The Wine Makers on Radio Misfits

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

We are on the road this week, traveling to western Sonoma County for a visit with Alex and Breauna Kanzler from Kanzler Vineyards. This famed Goldridge soil vineyard in Sebastopol is only 8 miles from the coast, allowing the grapes to slowly ripen, building complexity. As Danny Fay said before our visit, “you will be in Pinot Heaven”. You can actually do a “farm stay” among the vineyards in their beautiful house with a pool, visit the website for pics and details… Enjoy the show. kanzlervineyards.com Facebook @kanzlerfamilyvineyards Instagram @kanzlervineyards [email protected] 707-827-3874

EP113: This week, Elaine Chukan Brown, aka Hawk Wakawakka returns to the podcast on the heels of her Screaming Eagle visit. We also taste some of the “hottest” celebrity Roses of the Summer. Sam pulls out a special bottle of Chardonnay from Mayacamas, the last vintage of this vineyard. Enjoy… wakawakawinereviews.com @hawk_wakawaka

Scott Kirkpatrick and Allison Watkins started Mountain Tides Wine in 2016 with a single vision, explore Petite Sirah in all of its forms. Unique vineyard sites and an openness to stylistic differences from a lot of other Petite Sirah on “the market” sets them apart and makes them unique. Being artists, they take a thoughtful approach to wine making and life in general, creativity is the journey and quality is the goal. Check out their story… mountaintideswine.com [email protected] 989-492-6681 @mountaintides @cellaringscott @_allisonwatkins  

EP111: Bart, Sam & Brian sit down and talk about the rapidly approaching harvest. Sam saves Brian’s birthday by showing up with some good Rose. Grenache day is around the corner and Sam is getting ready for a Vinyl Sunday. Check it out…

Steve Law and his wife Heather have moved into a new location, away from the square, to a country setting more suited to their warm and inviting personalities. The wines are always on another level, high-quality but different than other wines. Rose, Sav Blanc, Viognier, Pinot and Syrah, from a Scottish man that trained in France and now living in the New World. Hope you enjoy… maclarenwine.com

EP109: We finish up our swing through Paso Robles with a trip to Tablas Creek, the epicenter of Rhone varieties in California. The guys sit down with Nathan Stuart, he and his dog Maya tend the bio-dynamic flock of over 200 sheep that keep this land in balance. The partnership between the Haas and Perrin families has advanced the spread of Rhone varieties in the New World and created some world-class wines. We talk about the history of the winery and touch on carbon-farming and desertification. Check out the TED talk by Allan Savory on

EP108: Brian and Bart travel to San Luis Obispo to sit down with Vicki Carroll, she runs the premier wine event Hospice du Rhone, annually at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and bi-annually in Paso Robles. We open a bottle of rose and talk about and her work with some of the wine industries legends. hospicedurhone.org

EP107: Bart & Brian go to Paso Robles to see Melani Harding, a former guest on the show, who now owns her own winery, Bon Niche Cellars. Melani introduces us to Leon Tackitt from Tackitt Family Vineyards down the road. So great to see Mel and Barley Von Doodle living their dream, check it out. bonniche.com tackittfamilyvineyards.com Instagram @bonnichecellars Instagram @barleyvondoodle

EP106: This week we catch Sam on his way to a tasting, so we run through his entire portfolio. Bart introduces us to a six dollar Vino Verde and Brian asks why there is no 100 point Rose’s.

Troika Wines is a newer winery based in Carneros but sourcing grapes from a wide variety of vineyard sites. Jeff and a couple of his good friends decided to start making wine, their first release was a Merlot made by famed consultant Phillipe Melka. Now with Sir John, they are making Pinot, Sav Blanc and Rose of Grenache. Check it out. troikawines.com [email protected] 707-492-8213

Jess Wade is a Sonoma native with strong ties to the community and our service industry. He is a “jack-of-all-trades” when it comes to wine, working in the vineyards, both here and abroad, tending to the cellar, and now creating his own label, Topophilia Wines. Jess makes small lots of hand-crafted Rose and Pinot Noir. He is in the process of planting Grenache on his family property. Enjoy… www.topophiliawines.com Instagram – @topophiliawines

Our friends, Jeff Cohn from Sonoma, Anne Charlotte from France, have teamed up to make one barrel of wine, a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre from the Chateauneuf du Pape. We sit down and get the story behind the wine and taste some recent releases. Check it out! jeffcohncellars.com lafontduloup.com

Eric Story & Alison Smith Story started their small wine brand Smith Story Wine Cellars in 2014, funded by Kickstarter, sourcing small lots from family-owned vineyards. They met while working for K&L Wine Merchants and used their combined talents to create one of the most unique brands in wine country. Their dog, Lord Sandwich, has become an inspiration for some fun projects and is an Instagram celebrity. smithstorywinecellars.com Twitter Instagram Facebook 707-494-5575

EP101: The guys open some nice wines and reflect on the past 100 shows. We discuss the rain and its affect on the crop this season. Huge thanks to all of our listeners out there, you are truly appreciated. Here’s to another 100 shows. Cheers !!

Wine writer Elaine Chukan Brown, a.k.a. Hawk Wakawaka, joins the show and talks about her journey from Alaska to wine country. What a strange trip indeed, from a 1-900 psychic operator to a contributing writer for Wine & Spirits Magazine and organizing seminars for some of the most talented Master Som’s in the world. This is a great show, grab a glass and check it out! wakawakawinereviews.com @hawk_wakawaka

The Wine Makers sit down with our friend Ian Blessing, former sommelier at French Laundry and Bouchon, now working for the “premier” Cab producer in California. We’ll let him tell the story…..

The guys sit down with Rande Feldman & Aaron Cherny from the newly released Source & Sink Wines. Two guys from Chicago meet in Sonoma and start a new brand with unique varietals and a fresh attitude. sourceandsinkwine.com

From her first un-oaked Chardonay to a true array of beautiful whites and reds. Cindy is one of Sonoma’s best! “Passaggio, Italian for ‘pass through’, reflects my winemaking journey; new adventures with each vintage, exploring traditional and off-the-beaten-path varieties. I’m fortunate to be able to source hard to find grape varietals along with traditional ones.” – Cindy Cosco. passaggiowines.com @passaggio Twitter @passaggio_wines Instagram

The guys sit down this week with Blair Guthrie from Guthrie Family Wines. From beginnings as a graphic designer in New Zealand to one of the valley’s more interesting winemakers, Blair brings his youth, direction, energy and fun to his diverse line-up. He is also a long term winemaker for Stewart Cellars, making big, beautiful Napa cabs and more. guthriefamilywines.com

EP95: Without a doubt, one of the most wonderful afternoons we’ve ever had at The WineMakers, was when Jean Arnold Sessions dropped by this week. Jean has been one of more influential people in the wine business in Sonoma, whether guiding business and marketing strategy as a consultant or being CEO of one the few iconic wineries, Hanzell. Jean prides herself on her story telling and this show is one of our best. Enjoy. @WineScoutJAS FB: jeanlarnold [email protected] jeanarnoldgroup.com

The guys sit down with Jillian, owner and winemaker at Onesta and talk about how she gets to “travel up and down the West Coast, finding solutions for other winemaker’s problems” while making beautiful single-vineyard Rhône varieties that are true expressions of the place. Most of it is sold directly to the consumer, sold through the wine club and out of her tasting space at Feast it Forward in Napa. Johnson is launching a new brand, one she says “morphs honesty to guilty pleasure”: Mentida—a Spanish word for “a little lie.” With Mentida, she’ll focus on blends of different vineyards. www.onestawines.com

Jennifer started raft wines in 2016 with the goal of making high quality wines for everyday consumption. Her father, Jim Reichardt, started Sonoma County Poultry in 1992 and has been supplying ducks to all of the top restaurants in California ever since. Listen to his story on “the bite goes on” podcast, available on the Radio Misfits Podcast Network. raftwines.com libertyducks.com

This week The Wine Makers get their travel visas stamped and crossed the boarder into Napa County to meet with a man who changed the wine business forever the legendary Mark Pope, founder of The Bounty Hunter.

EP91: Every once in a while a business proposition comes along that simply commands attention. One of those ideas has hit the wine industry and it is Nakedwines. We trek to Napa for a sit down with Alex Farber and team to find out just exactly what these “disrupters” are all about. At every turn of the conversation we were struck by their exactlng standards, comittment to quality and to wine itself. So make your own wine, make your statement to the world, be an Angel or just enjoy when you open the box… It’s all fascinating and Hey we even have our own Promo Code. Use this at the end of the show for a special deal from Nakedwines -> https://us.nakedwines.com/misfit  

The Original WineMakingNomad visits the podcast to talk Wine, work and the passions of his life. Danny Fay and his wonderful partner Katie,discuss life as a GM of Kanzler Wines and the excitement of creating their new wines under the “Hill of Tara” brand. From life on the road in France and around the world to the fun of everyday life, Danny always brings a great attitude and style to the podcast. Join us for a really enjoyable show.

Anne-Charlotte is a charming, fun and extremely talented wine maker from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region of France. Her unique soils and forest that protects her vineyards from the mighty Mistral winds allow her to make wines with finesse and elegance. Raised in a castle near La Crau, her closest neighbor is the world-renowned Vieux Telegraphe. One day while dropping her father off at the airport for a project he had started in Morocco, he handed her the keys to the winery and told her “you are now in charge”..Since that day, Anne has made some of the most beautiful wines in the world and we are honored to call her a friend. A very fun podcast…. Mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.lafontduloup.com

Podcasting from the Epicenter of organic grape farming and wine making, Winery Sixteen600, the guys sit down with Phil Coturri for a truly fascinating conversation.

The guys sit down for a real life look at being a Master Sommelier with the star of first Somm movie, Ian Cauble. Co-founder of SommSelect Wines, Ian talks all things wine and life after the movies…which sounds pretty damn good.

Garrett Sathrelays out his Manifesto on Valley wineries and it’s another awesome marketing lesson in the making. Seriously, where’s the love from the wineries? When did it go out of style to be genuine?

The guys head north to talk with Barry Herbst, ‘Head-Guy-In-Charge’ at Bottle Barn, Santa Rosa. You know you’re in the right business when so many of the Wine Folks in NorCal buy their wine, beer and more from your choice of 6000skus. Gotta love the French and Italian 6 packs-to-go on line too.

The guys podcast from the Atmospheric River covering most of Northern California. John answers a couple of email questions from Nakedwines.com and thinks he’s an expert. Sam wants Cannabis AVAs’. No Roundup! Sam’s new Kosher wine. The Sonoma Index Tribune photographer takes our photos for the paper. Enjoy.