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 contact@domainelabarroche.com

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

Scott & Jenny Schultz make small lots of beautiful wines made from unique varietals, using simple winemaking methods, whole cluster, foot crushed, indigenous yeasts, aged in cement eggs and neutral oak, with little or no sulfur added. They just moved to the neighborhood and Scott came over to introduce himself and tell us about the wines. [Ep307] Jolielaidewines.com @jolielaidewines

If you make wine, sell wine, ship wine, or drink wine, the conversations and presentations that took place here matter to you. We learned about emerging technologies, new tactics, eminent legal threats, changing consumption and much more over 2 days in Concord. If you couldn’t make it to the conference, missed a speaker you wanted to see or want to learn more about a presentation, this episode is for you. Over the course of 10 guests and nearly 4 and half hours of recording, we bring the DTC Wine Symposium directly to you! So buckle up and maybe head out for a road trip, this one is a journey! [Ep306] Timestamp list of guests: Cathy Huyghe, Enolytics 00:35 Lulie Halstead, Gérard Basset Foundation 22:03 Steve Gross, The Wine Institute 47:43 Walter Carter, Danza Del Sol Winery 1:23:40 Liz Thach MW, Wine Market Council 1:47:00 Jennie Gilbert, Red Chirp 2:12:05 Kat Gordon, The 3% Movement  2:38 Jennifer Freebairn, Lasseter Family Winery and Philipe Theibaud, Stone Edge Farm Winery 3:08:25 Rishad Tobaccowalla, Publicis Groupe 3:48

It’s the annual Á Deux Têtes release from Sixteen 600, timed to celebrate the dearly departed Philippe Cambie’s birthday, January 21st. Phil Coturri joined Brian, John and Sam to talk about his friendship with Philippe, how Isabel Gassier came into our lives and his deep love of Grenache. The guys taste the new releases as well as check in on the previous vintages. How are these wines aging? What is the cellar life and prime drinking windows? Listen in to see what the guys say, or if they can even figure it out! Tune in, turn on, and drink more Grenache [Ep305]

After Holiday upon holiday, COVID, so many parties and a huge New Years bash, the guys finally sit down for a recap of our favorite shows and wines of 2023, Plus, get a look inside Phil's Wine Cellar and the upcoming DTC Symposium. Enjoy and Welcome to the New Year with The Wine Makers! [Ep304]

When Orson Welles famously slurred “We will sell no wine before its time,” he must have been talking about Slow Wine! The Slow Food Movement began 35 years ago, to celebrate local and traditional, to be thoughtful about where food comes from and how it was farmed—to be the opposite of fast food. Recently Slow Wine picked up from there, celebrating artisanal, thoughtful wine. In the process they created the world's first wine guide where the baseline for inclusion is farming without synthetic herbicides. It's the NO ROUND UP Wine Guide! Wine journalist and organic specialist Pam Strayer is an Editor of the Slow Wine Guide USA. Pam caught the organic bug when her work in health care journalism led her to the Pesticide Use Report and found out what farmers in California were really spraying in their fields.  In addition to the Slow Wine Guide, you can find Pam's work on WineBusiness.com and her own page Wine Country Geographic. [Ep303] https://slowfoodusa.org/product/slow-wine-guide-usa-2024/ https://winecountrygeographic.com/

We first had Reid on the show with Cody from Desire Lines talking about his work at graduate school about the effects of microbiome of vineyards in wine. At that time he shared a wine that really caught our attention. Since then Tidings Wine Co had had its first release and was sold out within an hour. It is a nights-and-weekends project that Reid started, and only exists because of the many opportunities given to him by mentors on his journey, and the support of his wife and young daughter. Reid is a first-generation winemaker who found his calling to wine through a fascination with the natural world and has been lucky enough to work with some of the most passionate and generous people in the industry, near and far. Tidings is focused on crafting Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah that reflect the distinct ecology of where they are grown, to honor the history and character of the land, and the people who steward it. Also since then Reid has been named the winemaker for one of the most historic estates in Napa Valley Stone Hill Vineyards. [EP301] www.tidingswine.com https://daily.sevenfifty.com/understanding-microbial-terroir-in-wine/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33927711/

What do you do when Randall Graham and Elaine Chukan Brown (aka Hawk Wakawakka) show up at your back door with a box full of open wine bottles? You grab the microphones and some wineglasses and press record is what! What were Randall, the legendary California wine maker and original Rhone Ranger and Elaine, globe-trotting iconoclast and wine writer extraordinaire up to? They had met up for a fleeting moment to taste through Randall’s legacy project Popelouchum. What is Popelouchum? Is it wine brand? Is it a vineyard? Is it a quest for a new variety? And how do you pronounce it? Listen in to find out these answers and more! [EP301]

The 300th episode of The Wine Makers!!! Okay; IT WAS A PARTY and we ran up against the technology curve for the first 15 minutes, but it's all great after that! Listener calls, Sonoma luminaries and past guests, even a call from MJ Towler in Italy.  It's all there and we hope you enjoy the show as much as we did.  And a huge thanks to our awesome listeners at home and around the world because we couldn't have done it without each and everyone of you.  Enjoy! [EP300]

Brian, John and Sam spend the morning with Tim Zahner, Executive Director of the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau and cover all the reasons to visit and have a ball in Sonoma.  Tim's a great sport as we cover lots of ground from History, Vineyards and Wine to Cannabis tours.  Sit back, pour yourself a glass and enjoy! [EP299]

Sam, Brian, Bart and John try to make sense of the crazy late harvest that as of Oct. 13th, is still only about 20% in. They talk all areas of California grape growing and even Arden Kramer gets in the act covering the Olive harvest for The Wine Makers. Lots of funwas had and the guys share their plans for a Listener Input 300th show! Wow, 300.It's been 5 years of fun and work just for you, our incredible listeners and friends. Enjoy!. [EP298]

The guys got a special Grenache Day visit from one of the icons and iconoclasts of the Paso Robles rhone scene. Cris Cherry and family run Villa Creek Cellars and the MAHA Estate specializing in Grenache and blends that exemplify their West Paso terroir. The farming is immaculate and biodynamic, the wine making is focused and intense, Cris is passionate and wears his heart on the sleeve. A perfect combination to make for a fun show on a special day. [EP297]