We are in Walla Walla at the Hospice du Rhone wine event. This morning we drove over to “The Rocks District” to meet up with Sean Boyd at Rotie Cellars tasting room, what Sean calls “the fish bowl”.  The wall of windows provides an almost 360’ view of the Grenache and Syrah vineyard. The signature rocks flavor comes through in all of the wines, which are only available through the winery. [Ep318]

@rotiecellars
Rotiecellars.com

Writing notes for this show has been a challenge. Absolutely nothing compares to spending time with Justin and hearing her talk about the journey. You simply have to hear it. Justin is currently making five wines here in Sonoma, only 25 cases of each. Listen to the show to find out the best way to get a hold of these wines. [Ep317]

wardfourwines.com
@wardfourwines

Cal Poly Scholarship for Black, Indigenous, People of Color in Wine and Viticulturership

This week on the show we welcome Sarah Doyle. Sarah is the wine writer for our local Sonoma County newspaper the Press Democrat which was first issued in 1897. Sarah is a more recent reporter for the PD but her experience in writing about wine and other elixirs is a great part of her story that we hope you enjoy. When you’re done with the show we want to know what instrument she played, her favorite red varietal and what sort of dogs does she have? Enjoy the show and support your local newspaper, especially if they have wine writers. [EP316]

https://www.instagram.com/whiskymuse
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/sarah-doyle

Lance Cutler spent fifteen years as winemaker/general manager for the historic Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma, California. He almost single-handedly brought humor into the fine wine business producing the fabulous Gundlach Bundschu poster series, and the Sonoma Valley Wine Patrol, which masterminded the hijacking of the Napa Wine Train and the kidnapping of Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Then enters Jake Lorenzo, the author, any subject is fair game and Jake pulls no punches. Opinionated, controversial and beloved by cellar rats and winemakers everywhere for speaking the truth, he seamlessly intersperses fictional characters with real people, placing them in unique situations, and weaving the whole mishmash into mesmerizing stories. There is no source from which you will learn more about the inner workings of the wine industry. There is no source that will infuse your learning with more chuckles and outright laughter.

winepatrol.com

Mark Adams, Ledge Vineyards Musician, farmer, winemaker, and sound engineer on the cult classic Murdercycle.

We were “lucky” to catch Mark on his roundabout way home to Paso Robles from the Luck Music Festival in Texas. With a little guidance from his friend and neighbor Justin Smith of Saxum, Mark and his wife Ciera are making world class Rhone wines from their own property down the road from the James Berry Vineyard. Find these wines. [Ep314]

ledgevineyards.com
@ledgevineyards
markadamsband.com

Brian, Sam and John sit down with Cyril Penn, Editor of Wine Business Monthly to talk agriculture, wine trends and  listener questions about up and coming varietals, making wine at home and how the 2023 Vintage is shaping up.  A great conversation ensues.  Cheers! [Ep313]

This week we welcome Julien Barrot from Domaine La Barroche, a property in Châteauneuf-du-Pape that has been making wine since the 14th century. The youngest in the family, he has the strong character of these winemakers who invest themselves in their profession and their appellation. Julien arrived on the estate in 2002, barely 22 years old, fresh from his training in oenology, with a business school diploma in his pocket. With an infinite thirst for learning, he is one of those “committed” generations where curiosity and open-mindedness perfectly complement the respect for the terroir and the know-how passed on by their elders.

After several vintages and meticulous parcel selection, the estate now owes him its various cuvées with such singular personalities: Julien Barrot, Pure, Fiancée and Liberty.

16, chemin du Clos
84230 Chateauneuf du Pape
@domainelabarroche
[email protected]

Dutton Goldfield began as a handshake in a vineyard in 1988 when long-time friends Steve Dutton and Dan Goldfield recognized a shared vision between them- to craft wines that express the true nature and personalities of their cool-climate vineyards and which are made to love.  Join the guys as they sit down with Dan this week on the Wine Makers podcast.  Cheers!  [Ep311]

duttongoldfield.com

Doug Stewart grew up in Sonoma and had no connection to the wine business. At some point during his time developing several truly sustainable companies wine and grapes started to come into focus. In 2000 they bought a historic sheep farm in Anderson Valley. Eventually a winery named Breggo was launched, vines were planted, grapes were sold and then Breggo was sold. A new winery was launched called Lichen Estate, then Doug and Ana bought Breggo back. Are you keeping up or confused? Well this is just a small part of Doug’s story so check out this week’s show and make plans to visit him in Anderson Valley. [Ep310]

www.breggo.com
www.lichenestate.com
www.avwines.com
The Yale Spizzwinks A Cappella Group

Enrique Tirado is the CEO and winemaker for Don Melchor, the most iconic wine brand in Chile. His focus is to create the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. The wine consistently gets mentioned in the top 100 wines and the 2018 vintage scored a perfect 100 points. The unique climate and soil conditions at the base of the Andes create ideal growing conditions for their Bordeaux varietals. We were lucky enough to catch up with Enrique as he was just flying in, on his way to spread the message in the U.S. about their world class wine. The wine can be found at good wine shops and is available online. [Ep309]

Donmelchor.com
@donmelchorwine

Like many of our guests Larry Brooks never planned on being a winemaker and how he ended up in this business is part of the story. We had a great conversation with Larry about winemaking, AcaciaWinery creating perfumes and his extensive experiences in and around wine. His latest winemaking projects and his new book Liquid Geography. Check it out! [Ep308]

https://larrybrooks.substack.com
https://www.instagram.com/avoluptuary