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. 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 practices in the winery where he had all the right equipment. It’s not easy […]

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 […]