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 […]

Devin Ruddick of Hook and Ladder Vineyards and Winery is today’s guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. The Hook & Ladder Winery is in the most gorgeous area in Sonoma County, with a lot of great neighbors and organizations that keep them busy and popular. The De Loach family still owns the winery and Cecil De Loach was a San Francisco fireman, who was a “tiller” who steered a hook and […]

Jason Schneider and Ken Tominaga are our guests on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Jason Schneider is the GM, spirits buyer and sake buyer at Bottle Barn and Ken Tominaga is owner, founder and chef at Hana, a fine Japanese restaurant in Rohnert Park. Today’s show is a much-awaited episode all about sake. Dan Berger remembers when Hana opened in the area. Steve remembers when he was on a radio station in […]

Jesse Katz of Aperture Cellars and Devil Proof Vineyards joins Steve Jaxon and Tom Simoneau on California Wine Country this week, while Dan Berger is still on vacation. Jesse Katz’s father Andy Katz is a very famous photographer in Sonoma County and his pictures are on the labels of Aperture Cellars wines. Jesse grew up in Colorado and spent time in Tuscany, Burgundy and Bordeaux, as he grew up. His family had the European habit of […]

Guillaume Bodet, associate winemaker at Hyde de Villaine Wines, is our guest today. Tom Simoneau is in, so is Barry Herbst, while Dan Berger is on vacation this week.  First, Guillaume tells about HdV in Napa, created in 2000. The Hyde family is from Carneros in Napa and the de Villaine family have been making high quality wine in Burgundy for many generations at the renowned Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, known as DRC. The families are related […]

  Pat Henderson, winemaker from Kenwood Vineyards is back with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today on California Wine Country. First off, Pat begins with the Kenwood story, which started in 1906, and this is their 112th vintage. They have been called Kenwood since 1970. They were one of the pioneers that changed from making jug wine to fine wine in bottles meant to be enjoyed with good food. Dan Berger goes on to tell about […]

Bernadette Byrne, Executive Director of the Mendocino County Wine Growers, is our guest on California Wine Country today. She joins Steve Jaxon, Dan Berger and Barry Herbst to talk about Mendocino County grape growers and vintners and to taste several examples of their production. Dan Berger describes the Mendocino County as having a series of sub-regions regions such as Anderson Valley, Redwood Valley and Potter Valley. Each one has very different characteristics that come out in […]

California Wine Country is on vacation for Independence Day today, so here is a reprise of our March 22, 2017 show featuring Tim Bell from Dry Creek Vineyard. We will be back next week with a new show. Cheers! Today’s guest is Tim Bell, winemaker at Dry Creek Vineyard. First we taste a very interesting Rosé from Bonny Doon Vineyards in Santa Cruz, then Steve and Dan talk to Tim Bell about Dry Creek Vineyards as […]

Jeff Pisoni of Fort Ross Vineyard and Winery is our guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. They begin with the history of the winery, which is located near the coast on one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Jeff says that they think the vines have a wonderful view. Jeff went to California State University at Fresno for a degree in enology and worked at several wineries. He […]

Chris Louton from St Francis Winery is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. He is one of two winemakers at St. Francis Winery. Also, today we will commemorate the late Chris Silva, who passed away one year ago and was a prominent and beloved figure in the local wine business. Wines tasted today from St. Francis Winery: Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 Old Vines Zinfandel, 2015 Merlot, Behler Vineyard, Sonoma Valley, 2014 […]

Diane and John Bucher from Bucher Wines are back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. John’s father Joe immigrated from Switzerland in the early 1950s and worked in the dairy industry. They have been in the Russian River Valley since then. The true story is that John’s father delivered 10 cubic yards manure to Tom Simoneau and his wife’s ranch, for their vegetable gardens. They have known each other since the time […]

Dan Barwick, winemaker from Paradise Ridge Winery, is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Paradise Ridge suffered extensive damage in the October 2017 fires and they are planning on rebuilding. They lost nearly everything in the fires but they still have the most spectacular view of Santa Rosa. Dan Berger tells of his wine column today’s newspaper, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, which is about acid and pH and what’s […]

Tom Simoneau is in studio for California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today, and he has brought with him Jeff Mangahas and Mark Malpiede from Williams and Selyem Winery. Jeff Mangahas is the winemaker and Mark Malpiede is VP of Sales & Marketing. Williams and Selyem is known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and some Zinfandel. They are located in Healdsburg. Today Jeff and Mark brought some wines that are to be released […]

Bill Arbios is today’s guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. He is the owner of Arbios Cellars and Praxis Cellars. Dan begins by telling how he and Bill met many years ago and have been friends ever since. Bill Arbios was part of the first UC Davis wine graduating class in 1973. He has a lot of history with the Alexander Valley. He thought he wanted to become a veterinarian so […]

Don Chigazola is back on California Wine Country this week, with more wines from Italy and with one of his suppliers, Loris Traverso. First, Don Chigazola introduces his friend and collaborator from Italy, Loris Traverso, whose family owns a winery, Vigna Traverso, in Campo di Pietra, between Treviso and Venezia, in the Veneto. Loris is visiting Don Chigazola, who imports Traverso wines. Don Chigazola is based in Santa Rosa. He left the corporate world five years […]

Steve MacRostie from MacRostie Vineyards is back this week on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Barry Herbst is back from a trip to Portugal to visit the Cork Producer’s consortium there. Steve MacRostie started at Hacienda Winery in the mid-1970s after studying at UC Davis. He was buying grapes and making wine from all over Sonoma County. He then started his own business, MacRostie Winery. It ended up being pretty successful. His […]