The Wine Makers on Radio Misfits

We are in the middle of Harvest and still dealing with fires, smoke and heat. This show was sort of a break from reality for us, some meat but also a lot of fat. Ramblin on. [EP161]

This week we have a little fun and taste through the new releases from Sixteen600 and Bart offers a special vertical Zinfandel promo. If you happen to listen to the entire show you will be rewarded with some stupid ramblings from the Wine Makers. You can tell we are suffering from PTSD. Sonoma Strong has become Sonoma Tired. Enjoy everyone… Cheers! [EP160]

We are experiencing fires in a large portion of our wine growing regions due to a lightning storm that brought over 11,000 strikes in a 72 hour period. The smell of smoke has become a part of our daily lives for the past two weeks. First and foremost our hearts go out to all the families that have lost loved ones and their homes. Being that the fires have started so early in the picking season, we have a new challenge this year, smoke. Vineyards that have prolonged exposure to smoke risk being “tainted” by the smell and flavor of the fires. What does that mean for this years harvest? This is not an easy or fun conversation to have but we thought it was important to honestly discuss the ramifications. Stay safe, tune in…

This week we sit down with MJ Towler. MJ is a wine professional with over 20 years of experience in all aspects of the wine business, Towler has worked retail, wholesale, auctions and also as a sommelier. On May 5, 2000, he became the first-ever African American fine and rare wine auctioneer. We had been following his Instagram account for a while and were intrigued by his choice of unique wines, especially his love of Rhone varietals. MJ will soon be starting a new project that includes a podcast from New York so we thought it would be fun to get the lowdown. We talk about marketing, music, race, and of course wine. MJ recently featured Hill of Tara wines on his feed so we brought along Danny Fay to make an introduction. This is a good one…. Sidenote – Fire season has officially begun here in California, we have multiple fires in and around wine country that are making things even more challenging for harvest than they already were, please continue to support our local growers and winemakers in any way that you can. Stay safe. blackwineguy.com Instagram @blackwineguy The Black Wine Guy 19 Tower Hill Ave. Red Bank, New Jersey 07701

To say Artie has spent a career working with the best in the food & wine industry is a laughable understatement. From Nobu in New York to the Versace Mansion in Florida, from Harlan Estates to Mayacamas in California, this guy has seen it all. Now producing his own wine brand using top growers like Phil Coturri, who makes a brief appearance on the show, Artie is making a name for himself among wine drinkers who appreciate his passion and attention to quality. These wines are not easy to get but well worth the pursuit. Sit back, pour a glass and enjoy. [EP157]

This week we talk about Cameron Diaz and her new venture into “clean wine”. We might be a bit late to the conversation but felt we had to weigh in. What the Fuck is “Clean Wine”? The Wine Industry is in an uproar over labeling concerns but what is the real issue, and are we at fault for not addressing this and making it clear? You decide.

Left a good job in the City, working for the Man every night and day. In 2016, Todd Cavallo and his wife Crystal left their jobs in finance and bought a farm in upstate New York. The plan was to grow vegetables, make wine, raise chickens, and collaborate with like-minded people to create a biodynamic farm. They have gotten a lot of attention for their Piquette, a wine based beverage made by using the once used grape skins, fermenting them again and doing a dosage before bottling or canning. It’s low alcohol, refreshing, delicious, fresh and cool. They have also made still wines from a grape called Marquette, a hybrid grape created by Cornell, their U.C. Davis on the East coast. For all of us that have wanted to truly “drop out & tune-in”, this show is for you. [EP155] wildarcfarm.com @wildarcfarm Wild Arc Farm, 918 Hill Ave, Pine Bush, NY 12566 845-419-3504

This week we travel to Israel, virtually, to chat with Guy Eshel from Dalton Winery in the area of Galilee. We heard about Guy through a mutual friend in Mexico City, the Taco Mensch. Guy Eshel grew up in Cali and Israel and has worked at wineries in France, Australia and California, including Broc Cellars in Berkley. We knew almost nothing about the wine culture in Israel so we cover a lot of topics, including terroir, climate, and the kosher certification. The wines Guy sent us were amazing, we discuss how you can get access to them here in the States. Enjoy the show… [EP154] www.dalton-winery.com @daltonwinery @guyovino @TacoMensch

So, at first glance you might ask why we are sitting down and talking with someone who works at a bank. Let me take an excerpt from Rob’s own “Professional Summary” to give you an idea, Rob McMillan is one of the top wine-business analysts in the United States and the author of Silicon Valley Bank’s highly regarded annual State of the Wine Industry Report. With decades of experience researching the wine business, his views are sought after and trusted by winery owners, journalists, entrepreneurs and investors. He is a prominent speaker, both domestically and internationally, and he is extensively quoted in national, regional and trade press. He has also been named several times as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in the US wine industry. We cover a lot of topics on this show but we mainly focus on the general health of the wine industry, both pre and post Covid-19. You can find links below to his annual report that we think is extremely valuable to anyone in the wine industry. Check it out…. Rob McMillan, EVP & Founder Silicon Valley Wine Division 1300 First Street #466 Napa, Ca. 94559 www.svb.com/wine-report www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciEMUQcbFjI www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG1wk3p3jVE www.svbwine.blogspot.com

The guys cover a wide variety of topics this week including social media influencers, organic sprays, drought, cannabis farming and bottling lines. [EP152]

Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley region of Southern Oregon was originally planted by Dick Troon back in 1972. The property was conventionally farmed for over 40 years and was in need of some love. Craig Camp was brought on in 2016 to focus on organic, bio-dynamic and regenerative farming, bringing the land back to its original state, suitable for farming high quality grapes to make world-class wines. Their unique climate is very similar to Southern France and therefore perfectly suited to Rhone varietals. The wine making team of Nate Wall and Sarah Thompson have re-energized the land and brought a new focus based on the total health of the vines to create some serious and fun wines. Great story, check it out.. troonvineyard.com @troonwines

This show was our third and maybe the last virtual tasting of this series. Bart sent out a 2012 Chenin Blanc from the cellar and a 2017 Zinfandel just out of the barrel. Once again we were truly grateful for the support of our listeners and the incredible community they have created. We hope to be returning soon to our regular shows without the use of Zoom. Thank you all for the support over the last few months. Stay safe, tune in, drink more wine. danecellars.com winerysixteen600.com

Mayacamas Olds was recently named as the new General Manager of Gloria Ferrer Winery in Sonoma. Her journey in the wine business started at a very young age with her parents owning Sky Vineyards on Cavedale Rd. between the Napa and Sonoma valleys. Maya has a Bachelor of Science in fermentation from UC Davis and has worked on multiple continents with large and small companies in the wine industry. She has known Sam since they were in diapers and used to work with Bart at Lasseter Winery when she was a part of the Enterprise Vineyards team. Mayacamas has big plans for Gloria Ferrer and a position with a lot of influence. She will be in charge of every aspect of the business from hospitality to viticulture all the way to winemaking and sustainability. We are truly proud to have one of our own running this great estate that greets wine lovers at the entry to Sonoma in Carneros. [EP150] Check it out…. gloriaferrer.com @gloriaferrerwinery 23555 Arnold Drive, Sonoma 866-845-6742 skyvineyards.com @skyzinfandel

Today we officially reopen the tasting rooms here in Sonoma. But what exactly does that mean ?? We discuss the challenges of opening up for hospitality in Sonoma. Stay safe. Drink more wine. Cheers !! [EP149] danecellars.com winerysixteen600.com

This week we decided to “honor” one of our favorite grapes. Grenache doesn’t get as much attention as some of the other varietals despite being THE most widely planted grape in the world. We invited on four of the local Grenache Masters; Casey Graybehl, the Grenachista, Peter Mathis from Mathis Wines, Jeff Cohn from Jeff Cohn Cellars and Dave Mounts from Mounts Winery. [EP148] Sondra Bernstein from The Girl & The Fig joined the podcast as well, her love of this amazing grape has fueled the consumption for diners at her restaurant here in Northern California. She also hinted of a possible Sine Qua Non wine dinner at her Suite D event space. Stay safe, tune in, drink more…Cheers… jeffcohncellars.com grenachista.com mountswinery.com mathiswine.com thegirlandthefig.com

This week we are not talking about Covid-19, Corona Virus, PPP, PPE, SIP, N95, DTC, EDD, Ventilators, Curb-Side Pick Up, Social Distancing, etc. We needed a break. We thought you might need one too. We had an idea, let’s just talk about wine with interesting people and wines we love. Bart, Sam and Brian decided to each invite two guests, and not reveal our choices until we started recording the show. The result was the ultimate “blind date” [EP147]

This week we are joined by wine professionals on the retail side of the business to talk about how they are dealing with an increased direct to consumer demand. Todd Jolly from Sonoma’s Best, Donald Moffat from Zachys and Alvaro Cardenas from Wine Stop give us the lowdown on sales, tariffs, pricing and market trends. After you listen to the show, reach out and buy some wine. Cheers… [EP146] mywinestop.com zachys.com sonomas-best.com

We had another great virtual wine tasting with Dane Cellars & Sixteen600. This is just some “bonus” content if anyone would like to hear it. danecellars.com winerysixteen600.com

This week on the podcast we invited some of our friends from different wine making regions in the world to discuss the challenges of selling wine in our current environment. We were joined by Anne Charlotte from Chateau Font du Loup in France, Elyse Perry from Bokisch Vineyards in Lodi, Dusty Nabor from Dusty Nabor Wines & NSO Wines in Southern California and Melani Harding from Bon Niche Cellars in Paso Robles. dustynaborwines.com nsowines.com @dustynabor bonniche.com @barleyvondoodle @melaniharding lafontduloup.com @anne_charlotte_lafontduloup bokischvineyards.com @bokischvineyards

Cathy is the co-founder and CEO of Enolytics, a big data startup providing business intelligence for the wine industry. She also currently writes for Forbes.com about the business and politics of the wine industry, and for Inc.com about entrepreneurs with a special focus on women. She is the author of the award-winning book Hungry for Wine: Seeing the World through the Lens of a Wine Glass. Cathy’s writing has appeared in print and online for both general-interest and wine industry publications including the Harvard Business Review network, The Atlantic, Decanter, Food52.com (where she was the “Wine, Unfussed” columnist), DailyBeast, The Boston Globe, the Washington Post, Wine Enthusiast, GlobalPost, Grist.org, and Daily Candy. She found a little time to come hang out with us. cathyhuyghe.com Cathy’s Book, Hungry for wine Cathy’s Post on Balanced Glass

This week we finally sit down with Esther Mobley, former editor at Wine Spectator in New York and current wine, beer and spirits writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. What we have loved most about Esther since joining the Chronicle in 2015 is her ability to use wine as a backdrop to get at the really interesting stories about the people and issues behind the wine. Iconic wine makers and wineries are sometimes used as a backdrop to cover deeper stories of immigration, climate change and social inequity. Her natural sense of curiosity serves her well and endears her to the readers. We talk about what it’s like to cover the wine industry in these strange times where personal contact is off limits. Pour yourself a Paloma and enjoy… [EP143] Stay safe, order wine, tune in and turn on….. sfchronicle.com esthermobley.com  

This week the guys were supposed to have Esther Mobley on, wine writer for the S.F. Chronicle. Our Zoom invite somehow made it into her “junk” file but we decided to do the show anyway. Don’t worry, we got her back for next weeks show. We discuss the origins of the podcast and how it has changed in the last few weeks. Stay safe, order wine, tune in and guzzle down. [EP142]

BONUS CONTENT! – On Friday the 10th of April 2020 The Wine Makers Podcast did their first Virtual Wine Tasting with Dane Cellars & Sixteen600. They recorded it and decided to release it as a “bonus” show for anyone that wanted to hear it. Thank you to everyone that signed up and joined us, it was nice to see all of your faces and we truly appreciate the support. Cheers! The next virtual tasting is scheduled for Friday May 1st. Stay tuned for details. winerysixteen600.com danecellars.com thegirlandthefig.com

“The Wine Industry doesn’t have an education problem, we have an engagement problem”. Paul Mabray is an outspoken voice in the wine industry when it comes to data collection and how to properly use it to engage our customers. We thought this was a good time to have him back since all of us in the industry are scrambling to connect with our customers in a meaningful way. Stay safe, order wine, listen in and turn on. Cheers [EP141] Thanks emetry.io paul @ emetry.io

Jordan Kivelstadt joins us on “lock-down” this week to talk about his new project KIvelstadt Cellars Wine Garden & Eatery that was set to open April 18th in the former historic site of Fords and Schellville Grill. Jordan and his chef Matt Tucker have had to put things on hold so they shifted to a wine and meal delivery service to stay connected with their clients and the community. Sam and Bart talk about their new “virtual tasting” experience that rolls out this week. Stay safe, order wine and join us in the digital world, this could go on for a while. Go to Dane Cellars or Sixteen 600 websites below to order wine for the virtual tasting. Cheers. [EP140] danecellars.com winerysixteen600.com kivelstadtcellars.com

One of our favorite guests joined us on the show this week to chat about the state of the global wine industry, virtual wine tasting and how damn tasty moose can be when cooked properly. Enjoy !!! wakawakawinereviews.com [email protected]

The “shelter-in-place” order has been given by our California Governor Gavin Newsom. The Wine Makers are working from home this week. We decided to practice “social distancing” and try out the Zoom app to continue to continue recording shows for our listeners. Sondra Bernstein, owner of the girl & fig restaurant, sits in and talks about the state of the food and wine industry going forward. Her restaurants and catering business closed on Monday with no projected opening dates. It’s getting weird out there !!! We will continue to do our shows and bring some information and hopefully spread a little joy. [EP139] Once we get familiar with our different app options with quality sound we will continue bringing guests onto the show. We hope that by continuing to record our podcasts we can bring some sense of normalcy into your lives. Enjoy the show. thegirlandthefig.com thebitegoeson.com

In 1989, Carl Doumani discovered the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a Viennese painter, architect, ecologist and philosopher. Believing that the wine world had transformed a beverage of consummate pleasure into an absurdly serious pursuit, he commissioned Hundertwasser to design a winery to combat these notions. [EP137] Imagine Alice in Wonderland meets Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Now about the wines… The winery borders the famed Shafer’s Hillside Select vineyards in Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District. Winemaker B.R. Smith, who studied under Aaron Pott, crafts these deeply flavored wines under the watchful eye of consulting winemaker Philippe Melka. Cabernet Sauvignon is the obvious draw but the Petite Sirah steals the show, bringing grace and elegance to an otherwise dark and brooding variety. Upon entering the barrel room, Smith’s surfboard, perched atop the first row of barrels, lets you know these people have a zest for life and whimsy. Bruce Mackay is the tour guide and historian, with numerous stories of the property and it’s eccentric inhabitants. If you were visiting Napa and only had one winery to visit, this would be a fulfilling choice. Hope you enjoy the show. quixotewinery.com @quuixotewinery

This week we sit down with Tanner Walle and Lauren Feldman of Valley Bar & Bottle and talk about the new wine bar and restaurant opening up in the former space of Harvest Moon. Both of these hospitality professionals have decades of experience servicing industry staff as well as visiting tourists. This funky space is destined to be a “hot spot” in Sonoma for wine and food lovers. Wine “geeks” like us are craving a place to hang out and drink interesting global wines with cutting-edge foods. They are in final stages of preparation and should be open by May 1st. Great show… [EP136] valleybarandbottle.com @tannerwalle @laurenfeldman

This week we sit down with Korbin Ming from Korbin Kameron Winery, the highest elevation vineyard in the Moon Mountain District. His family produces world-class Bordeaux varietals in some extreme mountain conditions. We have waited a long time to get Korbin on the show because we are huge fans of the wines and think they are a rare gem in Sonoma. We also have Danny and Katie Fay from Hill of Tara, they source their grapes from Korbin’s vineyard. Listeners may remember them from their inaugural release last year around St. Patricks Day. These wines are among the most coveted in Sonoma County and we felt honored to go through the whole portfolio. Danny and Katie will be offering their second release for Hill of Tara in the coming week, we highly encourage you to get in on the ground floor. Enjoy this show as much as we did… korbinkameron.com @korbinkameron hilloftarawines.com @hilloftarawines

This week we sit down with legends Philippe Cambie and Phil Coturri and discuss their new collaboration “A Deux Tetes”. A project that focuses on New World Grenache with Old World sensibility and depth of knowledge. The Rose has been released and the Grenache Noir from two different sources, Miller Vineyard and Oakville Vineyard in Napa, is still in barrel but soon to be bottled. Isabel Gassier is the wine maker and translator of Philippe’s ideas about the wines. She is the daughter of Michel Gassier, one of our favorite wine makers in France and she is an up and coming star in the California wine world. We discuss philosophy of wine making and Philippe’s history and rise as the “God of Grenache” in Southern France. This is a really good show and we had fun recording it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Cheers……

This week we sit down with Taylor Berkley Boydstun, owner/winemaker of T. Berkley Wines. He makes wines inspired by the great wines of the Loire Valley. His journey started with a trip to Spain and France, a love affair was formed and he soon found himself making wine in New Zealand, Austria and Australia. Taylor currently makes small batches of Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc Rose. This is a great story and the wines are fantastic. [EP133] tberkleywines.com @tberkleywines

Veteran of the California wine industry, Bettina Sichel, purchased this vineyard in 2011 from founder Patrick Campbell. Her first move was to hire legendary vineyard manager Phil Coturri, who had first worked this property when he was 13. She then brought in wine maker Randall Watkins, former General Manager at Moon Mountain Vineyard. The idea was not to change anything but to improve on the farming and raise the bar on the wines from this iconic vineyard. Bettina’s father M.F. Sichel was the man responsible for making Blue Nun wines a household name in America. Great history here and the wines set the standard for Sonoma Mountain Cabernet. [EP132] Laurel Glen Vineyard www.laurelglen.com @laurelglen 707-933-9877

The guys sit down with Ruben Morancy, Wine Director at Two Star Michelin restaurant Coi, pronounced “kwa”, in San Francisco. Ruben is also a renowned artist with a passion for selling domestic and international wines. He started Les-sommeliers to start promoting unique fine wine events to an “under-served” community in the Bay Area and beyond. Ruben’s next event is on February 15th at the Alice Collective in Oakland, featuring food by Chef Keith Corbin of Alta W. Adams in LA and jazz musician Marcus Shelby. This event will celebrate Valentines Day and Black History Month with a perfect pairing of fried chicken and tiny bubbles. Great history and stories here to share. [EP131] Coirestaurant.com Les-sommeliers.com [email protected] 415-425-8466

This week the guys, and Jasmine, sit down and talk about French wine tariffs, travel, North Carolina, taking the sommelier exam and the state of the wine business for 2020. We cover a lot of topics and get into almost ten wines in this episode, enjoy… [EP130]

This week on the podcast we sit down with Donald Patz, known for making “world-class” Pinot and Chardonnay at Patz & Hall Winery in Sonoma. He left this iconic winery when it was purchased in 2016 and has since started 3 small projects, Maritana, Terminim and Secret Door. He sparked our interest when he joined forces with Francois Villard, a master in Northern Rhone, to make some top notch Syrah and white blends from Mendocino. Lots of history here, great show. [EP129] donaldpatzwinegroup.com   Donald Patz Owner/Winemaker 707-337-2310 [email protected] @drpinot   Jung Min Lee Owner/Muse/LKG [email protected]   Jennifer Kelly Vice President of Sales 707-478-5152 [email protected]   François Villard Domaine François Villard – Northern Rhône Valley, France Partner – Terminim [email protected]   DONALD PATZ WINE GROUP P.O. Box 2096 Yountville, CA 94599 USA

This week on the Wine Makers we sit down with Brenae Royal, vineyard manager at the historic Monte Rosso Vineyards. Brenae grew up in the Central Valley of California and was originally interested in animals, in part due to her exposure to F.F.A., future farmers of America. Weeks into college she decided to pivot, focusing on vines and taking a job with Gallo right out of school. [EP128] She now runs one of the most historic vineyards in California, growing Cabernet, Zinfandel and Semillon since 1886. She lives on the property with her dog and some pretty scary wildlife, it’s not unusual to see mountain lions and bobcats roaming the 250 acre property. We get into it all, style, techniques and relationships, Brenae is an African-American woman under 30 working for a large corporation in a primarily white, older, male world. The landscape is changing, and she is a part of that movement, inclusion is key to the wine industries success and it’s important to see yourself represented. Sam had some great wines open from a party the night before so we taste a little bit of everything. Great show….

In our continuing effort to de-mystify wine, we introduce you to Leo McCloskey and Douglas McKesson from Enologix, they can predict some things about wine that you may not have thought possible. What if someone told you to forget everything you know about wine in Northern California, like we need to rip out all of the Cabernet Sauvignon. We are going down the “rabbit hole”… From Wikipedia… Enologix is a privately held California corporation that designs predictive analytics for luxury winegrowing. The company sells grape and wine quality indices, models, software and consulting products. Enologix created the first algorithms that predict grape harvest dates, grading new wines, digital blends, and future market price, volume and taste scores. The most important metric among winemakers are digital blends and a taste index which predicts 100-point scores of consumer critics such as Robert Parker. It claims that the quality of wine can be measured chemically, and a score assessed, much like a wine critic.Clients include Beaulieu, Cakebread Cellars, Diamond Creek, Ridge Vineyards. Enologix’s metrics have been correlated with market performance metrics, including 100-points critics’ scores. [email protected] 707-938-9463

Paul Mabray has been a powerful change agent in the wine industry for over twenty years. He began his career working in traditional three-tier sales and marketing with Napa Ale Works and later innovating direct-to-consumer sales and marketing models with Niebaum Coppola. Since then, he has been at the forefront of all major digital trends for the wine industry, working with WineShopper.com and Wine.com when they entered the wine-digital space. He founded two companies that have significantly changed the US wine landscape for digital. First by introducing winery e-commerce with Inertia Beverage Group that transformed into WineDirect.com pioneering winery e-commerce and then again introducing social media and social customer relationship management with VinTank.com. He is considered the wine industry’s foremost futurist and thought leader, harnessing the power and potential of digital tools and methodologies to move the industry into the future. A four-time American Wine Blog Awards finalist, he has been a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, UC Davis, Sonoma State as well as keynoting conferences, symposiums, and seminars. He maintains a blog and frequently contributes articles to business periodicals for his leadership in the wine industry. Paul formerly sat on the Board of Directors for the wine business social network Openwineconsortium.org which was sold to FOHBOH, and the Board of Advisors for Snooth.com, Taste.com, and Cruvee.com (which was purchased by VinTank). He currently sits on the Board of Directors for the theappreciationengine.com and emetry.io and on the Board of Advisors for Proof Analytics.

This week the guys get together and talk tariffs, bottle size, boxed wine, sourcing barrels, Marin natural wine and a whole lot more. Check it out! [EP125]

What’s it like to have one of your wines selected by Wine Spectator as the “#2 wine in the world ?”… We ask Braiden Albrecht that question on this weeks podcast. Braiden is a childhood friend of Sams and former employee of Enterprise Vineyard who is now the wine maker at Mayacamas and works closely with Andy Erickson to craft some of the most sought after Cab and Chard in California. We talk about the long, rich history of the winery and how they are moving into the next phase of development. This is a good one, Enjoy…

This week we are taking the show on the road to a “hidden gem” in the Dry Creek Valley. Nalle Winery has been making beautiful, low-alcohol Zinfandels that have been compared to some great wines from Burgundy. Doug and Lee have passed the torch to Andrew and April, it is truly a “family affair”. We sat outside on the back deck, apologies for the windy background. Enjoy… [EP123] nallewinery.com [email protected] 707-433-1040

Kieran Robinson joins the pod this week to announce the “almost” opening of his new tasting room in Philly. He has been doing the bi-coastal thing trying to make wine in Cali and complete construction in Pennsylvania. The mystery of those strange tags in the Rossi vineyard is solved, Kieran is doing some consulting. Aron Rosenthal, podcast listener, joins the show and talks food and wine in South Carolina. It’s Sunny in Sonoma! Enjoy

The guys welcome back into the fold Mr. John Myers. Steve Waymire, grower at Lazy Dog Vineyard sits in, fresh from a night pick of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. We might talk a bit about the fire too.

This week we sit down with our friend Todd Jolly, he runs the best wine program in Sonoma out of a small deli at the end of 8th St. East. Todd brings some epic Riesling for us to try. We cover a wide variety of subjects on this show including the future of Ravenswood and To Kalon. Check it out. [EP120] sonomas-best.com

EP119: This is the 3rd year in a row that fire has dominated the conversation in October. Thankfully no major fires have started here in Northern California but our power company, PG&E, has decided that when conditions are favorable for a fire they will just shut off the power grid. We sit down and talk about how this affects the harvest and what’s going on out in the vineyards.

Sixth generation vintner, Katie Bundschu joins the show and talks about her family history, life “on the road”, cool-climate Cabernet and her lifestyle brand, Abbots Passage. Also, harvest is in full swing and we talk about what’s going on out there. Oh and Bart makes Chenin Blanc…And Brian makes Roussanne… abbotspassage.com gunbun.com Gundlach Bundschu Winery 2000 Denmark Street Sonoma, CA 95476 707.938.5277 [email protected]

The guys sit down with Tony Moll, retired offensive lineman in the N.F.L. and Sonoma native returning home to start his own wine label. Tony and his former team mates Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz own and operate Three Fat Guys Winery, with a small tasting room off the square in Sonoma. They make Rose, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, and it’s good !!! Podcast listener Roger Randall comes to town and sits in on the show, bringing some special wines for us to try… THREE FAT GUYS WINES 20816 Broadway, Sonoma, CA 95476 @threefatguyswines

Bart and Brian go “on the road” to visit with Tom Inners from Clif Family, on Howell Mountain, in the small town of Angwin. If you thought Clif Family wines would be mass-produced and available in every store like the Clif Bars, you would be wrong, very wrong. They make small lots of hand-crafted wine from select, organic vineyard sites. The wines are beautiful and expressive, and the way our guest Tom Inners talks about them, you would think they are still just making them for close friends and family. The hospitality is honest and real, and the company culture is about enjoying life through cycling, food and great wine. We hope you enjoy the show, we sure did… cliffamily.com @cliffamily 709 Main Street St. Helena, CA 94574 707.968.0625

Joel Burt from Las Jaras Wines joins the podcast this week. Why would someone leave their job at Domaine Chandon to partner with actor/writer/comedian Eric Wareheim, who you may know from “The Tim and Eric Awesome Show”, and make some of the most intriguing “natural” wines from some very unique varietals ?? Listen in and get the whole story…. lasjaraswines.com @lasjaraswines YouTube