Episodes
Join us as we explore the life of Josh Phelps, a seasoned player in the wine industry, from his roots in restaurant work to the strategic cultivation of his winemaking empire. Listen in as Josh recounts his time at Kimberly Jones Selections where he honed his skills in sales and faced the tough skin-building challenge of rejection, and shares how he scaled his initial 100-case winemaking venture to an impressive 40,000. Discover how Josh and his father work together to manage their wine...
Published 03/26/24
I recently sat down with Shawn Johnson of Amulet Estate, who shared the revolution in winemaking processes brought by innovative software and fermentation techniques. His story intertwines with mine as I recall my years learning the winemaking craft from mentors like Mark Harold and the brilliant minds at Nicholson Ranch. Come with us behind the scenes of Amulet Winery, where attention to detail and a passion for quality over quantity yield wines that evoke the land and the artists who shape...
Published 03/12/24
Listen in as I sit down with Dan Limoges, a winemaker and grape grower from North Georgia who has truly immersed himself in the craft. Dan shares the narrative of his transition from Iowa to the wine-laden landscapes of Georgia, where he and his wife have established Limoges Cellars. His passion for the vine-to-bottle process is evident as we talk about their hands-on approach to developing their vineyard and winery. In this conversation, we uncover the challenges of starting a vineyard in...
Published 02/27/24
Join the conversation with viticulturist Fritz Westover and discover the alchemy of grape growing in climates that challenge even the most seasoned growers. From the humble Pennsylvania plant lover to an acclaimed viticulturist, Fritz unpacks his storied journey and the problems faced by vineyards far from Napa Valley. Learn how Fritz helps vineyards weave through the complexities like market saturation and extreme weather while also considering how variety selection can make or break the...
Published 02/13/24
In this episode, Pavle Milic takes us through a journey of his life, passions, and entrepreneurial spirit. Starting with his roots in Colombia and transition to the hospitality scene in New York, Milic has carved out a unique niche in the culinary and wine world in Arizona. The discussion navigates through the landscapes of Colombia and the burgeoning wine industry of Arizona, underscoring the importance of location, experimentation, and tasting room design. Delving deeper into the realms of...
Published 01/30/24
Collin Cranor and Craig Ploof - Grape Culture In this episode, Colin and Craig discuss their journey from Livermore Valley to establishing their own winery in Napa Valley. They explain their focus on single-vineyard wines and the importance of site-driven winemaking. Our discussion included the role of data and technology in their winemaking process, including the use of Wine X-Ray and the Pulsair system for cap management. They express their excitement about being part of the Napa Valley...
Published 12/22/23
This episode features Corinne Rich and Katie Rouse, who, together comprise Birdhorse Wines. Our conversation covers their winemaking backgrounds, the creation of the Birdhorse brand, the vineyards they have partnered with, oxidative white winemaking, novel winemaking techniques, and the hustle of building a brand with full-time jobs.   Birdhorse Wines Plasticbags.com San Francisco Chronicle featuring Birdhorse   This podcast is sponsored by Innovint. Has your winery turned into a...
Published 12/04/23
This episode features Kira Ballotta, owner and winemaker for the two brands celebrating past and present trailblazing women.  If a wine brand was a historical fiction novel, Olivia Brion would be the main character in that novel. Each bottle of wine tells a different “chapter” of her story. Life being somewhat more surprising than fiction, the stories of Olivia Brion are inspired by the full lives of real trailblazing women from history.  Cantadora is the natural evolution of Olivia Brion....
Published 10/31/23
This episode features Amy Whiteford and Dave Phinney in a conversation about the development of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills and Santa Barbara County AVA. Both Amy and Dave have independently been on the podcast before Amy back in 2014 and 2016. Our conversation ranges from their shared work background, the reasons for developing a vineyard in Santa Rita Hills, the characteristics of the site, the diversity of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay selections, challenges of...
Published 10/11/23
Mike NuÑez - NuÑez Vineyard Management This episode features Mike Nuñez, who owns and operates Nuñez Vineyard Management, a farm labor contractor and vineyard development specialist based in Napa Valley. Mike and I discuss the barn we made wine together in back in 2004, Mike’s career path, the services that his company manages, and then an in-depth outline of how Mike plans every critical step in planning, designing, planting training, and managing a new vineyard. There’s no way we could have...
Published 09/25/23
This episode features the return of Ben Matthews, who was a part of Episode 83 in 2018, and went on to found Terratorium, which is the focal point of conversation for this episode. Ben has been a long-time podcast listener and he and I met when he came out to Napa for the Deep Winemaking (wine camp) in 2017. A year later Ben came back to Napa to work harvest with me at Seavey Vineyard. Upon returning to Cincinnati and founding Terratorium Ben brought me into the business to help with...
Published 09/05/23
Greg Brewer - Brewer-Clifton, Datom, and Ex Post facto This episode features Greg Brewer, founder and winemaker at Brewer-Clifton, which is a winery in Santa Barbara producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Our conversation runs the gamut from Greg’s background, his experience working with grapes from Santa Rita Hills, harvest and processing logistics, my jealousy for Santa Rita’s huge picking window, DIAM corks, Greg’s stainless bin fermentors, his philosophy in sourcing a block for vineyard...
Published 08/10/23
This episode features Megan Gunderson, Vice President of Winemaking for Hall Wines. Megan oversees the production of wines for the Hall, WALT, and BACA brands. Our conversation ranges from Megan’s professional background, the stories Hall wines from Napa, the WALT wines from Oregon to Sta Rita Hills, the BACA Zinfandel wines, production logistics, partnerships with grapegrowers, fermentation tank materials, and Innovint’s winery production software. Hall Wines - Napa Valley WALT - Pinot...
Published 07/31/23
This episode features Scott McLeod, winemaker, and one of the founders of WineXRay. Our conversation covers Scott’s background building the Francis Ford Coppola brands, the development of WineXRay with his business partner Gianni Colantuoni, the color and tannin components that the WineXRay technology measures, its practical uses in a winery, the basic traits of anthocyanins and tannins in wine, the effects of temperature on red-grape phenolic development in the vineyard, consequences of the...
Published 07/17/23
This episode features Clark Smith, who is a winemaker, author, wine technology innovator, and winemaking instructor. Our conversation in this episode covers Clark’s background in winemaking, the development of Vinovation, alcohol adjustment in wines, micro-oxygenation, the enology courses he used to teach at UC Davis, making wine without SO2, his book Postmodern Winemaking, what modern and postmodern winemaking entail, and his video course: Fundamentals of Winemaking Made Easy.
Published 06/26/23
This episode features Matt Parish, who is one of the top winemakers within Naked Wines. Our conversation wove through Matt’s international corporate winemaking, his work with Naked Wines as an employee and later as a winemaker, the tools and tactics Matt uses to build wines in various styles, and his current international collaborations.
Published 06/12/23
Dan Petroski - Massican Wines This episode features Dan Petroski, found, winemaker, and creative director of Massican Wines. Dan jokes that Massican is the best white wine winery in Napa Valley. Our conversation covers Dan’s background with magazines, a career in publishing, his ventures in Sicily, learning to make wine in California, Dan’s experiments focused on the elimination of additives, the pied du cuve at Larkmead Vineyards, Massican Blue in the Harvard pigment library, Dan’s number...
Published 05/30/23
Josh Widaman - Pine Ridge Vineyards This episode features Josh Widaman, Estate Winemaker from Pine Ridge Vineyards in the Napa Valley. Our conversation was focused on Cabernet Sauvignon and covered, the cellar updates at Pine Ridge, their 160 acres of vines in Napa, Wine XRay, and high-brix winemaking. Pine Ridge Vineyards - Napa Valley Malene Wines Rosé - Central Coast, California   This podcast is sponsored by Innovint. Has your winery turned into a complete Excel sheet show? Say...
Published 05/22/23
This episode features Marcus Notaro, Head Winemaker, at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley. This was a chance for me to ask Marcus about grapegowing and winemaking in central Washington, where he used to make wine for Col Solare focusing on vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA. Our conversation covered Marcus’ background, viticulture in Washington, “stabulation,” a new idea to me, styles of Chardonnay, and Cabernet from Stag’s Leap.
Published 05/02/23
David Bos - Bos Wine This episode features David Bos in his third time on the podcast. In this episode, we cover David’s return to Michigan, organic farming near Lake Michigan, the new Bos Wine Garden in Elk Rapids, and the basics of advancing a newer wine region in the US. Bos Wine - Elk Rapids, Michigan   This podcast is sponsored by Innovint. Has your winery turned into a complete Excel sheet show? Say hello to InnoVint, it’s winemaking software to get you off of spreadsheets and...
Published 04/04/23
This episode features Natalie Winkler and viticulturist for Salvestrin Winery in the Napa Valley. Our conversation during this podcast was heavy on technical farming. Natalie shared her experience in transitioning vineyards from conventional to organic and biodynamic farming. We discussed cover crops, soil building, carbon sequestration, conservation tillage, and even a little about winemaking. Salvestrin Winery - Napa Valley   This podcast is sponsored by Innovint. Has your winery...
Published 03/03/23
This episode features Michael Accurso who is the Director of Emerging Wine Brands for the En Route, Bella Union, and Post & Beam wines within the Far Niente Family of Wineries. Our conversation ran through Michael’s background, Anderson Valley winemaking, Pinot Noir - clones and extraction practices, the remodeling of the winery in Rutherford in Napa, building of the Post & Beam Napa Cabernets. En Route Pinot Noir - Russian River Valley Post and Beam - Napa Valley Bella Union...
Published 02/16/23
Interview with winemaker Andy Robinson from Seghesio Family Vineyards. January, 2023
Published 01/21/23
This episode features an interview with winemaker Angelina Mondavi
Published 12/29/22