Jeff Pisoni of Fort Ross Vineyard and Winery is our guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. They begin with the history of the winery, which is located near the coast on one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Jeff says that they think the vines have a wonderful view. Jeff went to California State University at Fresno for a degree in enology and worked at several wineries. He grew up making wine. His father was a grape grower in Monterey County. He still grows grapes in Monterey but he makes wine in Sonoma County, in Santa Rosa. There he met Linda and Lester Schwartz of Fort Ross about 10 years ago and he started making wine with them. He loves working with their vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. He liked studying at Freno State, it was very hands-on. "My brother went Davis so I thought Fresno would be a great option."

First they taste a Chardonnay, all Fort Ross Estate fruit, 2016 vintage and "just a baby" says Dan. The structure is rich, great acidity without too much oak, so the citrusy fruit flavors come out. Dan thinks this is a distinctive New Zealand style Chardonnay. The texture is not so rich it's cloying, says Barry. Jeff explains that the vineyard is planted almost all in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The site is cool and has amazing soils and produces a fresh and vibrant wine. Dan says it's easy to adopt this technique but hard to master. You must have cold climate fruit and know how to handle it.

Their Fort Ross location is one of the only tasting rooms in the area, about 15 minutes north of Jenner. The view is magnificent. The picture at the top of this page is from the Fort Ross Vineyard website, which has more images and directions. Jeff says it's one of the few places where you can see the vines, taste the wine and see the ocean, all at one time.

Wines Tasted Today

Fort Ross Winery Sea Slopes 2016 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

H. Mynors Old Vine Cuvée 2014 Zinfandel

Fort Ross Vineyard 2016 Chardonnay

Fort Ross Vineyard 2013 Pinot Noir

Fort Ross Vineyard The Terraces 2015 Pinot Noir

Muga 2016 Rosé of Rioja

Next they taste three different Pinot Noirs. Their vineyard is about 80% Pinot Noir, so they will concentrate on these. Fort Ross Vineyard is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

First they taste the Sea Slopes Pinot Noir. It is more approachable in its price and its flavor, says Jeff. Dan says he would not put this one away for very long because it has such brilliant fruit. It's tasty with a "Burgundian snap" and it's delicious now. It was made to be drunk soon. Dan says that cool climate Pinot Noir is popular now and this is a great example of it.

Dan says that there is an old saying in the wine business, that the best wines are made within sight of the water. It can be the ocean, a big river or lake, will produce enough cooling to take care of the vines.

Next they taste the 2013 Pinot Noir, it is 5 years old and Dan says it is perfect. It is a blend of several blocks in a 50 acre vineyard. They have 30 different blocks and they blend them to represent the entire vineyard. Barry says that 2013 was a big yield year so there are a lot of them. Dan suggests tasting a 2013 like this against a 2016 to taste the difference.

Next is the 2015 The Terraces Pinot Noir, which is the higher end. They carved terraces into a steep slope and it has a subtle black pepper component that Dan tastes. This is about $70-80.

About 2% of the vineyard is planted to a variety that is rare in California called Pinotage, a South African hybrid between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, the Rhone variety. The owners, Linda and Lester, are from South Africa and they wanted one block in tribute to that heritage. They have about 2 acres of it, and there are only about 12 acres of it in all of California.

Chris Louton from St Francis Winery is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. He is one of two winemakers at St. Francis Winery. Also, today we will commemorate the late Chris Silva, who passed away one year ago and was a prominent and beloved figure in the local wine business.

Wines tasted today from St. Francis Winery:

Sauvignon Blanc, 2017

Old Vines Zinfandel, 2015

Merlot, Behler Vineyard, Sonoma Valley, 2014

Chardonnay, 2016

Cabernet Franc, Wild Oak Vineyard, 2015

Dan tells about St. Francis Winery and introduces Chris Louton, one of the two winemakers there. St. Francis Winery was founded by Joe Martin, back before Merlot got a bad reputation. At the time, Sonoma County was not well known for tourism, yet. Then they moved a few miles north, at the base of Hood Mountain.

Chris tells how he started in the early 2000s, when he was a science major at UC Davis, he discovered the wine business. He has worked with Schramsberg and Beringer Vineyards, and then at St. Francis. Joe Martin realized that Sonoma County would be perfect for Merlot and they built their brand first by growing great fruit, then they started making wine themselves.

Dan was visiting St. Francis Winery about 1990 and found some vinegar for sale. He asked and said they had a batch of wine that went bad. Dan says it was great vinegar but Chris says they aren't a vinegar maker.

They taste the Chardonnay, a 2016, with bright fruit and good acidity, even if it's barrel fermented. Chris describes its richness. Dan says the wine is based on its acidity and it's crisp and could stand 3 years in the cellar. Slightly tropical, a little bit of kiwi fruit. The acidity comes in early but it's not sharp, it's very nicely balanced.

Next they taste a Merlot. Dan describes a period starting about 1995 or 97 when St. Francis Winery Merlot became so popular that it was sold out, which caused problems for their reputation, but today they have come back strong. Chris Louton says the sourcing for their Merlot is still their original vineyard, and they also use some fruit from select growers. They are also investing in replanting their vines to fine tune Joe Martin's vision and keep it going.

Dan describes how Cabernet and Merlot need different conditions. Merlot likes poor soils and is a trickier variety to work with. Joe Martin was around still, when Sideways came out. Steve asks Chris what Joe thought of Sideways, and they can't repeat it on the radio. Dan says that Joe had a lot of customers for his excellent Merlot back then.

Chris Louton is one of two winemakers at St. Francis Winery. They work together on everything but Katie Madigan handles more their Burgundian varieties and their Zinfandel program, Chris concentrates on the Bordeaux style varieties. The price for this Chardonnay is only about $18 and Dan points out that wineries try to hold their prices stable even if they have a very good year that might warrant a price increase, because they risk alienating their customer base.

St. Francis Winery also does public events, such as movie showings on the lawn in July on Tuesday evenings. Throughout the year they have a food and wine pairing program.

Next they taste a Sauvignon Blanc. Dan points out that Kenwood Vineyards got into Sauvignon Blanc lately. It is really dependent on where it is grown. The best area is Dry Creek Valley, Dan thinks. Chris thinks anywhere in Sonoma County is good for Sauvignon Blanc, and the different AVAs have different terroir. Dan says you want to be there when the grapes come in. He wishes he could capture the perfume in the air when the grapes come in. Even the fresh juice is delicious. There are two ways to drink Sauvignon Blanc, young or old. They are great fresh, or after 20 years.

Diane and John Bucher from Bucher Wines are back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger.

John's father Joe immigrated from Switzerland in the early 1950s and worked in the dairy industry. They have been in the Russian River Valley since then. The true story is that John's father delivered 10 cubic yards manure to Tom Simoneau and his wife’s ranch, for their vegetable gardens. They have known each other since the time of the first delivery. The Buchers make compost which they sell to landscape companies and to vineyard management companies. They compost that with some humus from the vineyard and put it back on the ground in the vineyards. He called it Bucher Gold. They still have 700 cows that they milk twice a day. They treat the manure to make a useful mulch. They sell a lot of it to local landscape companies and other vineyards and growers.

They are tasting a 2017 Bucher Rosé of Pinot Noir from Russian River Valley. Diane tells that it’s 100% from the 777 clone. Their winemaker is Adam Lee of Siduri Wines. They originally made their wines at Siduri and Adam has stayed on as their consulting winemaker. They age it about 7 months in neutral French oak, so they get some roundness and cherries and wild strawberries. Dan Berger calls it really ripe, chewy and flavorful, with a nice watermelon aftertaste. It retails for $25.

John's father Joe grew up on a dairy farm in Switzerland and his cousin still operates the farm, outside of Lucerne, Switzerland. They have been there for 125 years and 60 years in California. When his father came over he worked in agriculture and other jobs, and visited Sonoma County. When he had a chance to buy a property there he did that in 1958. He started with 50 cows and grew to about 400 cows by the time he came home from college. Then it grew to 800 cows. In the mid-2000s they converted to organic dairy farming.

There were big changes in the dairy business in the early -mid 1990s and before organic was on the radar. They planted starting in the mid 1990s and how they have 40 acres, mostly Pinot Noir and some Chardonnay.

Now they taste a Rosé, Tom calls it crisp, delicate and dry, and says that it would pair with any kind of tasty food. Tom calls this one of the best Rosés he knows. Diane explains how they pick it at really low sugars, only about 13.5% alcohol, in the French tradition. It is made to be a Rosé.

Steve gives the URL bucher.wine (and a digression about cow poop and politics). They taste a 2017 Bucher Chardonnay, unoaked. Tom tells about the clones. They make about 1300 cases, a tiny production. Tom says the unoaked Chardonnay is popular now. Dan thinks it could be cellared for another 2 or 3 years. Barry says he gets enough people asking for it at Bottle Barn that he will make a separate section for it. Steve says that he wanted the buttery flavors but now he likes the sharper style. This Chardonnay is 100% Wente clone, from the Wente winery at Livermore. The clusters and berries are relatively small so there is more skin per unit of juice.

They taste the 2015 Rio Oro Chardonnay. It is close to the Russian River in the Middle Reach neighborhood of the Russian River Valley. This one shows why Dan likes to lay these bottled down. It's two years old and Dan says it should get another 3 years at least. Tom says most of the cool region Chards get 100% ML. Barry says it is gaining length and mouth feel as it warms up. It has great body and reminds him of the saying that Chardonnay is like red wine with no color.

Barry has brought some wines too. First, there is a Saini Sauvignon Blanc. Dan suggests decanting it to get some of the Dry Creek Valley grassy component, which he says will come out sooner if decanted. Then he has a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, from a small producer named Perez Cruz, this is his reserve bottling.

Dan Barvick, winemaker from Paradise Ridge Winery, is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Paradise Ridge suffered extensive damage in the October 2017 fires and they are planning on rebuilding. They lost nearly everything in the fires but they still have the most spectacular view of Santa Rosa.

Dan Berger tells of his wine column today’s newspaper, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, which is about acid and pH and what’s dry and not dry. He’s also writing a piece about Chardonnay, then after that one, an article about wine in cans. The Chardonnay piece is about what a winemaker needs to know to make one. There are so many inputs the winemaker can do. Great grapes make the difference, and he explains why good ones are expensive, first the grapes have to be really good, and second, from a small amount of grapes on that acreage. Then there is equipment and barrels.

First they open a 2016 Ferrari Carano Chardonnay. Dan tells the story that Don Carano was a casino owner in Reno and he built a winery and Rhonda Carano, his wife, designed a garden there. It is a particularly beautiful property. Dan says this wine is old-fashioned, with some oak characteristics and tropical fruit component, with some pineapple and kiwi. Barry Herbst says that for years this wine was allocated but it now more available. Dan says this wine should be opened in about 2 years, when the flavors of fruit and tropical top notes will be at their best.

Steve asks Dan Barvick to talk about their plans since the fires that destroyed the winery. Dan says they are definitely in the process of rebuilding. They lost all the wine from 2017 and most of it from 2016. The winery has a lot of sculptures in the garden and their giant LOVE sign survived.

Dan Berber notes that Dan Barvick has been working a lot with colder climate varieties in the Russian River Valley. Dan Barvick worked at Harrod’s in London, in the wine department, in the last ’70s and early ’80s. He worked in the food halls there. He studied winemaking, taking some classes at UC Davis and has taken viticulture courses at SRJC (Santa Rosa Junior College) and from Rich Thomas at UC Davis.

Then they taste the Copain Rosé. Barry Herbst says that Copain has been a small operation for a while. The wine is pretty dry, maybe only 4 grams of residual sugar, but it has some undertones of red fruit in the aftertaste.

Next they taste a wine that Dan has never tasted. Dan Barvick says it's the only white grape grown in that AVA, which turns out to be a Grenache Blanc, a Paradise Ridge 2017 bottling. It has stone fruit flavors, according to Dan Barvick. He find that its keen acidity is characteristic of the growing area. He only made about 150 cases. Dan says the acidity allows you to appreciate the profile of its minerality. It has only 13% alcohol and they say it would go with seafoods.

Dan Barvick says that July 2019 is their goal to reopen the winery. In the meantime he will be making wine in several other places.

Paradise Ridge makes many different varietals, maybe 20, says Dan Barvick. Dan Berger notes that it is the closest winery to Santa Rosa and that they could be there in 10 minutes.

He was born in Dover, England, and he says that chalky soil there is the same as the geologic formation in Champagne, so they are growing champagne grapes in Dover and Dan Berger says those sparkling wines are excellent.

Dan says that Paradise Ridge's Sauvignon Blanc is their best, but starting in about 2005 or 2006, something happened and their wines started winning competitions. He took 5 years to understand the vineyard and he thinks that the vineyards evolved and he improved as a winemaker, at the same time. Dan says the tannins are not aggressive but the acid is high enough so that you know that you can age the wine.

Tom Simoneau is in studio for California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today, and he has brought with him Jeff Mangahas and Mark Malpiede from Williams and Selyem Winery. Jeff Mangahas is the winemaker and Mark Malpiede is VP of Sales & Marketing.

Williams and Selyem is known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and some Zinfandel. They are located in Healdsburg. Today Jeff and Mark brought some wines that are to be released in September this year. The winery got started by Burt Williams and Ed Selyem in their garage in the late ‘70s, Fulton (the gateway to Windsor). Their wines got a lot of notoriety soon. It was called Hacienda del Rio. There was another winery called Hacienda which claimed the name, so they changed to the founders’ two last names. 1981 was the first commercial release. Dan says the Hacienda was actually the garage. As they taste a Zinfandel, Dan mentions that its good acidity and low pH are the keys to wine that will age well.

Dan has known their wines since 1986. He would buy them at Spear’s but only there, they weren’t on sale anywhere else. As he aged the wines he noticed that these Pinot Noirs matured very well and showed their terroir the most. Tom agrees that Pinot Noir has to be grown in a cool spot, good drainage, tiny crop, ideally. And Dan agrees that if you try to make too much, it’s no good.

Tom says, “Get on the list, I’m telling ya!”

Most of their grapes are grown in the Russian River Valley. They will taste some Russian River Valley Pinot (and also an Anderson Valley one). It’s an interesting AVA because there are so many microclimates and different kinds of soils. Tom notes that since they make such a small amount of wine, they can really keep the bottlings separate. Indeed, they make five different vineyard designated Pinot Noirs all from that area and they are all unique.

They only use one type of French oak barrel, and they use their own proprietary isolate of yeast. They also use the same type of tanks. So when you taste the differences in flavor profile, tannin and acid structure, you are tasting the vineyards’ differences, because everything else in the process is done in their same steady way.

Now they taste a 2016 Chardonnay from Russian River Valley. They make 6 single vineyard Chardonnays and one blended unoaked Chardonnay. Apart from Zinfandel, some of the first plantings in the Russian River Valley were Chardonnay, not yet Pinot Noir. This is a new wine, from rather young vines on the William Selyem Estate, on their property on West Side Road by the bank of the Russian River. It has very well-drained soils. The grapes have a very slow ripening process. But there are 20 different clones and selections of Chardonnay that are all interplanted in this field and they are all harvested at the same time. It’s all barrel fermented, with about 20% new oak. Dan says you don’t taste Montrachet from France that is this good and that this should age from 4 to 6 years. Jeff says that a lot of these clones, especially growing in the cool climate of the Russian River Valley have thick skins, which adds a texture to the wine that allows it to age and gives it a lot of structure. Dan fires off a Geek Alert as he notices it has good Leucoanthocyanidin, which is white wine tannin.

Barry Herbst notes that their property is a great visit. Jeff and Mark tell how you have to be on the list first, to be able to visit the property. There is a waiting list so if you enroll now, you’ll be on by the Fall. The tour is all built around hospitality in one of the most beautiful spots in the world, overlooking the Russian River Valley. The tour is 90 minutes and involves tastings and some special surprises. Their logo does not have “and” between the names but the full name does.

They taste a 2016 Ferrington Pinot Noir, from Anderson Valley.

Bill Arbios is today’s guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. He is the owner of Arbios Cellars and Praxis Cellars. Dan begins by telling how he and Bill met many years ago and have been friends ever since.

Bill Arbios was part of the first UC Davis wine graduating class in 1973. He has a lot of history with the Alexander Valley. He thought he wanted to become a veterinarian so he went to UC Davis. He found that it is very competitive and hard to get in. So he worked for a veterinarian and learned that vet clinics smell bad and he started looking for something else. He had never had a glass of wine and opened the UC Davis catalog and saw the first course offering in wine. This was 1973. He went through the program and got a job at a winery in Healdsburg. It has changed hands a few times but it is now Coppola. He remembers the 1970s when tour busses would go around for the Prune Blossom Tour. Now there are no more prune trees.

He started Arbios Cellars in 1993 so he could express what he wanted in wine, starting with 8 barrels. He was buying grapes from a friend of his on Pine Mountain. He got his barrels free from someone who was putting on a cooperage demonstration so he couldn't sell them but he gave them to him. He made a single vineyard Cabernet, under the Arbios brand. Then he felt the need to make more wine and founded Praxis. He buys grapes from friends and all he has to do is make the wine.

Today Bill Arbios makes wine from one end of Sonoma County to the other. The Pinot Noir comes from right on the edge of San Pablo Bay and the Cabernet comes from Pine Mountain which is the very norther edge of the county. He grows the fruit for Arbios.

They are tasting the Praxis Viogner 2017. Dan compares it to a baby Gewürtztraminer. Viogner can be very different. Bill believes in the Keep-It-Simple theory. All the wines are single vineyard, unblended and sustainably farmed. He has also brought in a 2015 Pinot Noir. This vineyard is next to the beach, at the north end of San Pablo Bay. Dan thinks this would go well with Sole Veronique, which is poached Sole with fresh grapes. Dan asks how he avoided bitterness in this wine. Bill says he was in the vineyard a lot and so he was able to get perfectly ripened fruit.

Barry says that Viogner can be hard to make. Dan notices an interesting dynamic. It has obviously been barrel aged but has no wood in the aftertaste. Bill says he learned from French winemakers of the Burgundian style. They said they only want the wine to “kiss” the barrel on its way to the bottle. Steve tastes great cherry flavors. Dan finds that it is a “really stylish effort.” He made about 800 cases. Dan notes that they do not produce a lot and are available mostly just in Sonoma County. Dan explains that it is not easy for a smaller brand like this to get national attention.

Next they taste a 2012 Lagrein. It is a very rare variety, from Italy, scarce even there. These tannins are pretty subtle and Dan finds it delicious. Lagrein comes from northeastern Italy. Steve asks Bill to talk about making this wine. Bill's wife is an archeaologist so they went to visit Ötzi the Iceman at his museum in Bolzano (a provincial capital city in the mountains of northeastern Italy). There he tasted a Lagrein and he loved it. It was aromatic and lovely and he decided he had to make it. Bill says that there are only 700 acres of it in all of Italy. Because of his enthusiasm, he immediately became the biggest Lagrein producer outside of Italy.

For people who are looking for an alternative to the usual grapes, this is a good example. Dan doesn’t think of it as a big wine to go with a steak, but this wine is great for easy drinking, even with popcorn.

Then they taste 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon from Pine Mountain up near Cloverdale, at 1600 feet above sea level.

Don Chigazola is back on California Wine Country this week, with more wines from Italy and with one of his suppliers, Loris Traverso. First, Don Chigazola introduces his friend and collaborator from Italy, Loris Traverso, whose family owns a winery, Vigna Traverso, in Campo di Pietra, between Treviso and Venezia, in the Veneto. Loris is visiting Don Chigazola, who imports Traverso wines.

Don Chigazola is based in Santa Rosa. He left the corporate world five years ago and now he travels the back roads of Italy looking for exceptional wines, which he imports back to California through his company, Chigazola Merchants. He sells directly to the consumer via his wine club, as well as to shops and restaurants in northern California.

The Traverso family has two properties, one called Ornella Molon, the other in the Friuli Colli Orientali district, (in northeastern Italy near Slovenia) which produces the Pinot Grigio that they are tasting today.

Dan says that Pinot Grigio has to be made in a cooler region for its aromatics to come out. This wine has a trace of fennel character in the aroma. The acidity is bracing and it would go with some seafood that is not particularly rich, grilled seafood. Loris would drink it as an aperitivo, with some prosciutto. You could also serve it with spaghetti and vongole (clams). Dan suggests this wine will be better in another year or two, not quite as fruity but the body will be richer.

They taste a Mouvedre called Pool Boy, which has a peculiar label. Then they taste a Red, called Schoippettino. There is some pepper flavor in it. The cold climate Syrah’s pepper flavors are also in the Mouvedre. Loris thinks of it as a nice summer wine, for easy consumption, very light. Next they taste a Rock Wall 2016 Malvasia Bianca, from Livermore Valley. Malvasia is a white wine variety that is fairly common in Italy. It’s sometimes used as a blending wine. It’s another great summer wine. About 30 years ago Malvasia was planted in Napa and they made a sweet wine out of it. They even distributed a recipe for Malvasia Cake. They don’t to that anymore.

Next they taste a very interesting red, from the Friuli regions, Colli Orientali, called Schioppettino. This is Loris’ family production. The winery is on the border with Slovenia. Schioppettino Ribolla Nera. During fermentation the wine made a popping sound. They changed the name to Schioppettino. They drink two of these. Dan thinks the 2010 isn’t going to get better but the 2013 might. The black pepper component is a characteristic of cold climate viticulture. Since 2011 there was an agreement among Prepotto producers that only they can call their wine Schioppettino di Prepotto. This could easily become a DOCG wine. Between the ’10 and the ’13, Dan has to prefer the ’13 because there is more explosive fruit. Last night they had barbequed hamburgers with the 2010 Schioppettino.

Dan points out something that is important to him. Last night he was at a tasting of 100-point wines that were almost all Cabernet Sauvignon. This made him reflect on the fact that there are so many other types of varieties and flavors and nobody has ever heard of it before. The familiar ones are fine, but people should take some risks and buy some wines that they haven’t heard of because there are so many wonderful discoveries to be made, outside of the most common wines.

In the last segment, Steve asks Don Chigazola to describe his import business. He says he wants to recreate the experience of tasting the small artisan Italian wines that he has when he travels. He found that a lot of the Italian varietals that we get here are from the big producers. He wanted to share the wines that he discovers with his customers.

Loris Traverso is visiting importers and distributors in the US. He tells that both sides of his family came from agricultural families who we...

Steve MacRostie from MacRostie Vineyards is back this week on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Barry Herbst is back from a trip to Portugal to visit the Cork Producer’s consortium there.

Steve MacRostie started at Hacienda Winery in the mid-1970s after studying at UC Davis. He was buying grapes and making wine from all over Sonoma County. He then started his own business, MacRostie Winery. It ended up being pretty successful. His first vintage was 1974. He met Dan Berger about two years later. Now he also has MacRostie Estate Ranch.

They talk about the MacRostie 2015 Russian River Chardonnay. They moved to the Russian River Valley in 2013 and built a new facility. In addition to their Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, they do some other bottlings, including this one. Steve says it’s an expression of some of the best grapes from the area. Dan tastes bright fruit, a little bit of grapefruit, some tropical notes. There is not very much oak. It’s very delicate, with a nice, big rich mouth feel and good acidity, all characteristics of Russian River Valley Chardonnays. It’s a top seller at retail.

Steve MacRostie describes the MacRostie Estate House, saying it is on a perfect location. Look at their website to see more pictures. It is southwest of Healdsburg, at 4605 West Side Road. It’s on a hilltop with a great view. Dan Berger says it’s one of the nicest views in all of wine country and the best part of a trip to Sonoma County. Steve remarks that it looks like Tuscany. It has a great view of the Russian River. It has 13 acres of Pinot Noir, named Thale’s Vineyard, after Steve’s wife of 36 years. They also make Rosé from that vineyard. They specialize in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and began making Rosé for fun. It was only in the last five years that Rosé has become so popular. Steve tells how the late Ben Pearson used to say that guys didn’t want to drink pink wine and that Rosé was known for being sweet. Dan explains that a lot of old Rosé production used the wrong grapes and was not produced the right way. They weren’t using enough cold fermentation, which preserves the fresh delightful flavors.

Next they taste a 2015 Wildcat Mountain Chardonnay. The vineyard is located technically in Carneros, on the western edge of that appellation. It is right next to the newly defined and approved Petaluma Gap appellation. It has volcanic soil, at about 700 ft. elevation. It’s a windy site, close to the bay, so it gets a lot of fog and it is in the Sonoma Coast appellation.

In contrast to the Russian River one just tasted, Dan notices nuances of barrel fermenation and lees contact, all the great flavors you want in a Chardonnay. The acid is so good that it is balance, which allows it to sustain a slightly higher alcohol content than usual for Chards, this is 14.8%.

This will be Steve MacRostie’s 45th vintage, he has been in the business since 1974. His tasting room is open and he suggests an appointment on www.vinovisit.com.

They used to have a tartan pattern on their label, but they have retired it now. His name is Scottish and his family has been in America for over 200 years. He and his label designer decided it was time to retire the tartan label in 2008.

He decided to work in the wine business after he was in the Army in Vicenza, Italy, during the time of the Vietnam War. He describes it as a great experience. He was a cryptographer, working on secret missle codes.

Barry opens a Barnard Griffin 2017 Rosé of Sangiovese, which has won numerous top awards. Dan says, put fresh raw cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced garlic, raw olive oil and fresh basil over hot pasta and serve it with this Rosé. This winery was making red wine and about 12 years ago he converted to rosé production. Dan says, serve it at about 60 degrees, instead of cold from the fridge. The winery is in Washington state.

Nick Goldschmidt of Goldschmidt Vineyards is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today, to talk about New Zealand wines and more. Dan Berger notes that New Zealand has made a great impression in the wine world in just the last couple of years. Several new vineyards and wineries there are producing wine that is as good as the wine make anywhere, especially of certain varieties that grow very well there.

Nick Goldschmidt has made wine in many places. He grew up in New Zealand, lived in Australia, then lived in Chile and Argentina and now lives in Healdsburg. He has four degrees, he started in Engineering then went into Organics and Biodynamics in ‘82, then in ’84 Viticulture in Australia then in ’86 he did post-grad enology. He came to California in 1990 and got a winemaker job at Simi. “They hired a Kiwi at Simi.” He was 28 years old at the time. His big break came in 1992 when they made him the still wine maker at Louis Vutton still wines. They had many winers around the world and that is what started him on his career. He left Constellation for the second time in 2011. In 2008 he went out on his own and he consults 26 wineries in 6 countries and they own wineries in 4 countries. He is also an inventor with patents in wine production technology.

Dan notes that this comes from the science background that a lot of winemakers have. Without that, it’s difficult to become a great winemaker. Dan remarks that there is great scientific literature about wine being published in many places, such as Bulgaria, where they produce a lot of grapes.

Today Nick Goldschmidt has brought some New Zealand and California wines. First they taste a Marborough Sauvignon Blanc, called Forefathers. When he started making wine in New Zealand, he wondered why go there to make all the same types as in other places. The vineyard is named Waxie (“wax-eye”) after the birds that are abundant there. Considering the export market, the British like Sauvignon Blanc that favors acidity and cut grass but most New Zealanders like his technique that brings out a little more floral aromas, not so austere, says Dan.

Another of his wines, Echo Bay, just won the sweepstakes award for best white wine in the entire show at Dan Berger’s International Wine Competition earlier today. There were 31 judges and 19 votes for this wine, while no other wine got more than 6. The results will be out in a couple days. They had 128 triple gold winners. Next week they will recap the winners.

90% of his consulting is outside of the US. He doesn’t stay in hotels, but stays with the client. He does not simply imprint the American way of winemaking. Instead, he looks for ways to make wine that is appropriate to the area. Steve remarks that it is a unique Sauvignon Blanc, which has to have that herbacious flavor, which is what makes Sauvignon Blanc. Dan says the wine should tell you its story.

Next they taste the 2016 Goldschmidt Chardonnay called Singing Tree. Nick says it’s hard to find the old Chardonnay vineyards since lots were pulled out due to phylloxera in the 1990s. He didn’t want to make a Chard that tasted like everyone else’s. It’s an old field selection, not a clone. It has low yield but it is on a sandy loam soil and phylloxera can’t grow there. It gives much more extremities of fruit flavors.

Dan likes the integration of acid with the subtle oak component that gives a sweeter aftertaste without any sugar at all. Dan thinks the fruit is so good that more than two or three years of aging would be too much.

Nick Goldschmidt is in California for the critical times of the year for local production but he also follows the southern hemisphere cycle. Nick has been working in Chile for thirty years and describes the wine culture there.

The third wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon called Katherine Goldschmidt,

Fred Cline from Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Wines is our guest today on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger.

They started out in Contra Costa County in Oakley, now they are in Sonoma County. Jacuzzi was opened in 2007. The two wineries are across the street from each other on Arnold Drive (Hwy 121) in Sonoma Co.

Fred Cline did go to UC Davis to study winemaking but he has been making wine since he was a child, with his grandfather Valeriano Jacuzzi. He made wines by open-top fermenter and hand press, then just kept it in barrels. It wasn’t great wine by today’s standards, it was sweet, and they drank it at home.

Dan Berger tells about their location in southern Sonoma County. When they acquired the property and founded the vineyard and winery, they were one of the first to plant a vineyard in that part of the county. Fred Cline says that Gloria Ferrer had planted some grapes there but they were next. Dan tells that it was farmland and there is a small airport. Now there are roughly ten wineries out in that area.

First they taste the Cline Chardonnay. It is fresh and very complex, considering the reasonable price. Dan says that you don’t want to age this more than three years. Fred says they didn’t start with Chardonnay but they have been making it for about 8 years. They make different kinds, this one was done in stainless steel which keeps it dry. They also make one under the Jacuzzi label, called Giuseppina after his grandmother. It is a little bit oakier. Both are from Sonoma Coast. Dan says that this particular Chardonnay has a very refined oak characteristic and the winemaker took it out of the oak before it got its hazelnut flavor. This is a wine to put away for three years. Steve says the finish is great, and lingers. Dan says it has great acidity but doesn’t show up as acid.

Then they will taste the 2017, called Skunk Works. The term is used in computer industry for an off-budget project. (It is also the name of the research experiments for nuclear bombs and it was also the informal name of the project that developed stealth aircraft.) It has some Crème Brulée and vanilla spice in the nose. It will be released about this time next year.

Dan asked how they came to do this project and Fred Cline says it’s part of their habit of trying new things. It is from Sonoma Coast. One of their two winemakers is from New Zealand and he wants to make different styled wines. Dan explains that in New Zealand over the last 3 or 4 years, this particular style of Chardonnay has been very popular. It “pushes the envelope” and gives the winemaker a lot of area to play. It’s like red wine, but with white grapes.

Next they taste a Rosé made with Zinfandel and a little bit of Primitivo. Dan explains that Primitivo is not, as is often thought, simply the European ancestor of Zinfandel, although it is about a 90% match. The Cline Rosé of Zinfandel is a delicate white wine. The aftertaste sticks with you. Steve says it tastes of roses. Dan picks up a trace of watermelon. It’s a 2017, brand new.

Fred Cline is glad to have his wine club subscribers who appreciate their experimental production. They also make olive oil, very good olive oil.

They are are in Southern Sonoma Valley, Hwy 121, near Sonoma Raceway. They used to have free tastings, but there were abuses, so they had to put a price on it to keep it under control. Dan acknowledges that it can be a problem. He noticed it also happened in upstate New York when the wineries started opened tasting rooms there.

Now they will try three other wines. First, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, from Petaluma Gap. A little rustic, earthy character, black cherries, a trace of plum then wonderful fruit in the mid-palette. Dan wouldn't age it much but would decant it for about 2 hours. For less than $20 a bottle it's "ridiculous" says Dan.