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 […]
Darek Trowbridge from Old World Winery discusses natural wine on today’s California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Today’s show was recorded live in downtown Santa Rosa, in front of the Bollywood Restaurant. Darek Trowbridge is the owner of Old World Winery which produces natural wine, which they will describe on the show. Dan introduces the subject of natural wine. There are some people in the wine producing business who are seeking the old […]
Greg Morthole and Justin Seidenfeld both join Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today on California Wine Country. Greg Morthole is the winemaker from Davis Bynum Winery and Justin Seidenfeld is the winemaker Rodney Strong and for a new project called Rowen. It’s a new single vineyard at high elevation which has been in the works for 15 years. Greg majored in natural sciences, he went to University of Wyoming but took many wine classes since then. […]
Randy Ullom, winemaster at Kendall-Jackson, is our guest in the studio with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country today. (This episode was originally recorded on October 19, 2016. There was no live show today Oct. 3, 2018, since Steve and Mike are traveling to Washington DC this week.) Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger start by tasting a very nice Estero Gold cheese, courtesy of their friend Sharon Montgomery at Oliver’s. Dan says this cheese […]
Our two guests today are Tom Mackey, the former winemaker at St. Francis Winery, now owner of Mackey Cellars, and Jim Morris, winemaker at Charles Krug. Barry Herbst is back in today too. Tom Mackey retired in 2012 after 30 years at St. Francis. Dan Berger says Tom knows where all the great grapes are so he is not surprised he is back in the business. Mackey Cellars has sold out its first two vintages, 2013 and […]
Jeff Hinchliffe, winemaker at Hanna Winery, is our guest, and Rene Byck from Paradise Ridge is also here. Today’s Wines Tasted: 2015 Hanna Red Ranch Malbec 2017 Hanna Bismark Mtn. Vineyard Riesling 2017 Hanna Sauvignon Blanc 2016 Paradise Ridge Pinot Noir 2017 Paradise Ridge Sauvignon Blanc Steve asks how the harvest is going. Jeff says you don’t really know until after it’s over. You can only look into the crystal ball so much, and you only […]
Tom Simoneau has brought two guests from Treasury Wine Estates, Tamara Stanfill, PR Manager and Ming Alterman, Director of Digital. First, Tom mentions the talking wine bottles, which Steve promises we will get into, in detail. But first Steve asks them to talk about Treasury Wine Estates. It is based in Australia and they own a lot of historic wineries in California like Beringer, Sterling and Chateau St. Jean. They also own brands in Australia like 19 […]
Don Chigazola is back with some Barbaresco wines from Italy today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Don Chigazola is a wine importer whose company Chigazola Merchants specializes in importing special wines from Italy. Today has brought some wines from a single family producer Fontanabianca, in the Barbaresco region (in Piedmont, northwest Italy). Don drives the back roads of Italy with his son looking for good local wines. He will establish a relationship […]
Paul Foppiano, President and Rod MacNeil, General Manager, of Foppiano Vineyards are our guests today on California Wine Country. Paul Foppiano describes the winery as a small one and so he does a little bit of everything there. The Foppiano family has been making wine in the area since 1896 and Paul is the 5th generation that makes wine. Today they make high quality Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay Pinot Noir and Petite Syrah. Paul’s grandfather reopened with […]
Giovanni Balistreri from Russian River Vineyards and Wendy Hilberman from the Russian River Valley Winegrowers are our guests today. Wendy Hilberman is executive director of the Russian River Winegrowers Association. They will be putting on a Paulée Dinner which is a traditional Burgundian event, a dinner that celebrates the end of the harvest. (The word comes from a Burgundian dialect term for the last skins that are put in the press.) In France they do it […]
