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Sisällön tarjoaa Steve Jaxon & Dan Berger, Steve Jaxon, and Dan Berger. Steve Jaxon & Dan Berger, Steve Jaxon, and Dan Berger tai sen podcast-alustan kumppani lataa ja toimittaa kaiken podcast-sisällön, mukaan lukien jaksot, grafiikat ja podcast-kuvaukset. Jos uskot jonkun käyttävän tekijänoikeudella suojattua teostasi ilman lupaasi, voit seurata tässä https://fi.player.fm/legal kuvattua prosessia.

This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil

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QUALIFIED: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work with Shari Dunn | 284 33:58

10 päivää sitten33:58

Toista Myöhemmin

Listat

Tykkää

Tykätty

33:58

In this episode, we delve into the concept of being "qualified" in the workplace, examining who gets labeled as such, who doesn't, and the underlying reasons. We explore "competency checking"—the practice of scrutinizing individuals' abilities—and how it disproportionately affects underrepresented groups, often going unnoticed or unchallenged. Our discussion aims to redefine qualifications in a fair, equitable, and actionable manner. Our guest, Shari Dunn , is an accomplished journalist, former attorney, news anchor, CEO, university professor, and sought-after speaker. She has been recognized as Executive of the Year and a Woman of Influence, with her work appearing in Fortune Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, and more. Her new book, Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work , unpacks what it truly means to be deserving and capable—and why systemic barriers, not personal deficits, are often the real problem. Her insights challenge the narratives that hold so many of us back and offer practical solutions for building a more equitable future. Together, we can build workplaces and communities that don’t just reflect the world we live in, but the one we want to create. A world where being qualified is about recognizing the talent and potential that’s been overlooked for far too long. It’s not just about getting a seat at the table—it’s about building an entirely new table, one designed with space for all of us. Connect with Our Guest Shari Dunn Website& Book - Qualified: https://thesharidunn.com LI: https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/sharidunn TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesharidunn Related Podcast Episodes: How To Build Emotionally Mature Leaders with Dr. Christie Smith | 272 Holding It Together: Women As America's Safety Net with Jessica Calarco | 215 How To Defy Expectations with Dr. Sunita Sah | 271 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music…

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#Food #Steve Jaxon & Dan Berger #Dan Berger #Steve Jaxon #Arts

California Wine Country

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updated 7 päivää sitten

Jaa

Sarjan koti•Feed

Podcast & Radio Show

91 jaksoa

#Food #Steve Jaxon & Dan Berger #Dan Berger #Steve Jaxon #Arts

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1
Tom Gendall, winemaker at Cline Family Cellars 46:38

7 päivää sitten46:38

46:38

Tom Gendall, winemaker at Cline Family Cellars is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Cline Family Cellars has been featured on this show before, most recently when Fred Cline and his daughter Hillary Cline were on this episode on January 4, 2023 . Tom Gendall from Cline Family Cellars is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. The Cline family has been on this show before, most recently when Fred Cline and his daughter Hillary Cline were on this episode on January 4, 2023. Tom was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand and has wine experience in both hemispheres. He also made wine in Germany. Some of the Cline family vineyards were planted as early as 1904. They survived Prohibition and Phylloxera. They started making wine under this label in 1984. Hold on to your hat! The first wine they will taste is the 2023 Chardonnay from Carneros, where you had better strap your hat on because the wind will carry it off. Tom describes the process that produced it, but he gives credit to the great fruit from that year. From year to year, they finished picking month later than before. In 2024 they finished picking on the 16th of October and in 2023 they finished on the 12th of November. It was a cooler year so the grapes could stay on the vine almost a month longer than the year before. Dan remembers the vintage of 2010 and 2011, which were both cool vintages. 2023 was like that but even better. It is great now but in 10 years will be even better. Tom Gendall is one of the two winemakers at Cline Family Cellars. The other is Katie Hoggins. She is also from New Zealand and has also worked around the world making wine. He compares their collaboration to building, as if he were the architect and she is the engineer. Dan describes the Cline Family Cellars history as having been through everything imaginable in more than a century of growing grapes. They survived Phylloxera because their vines grow in sand which does not bear phylloxera. The secret to their balance is the lees contact that they give to the wine, which imparts flavor. Tom describes how the root systems feed flavor into the vines and the grapes. Later in the show Melissa Galliani joins the group and Tom opens a Mourvèdre which is ra…

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Dennis Hill from Langhart-Hill Wines 46:25

14 päivää sitten46:25

46:25

Dan and Dennis Dennis Hill, co-founder of Langhart & Hill Wines joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country today. The last time he was on California Wine Country was this episode in September of 2023 . The first tasting is a 2023 Chardonnay. While a lot of California Chards are the heavy oaky buttery ML style, this is different. It is more in the European style, higher acidity and better for pairing with food. They use high quality grapes from Sonoma County so there are a lot of fruit flavors in it. Dennis Hill and his wife were both raised in Healdsburg. There was a Renaissance in the wine industry in the 1970s when he was starting in the business – right place, right time. Healdsburg is located at the confluence of the Dry Creek River and the Russian River. That puts it at the intersection of three main viticultural areas, Dry Creek, Anderson Valley and Russian River Valley. In the northern part of this region the afternoons are hotter and in the southern part, it is cooler and foggier. Where to find Langhart & Hill wines Langhart & Hill wines are available in restaurants and some retail locations. They do not have a tasting room. Their production is still rather small for that. After working for some very large wineries with complicated operations and relationships, Dennis enjoys being able to work by himself. Their vineyards are located in the different climate zones described, so there is a four-week window for them to harvest everything. Dennis describes their two brands. Landhart & Hill are classic Sonoma County varieties, a Chard, two Pinot Noirs, a Rosé and a Merlot. They also have another label, Rumplestiltskin , which is for the less common varieties. For instance, today there is a Dobricic, a Croation variety, and an Orange wine, made of Trouseau Gris grapes originally from the Jura region in France. Trousseau is a Gris variety, not purely a white grape. Wine grapes come in three colors, black, aka red, white and gris, meaning gray. There is also Trousseau Noir. It’s a tricky grape to use. You have to harvest not too soon or too late. Then, if you want Orange wine, you have to leave it on the skins just long enough.…

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Brooks Note Wines owner Garry Brooks 36:45

21 päivää sitten36:45

36:45

Dan Berger and Garry Brooks. Garry Brooks, owner of Brooks Note Wines , is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. This is his first time on CWC. Garry grew up in Annapolis, Maryland. As he grew up the family had wine on the table. He served in the US Navy and got sent to France and Spain where he had a chance to learn about wine all over the world. After the Navy he ended up in northern California and planted some vines in his sister-in-law’s garden. He was working in middle management in the tech world and his wife convinced him to take the great leap and make a career change. He attended UC Davis then worked at Ravenswood, Acacia, Kosta Brown and Dutton Goldfield. Then he and his wife started Brooks Note in 2012. The first tasting is a Chardonnay. Garry likes Chardonnay to be “a little bit restrained.” It is made with grapes from three different vineyards. Dan finds that it has rich mid-palette and good acidity and subtle character. Dan would decant it for about two hours. Petaluma Gap Dan explains how Petaluma Gap wines get their special character. The wind makes the big difference. The acidity is going to be higher because of that. There is consistent wind every day in Petaluma Gap. The vines slow their sugar production down and it lets the grapes develop more flavor. The skins become thicker and the plants get a longer growing season. Garry has a lot of ways of describing it (about 9 minutes in). They can pick grapes as much as a month later than in other regions. They are also tasting a 2023 Pinot Noir. Of course it is very young. It comes from four different vineyards in Petaluma Gap. Taylor’s Crown, with high elevation and volcanic soil, then Panther Ridge vineyard, rocky basalt and pumice, some from Paradise Vineyard which gets blasted by the wind and the last from Zyer Ranch.…

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The Steven Kent Winery 47:04

28 päivää sitten47:04

47:04

Steven Kent Steven Kent, owner of The Steven Kent Winery in Livermore Valley, joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. Dan Berger recently visited Livermore with his friend, winemaker Clark Smith, to investigate Cabernet Franc. Steven given Cabernet Franc a privileged position in his portfolio. For centuries, Cabernet Franc has been used as a blending grape, but Steven says it can do a whole lot more. He has brought four Cabernet Francs for tasting today, Steven Kent’s son is the seventh generation of Kent family winemakers. In 1854 they started making wine in San José. The Livermore Valley was a wine producing region forty years before Sonoma County. Steven says that Cabernet Franc and the Livermore Valley both deserve more recognition. Dan attended a Cabernet Franc festival there recently and there were a lot of people there who are very enthusiastic about Cab Franc. Cab Franc: not just a blending grape. Cabernet Franc gets harvested about 2 weeks earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. It has less tannin and more aromatics with some dried herb character. In some ways it is a finer variety. Dan calls Cab Franc the father and Cab Sauvignon, “the wild and wooly teenage son.” For people who are looking for a slightly different approach to red wine, Cab Franc is a good choice. It is graceful and doesn’t have the same power as Cab Sauvignon. They have a 2022 Cab Franc from the Ghielmetti vineyard. Livermore is hot by day but gets cold at night. The nearby Altamont pass is a windy place, which extends the growing season. They would normally harvest this in early November. It gets no new oak. Dan Berger says, “This is red wine of a very serious nature but without any of the heavy tannins or the over-ripe components that sometimes creep into bigger, richer, oilier wines that are aged in barrels.” He also calls it “the Pinot Noir of Cabernet.” Dan would give it two to three more years, but it doesn’t need much smoothing because it’s already more than half way there. Located in Livermore They are located on Vasco Road in Livermore. Their tasting room is in a light industrial area, with seven other wineries nearby, known call the place “Vasco Row.” They buy 95% of their fruit from their local friends, and the remaining portion from the Santa Cruz area. They have a club lounge at the winery for their members. Dan calls it “uncontaminated by tourists.” The Kents are the oldest continuous winemaking family in the country. Lineage is another label that they produce. When he and his father Steven Kent Senior opened Steven Kent Winery, they wanted to produce high quality Bordeaux style wines. After working with a lot of Rhone varietals, he wanted to return to Bordeaux styles. In 2007 he started Lineage as a Bordeaux blend and so they could produce elegant age-worthy wines that would go well with food. The one they are tasting is the 2017. Dan says it is well-balanced. It’s called Lineage because it represents the family history in winemaking.…

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Barbara Barrielle 31:41

5 weeks sitten31:41

31:41

Barbara Barrielle Barbara Barrielle , publicist, writer, actress and producer, joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. She writes about travel, wine, food and entertainment and she also works for Anderson Valley Winegrowers, promoting the International White Wine Festival . Her documentary film about Anderson Valley wines features Dan Berger. The Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association is putting on the International White Wine Festival. The festival used to be called the Alsatian Wine Festival because it focused on Alsatian aromatic whites that grow in Anderson Valley. The valley is also known for Pinot Noir now. The new name of the festival opens the door to other whites that are also growing in Anderson Valley. Dan Berger will be in charge of the Rieslings. There will also be Pinot Gris, Gewürtztraminer and lots of others. As an example, Dan has brought a dry Riesling from Ra Ra Wines. Ra Ra wines is run by winemaker Kara Groom who was on this episode of CWC last year on Feb. 16. 2024 . Cole Ranch grows the best Riesling in California The fruit comes from Cole Ranch, which grows the best Riesling in Mendocino County. They have a total of 81 acres and only four and a half of Riesling. Riesling and Cabernet Franc are selling well, but all the other California varieties are down. This is in the context of a huge downturn in overall wine sales. Anderson Valley also produces fine sparkling wines. The best known brands are Sharffenberger and Roderer. In about 1980 the Roderer company in Champagne, France, decided to look for property in the US. Their agent hired the Foppiano family to take him around to different properties. They found a ridge where the influence of marine air flow was arriving. They decided to plant a couple of acres of vines as a test, which went well. To this day, Roderer is making the best sparkling wines in the US. They compare well to Iron Horse, the best American maker. Lichen Estate also makes excellent product. There are small producers like Pennyroyal Farms and Navarro that also have sparkling wine production.…

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Henry Belmonte of VJB Cellars SPECIAL 23:35

6 weeks sitten23:35

23:35

Henry Belmonte and Madisyn Goerlitz Henry Belmonte and Madisyn Goerlitz are here from VJB Cellars and Wellington Cellars, on a special podcast-only edition of California Wine Country, recorded last week on Jan. 20 on The Drive with Steve Jaxon, on Wine Country Radio. Henry Belmonte and Steve Jaxon go way back together. Steve used to say he lived at Portofino on 4th Street. VJB Cellars in Kenwood is a place with a family story behind it. They made a migration from the restaurant industry to the wine industry, as a family business. After his brother’s passing, he named his winery after him by the initials VJB. They make wine but they are also still focused on hospitality and providing a great experience, environment and atmosphere. They apply the same philosophy to making wine. Henry’s mother ran the kitchen at Portofino and also still directs the elaborate traditional Italian offerings at VJB Cellars. VJB Cellars makes 95% Italian varietals. Wellington Cellars, their other winery down the road, focusses on French varietals. VJB has about 20 different Italian varietals, all of the ones that are popular in Italy. Some of them are very small runs, 200-300 cases. You have to be in the wine club to access these wines. From Food to Wine Belmonte’s Deli was their first venture into restaurants, in the late ‘70s and ‘80s. It was a springboard to open Portofino’s in Santa Rosa on Columbus Day in 1987. VJB Cellars is like walking into a small town in Italy, with an expansive piazza with tables and chairs. There are storefronts, for the deli, tasting room, a Tommy Bahama boutique store and a chocolate and gelato shop. May 26, 2003 they opened their doors as a stand-alone tasting room. He knew he had to bring something they were really good at, into the shop to make it more attractive. It took about 7 or 8 years to build out the full operation, with all the feeling for hospitality, experience and entertainment along with the finest flavors. Wellington Cellars came about when they outgrew their production facilities for VJB. He and his father found the Wellington property down the road which came up for sale. They were really just looking for production, but it turned out to be a bonus that the whole operation was already there. Maria Gabriella Belmonte is Henry’s mother was the guiding force at Portofino and has the same role now at La Cucina and the Red Rooster Kitchen in Petaluma. She has passed her knowledge and insight over to Henry. About That Italian Sausage Pizza You can see all of that knowledge at work in the pizza that Henry has brought for Steve to taste, and in the pride that Henry takes in making it. It is an Italian Sausage pizza from Red Rooster Kitchen. They make their own dough from scratch. They also make their own pork sausage and their own sauce from fresh tomatoes. Everything is as fresh as it can be. The accolades for this pizza have come from far and wide. Madisyn Goerlitz Madisyn Goerlitz also tells about her role as Social Media manager for VJB Cellars and Wellington Cellars. She was a student at Sonoma State University and had to finish her last terms online during Covid. So her goal, which she has achieved, was to make it back to Sonoma County after all that. She is developing her role in hospitality and marketing and is “…happy to be part of the story.”…

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Anderson Valley’s International White Wine Festival 40:58

6 weeks sitten40:58

40:58

Courtney DeGraff, Executive Director of Anderson Valley Winegrowers , is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. They are putting on the International White Wine Festival , for the fifteenth year, on February 15 and 16 at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds. It used to be called the Alsatian White Wine Festival. The name change opens the festival to feature a wider variety of wines, such as Grüner Veltliner and Chardonnay. Dan Berger will be in charge of the Rieslings. The in-person Grand Tasting is at the Fairgrounds in Booneville, on Saturday. Early access from 11 to 12 and general access from 12 to 3. Go to this page at the AV Wines website for more info about the International White Wine Festival and for links to purchase tickets. Use the discount code RADIO for 20% off. Anderson Valley is growing in Chardonnay production. Most of the fruit used to go to sparkling wines but they are also producing some very nice still Chardonnays now. Scharffenberger Sparkling Wine Barry Herbst has brought a Scharffenberger sparkling wine, which he considers to be a great value. They make six or seven different kinds of sparkling wine. It is also a beautiful property to visit, in Philo. Dan calls it more persistent in its flavor profile, with more structure. It’s $21.99 at Bottle Barn. The winemaker Jeffery Jindra came over from Husch Vineyards. Dan Berger reports that there are several Napa valley growers who are also buying property in Anderson Valley. It is a more relaxed setting. It’s definitely worth a visit. There are also other attractions like beer and cheese making. Bottle Barn is in the process of putting out the San Francisco Chronicle Competition winners. They will have about a hundred different awarded wines. After that, the Press Democrat limited competition (north of the Golden Gate) takes place. Barry’s other wines today are the Maggy Hawk Chardonnay, a Gewurtztraminer from Husch and a Goldeneye Brut Rosé. They are all pictured in the top illustration and are also all available at Bottle Barn.…

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Ross Cobb from Cobb Wines with Ziggy the Wine Gal 40:11

7 weeks sitten40:11

40:11

Cobb Wines tasted today. Ross Cobb from Cobb Wines and Ziggy the Wine Gal from The Krush join Steve Jaxon on California Wine Country. Dan Berger is away this week. Ross Cobb first met Ziggy when he was at Williams Selyem in 1998 or 99, while he was working with Bob Cabral there. Cobb Wines is a winery inspired by creative freedom. A quote from Patti Smith provides context. Robb was always motivated by music and he lets “…Patti Smith explain the rest.” Ross has also been working with Les Claypool’s Pachyderm Wines They start by tasting the Cobb Wines Riesling, from a 14-15 acre vineyard at a high elevation. It is officially the smallest appellation in America. The soil is limestone, at 1200 feet. It is the last of the Sonoma Coast vineyards that he picks every year. The fermentation is long and slow. He just tasted his 2024 vintage, which began last Fall, so even that step comes late with this wine. It is balanced between fruit and alcohol. How about some sushi? Fresh oysters? Fresh Dungeness crab? Ziggy says it is a dry Riesling that should go with “dry January” whatever that is. Ross Cobb’s 25th Vintage Ross grew up in Valley Ford and his dad worked at Bodega Marine Lab. They were friends with other families that made wine in the area. The family moved away and later he went to UC Santa Cruz to study Soil Science and Environmental Engineering. They have lived at Coastlands Vineyard since 1989. He worked for a lot of different wineries in northern California. In 2001 He started Cobb Wines and this year will be his 25th vintage. He only started making the dry Riesling in 2016. He also makes Chardonnay in the traditional way, not the big buttery style that Ziggy calls “Chateau Two by Four” with too much oak. Cobb Wines dot com is the website with all of the wines they have today, available for sale. They are also at Bottle Barn and many local restaurants. They aren’t a tasting room but they can receive guests.…

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Arista Winery 32:03

8 weeks sitten32:03

32:03

Dan and Mark. Mark McWilliams from Arista Winery is our guest on this edition of California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Dan’s weekly cellar dweller bottle is a 2022 Chenin Blanc from Les Atlètes du Vin in France. $15 a bottle at Bottle Barn. Chenin Blanc is coming back. You can get 7-9 tons an acre of Chenin Blanc and it makes nice wine. Mike says it’s refreshing. Mark’s parents started as grape growers when he was young. They grew a lot of Cabernet. His mom lived in Burgundy after college and got to know Pinot Noir. They family felt a calling to make wine. In 2002 they started the Arista brand to make wine. They use their own grapes and grapes grown elsewhere. Their Chardonnays have been very highly rated. In December they did a 10-year retrospective tasting of their Chardonnay. In 2013 their new winemaker Matt McCourtney was on the job. Now those wines are aging very well and still have years to go. Arista’s style has been to focus on the fruit, not on manipulating the wine to make something that the grapes don’t want to do. Acidity is always front and center in their wines. They also have the 2021 Russian River Valley Chardonnay. The appellation wines are the top of their production. Wines like this which are not single-vineyard estate wines, are put together on purpose to combine elements ideally. This wine has so much complexity that it promises to age well. Arista is the shining star of California Chardonnays Steve Jaxon quotes Wine Spectator, which declared, “Arista Wines are the shining star of California Chardonnays.” Mark says that’s because they use the best fruit and they have the best staff. There is a hazelnut component in the flavors that Dan detects. It resembles Meursault which is a district in Burgundy. The wines have trace flavors of hazelnut. There is also a lemon peel component in the nose. But the wine is only 3 years old. “A great Chardonnay like this really deserves time in bottle,” says Dan “Lay It Down” Berger. Mark declares that there is world-class Chardonnay coming from California and Oregon and that Burgundy no longer is the only place that makes the best wine from that varietal.…

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Julie Pedroncelli St. John 41:13

9 weeks sitten41:13

41:13

Julie Pedroncelli St. John is back as a guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Her last time on this show was this episode of April 26, 2023 . The Pedroncelli family winery began when her grandparents bought some property in Dry Creek Valley that contained a vineyard, a home and a shuttered winery. This was seven years before the repeal of Prohibition. They sold grapes and then after Prohibition was repealed in December, 1933 they started producing wine. They have been family-owned and operated ever since then. The Dry Creek Valley has ideal conditions for certain grapes including Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel. The Pedroncelli property is on the hillside. Different ends of the property have different microclimates and today they farm about 11 different varieties on all of their vineyards. By owning the property the wine production is not subject to the financial pressure of a mortgage. Winemaker Montse Reese Their winemaker in Montse Reese who just celebrated 18 years there. Everything they grow comes into the winery. They also buy from growers all around Dry Creek Valley. The Zinfandel they are tasting today is an example of their product that comes from their own vineyards and from other local growers. There is a tab on the Pedroncelli website called Vino in my Dino, which comes from the Flintstone’s Dino the Dinosaur cup. When Julie was 5 years old her first taste of wine, watered down, of course, came from one of those. Julie has brought a 2023 Chardonnay that comes from F. Johnson vineyard in southern Dry Creek Valley. The winemaker Montse Reese put it in French oak barrels for 8 months, and it undergoes malolactic fermentation sur lies . This makes a wine with complex citrus and melon flavors. It is a candidate for at least a year of aging but is already tasty. It has a wild tropical fruit component which suggests that the wine will improve with aging or when decanted. “Time in bottle or time in the air,” giving aeration helps a lot, says Dan.…

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Mike Carpenter, The Redd Collection 36:04

10 weeks sitten36:04

36:04

Brandi, Dan, Steve and Mike. Mike Carpenter, The Redd Collection owner is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. His last time on the show was this episode on November 3, 2023 . Dan Berger has brought a magnum of a wine that he himself made 33 years ago. It is a 1991 Cabernet from the Napa Valley. Its aging was in an old French oak barrel. It was a project for his family, when his sons were young, the youngest was 4 that year. They opened it last night and it was still really good. Mike Carpenter from the Redd Collection is back on California Wine Country. The Redd Collection is a wine retail business that is built on a stock of old, rare and collectable wines. There are some rare wines, such as an old vine Chablis, from 2020. Dan Berger says this is French style Chardonnay “to beat the band.” This drinks like a $100 bottle but sells for $45, says Mike. The Redd Collection began with a large inventory acquired from a single collector. His name was close to Redd, and the client did not want his own name on it, so the name Redd is a derivation from that. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. Mike used to work in a wine store in LA, where there was a stock that is boring and overwhelming. “150 feet of the same varietal.” He wanted wines that were unique, old and rare. Dan points out that these wines are already aged, so the wines have the mature character that you cannot get from underaged wines. Also, it is expensive to store wine properly. Dan also mentions that these wines have been carefully vetted, for origin and quality but also for how they have been kept. The first thing that goes in the fruit, when a wine has not been aged properly. The Zelma Long collection He is currently offering private collection of a famous Napa Valley winemaker named Zelma Long. There is a wide selection of wines that go back to the ‘50s and ’60s. The oldest is a half bottle of 1929 wine. Zelma Long was a great collector of wine. She was a winemaker at Robert Mondavi. He wrote in his book that losing Zelma Long from his staff was his biggest regret. She became the winemaker at Simi for a long time. She became the president at Simi which made her the first woman top executive at a major winery.…

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Dan Berger Selections with Melissa Galliani 31:14

11 weeks sitten31:14

31:14

Melissa and Dan Dan Berger selections are the focus today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger, with Melissa Galliani special guest. Melissa was also on the show on this episode just about a couple of months ago, on Nov. 1, 2024 . Joy Sterling from Iron Horse Vineyards was due to be our guest today but at the last minute she was not available. Instead, we have a table of Dan Berger’s selections, including one from Iron Horse, for tasting and discussion. Melissa Galliani (Wine Country Radio General Manager) is also in the studio today. Dan’s cellar wine is a 2017 St. Andrews Chardonnay which brings up the subject of the currently depressed wine market. Dan offers some reasons for it, including the plethora of other beverages that are available for drinkers. One of them is RTD which means ready-to-drink cocktails in a can. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. This Chardonnay is from Wakefield, in Clare Valley, Australia. It has a little bit of toasted hazelnut flavors, along with fruit flavors that are still strong, apple and pineapple. Wakefield also makes a Shiraz and a dry Riesling that Dan likes. Australia consumes a lot of wine, although they are working under some restrictions on total alcohol. The Australian consumer cares about flavor profiles, which are stronger when alcohol is lower. The driving laws in Australia are also quite strict. If you can keep the alcohol below 14% you can pay 50 cents per gallon less in taxes. The next tasting is a much y0unger wine, a 2023 Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. “Whoa! This is a whole different ball game!” says Steve. This comes from Marlborough. It has an “unbelievable” nose. It’s a little sweet but has plenty of acid. It comes from a property that Gallo purchased in New Zealand about 20 years ago. We have seen lots of wine coming from New Zealand in the last few years, including lots of Sauvignon Blancs. Dan’s opinion is that their cold climate Pinot Noirs are the most interesting wines coming from there and they are also some of the most popular wines in the country.…

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Dry Creek Vineyard winemaker Tim Bell 39:11

12 weeks sitten39:11

39:11

Dry Creek Vineyard winemaker Tim Bell is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Tim has been on CWC a few times but the last one was this episode on August 4, 2021 . Dan Berger gives credit to Tim Bell for making wines that are interesting for their subtlety. He tells how his first exposure to wine was in retail. He went to UC Davis, worked at a custom crush facility for a while, then at Freemark Abbey for 10 years making Rutherford Cabernet. From there he worked at Kunde estate, where they had more then 600 acres of vineyards. After five years there, he got the opportunity to move to Dry Creek Vineyard. It is one of the rare family-owned wineries that is still in the hands of the original family owners. The other winemaker is Brian Pruett . Sauvignon Blanc in Dry Creek Valley Dan Berger talks about when David Stare planted Sauvignon Blanc in Dry Creek Valley, he had an intuition that it would work, but nobody knew yet. Tim describes a lot of the varietals that they have planted. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. They have a 2022 Chardonnay from Marchelle, Greg La Follette’s brand. After all these whites, they also have some Zinfandel. Dry Creek Vineyards claims credit for being the first winery to use the term “Old Vines” on the label. There are several old vineyards in the area that are also family-owned, which produce fruit that they use. These vineyards are field blends of Zinfandel with a scattering of other varieties. There are head-trained vines and are dry farmed. Dan detects a violet spice and bay leaf flavors. But the best part is the structure, which makes it ideal for food like pizza. The one they are tasting is a 2021.…

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Clark Smith WineSmith Unusual Varietals 50:50

13 weeks sitten50:50

50:50

Dan Berger and Clark Smith. Clark Smith is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger, to discuss WineSmith unusual varietals and more. Clark Smith is an influential wine consultant, university instructor, scientist and musician. That is his website, Who Is Clark Smith? which is about wine and more. He is also one of the most frequently appearing guests in the history of California Wine Country. His most recent CWC show is this one last May. Clark Smith applies the full spectrum of creative powers to making wine. He is known for making wine from unusual varietals, many that nobody has heard of. Dan Berger has known Clark Smith for decades and their conversation is one of hundreds they have had about wine over the years. This is the full unedited live show, nearly an hour of Dan and Clark’s combined experience. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. Clark Smith has brought a Chardonnay that he made, in a Faux Chablis style. A lot of people have grown tired of the big buttery toasty Chardonnays. That wine can be made in a very different way that gives it a steely, mineral flavor, not the oaky creamy kind that comes from ML (malolactic fermentation). As an example of WineSmith unusual varietals, it is at least an alternative way of making a common varietal. This is a 2003, so it is well-aged. This wine is an example of Clark’s Forgeries and Oddities. This is Clark’s other website, WineSmith Wines , devoted entirely to wine.…

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Williams Selyem Winemaker Jeff Mangahas 28:44

15 weeks sitten28:44

28:44

Jeff Mangahas Winemaker Jeff Mangahas from Williams Selyem Winery is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon today. Jeff has been on this show a few times before, the most recent was this episode from last March . Williams Selyem produces a limited quantity of wine in the Russian River Valley, primarily Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Most of their wines come from a single vineyard and so they express varietal and terroir characteristics. While Williams Selyem wines are very famous among well-informed wine enthusiasts, it does not have enough production for its fame to be as widespread as others who make more product and can get it out into more places. Dan Berger calls Williams Selyem, “…one of Sonoma County’s greatest wines.” Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. The founders Ed Selyem and Burt Williams were early garagistes making wine in the late ‘70s. They came out with the 1985 Rocchioli Vineyard bottling that won the California State Fair Sweepstakes in 1987. After that, demand shot up and they had to allocate individual bottles of wine to people. Jeff’s first career was as a cancer research biologist with a degree in molecular biology from University of Washington. He became curious about wine while living in the pacific northwest. Wanting to try something different, he took a degree from UC Davis in viticulture and enology and has been working in the Russian River Valley since then. They make many individual bottlings of single vineyard varietals, and Jeff is happy that he gets to work with the same top quality vineyards year after year. “Greatness in the bottle starts with greatness in the vineyard.” Because they are a vineyard-designate specialist, each wine has a unique profile that is a reflection of the location.…

California Wine Country

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Christian Adams from the German Wine Collection 12:07

16 weeks sitten12:07

12:07

Christian Adams from The German Wine Collection is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Christian has brought three different German wines, each from a different producer. The 2021 Pinot Blanc is the first wine tasted. Its name Weissburgunder is German for Pinot Blanc, literally it means ‘White Burgundian.’ You don’t see much Pinot Blanc here in California but there is some in Menocino County and even in Idaho which Dan says is excellent. Also, Germany is producing “an unbelievable array” of delicious wines from new and different varieties. Christian likes the German Pinot Blancs that have “the tri-fecta” of good acidity, fruit and minerality all together. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. The next wine tasting is the estate Chardonnay from Friedrich Becker. It was fermented in German oak barrels, and spends about 5 months in the fine lees. It has undergone malolactic fermentation but not so much to overpower the minerality. Dan says he prefers this style even if there is really only a trace of oak. The German Wine Collection The German Wine Collection began from a portfolio put together by Rudy Wiest Selections. Dan laments that at the time, there were too many sommeliers who did not know the German wines, to everyone’s detriment. The last tasting is a Pinot Noir. The entry-level estate Pinot Noir gets a “wow” from Steve. It is not Burgundian nor is it New World, says Dan. But it has a combination of delicacy and richness. Dan gets flavors of fresh beets, blueberry jam and the acidity in the aftertaste that you get from German wines. Christian makes bratwurst and found some old recipes that were handwritten. He has been able to make and recreate these flavors and styles that you can’t get any other way.…

California Wine Country

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Nalle Winery with Doug Nalle 33:47

17 weeks sitten33:47

33:47

Doug Nalle, co-founder of Nalle Winery , is our guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. The last time Doug was on the show was this episode of April 19, 2023 . Doug Nalle and Dan Berger have been friends for fifty years. They have three Chardonnays to taste. First, a 2021 Chardonnay from Hopkins Ranch. Doug and his wife Lee founded the winery in 1984 and they just finished their 41st harvest. They produce about 2000 cases per year. Mostly they make Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Their Chardonnay is about 200 cases. Doug’s son Andrew is the winemaker now. He got a degree in enology from Fresno State. His wife April is a viticulturalist who went to Australia for training and works with the winery. They have roughly 24 acres of grapes and they use some and sell some. His wife’s family bought property in Dry Creek Valley 95 years ago and it is still in the family. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. Doug has brought two 2021 Zinfandels. Dan describes the Nalle property as “spectacular.” They have an above-ground cave. It is grade level with retaining walls on two sides. There are 6 feet of dirt stacked inside the walls, so the interior is naturally cool like an underground space. Back in the 80s and 90s Zinfandel was a moderate alcohol wine, between 13 and 14 % ABV. Then the trend was for higher ABV but Doug did not follow that trend. Vertical tasting of 3 Chardonnays They are tasting the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Chardonnays from Bob and Tony Hopkins’ vineyard in Russian River Valley. The 2021 is smooth and pure fruit. The 2022 has an extra layer of something. Nalle Winery is open Friday Saturday and Sunday and maybe other days too at 2383 Dry Creek Road. Exit in Healdsburg and go west about 2.1 miles to their sign. The 2023 is young, obviously and has barely been bottled. It is interesting to taste one that is so young just to know where the wines start out. Then the starting point for aging is five years, in Dan Berger’s opinion. Doug Nalle give credit to his son Andrew for the quality of the 2023. Andrew just finished a Masters degree in Enology at Fresno State. He studied particular strains of yeast and ways to use them. Zinot Noir Zinot Noir is something Doug and Andrew came up with by blending 60% Zinfandel and 40% Pinot Noir. They liked it for the forward fruit of Zin plus some “mysterious Pinot Noir thing going on.” It is a modest 13.65 ABV and they made only 280 cases of it.…

California Wine Country

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Melissa Galliani and Dan Berger 27:24

18 weeks sitten27:24

27:24

Meissa and Dan. California Wine Country today features Melissa Galliani, GM of Wine Country Radio , with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Melissa is a frequent guest on the show, and was with us most recently on this episode with winemaker Dennis McCarter . Dan Berger’s first wine today is a 2023 that comes from Bibiana Ravé called Shared Notes . It is 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon, aged on the lees for a long time. That is what gives it a silky texture. It sells for $80 and it is hard to find because they don’t make very much of it. Next is a Vermentino. Where the last wine is subtle, this one is “in your face.” Dan Berger made this Vermentino himself. This is the 2023 bottling. The grower in Carneros is Las Brisas Vineyard. It is on a rise that overlooks the bay. There aromas of peaches and a little bit of pineapple. It is 100% natural and sells for $28 on Dan’s Bahl Fratty website. “…almost effervescent on the tongue,” as Melissa observes. This is Dan’s second year of making wine and he has moved his operation to a new location. The Vermentino was made at Ektimo Winery. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. Gruner Veltliner The next wine is a Gruner Veltliner from Austria. It’s the most popular white wine in Austria and goes perfectly with Austrian style cuisine. Melissa makes a comparison between Austrian Wiener Schnitzel and Texas chicken fried steak and Steve waxes nostalgic for some. It’s only slightly sweet but is delicious. “Wow! That is a smooth sucker!” exclaims the host. Next they are tasting a 2022 Governor’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc. It has typical New Zealand gooseberry and passion fruit flavors. Gooseberries are sweet and tart. There is also the under-ripe grapefruit flavor always there. The next wine is a 2023 Diatom Chardonnay that has gotten rave reviews. It is all from Santa Barbara County, in a place where the soil is made of diatomaceous earth. In fact, DE filters are Diatomaceous Earth. The Diatom Chardonnay is produced by Brewer Clifton, a prominent Santa Barbara brand. It has more peach and pineapple components. There is no secondary fermentation and it is “quite soft.” They didn’t chill it but that would work well for it. There is a DOC Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, Villa Borghetti from Italy, that is made with Pink Pinot Grigio grapes. It retails for $5.99 at Trader Joe’s. Pinot Grigio grapes will turn pink if you let them stay on the vine for an extra week or two or three. Dan has a Pinot Noir, a 2019 Scherrer Green Valley Pinot Noir, from the Halberg Vineyard. Dan calls it “outrageously good.” “Fantastic,” says Steve. Melissa likes the spicy character that comes from Green Valley fruit.…

California Wine Country

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Greg La Follette, Marchelle Wines 39:01

19 weeks sitten39:01

39:01

Greg La Follette, Marchelle Wines founder and winemaker, is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Greg is coming from the winery, where they are busy with harvest time. He is going right back too, after the show. He was a chemist and did some work in early Aids research and then went back to school in food science and enology. Greg had the good fortune to work at Beaulieu Vineyards under André Tchelistcheff. They had similar technical backgrounds. André challenged Greg, telling him that he would learn the heart and soul of wine if he came to work for him, rather than stay in the lab. Greg turned out to become one of André’s greatest disciples. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. They are drinking a Colombard, which was once the most widely planted white wine grape up until the early ‘7. Now, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are the most planted. Colombard and Cinsault This 2022 Colombard is from two vineyards in Russian River Valley, planted respectively in 1902 and 1961. “It has a lot of bracing acidity,” and is only about 10.8% alcohol. Greg and his wife were working with owners of an abandoned Colombard vineyard, to restore it. Then, Single Thread restaurant in Healdsburg asked Greg to make their house wine. The only proviso was, no Chardonnay and it had to be from Sonoma County. Colombard was perfect for that, but after the pandemic there was too much of it so they relabeled it. They named it Marchelle, after their wives Mara and Michelle. Their daughter Sophia designed the label. Marchelle wines are not really widely available but the best way to get them is at a tasting. Book that at their website. The Historic Vineyard Society will hold its main event in Lodi, California. There are actually a lot of old vines around Lodi. Evan Damiano is the winemaker for Greg La Follette now. Evan was on CWC earlier this year and he gives credit to Greg and André’s legacy and influence over his own work.…

California Wine Country

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Taft Street Winery co-founder Mike Martini 45:42

20 weeks sitten45:42

45:42

Taft Street Winery co-founder Mike Martini is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Mike was last on CWC on this episode of on September 15, 2023 . In 1979 there was hardly any Pinot Noir planted in the Russian River Valley. When Mike decided to open this property, it was risky because the region had not yet developed its reputation. Other better financed growers made a bigger impression. Mike describes their secret to success as a balance between ignorance and passion. They started making wine in the garage in 1978. His late partner Mike was the only man he knew who could fall asleep in his chair holding a wine glass and never spill a drop. An “Interesting” Harvest Mike says this has been an “interesting” year. In the 1980s the wine tourists would visit a winery and buy a case. Now the consumer has changed and a new generation wants a story, an experience and a photo op. Then, maybe, they buy a bottle, not a case. That is why this show is so important because the market is going through a great transition. People’s ability to appreciate the best wine depends on good information. As Mike says, change is inevitable. Wine sales are down but it is cyclical, but wine is getting better and better every year, says Dan. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. This year’s harvest is completed. The harvest has gone well, for Mike. The heat spells were stressful but the job is done. The vineyard demands 12 months of work all year, but the action happens in the three weeks at harvest time. Dan points out that a vineyard can be changed a little at a time, such as making adjustments to trellises. They are located on Barlow Lane at the intersection with Occidental Road.…

California Wine Country

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Harvest Fair Winners with Dan Berger 23:54

21 weeks sitten23:54

23:54

Dan Berger is in the studio today with Sonoma County Harvest Fair Winners on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon. Dan Berger had decades of experience as a wine judge and he was a judge in this year’s Sonoma County Harvest Fair competition . He describes the new organization this year, where the judges only had 25 or 30 of one type of wine, instead of 55 or 60 of the same type. Dan likes this because the judges can get tired on too much of the same varietal. So, with a limited exposure to a single type of wine, the palette has a chance to regenerate. Also, the judging of each type is more spread out across all the judges. What is the difference between a Gold Medal and a Sweepstakes? asks Steve. The Sweepstakes is a second round, more like a final round taste-off, where different varietals are against each other. This can be more difficult to understand. Dan says take it with a grain of salt. Gold Medal is good enough as a winning designation. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. The 2023 Hanna Sauvignon Blanc is the Sweepstakes winner. Jeff Hinchliffe made it at Hanna. It is from Russian River Valley. There is not a lot of Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc available because Jeff has been contracting for all the best fruit. Not only does it smell and taste right for the variety. Instead of favoring the strong herbaceous components, he favors the tropical fruit. It is rich with a great aftertaste. It sells for about $20 but Bottle Barn has it for $13.99. Bottle Barn has all he award-winning wines in the store, with the awards listed on the wine display. Shone Farm Next is a 2022 Shone Farm wine, made by the students at SRJC. It is 13.9% ABV, so lower than average. It has fruit and spice flavors. The vineyard has been in the ground for 35 years. It’s a wine of personality, it is balanced with structure and good acidity. It is remarkable that the students at SRJC have won a Gold Medal for their wine, in competition with all the other great winemakers in Sonoma County.…

California Wine Country

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Barry Herbst on Harvest Fair 44:11

22 weeks sitten44:11

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Barry Herbst is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger to talk about Harvest Fair Winners available at Bottle Barn. Barry is a frequent guest and his last time on the show was this episode last December to talk about sparkling wines . He has brought some winning wines from this year’s Harvest Fair. This year there were two little late heat waves and harvest was hectic. There were whites and reds coming into the wineries all at once. The Sonoma County Harvest Fair wine winners have been published on the website. The Sweepstakes winners will be announced at the event, Saturday Oct. 12. Then there will be another episode of this show with more of those winning wines. Dan Berger, Wine Judge Dan Berger served as one of the judges. The competition is entirely for Sonoma County. The judges are all locals or people with a long history of association with Sonoma County wines. Also, they have more time to evaluate the wines. Deborah del Fiorentino does a great job running the competition. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. They taste the Capo Isetta Rosé that won a double Gold Medal. Three of their wines won medals. This wine sells for $15.99 per bottle. The grapes are Pinot Noir from Carneros and is fairly dry. Barry says that given the rising price of grapes, it is harder and harder to get Rosés for less than $20. Everyone understands that good quality Pinot Noir grapes are expensive and are mostly going to making reds. The firstHarvest Fair was in 1975 and today it is one of the premier regional wine competitions in the country. Dan appreciates the organization that gave the judges plenty of time and also a rotation of wines, so they did not get tired of any of them.…

California Wine Country

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Black Kite Cellars, Tom Birdsall 35:30

23 weeks sitten35:30

35:30

Dan and Tom. Tom Birdsall, owner of Black Kite Cellars , is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. This is Tom’s first time on the show however their winemaker Jeff Gaffner was on the show on this episode of March 11, 2020 . Black Kite Cellars began when Tom and his wife Rebecca went on a cycling tour through Burgundy. They were just consumers of wine at that time. Then in the late 1990s his wife’s father bought a vineyard in Anderson Valley and planted the 12 acres to Pinot. Not all the fruit was sold. He had some leftover grapes in 2003 and found a winery, Handley Cellars, to produce some wine from that harvest. Then Rebecca made the plan started Black Kite Cellars as a small family-owned winery. Tom mentions that they were lucky to find Jeff Gaffney to be the winemaker, right at the beginning. Now they are specialized in Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley. The coast has weather conditions perfect for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They begin by tasting a Chardonnay that Dan calls “substantial” and “opulent.” The Black Kite or White-tailed Kite The Black Kite is a bird, a small hawk, which is Rebecca’s father’s favorite bird. The local was known as the black-shouldered kite, now known as the white-tailed kite. Dan mentions that this bird is good at controlling voles and mice which can wreck vines. Another word for this bird is “angel hawk” which winemaker Jeff Gaffner remembers calling it. This is because of the way they hover over the land while hunting. So Angel Hawk became the name of their reserve label. They only make about 3000 cases per year and they are in local shops and restaurants. They also now have a new tasting room in the town of Freestone. It is small but very well appointed. It is also right at the corner of the vineyard. They are open 7 days a week and they prefer appointments. The West Sonoma Coast, the newest appellation in the county, is their specialty. Their current production is eight Pinot Noirs and four Chardonnays. The wine they are tasting is a Pinot from Roberts Road vineyard, in Petaluma Gap, that the Sangiacomo family owns.…

California Wine Country

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Longboard Vineyards 20:19

24 weeks sitten20:19

20:19

Oded Shakked, owner of Longboard Vineyards , is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. He has been on the show before. His last appearance was this episode on November 17, 2023 . He has a long history of making high quality wines from his small properties. He grew up surfing in Israel and then, looking for good waves, he went to surf the Atlantic beaches. In France, he discovered wine, then he heard about UC Davis, came to study in the program and, “never looked back.” He had a series of winemaking jobs and started his own vineyard On West Side Road he has about five acres where he grows about 40% of the grapes he uses at Longboard. His neighbors are the Rocchioli family, and their famous vineyard. He feels lucky that they sell some grapes to him. As neighbors, their kids played sports together. Visit Chigazola Merchants online to shop their unique selection of fine Italian wines. They begin tasting the Rocchioli Vineyard Chardonnay. He wants people to consider aging this white wine. A well-made white wine, not over-oaked and doesn’t have residual sugar, it gets a “sun-dried linen” character, as one of his professors described it. They also taste a Syrah, which reminds Dan that all these wines need some time in the bottle. Wines are like cakes in the oven, says Oded. You have to have patience for the wine to develop complexity. Dan says that if you open it and taste it two days later, it can also open up a lot. They have a cellar, a lounge and vineyard in Healdsburg. The place used to be the Magnolia Cannery, then it was Clos du Bois winery, and later under other brands. Oded says his job title could be “vinegar stopper” because wine will occur naturally and also turn quickly to vinegar if you’re not careful. You can actually observe their cellar operations and get close to the process.…

California Wine Country

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Dan Berger Harvest Time Selections 18:08

27 weeks sitten18:08

18:08

Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Dan Berger is back on California Wine Country after some vacation travel and today he joins Steve Jaxon with some thoughts about harvest time and some wines to taste. Dan Berger and Steve Jaxon will talk about harvest time today and taste some wines that Dan has brought. We were going to have Deborah Del Fiorentino on to talk about her organization of wine competitions including the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. But we will have to reschedule her. In the meantime, Dan Berger has brought some wines from his extensive personal cellar. This year Spring was cool and the vines matured more slowly than usual. It took a long time for the vines to come out of hibernations. Then, after bud break, we had come brutally warm weather, then cool again. There wasn’t enough rain to do any damage. Then late summer, we had 100 degree days but much colder at night, which favors retention of acid. Growers and winemakers are facing a choice. Either pick early, save acidity and hope for flavor, or pick late and need to adjust later. With all the variables in play, Dan says, “…it will be a chicken with three legs.” https://calwinecountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Buddy-Hackett-3-leg-Chick.mp3 Here is a California Wine Country bonus track, it’s Buddy Hackett on Carson in the ‘70s on the subject of a 3-legged chicken. Some Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will be harvested early. But if you are a winery purchasing fruit from a grower for the first time, “…you’re on your own,” says Dan. The decision of when to pick may also be affected by a labor shortage. They taste a vineyard-designated Pinot Noir from Etude Vineyards, grown at Hallberg vineyards.…

California Wine Country

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Dennis McCarter 36:28

28 weeks sitten36:28

36:28

Dennis McCarter, owner and winemaker of McCarter Cellars , is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. This is his second time as a guest on CWC, the last time was this episode back in January of this year. Dan Berger is away again this week and Melissa Galliani joins us in the studio. Dennis tells about having taken a course at SRJC about pairing wine and food, which left him with the desire to start making wine. He started by making five gallons of Barbera in his garage. As he continued to make wine, he started winning awards, so he decided to go pro. That coincided with his transition out of the insurance business. The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc came from Rogers vineyard in Dry Creek Valley. The location is on the cooler side of the area. Dennis eventually finished enology studies at SRJC. His wines started winning awards right away. They continue to win recently. The inaugural Pinot Noir earned 98 points and took best of class at the North Coast Wine Challenge, sponsored by the Press Democrat and his Gewürztraminer took silver there. His Rosé, Pinkish, took a gold medal at Experience Rosé challenge. Click the logo to visit Davis Bynum Wines. Dennis is involved in a group of American Vintners that meets quarterly. He is also on the board of the Sonoma Library Foundation, to do fund raising. With them, he helped organize Tasting Diversity, where they hosted events to raise exposure for African-American owned wineries. For more information about Tasting Diversity, visit this page at the Sonoma Library Foundation and scroll down to the middle of the page where it is listed among their other events. Discount Code There is a discount code WINERADIO for listeners to get 15% off. Dennis has accomplished a lot as a winemaker after only two years. His Gewurtztraminer is tasty and Dennis attributes its success to his method that includes he and his wife pressing the grapes with their own feet. His favorite wines to make are Pinot Noir and Zin, and aromatic whites like Gewurtztraminer. Click the logo to visit our sponsor Rodney Strong for info on the 2024 Summer Concert series. McCarter Cellars will have a tasting room by the end of the year, in a location across from where Carol Shelton Wines is located. Wait for news by the end of harvest season. That is starting to get busy now.…

California Wine Country

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Winesong! 2024 36:11

29 weeks sitten36:11

36:11

Dan, Janice and Jamie. Janis McDonald and Jamie Peters are here to talk about Winesong! 2024 on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Winesong! takes place Sept. 6-7, 2024 at the Little River Inn . It is the annual fund raiser for the Mendocino Coast Healthcare Foundation . First, Dan Berger has brought a cellar wine, as he usually does. This is a 2007 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc. He normally doesn’t age this wine so long, but at 17 years it is “yummy” with a little green apple flavor. Usually a SV will age 6 or 7 years.The event this year is at the Little River Inn. It is two days of wine tasting, auctions and music, over the weekend of September 6 and 7. Winesong! Began in 1985 as a small wine tasting in a parking lot and grew year after year. It has always been a benefit for health care on the north coast. Winesong! is a Spectacular Scene Dan Berger has been going to this event for a long time. The wineries that participate are specialized in making very high quality wine. The scenery is also spectacular on the site and all around in the area. Click the logo to visit Davis Bynum Wines. For several years Winesong has been in the botanical garden. That location is being reorganized and they hope to return there as early as next year. There is a strong sense of community at this event. Friends see each other there every year. Everyone enjoys supporting the Mendocino hospital and health care facilities. There are two musical groups. Tenor Madness, a jazz band, plays Friday. On Saturday a rock cover band called the Casper Kings will play hits from the 80s and later. Click the logo to visit our sponsor Rodney Strong for info on the 2024 Summer Concert series. Dan Berger notes that over the last 5 years, Anderson Valley wines have improved tremendously. So have Mendocino wines, generally, in the last decade. The tasting and the music, the food, all on Saturday. But Friday afternoon is the Pinot Noir celebration. It used to be just Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs but since 2015 they have opened it to other regions that make Pinot Noir, like Willamette, the Sonoma Coast and Central Coast. One thing that Dan appreciates about Winesong is that you get a chance to taste excellent wines from producers that you have never heard of before.…

California Wine Country

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The Return of Winemaker Carol Shelton 36:35

30 weeks sitten36:35

36:35

Winemaker Carol Shelton is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. CWC co-host Dan Berger is away this week. Carol is one of our most distinguished winemakers and a regular on this show. Her last time here was last January, in this episode with Dan Berger and with Harry Duke sitting in for Steve Jaxon. Carol Shelton graduated from UC Davis in 1978. This year will be her 48th harvest, and her 25th harvest for her own brand. There were a few years where she worked on two harvests in a year, in the northern and southern hemisphere. Carol Shelton worked for Mondavi, in Australia, in the Central Valley, for Rodney Strong for 20 years, for the Windsor Wines label. Zinfandel is her favorite varietal. It makes up about 70% of her production now. She wanted to show the world that Zin could be as noble a grape as Pinot and Cab. Old vines of Zin have a unique concentration of flavor. Wild Thing Carol Shelton Wines is located in a business park on Coffey Lane. This weekend she will be bottling a port that has been in the barrels since 2015. She calls it Tawny Sonoma. You can’t use the name Port anymore. That is the same as other geographical names that are protected like Sherry and Burgundy. Click the logo to visit our sponsor Rodney Strong for info on the 2024 Summer Concert series. The name Wild Thing for her Zinfandel made with naturally occurring yeast, happened almost accidentally. There was one barrel that was not inoculated with yeast, and they put the words “wild thing” on the barrel. When they put it on a bottle, it sold like hotcakes. So that is how the brand was born. It was in the Top 100 Wines in the Wine Spectator, along with two other of her wines. There is also a 2023 Wild Thing Chardonnay which they are tasting. There is a little Viogner blended in, to give it some tropical notes. It is unusual, in that it is neither the steely type nor the buttery type. There are actually about 8 yeasts, each one brings some different flavors and she blends them all together before bottling. They even source some fruit from Southern California, from Cucamonga. Their vines are over 100 years old. They are old vines that are knee high with roots running 50 feet down. Coquille Blanc They also taste a Coquille Blanc, which is named for shellfish, and reflects her family coat of arms which has shells on it, for the name Shelton. The fruit all comes from Paso Robles. Click the logo to visit Davis Bynum Wines. Carol describes a game that her mother played with her. She set up blind tastings of different herbs and she had to describe the flavors and identify them. She liked the combination of art and science in winemaking. Then they taste the Rendez-Vous 2023 Rosé. “My Rosé is not one of those wimpy pale ones.” All the flavor is in the skin and this one spends 2 days on the skins. It is a rather dark red, for a Rosé and goes well with any kind of food. Modeled after a French Tavel Rosé, it is made of Carignane grapes.…

California Wine Country

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Winemaker Dan Barwick 22:28

31 weeks sitten22:28

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Winemaker Dan Barwick with Melissa Galliani. Winemaker Dan Barwick is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Dan is the winemaker at Trecini Winery . He has been on CWC before, the most recent was this other episode recorded on Aug. 25, 2023 . Our regular co-host Dan Berger is on vacation this week. Right away Steve Jaxon is loving Dan Barwick’s Sauvignon Blanc. It’s made with all Sonoma County fruit, mostly Russian River. It has rich flavors of apricot and mango. “Easy to drink,” says Dan. Trecini has been bottling wine for 25 years. Dan took several courses at UC Davis and at Santa Rosa Junior College in winemaking including courses from Rich Thomas. He was at the forefront of changing viticulture in Sonoma County in ways which improved the quality of Sonoma County wines. He taught that you had to be in the vineyard to get to understand the vines. This helps him make decisions about pruning and harvesting. Sauvignon Blanc Dan says that Sauvignon Blanc is his favorite wine to make. He can make blends with fruit from different vineyards, to assemble the flavors he wants. It’s hard to believe that such a good wine sells for $15. In addition to Sauvignon Blanc, Trecini also makes Chardonnay, Russian River Pinot Noir and Merlot, too. Click the logo to visit our sponsor Rodney Strong for info on the 2024 Summer Concert series. Dan Barwick recently visited Croatia, staying in a town called Rovinj. The wine and food and the whole scene was incredibly beautiful. Dan suggests everyone put Croatia on the bucket list. It is on the coast so there is a lot of seafood. The local olive oil is very fine. A delicious glass of local wine will cost 2 or 3 dollars. Click the logo to visit Davis Bynum Wines. Dan Barwick talks about his early experience working in the food hall at Harrod’s in London, where he was exposed to all the best of everything, including wine. The chocolates were right next to the wine department. He worked there from the age of 18 to 27.…

California Wine Country

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Williams Selyem winemaker Jeff Mangahas 42:42

32 weeks sitten42:42

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Williams Selyem winemaker Jeff Mangahas is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Jeff has been on CWC as recently as last February on this episode , and previously here in 2021 and before that, on this episode from 2018 . Wine Country Radio GM Melissa Galliani has brought a bottle of Dry Creek Chenin Blanc. Dry Creek is a sponsor of the KRSH Backyard Concert Series and their Chenin Blanc is a popular favorite. “Really refreshing,” says Jeff. Williams Selyem has a rich history as one of the original Russian River Valley producers. Their first commercial release was in 1981. They have been making interesting, small-production wines in Russian River Valley and other nearby regions. Williams Selyem: Russian River Valley Pioneers Williams Selyem worked with the growers in Russian River Valley, such as the Rocchioli and Martinelli vineyards. They produce 52 different wines, in small lots. The are not easy to get so the way to buy them is through the website. Click the logo to visit Davis Bynum Wines. Jeff Mangahas joined Williams Selyem in 2011 and took over winemaking and viticulture in 2014. This year is his 24th vintage. They taste the 2022 Estate Chardonnay. They are also well-known for Pinot Noir and Zin. This Chardonnay is unique because it has 20 different Chardonnay clones all planted together in the field. It presents all the different flavors that are present in the different clones and it makes for a complex wine. Click the logo to visit our sponsor Rodney Strong for info on the 2024 Summer Concert series. Jeff’s history as a winemaker started with his interest in science and biology. He majored in molecular and cellular biology at University of Washington. He was interested in research science and worked in cancer research. Wine was a hobby. He moved back east to Princeton University to work in the molecular biology department there. The change to wine as a profession was a romantic idea that he made happen by going to UC Davis for a Masters in Enology. Dan Berger would keep this wine for no more than 2 or 3 years to get it in the glass before the fruit flavors fade. Jeff tells about how they still use foot treading to press some grapes because there is no better method to get the results that he wants.…

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