The Wine Makers on Radio Misfits

Hilary was raised in the wine industry, daughter of Fred and Nancy Cline from Cline Cellars. The family history dates back to Jacuzzi, yes that tub with the jets that has provided so much pleasure to most of us. We talk about the history of new generation of wine makers. The Cline’s will be hosting the upcoming Rhone Rangers event on June 24th at their beautiful property, wines will be offered from 30 different wineries. Hope to see you there. Listen to the show for special promo codes. [EP282] rhonerangers.org clinecellars.com

Now Chris knows how to show up for a podcast, just check the photo's... Born in New York and raised in Texas, Chris started to discover wine working in restaurants. Tynan decided that he wanted to learn more so he moved to Napa Valley enrolled in some classes and started with a vineyard management company doing irrigation management for vineyards across Napa and Sonoma counties. Following a harvest at Cain Vineyard & Winery in 2004, followed up with a harvest with the renowned winemaking and viticulture team of Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer at Blankiet Estate in Yountville. Next Chris became the assistant winemaker at Colgin Cellars. At Colgin, Christopher worked closely with Vintner Ann Colgin, Winemaker Allison Tauziet, and Vineyard Manager David Abreu. It was here where he learned and embodied the standard for excellence in all aspects of winemaking and viticulture. In 2012, Christopher joined Cliff Lede as winemaker and started his own project Christopher Tynan Wines. christophertynan.com @christophertynan

Charles Bieler was racing down ski slopes and lobbying to save owls when he got the call from his Father to help sell the family Rose. “Just give me one year” his Father said. Charles sold wine out of his pink Cadillac when nobody was drinking Rose, he had to literally charm his way onto their shelves. Now decades later, he has partnered with some of the biggest names in the wine industry to bring delicious, affordable wines to the masses, both here in the states and in France. @bielerwines bielerwines.com

This week the guys deep dive into the Moon Mountain District with three luminaries of the AVA, Chris Cottrell, Robert Kamen and Phil Coturri ahead of next month’s Reach for the Moon! Master Class and Grand Tasting of Moon Mountain District wines in the historic Monte Rosso Vineyard. We cover the what makes this appellation so unique, it’s rich history, it’s present as one of the great Cabernet growing regions in the world and the future. In between, we opened some great wines and had great fun. Check out the Reach for the Moon! event at www.moonmountaindistrict.org [EP279]

The name Andy Beckstoffer is immediately associated with the finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in America. He drove the changes in Napa Co. grape growing until the farmers became an integral part of the wine making process and finally benefited financially from their labor. But it certainly wasn't always like that in Napa. Hear everything Napa Cab from past to future on this episode of The Wine Makers. An excellent interview with the most famous farmer in the U.S. [EP277]

This week on the show we are talking about Lodi!! Randy Caparoso is a full-time wine journalist who lives in Lodi, California, and author of Lodi! The definitive guide and history of America's largest winegrowing region. Greg La Folette is the winemaker at Marchelle Wines and it would be easier to list the things he hasn’t done in the wine industry. [EP277] Marchellewines.com @marchellewines

This show is hot! This show is smoking! This show is all about...prescribed burns? This week the guys are joined by Dr. Sasha Berleman, Director of Fire Forward, an organization spearheading efforts to bring "Good Fire" back to the wildlands of Northern California. The wIne industry continues to face an existential threat from smoke and fire but for Berleman one of the best ways to counter bad fire and bad smoke is good fire and good smoke. By conducting prescribed burns and building a community of trained fire crews, Berleman and her team are burning Sonoma County on their terms and it's a beautiful thing. This one is informative, inspirational and a smokin' good time! [EP276] egret.org/fire-forward instagram.com/fire.forward egret.org

Joel Gott was definitely raised in a wine family. The fourth-generation California vintner, and wine and food entrepreneur was born in Napa Valley and raised in the Sierra Foothills where his parents started Montevina Winery. Joel later moved to Carmel and upon graduating high school went to work for Kenwood Winery in Sonoma County. But his first dive into business wasn't just to start making wine, in fact he and his brother Duncan purchased a small market in Calistoga called Palisades Market. It was there that Joel started to discover what part of the wine business he wanted to make his presence known. Joel and his wife Sarah, (Phelps & Quintessa) started Joel Gott wines in 1996 focused on wines of quality and value. Last year with the purchase of the historic Edge Hill Winery in St. Helena you can expect to see Gott Wines enter the fine wine market. I think you will see that it's done thoughtfully, well planned and something that will make an impact in the future. gottwines.com instagram.com/joelgottwines gotts.com instagram.com/gottsroadside

This week we sit down with vintner Dan Kosta, who has built wine lists at high-end restaurants, developed cult wine brands like Kosta Browne and collaborated with celebrity chefs like Emeril Lagasse. His new project, Convene Wine, is a study in Sonoma Coast and Russian River Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The wines are elegant and expressive, the conversation is lively, grab a glass and check it out. [EP274] Website - www.dk-convene.com Instagram - @dk_convene

This week we have a special show for an event called Napa R.I.S.E. This three-week series of events is designed to accelerate meaningful sustainability and climate action transformation across the entire industry and culture of wine. The events are organized around the Six Pillars of Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership: ENERGY EFFICIENCY & SAVINGS WATER EFFICIENCY & SAVINGS WASTE PREVENTION & SUPPLY CHAIN PROACTIVE FARMING, SOIL HEALTH & BIODIVERSITY SOCIAL JUSTICE, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CLIMATE ACTION & REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE www.napagreen.org www.risegreen.org @napagreen

Patrick Cappiello is a distinguished winemaker and sommelier with over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry. He is the owner and winemaker of Monte Rio Cellars, a Food & Wine host for Playboy, and a founding member of Winemakers & Sommeliers for California Wildfire Relief. Cappiello's wine career started in 2001 at TriBeCa Grill, and he has since been associated with four prestigious wine cellars, all recipients of Wine Spectator's "Grand Award." He has received multiple accolades, including "Sommelier of the Year" by Food & Wine Magazine and Eater National. In 2017, he transitioned to winemaking in Sonoma County, launching Monte Rio Cellars in 2018, along with Skull Wines and the Piquette Project. Patrick splits his time between New York City and Sonoma County, and enjoys collecting vinyl records, smashburgers, canned beer, and Mezcal. [EP272] patrickcappiello.com monteriocellars.com Insta / Twitter - @patrickwine

Ren Harris is the “unofficial” Mayor of Napa. This year will be his 60th harvest and his accomplishments read like a novel about the history of Napa Valley. He is soft spoken but seems to get his way more often than not, and we all owe him for paving the wine road in California. You can still find him at the table in the back of the winery, looking out at his beautiful vineyard, sharing his stories and wines, still made by Heidi Barrett. Grab a glass and listen in, this one goes deep. [EP271] paradigmwinery.com @paradigmwinery

Jack Sporer is a leader in the new school of Natural Wine, experimental and adventurous, but also pragmatic and reasonable. He has made wine all over the world, from Bordeaux to Bedrock, and brings a fresh perspective to his own wine making for Fresh Wine Co. From style, to varietal choices to bottles and corks the wines are thoughtful, delicious and yes, fresh! Listen in as we go through the latest releases of Fresh Wines and learn all about Jack's travels and experiences in wine. [EP270]

We all agree that wine is about the stories that are associated with them. Kira Ballotta began working in wine in 2011 helping a winemaker on her days off. Then while working in the field of Valuation she had the opportunity to analyze vineyard projects and felt drawn to the “going-ons” behind her spreadsheets. She was hooked Kira then made her way around Napa and Australia learning the craft of winemaking and engendering a true reverence and love for winemaking. She spent four years at Alpha Omega in Rutherford running Enology research. Then in 2019 she took as winemaker for Olivia Brion and in 2021 she started another inspired label called Cantadora Wines. She is dedicated to a business organized around sustainability and gentle practices for the earth. We talked about a lot of subjects and ideas and the time just flew buy. Check out the show and thanks for listening. [EP269] oliviabrion.com cantadora.wine instagram.com/oliviabrionwines

Tor Kenward has been a part of Napa’s growth from the beginning, seeking advice from Robert Mondavi, getting tips from André Tchelistcheff, and collaborating with Julia Child. We share a couple bottles of wine with him at his house in Napa Valley to discuss his start at Beringer, his current label Tor, and his new book “Reflections of a Vintner”. There is a lot of history here. Enjoy [EP268] Torwines.com @torwines

By day, Kelly Cornett is an accomplished public health scientist, by night she is a wine educator, host of A Cork in the Road wine podcast, all around enthusiast and a ringleader in Atlanta’s wine community. She was in town to lead a wine class in between visiting some of her favorite wineries and seeking new exciting producers she learned about listening to our shows! We learn all about Kelly’s journey into wine, from her family dinner table growing up on Minnesota, to the burgeoning Virginia wine country to the vibrant and diverse Atlanta wine scene. In between, there’s some talk of Corgis, track and field and a whole lot of laughs! @acorkintheroad on Twitter and Instagram acorkintheroad.com

David Morell, Ph.D., Sonoma Ecology Center & Doug Beck, Science Officer at Monterey Pacific Vineyards. David and Doug give us a good introduction to BioChar and its use with compost in wine grape growing. David gives us some background on BioChar and all the work that the Sonoma Ecology Center is doing here in Sonoma County and beyond. Doug shares his experiences and findings from a recently conducted four-year trial to test the impacts of biochar and compost as soil amendments on wine grape growth, water use, yield, and water quality. [EP266] sonomaecologycenter.org sonomabiocharinitiative.org Scaling Sustainable Biochar Research Commercialization for Agriculture Conservationing Sustainable Biochar Research Commercialization for Agriculture Conservation.pdf

Brenae Royal runs Monte Rosso, one of the most historic vineyards in California, growing Cabernet, Zinfandel and Semillon since 1886. 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. [EP265] Website

António Amorim - Amorim Corks Corticeira Amorim is the world’s largest cork processing company and makes an unparalleled contribution to the business, market, economy, innovation and the sustainability of the entire cork industry. Founded in 1870, we are joined this week by its Chairman & CEO António Rios de Amorim. This is a great show, António's knowledge and passion for the cork industry is infectious. You might be amazed to hear what cork is used for beyond the wine industry. The incredible sustainability that the cork industry has and practices should not be overlooked, and truly agricultural business. This show should answer most of your cork questions. And if they arent answered, let us know we will find out. [EP264] Amorim.com Instagram Twitter

This week we attended the Direct to Consumer Symposium which is a benefit for the Free the Grapes Campaign. [EP263] Our good friend M.J. Towler the Black Wine Guy was also in attendance so we decided to do some joint interviews. We hope you enjoy these conversations. https://freethegrapes.org Hugh Scallon of Vayner Media will give us a look into TV 3.0 and he sees an opportunity for wine advertising. https://vaynermedia.com Steve Gross, VP, State Relations, Wine Institute talks a bit about the implications of recent legislative wins and priorities for winery compliance in 2023. https://wineinstitute.org Friend of the pod Jason Hass of Tablas Creek joins us to share some of his experiences in alternative packaging. www.tablascreek.com Shana Bull is a Digital Storyteller + Marketing Educator, and Children’s Book Author based in the East Bay, CA (and Wine Country). She writes about Social Media + Food + Wine + Travel + Parenting on her blog, and other Bay Area publications. https://shanabull.com Shae Frichette and her husband were living in Southern California when they met and got married. They wanted to move closer to family in either South Carolina or Washington. They used the flip of a coin to determine they would relocate to Washington. They wanted to create a business that would give them goosebumps. With a little research and cheerleading from friends, they decided to go into wine. www.frichettewinery.com Ross Halleck planted the Halleck Vineyard in 1993, one of the first in the hills of Sebastopol, in western Sonoma County. The primary intent for this vineyard was to serve as a college fund for our three boys, Connor, Adam, and Quinn. Of course, a passion for Pinot led the charge. www.halleckvineyard.com Barbara Gorder is a consultant and Owner Undisclosed Location, Inc. Over the past 20 years, she has helped to build and design some of the world’s most powerful brands. She has broad marketing and advertising expertise across all channels and disciplines with an emphasis on new technologies. Barbara is Kino chair for the direct to consumer wide symposium. https://www.unlo.com