Dan and Carol. California Wine Country welcomes Carol Shelton, famous for Wild Thing wines with wild yeast, and for much more. CWC has the day off today so for today's podcast edition, this is a replay of the May 31, 2023 episode.  Carol Shelton makes varietals beside Zin, although she is known as the Queen of Zinfandel, and she is back on California Wine Country today, with Steve Jaxon, Dan Berger and Harry Duke. She has been on California Wine Country several times, most recently...

Foppiano GM Rob McNeill and winemaker Nova Perrill, are both guests on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Rob was on this CWC episode on August 29, 2018 and Nova has been on the show three other times, the most recent was this episode of October 26, 2022. Nova became the Foppiano Vineyards winemaker in 2014 and Rob became GM in 2017. Rob had made sparkling wine and he wanted to make some at Foppiano, so he introduced Nova to it. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have...

Dan Berger with Oded Shakked on CWC. Oded Shakked returns to California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger, with three wines from Longboard Vineyards, for tasting and discussion. In the first portion of today's show, Dan Berger is on his way in, against inclement weather and traffic. They get right into the history of the name and Oded admits that he would never have chosen this name if he had known it would be such an important brand so many years later. At the time, he was a...

Don Chigazola Don Chigazola has brought wines from Friuli today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Friuli is the region of Italy in the north-east, bordering on Slovenia. He has been on the show several times, most recently on this March 2022 episode all about wines from the Alto Adige region. Don begins by retelling the story of how his company Chigazola Merchants works. He travels the back roads of Italy looking for small local producers of unique local wines....

Mike Carpenter, founder of The Redd Collection, is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Before we hear about the Redd Collection, Dan Berger has brought a wine for tasting, but not his usual cellar wine. It is a Donnhoff Riesling from Germany that he purchased recently at Botte Barn. It begins a bit sweet but finished dry. Everyone likes it!. Mike Carpenter explains that he is a wine retailer and he focusses on old and rare collectable wines, and some...

Dan Berger and Barry Herbst. Barry Herbst is in the studio on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger, with 2023 Harvest Fair winners at Bottle Barn. Dan Berger was also on this episode back on October 2, with a first report on this year's Harvest Fair winners. Barry Herbst says that the public tasting at Bottle Barn last Saturday was well-attended. Almost all the winning wines from the 2023 Harvest Fair are there, in the middle of the store. It will stay up on display...

Dan Berger and Jordan Kunde Jason Kunde from Kunde Family Winery joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger in the studio today on California Wine Country. Jason's father Jeff was a guest on California Wine Country on this episode back on May 31, 2017. Dan Berger has brought another bottle from his gigantic collection, but this time not from the cellar, because he has just bought it. It is a 2022 Riesling, from Donnhoff in Germany that has some residual sugar, but the wine is not sweet. It has...

Mark Beaman Kenwood Vineyards winemaker Mark Beaman joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger in the studio today on California Wine Country. The last time Kenwood Vineyards was on CWC was this episode of July 19, 2018, with the previous winemaker Pat Henderson. Dan Berger has brought another cellar wine today for tasting, a 2002 Riesling. It shows how Rieslings can age well. They are fresh and fruity when they are young but they also age very well and this wine is a good example of...

Dan Berger is in the studio today with Steve Jaxon on California Wine Country to talk about the Sonoma County Harvest Fair 2023 winners. Dan Berger is in the studio today with Steve Jaxon on California Wine Country to talk about the Sonoma County Harvest Fair 2023 winners. The winners have been announced at the Harvest Fair website and in the PD. Dan explains that it is a competition all for wines made from grapes grown in Sonoma County. It is also an opportunity to examine the...

Dan Berger and Pete Soergel Pete Soergel, winemaker for Lynmar Estate Wines, joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country today. Dan Berger has brought another bottle of wine from his gigantic cellar. Recently he has brought in a lot of well-aged Sauvignon Blancs. But this is a 2019 white Pinot Noir from Aniello in the Patagonia region of Argentina. This wine is four and a half years old. It was made to be consumed earlier and is still good. To make white Pinot Noir, you...

Mike Martini, winemaker at Taft Street Winery, joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. His last time on the show was last year around this time, on this episode of August 24, 2022. Taft Street is open Friday through Sunday 11:00 am to 4:30 pm. They are a relatively small operation so they made a decision not to run a big room, but guests are welcome and encouraged to bring a picnic and beverages and they are very dog-friendly. Taft Street Winery also has bocce...

Dennis Hill, co-founder of Langhart and Hill wines, joins Steve Jaxon on California Wine Country. Larry Van Aalst is in for Dan Berger, who is travelling this weekend. Larry has had a long career in wine, he was an educator and a Sommelier and worked in the university and junior college and with PBS, all related to wine. He even worked in the prune harvest back when that was the dominant fruit in Sonoma County. This 2023 vintage is Dennis’ 51st as a professional winemaker. His first job in...

Dan and Janice Winesong, Mendocino's unique celebration, is the subject today. On Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, Janice MacDonald visited California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger, to talk about the 38th edition of Winesong for 2023, set to take place on Sept. 8 & 9, a week later. Unfortunately, due to a technical glitch, there we no recording made of that episode. The show notes below refer to that lost Sept. 1, 2023 show. But for the audio portion of this podcast episode, here...

Dan Barwick Dan Barwick, Trecini Winery winemaker, joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine C0untry, back on the air after summer vacation. Today California Wine Country returns to live radio on a new day, Friday, and on our new station, Wine Country Radio 95.5 FM in Sonoma County. The Drive with Steve Jaxon is back on the air, weekdays from 3:00-6:00 PM on Wine Country Radio 95.5 FM and also streaming live online at TheDrive955.com. Dan Barwick, winemaker at Trecini...

Clark Smith joins Steve Jaxon, Dan Berger and Harry Duke on California Wine Country to discuss his book on pairing wine with music. This episode was originally recorded December 8, 2021. This is the last week of Summer vacation for The Drive and California Wine Country. This is the last repeat episode before next week. Starting Monday August 21, The Drive returns to live radio, on Wine Country Radio 95.5 FM, Mon-Fri 3-6. California Wine Country moves to Fridays so our next podcast episode...

Outside, a simple sign. Inside, wow! This is the second-to-last week of Summer vacation for The Drive and California Wine Country. In 2 weeks, starting Monday August 21, The Drive returns to live radio on Wine Country Radio 95.5 FM, Mon-Fri. 3-6pm. California Wine Country will be moving to Fridays. Our first new live show of the Fall season will be Friday, August 25. This podcast episode features Jason Schneider, Bottle Barn spirits chief and also the GM, along with Lauren Patz from...

Katey Bacigalupi Row, Tom Simoneau and Nicole Bacigalupi Dericco. As The Drive and California Wine Country are still on summer vacation, here is a repeat episode where friend of the show Tom Simoneau has brought guests from Bacigalpui Vineyards. This episode was originally recorded on May 18, 2022. Katey Bacigalupi Row and Nicole Bacigalupi Dericco join Tom Simoneau today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. The Bacigalupi family owns and operates Bacigalupi...

Dan and Don. While The Drive and California Wine Country are on Summer vacation, there is no new show again this week, so here is a repeat of an episode recorded on June 22, 2022, featuring Don Chigazola of Chigazola Merchants, importers of selected Italian wines. Cheers, and cin-cin! Piemonte wines are on the table today as Don Chigazola is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. He has brought some wines from Piemonte (the region in northwest Italy located...

While The Drive is on Summer vacation, and so is California Wine Country, there is no new show this week, so here is an episode of another wine show from The Drive, called Off the Vine, sponsored by our friends at Sonoma County Winegrowers, which originally aired on January 25, 2023. Cheers! Steve Jaxon and Harry Duke present this episode of Off the Vine along with Sonoma County Winegrowers President Karissa Kruse, who has invited Erik Miller from Kokomo Wines, as her guest. Erik...

The Salamati family of Goguette Bread, 2017 photo. Today we revisit Goguette Bread and Komomo Wines with Karissa Kruse from Sonoma County Winegrowers. While The Drive and California Wine Country are on Summer vacation, here is a replay of a favorite episode recorded in September of 2017, with a studio full of guests. We talk to Najine Shariat of Goguette Bread in Santa Rosa, Karissa Kruse from the Sonoma County Winegrowers, and Erik Miller from Kokomo Winery.  Today Steve Jaxon and...

Taste of Sonoma Report: While The Drive is on Summer vacation, here is our report on the 2023 Taste of Sonoma, produced in collaboration with our friends at Sonoma County Vintners.  On Saturday, June 24, Sonoma County Vintners put on Taste of Sonoma at the Kendall-Jackson Estate. On Saturday, June 24, Sonoma County Vintners held this year's edition of Taste of Sonoma at the Kendall-Jackson Estate. We collected comments from several people including guests, exhibitors and...

Dan Berger and Barry Herbst With The Drive on Summer vacation, here is an episode for this week's podcast, from last August where Barry Herbst describes Rosé wines available at Bottle Barn. For all of this year's Rosé offerings and more, visit the Bottle Barn website, bottlebarn.com.  Bottle Barn Rosé wines are the subject of this episode of California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. It’s Rosé all day with Barry Herbst from Bottle Barn on California Wine Country with...

Tom Simoneau and Mari Jones. Mari Jones from Emeritus Vineyards is Tom Simoneau’s special guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. While The Drive is on vacation there is no new CWC again this week. This episode was recorded live on the radio on September 28, 2022. Cheers!  Mari Jones from Emeritus Vineyards is Tom Simoneau’s special guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Emeritus Winemaker David Lattin was also on...

Sonoma County Vintners While The Drive is on Summer vacation, there is no new CWC show this week, but Taste of Sonoma is this coming Saturday, so here is a repeat of the episode from last May 17, with Craig McAllister from La Crema. Steve Jaxon, Dan Berger and guest Craig McAllister talk about La Crema and about the upcoming Taste of Sonoma. Craig McAllister, head winemaker at La Crema, is our in-studio guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. The last time...

Dan Berger, the Balletto Vineyard Portrait There is no new CWC show this week, so here is the second part of our interview from last February where co-host Dan Berger talks about Riesling, his international competition and more.  Dan is back with Steve Jaxon and Harry Duke in part 2 of the story of Dan’s career as a journalist that ends up with him making Riesling. Part 1 is here. The episode begins with the story of Dan’s book about basketball. He also wrote for the NFL for one...