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 vineyards and winemaking. 2021 was our first year of full production and the complicated path of producing our Riesling felt like a story we could share on the podcast. Our conversation covers Ben’s telling of building Terratorium, the desire to make a Riesling, Tondre Grapefield in Santa Lucia Highlands, and the many obstacles and discussions we had in order to create our desired style of Riesling. We talk through every step of the winemaking, including all of the chemistries, during this discussion.

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 designated wines before planting vines, how little analytical data plays into his winemaking, the stainless Chardonnay brand Diatom, and Syrah for Ex Post Facto.

• Brewer-Clifton - Santa Rita Hills

• Diatom Chardonnay - Santa Barbara County

• Ex Post Facto - Santa Barbara County

   

This podcast is sponsored by Flextank For nearly 20 years, winemakers in the United States and Europe have used Flextanks to make world-class wines. Flextanks have many uses in a winery including the maturation of wines. They breathe like a barrel with precise and consistent linear micro-oxygenation to your wines. The Flextank system uses its proprietary Flexstaves line of staves which are sourced from premier French and American cooperages to age both red and white wines.

Today’s technologies are playing a bigger and bigger role in wineries these days. Flextanks have a long track record of replacing traditional wood oak barrels with a revolutionary breathable polymer that is scientifically engineered to achieve Oxygen Transfer Rates similar to your choice of either a 2-year or neutral barrel. Independent scientific studies and trials have validated this technology. Unlike a barrel, however, the molecules you want to retain- like ethanol and water- do not escape the Flextank wall, which means these tanks do not lose the Angel’s share as with barrels…this means less topping is needed.

Not only do Flextanks breathe like a barrel, but they are also unbelievably simple to clean- reducing water and labor costs- and are designed in a variety of sizes and profiles to make more efficient space use in any cellar. Flextanks are built here in the United States and come with a free lifetime warranty.

To learn more about how you can modernize your winery and lower your barreling costs, simply go to Flextank.com. Discover how the Flextank system with Flexstaves is today’s new way to make award-winning wines.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

Now on Spotify

And Stitcher Radio Too

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 Noir and Chardonnay

• BACA - Zinfandel

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 into the modern era. InnoVint was founded and built by winemakers, so they know where your pain points are.

No matter the size of your winery, InnoVint provides you with instant access to your production records in n the format you need to make quick, informed decisions. Basically, they take the tedious data management stuff off your plate.

With a desktop and mobile platform, the insights you need are just a few clicks away (even if you’re offline!). Make the right calls at the right time. InnoVint is an approachable solution focused on exactly what winemaking teams need.

Automate your TTB compliance. Know the true cost of each wine. Improve your cellar workflow, and be more effective than ever before!

Join the 4,500 winery professionals saving up to 30 hours per week. Schedule a call today on InnoVint.us and don’t forget to mention the Inside Winemaking Podcast.

Innovint has a special deal for Inside Winemaking listeners and they are offering to provide lunch when you complete a demo of their software with a team member and mention the podcast.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

Now on Spotify

And Stitcher Radio Too

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 September 2022 heatwave, extraction dynamics during primary fermentation, the pros and cons of shade cloth in the vineyard, and the limits grapevine virus and diseases have on phenolic synthesis.

• Link to this podcast episode (too large to host on this webpage)

• WineXRay

• Vineyard Shade Cloth Study from Kaan Kurtural of UCDavis

   

This podcast is sponsored by Sentia. The Sentia hand-held wine analyzer is a portable device for rapid measurement of 6 key analytes during wine production - free sulfur dioxide, acetic acid, malic acid, titratable acidity, glucose, and fructose.

Using existing technology developed by Universal Biosensors and applied in human health for over 10 years, you save time and money with Sentia. Sentia has been developed for winery personnel who don’t want to spend hours testing using traditional techniques or waste time preparing samples, sending them off to a lab, and then waiting for results. In less time, you can test, make adjustments, then move on to the next task.

Portability and speed of results are just some of the unique attributes of Sentia. No special skill is required, calibration is automatic, there are minimal or no reagents and it’s cost-effective. PLUS, it’s compatible with major winery management software platforms. Sentia is distributed nationally, as well in Canada, Mexico, South America, and Europe.

For a demonstration, quote, and sales in your area, go to universalbiosensors.com/sentia or look for “Sentia wine analyzer” in your browser. In North America, you can also call Pelle Nilsson at 503 801-1694.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

Now on Spotify

And Stitcher Radio Too

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.

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.

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 one secret to success. salinity in white wines, saliva drivers, and his endeavors with Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon blanc.

• Massican Wines

• Larkmead Vineyards

   

This podcast is sponsored by Flextank For nearly 20 years, winemakers in the United States and Europe have used Flextanks to make world-class wines. Flextanks have many uses in a winery including the maturation of wines. They breathe like a barrel with precise and consistent linear micro-oxygenation to your wines. The Flextank system uses its proprietary Flexstaves line of staves which are sourced from premier French and American cooperages to age both red and white wines.

Today’s technologies are playing a bigger and bigger role in wineries these days. Flextanks have a long track record of replacing traditional wood oak barrels with a revolutionary breathable polymer that is scientifically engineered to achieve Oxygen Transfer Rates similar to your choice of either a 2-year or neutral barrel. Independent scientific studies and trials have validated this technology. Unlike a barrel, however, the molecules you want to retain- like ethanol and water- do not escape the Flextank wall, which means these tanks do not lose the Angel’s share as with barrels…this means less topping is needed.

Not only do Flextanks breathe like a barrel, but they are also unbelievably simple to clean- reducing water and labor costs- and are designed in a variety of sizes and profiles to make more efficient space use in any cellar. Flextanks are built here in the United States and come with a free lifetime warranty.

To learn more about how you can modernize your winery and lower your barreling costs, simply go to Flextank.com. Discover how the Flextank system with Flexstaves is today’s new way to make award-winning wines.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

Now on Spotify

And Stitcher Radio Too

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 hello to InnoVint, it’s winemaking software to get you off of spreadsheets and into the modern era. InnoVint was founded and built by winemakers, so they know where your pain points are.

No matter the size of your winery, InnoVint provides you with instant access to your production records in n the format you need to make quick, informed decisions. Basically, they take the tedious data management stuff off your plate.

With a desktop and mobile platform, the insights you need are just a few clicks away (even if you’re offline!). Make the right calls at the right time. InnoVint is an approachable solution focused on exactly what winemaking teams need.

Automate your TTB compliance. Know the true cost of each wine. Improve your cellar workflow, and be more effective than ever before!

Join the 4,500 winery professionals saving up to 30 hours per week. Schedule a call today on InnoVint.us and don’t forget to mention the Inside Winemaking Podcast.

Innovint has a special deal for Inside Winemaking listeners and they are offering to provide lunch when you complete a demo of their software with a team member and mention the podcast.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

Now on Spotify

And Stitcher Radio Too

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.

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 into the modern era. InnoVint was founded and built by winemakers, so they know where your pain points are.

No matter the size of your winery, InnoVint provides you with instant access to your production records in n the format you need to make quick, informed decisions. Basically, they take the tedious data management stuff off your plate.

With a desktop and mobile platform, the insights you need are just a few clicks away (even if you’re offline!). Make the right calls at the right time. InnoVint is an approachable solution focused on exactly what winemaking teams need.

Automate your TTB compliance. Know the true cost of each wine. Improve your cellar workflow, and be more effective than ever before!

Join the 4,500 winery professionals saving up to 30 hours per week. Schedule a call today on InnoVint.us and don’t forget to mention the Inside Winemaking Podcast.

Innovint has a special deal for Inside Winemaking listeners and they are offering to provide lunch when you complete a demo of their software with a team member and mention the podcast.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

Now on Spotify

And Stitcher Radio Too