"The Good Stuff"

In this episode of "The Good Stuff" presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk with Amy Gutierrez, award-winning broadcaster and author, about wine, baseball, and enjoying the Good Stuff! Amy G recently helped Sonoma County Winegrowers tell the stories of Sonoma County grape growers to Giants fans and Karissa shares some exciting news about the future of this relationship. Amy G talks about how many feel intimidated about baseball and think if they don’t know everything about the sport, they can’t fully engage in the enjoyment of the game. The same could be said about casual wine drinkers. But Amy G sees a connection between these fans of baseball and wine, and wants everyone to feel comfortable, regardless of expertise. She also talks about her podcast Girl, How’d You Get That Gig? And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks.

In this episode of "The Good Stuff" presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk with Samantha Cole-Johnson, Senior Editor US for Jancis Robinson. Sam shares her path to becoming a wine writer. She has a insatiable curiosity and loves to learn everything there is to know about the wine industry. She spent multiple seasons taking part in harvest, and finds that there is so much more insight when you start from the beginning of a grow and stay all the way through harvest. Sam loves to share the stories of growers, winemakers, and producers. Sam and Virginie compare notes on what it is like to judge wines. And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks.

In this episode of "The Good Stuff" presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk with Jenny Hemmer, Executive Director of Guild Somm and Sommelier and Wine Educator Rachel Thralls with Sonoma County Winegrowers. How do somms learn about wines and wine regions? This show dives into the education and outreach, facilitated by organizations like Sonoma County Winegrowers and Guild Somm, that helps sommeliers become familiar with our region. There are special programs like Top Somm, Master Classes, and Sip & Learn that all offer interesting ways to taste wines and get the sense of place for Sonoma County. And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks.

In this episode of "The Good Stuff" presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk with Mark Hanson, co-founder and CEO of Bricoleur Vineyards, and his Executive Chef, Thomas Bellec. Mark Hanson decided to become a family farmer and winegrower after a successful career as an entrepreneurial software and private equity executive in the Bay Area. With Bricoleur, Mark knew he wanted to focus on the experience of wine and food together, and so he brought in Chef Thomas Bellec to highlight seasonal foods from the garden, paired with delicious wines. Chef Bellec’s experience spanning nearly 2 decades with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts prepared him for this role at Bricoleur Vineyards. Chef Bellec starts with the wine and through tasting the wine, he develops pairings and menus. And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks.

In this episode of "The Good Stuff" presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk with Honore Comfort, Head of International Marketing for the Wine Institute. Karissa and Virginie talk with Honore about how they met and bonded over their roles in the wine industry, especially in terms of making a commitment to sustainability and how to achieve those goals. Honore served as executive director of Sonoma County Vintners previously, and also grows and makes her own wine, with a focus on unique Italian varietals. As Sonoma County and California wines in general become more and more recognized for quality and innovation, Honore forges ahead to share our strengths with other wine regions and wine connoisseurs around the world. And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks.

In this episode of "The Good Stuff" presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk with guests from St. Francis Winery and Vineyards. Chris Louton is one of the winemakers, and Jake Terrell is the Director of Vineyards at St. Francis. Chris talks about the movement to highlight Merlot along with a fun event in October meant to increase enjoyment of the varietal: #MerlotMe! Jake talks about the massive undertaking of replanting the vineyards and what it takes to manage vineyards at St. Francis. And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks.

In this episode of "The Good Stuff" presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk with Duff Bevill of Bevill Vineyard Management. Known as the Godfather of Sustainability, Duff shares the journey that brought him to Dry Creek and Healdsburg and how the landscape has evolved over the years. Duff talks about the efforts to create the Sonoma County Winegrowers marketing association and how vital it was to get everyone on board and unified in a shared vision. Karissa talks about her meetings with Duff and his uncanny resemblance to members of the band ZZ Top. Virginie asks Duff to pair wines with his favorite race cars. And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks.

In this episode of "The Good Stuff" presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk with guests from J Vineyards and Winery. This show explores sparkling wine and the nuances of harvesting grapes for sparkling wine. Our guests are Nicole Hitchcock, Winemaker at J Vineyards and Caroline Shaw, Senior Director of Marketing at Communications at E&J Gallo Winery. Besides talking bubbly, Nicole and Caroline share the details of an initiative to broaden the cultural reach of their wine and food pairing options at J Vineyards and Winery’s Bubble Room: Shifting the Lens. Guest chefs of various, diverse backgrounds come in to develop tasting menus paired with J wines, playing with new flavors and sharing their stories. And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks (we’re thinking BUBBLES!)

Welcome to a new Podcast, "The Good Stuff" with host Virginie Boone and co-host Karissa Kruse. On this first episode Virginie and Karissa discuss the why its import to always drink "The Good Stuff" in life and then speak about Sonoma County Winegrowers recent partnership with the San Francisco Giants at thier Cloud Club suite. Guests John and Diane Bucher join to speak to their Cloud Club experience and Master Sommelier for the Giants, Evan Goldstein joins to give his perspective on wine and baseball along with a few ballpark food pairings.