Wine and Food Experience takes place from May 18-21, 2023. Also in the studio today are Sarah Quider, VP of winemaking for Foley Family Wines and chef Crista Luedtke. The first wine is the 2022 Ferrari-Carrano Fumé Blanc labeled North Coast and which […]

Shared Notes Wines co-founders and winemakers Bibiana Rave and Jeff Pisoni are our guests on California Wine Country today, with Harry Duke, Dan Berger and Barry Herbst from Bottle Barn. Steve Jaxon is away today. Bibiana was on California Wine Country on this episode on August 29, 2019, to talk about her own label Alma de Cattleya Jeff Pisoni and Bibiana Rave from Shared Notes. They are both co-founders and winemakers. They have been winemakers elsewhere […]

Don Chigazola is back on California Wine Country today, with a selection of white wines from the Alto Adige region of Italy. He joins Harry Duke and Dan Berger in the studio. Steve Jaxon is away today. These three wines come from the Alto Adige region of Italy. It’s in the northeast, bordering on Austria and Switzerland. It has unique terroir and a cold climate with steep mountainside vineyards. Chigazola Merchants Don’s company, Chigazola Merchants, imports […]

William Weese and Evan Merriam of Merriam Vineyards are both guests on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon, Dan Berger and Harry Duke. William’s titles are Winemaker and Shepherd. Evan is the newly appointed CEO, having succeeded his father in the role. Evan’s father Peter founded the winery and the last time he was on this show was this episode of September 22, 2021. Tom Simoneau and Merriam Vineyards founder Peter Merriam both come from the […]

Quivira Vineyards winemaker Hugh Chappelle joins California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon, Dan Berger and Harry Duke. Barry Herbst, the wine buyer at Bottle Barn, is also in the studio today. Holly and Henry Wendt founded Quivira Vineyards in 1981 and their first wines were released in 1983. They are located in the Dry Creek Valley. The new owners took over in about 2006. The 140-year-old Fig There is a 140-year-old fig tree on the property […]

Williamson Wines winemaker Kerry Damskey is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. The last time he was on CWC was this episode of March 21, 2018. Kerry is an independent winemaking consultant with clients around the world under the name Terroir Artisan Wines. Before we begin, Dan Berger has brought another Cellar Dweller to discover and discuss, a 2016 Tercos and comes from Argentina. The grape is Torrantes. It was really […]

Glenn Hugo, the winemaker at Girard Winery in Calistoga visits California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Tom Simoneau is also here today. Before working in wine production, Glenn worked in the restaurant industry. He travelled around the country to open restaurants and one of his jobs was to write wine lists. He married and moved to Napa 20 years ago where he learned winemaking from many mentors in the business. Carneros First, they […]

Dan Berger, winemaker? Of course! Dan is back with Steve Jaxon and Harry Duke in part 2 of the story of Dan’s career as a journalist that ends up with him making Riesling. Part 1 is here. The episode begins with the story of Dan’s book about basketball. He also wrote for the NFL for one year, for their magazine called “Pro!” which was the outer portion of the stadium programs for the whole league. The […]

Carol Shelton has brought Wild Thing wines and others labeled under her own name, on California Wine Country today. She is back on the show with Steve Jaxon, Harry Duke and Dan Berger. Her last time on the show was this episode of July 22, 2020, available here. The Carol Shelton Wines website has extensive history about her and her work. She was at UC Davis and wanted to study poetry. Her mother said, “Poets don’t […]

Dan Berger, longtime co-host of California Wine Country takes center stage on the show today, with Steve Jaxon and Harry Duke. Harry Duke describes a 32-point sheet that Dan brought, full of stories from his life. Dan ends up telling about several of those stories, in this show and the next one a week later. In the 1950s his parents won a Pepsodent toothpaste contest by writing 25 words about the brand in clever rhyming couplets. […]

This podcast show is originally from August 19, 2020, featuring Lisa Amaroli, winemaker, and Chris Benziger, from Benziger Family Winery. (Due to a schedule pre-empt for an Nba game, there is no new CWC show this week.) Lisa Amaroli, winemaker at Benziger Family Winery, and Chris Benziger both join Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. Chris’ family founded the winery in the early 1970s and Lisa Amaroli has been their winemaker since 1999. […]

California Wine Country today features some 2023 SF Chronicle Wine Competition winners, with Mark Klaver who joins Harry Duke, Tom Simoneau and Barry Herbst in the studio. Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger are away this week. Mark Klaver is the Marketing and Sponsorship Director for the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition, which takes place in Cloverdale. Formerly, its name was the Cloverdale Citrus Fair Wine Competition but the Chronicle took it over as a sponsor in […]

Balletto Vineyards winemaker Anthony Beckman is our guest on California Wine Country today, with Dan Berger and Harry Duke. Steve Jaxon is away today. Anthony has been on the show before, the last time was this show in August of 2019. Balletto Vineyards today has more than 800 acres of vines and produces all of its own wine from its own grapes. They were a very successful vegetable farm before deciding to convert to growing grapes. […]