Podcast

Amanda Greenbaum is the Wine Proprietor at Aja Vineyards in Malibu, California.

We Talk About:

-The history of wine in Malibu, California and the AVA established in 2014

-The history of the vineyard, her family, the grapes, and more

-How she got into wine at a young age

-The Aja wine offerings

-What's next for the brand

-Her thoughts on food and wine pairings

-How to buy the wines

https://www.ajavineyards.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Rad-Cocktails-Amanda-Greenbaum/dp/1649904444

Andrew Jones is the winemaker and founder at Field Recordings

We Talk About:

-Graduating from Cal Poly and going into farming

-The Field Recordings style, how he sources, what happens in the cellar, and more

-The three most important times for winemaking

-Why the root stock is so important

-His thoughts on decanting and temperature

-What's next for the brand

https://fieldrecordingswine.com/about

https://fieldrecordingswine.vinespring.site/purchase

Greg McBeth is the co-founder of Melier. Experience the best of wine country. Anywhere. Anytime.

We Talk About:

-Tech background and what he did before wine

-His first trip to Santa Barbara wine country

-The goal of Melier and value for consumers and wineries

-Upcoming opportunities to get involved

https://melier.com/

https://www.instagram.com/joinmelier/

Joe Nielsen is the winemaker at Rams Gate Winery.

We Talk About:

-His background, graduated from Michigan State with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture. 

-Reading books on French viticulture and planted his first vineyard in his family's backyard using French hybrid grapes.

-Moving to California for internship at Merryvale Vineyards, and later became assistant winemaker at Donelan in 2008.

-Earned his Executive Wine MBA from Sonoma State University.

-The site: perched upon the rolling hills that define the landscape of the Carneros AVA, where the San Francisco Bay meets the edges of Napa and Sonoma counties, lies Ram’s Gate Winery. As it nears the end of its first decade, Ram’s Gate is entering a heightened era of wine making excellence.

-How he views vineyard management and work in the cellar

-We talk through the 2018 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uew7M4RE28U

https://ramsgatewinery.com/

Chris Boyd is the founder of Monday, a beverage startup starting with alcohol free gin as their first product.

We Talk About:

-How the company got started and launched on Kickstarter

-Raising money with Republic and how it works

-Link to invest: https://republic.co/drink-monday?utm_source=drink_monday&utm_campaign=issuer_ref

-What it's been like using Republic to get fans and brand ambassadors

-The cultural shift to a more healthy lifestyle

-The design, labeling, ingredients, and more

-What's next for Monday? Hint: There's a Whiskey in the works!

-And much more

https://drinkmonday.co/products/monday-gin

Scott Rich is the winemaker at Moraga Vineyards in Los Angeles.

We Talk About:

-His background and how he got into wine, Tony Soter, Etude, and more.

-How he came to Moraga.

-The history of the property, academy award winning director Victor Fleming and then Tom Jones, who planted vineyard in 1978.

The first wine, the Moraga Red Table Wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, winemaker Bruno D'Alfonso and later Mia Klein.

-His wine making philosophy, vineyard management, and more.

-We taste through both the white and red wines.

https://www.moragabelair.com/

Seth O'Malley is the Founding Distiller at Wilderton, which makes non-alcoholic spirits from raw botanicals.

We Talk About:

https://wildertonfree.com/

https://wildertonfree.com/collections/shop

Allison Wilson is the Director of Vineyard Operations at Cliff Lede Vineyards

We Talk About:

-Her introduction to grape growing was through harvest celebrations and weekend visits to her great uncle’s nearby Livermore Valley vineyard

-Cal Poly and majoring in Fruit Science major in 2012

-Working for Renteria Vineyard Management

-Napa Valley Grapegrowers

-Her role in farming and development of Cliff Lede’s three estate vineyards, working closely with the winemaking team

-Also acting as a liaison between grower partners and winemakers to insure best vineyard practices. 

-Her views on farming, best practices, pest control, and more.

-The Lede Family Wines, including Cliff Lede Vineyards, FEL Wines, and their small luxury hotel, the Poetry Inn.

-We go through the , 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District, and 2018 Rock Block Cabernet Sauvignon “Magic Nights”

https://cliffledevineyards.com/wines/

Erica Stancliff is the winemaker at Pfendler Vineyards

We Talk About:

-Growing up in Russian River Valley.

-Working with Paul Hobbs.

-Why she chose school at Fresno for the Enology program.

-Her internship at Viña Cobos, working with Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc.

-Returning to Napa to work at Rudd

-Her role as President of the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance

-How she met Kimberly Pfendler and the history of the vineyard

-We taste through the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, talking about her philosophy on oak and picking decisions

http://pfendlervineyards.com/

Brandon Sparks-Gillis is the winemaker and co-founder of Dragonette Cellars.

We Talk About:

-How Dragonette unofficially started in 2003 with 25 cases of Syrah

-How Brandon met John Dragonette at Wally's

-His background in Geology

-We talk about Santa Barbara County as a wine region

-The wines of Dragonette and style they're going for

-His experience in the Master of Wine program and much more

https://dragonettecellars.com/

https://store.dragonettecellars.com/store