The Vine Guy

At the tender age of 10, Erica Stancliff demonstrated the skills that would later define her career as a winemaker and enologist. Now, with 16 harvests under her belt, Erica has been described by Press Democrat as a “young Sonoma County winemaker turning heads” and featured in renowned publications, such as Wine Enthusiast, Forbes, San Francisco Chronicle, Robb Report, Martha Stewart, and more. Currently, she consults for five unique wine brands, including her family’s winery, Trombetta Family Wines, where since 2014, Erica has helped her family’s winery expand from 500 cases of a single Pinot Noir a year to a broad portfolio of 1200+ cases of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I invite you to drink in this episode with the charming and talented Erica Stancliff.

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Paul Sloan, co-owner and winemaker at Small Vines, started his journey in wine as a bus-boy in high school. He eventually worked his way up to the assistant wine buyer position at John Ash and Company. As a very young wine steward, he was given many opportunities to taste both California classic wines as well as wines from all over the world. One night, his life would change forever when a person dining alone offered him a taste of a very rare Burgundy. This ethereal experience sent him on a quest for more knowledge and forever fueled his drive to make captivating wines. He launched into self-study, and soon discovered that some of the greatest Pinot Noirs in the world come from mature, small vines.

Paul eventually returned to college to get his Viticulture degree, and simultaneously went to work for one of the most respected winegrowers in the county, Warren Dutton of Dutton Ranches. It was Warren himself, who encouraged Paul to follow his innovative, pioneering spirit and to start planting vineyards his own way, so Paul and his wife Kathryn launched Small Vines.

Today, Paul and Kathryn are dedicated to achieving smaller yields from higher-density European style spacing of the vines in order to grow only the highest-quality wine grapes. They have worked hard to consistently grow grapes and produce inspiring “wines of authenticity.” I invite you to drink in this very educational episode with the dedicated Paul Sloan.

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Food & Wine Magazine Executive Editor Ray Isle says, “You could probably spend your entire life drinking wines under $100 and probably under $50 and drink spectacularly good wine for years and years and never run out,” and he has just written the book to prove it!

Ray Isle is the executive wine editor for Food & Wine and the wine and spirits editor for Travel + Leisure. He writes the monthly “What to Drink Next” column as well as regular feature articles for both publications. His new book, The World in a Wineglass: The Insider's Guide to Artisanal, Sustainable, Extraordinary Wines to Drink Now was recently released and is a must read for both serious wine collectors and novices alike. I invite you to drink in this fun-filled episode with the delightful Ray Isle.

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While working for his family's real estate and parking business in DC in the late 80s, Alex Gambal received a life-changing case of wine as a gift. It wasn’t just wine that was uncorked, but opportunity. In 1993, he and his family moved to France. Gambal founded and grew Domaine Alex Gambal, a boutique winery that included some of France's greatest vineyards. As an American in Burgundy, Gambal overcame skepticism from his fellow vignerons and eventually bought some of the most coveted French vines. Today, he spends his time between Idaho and Wyoming in the Teton mountains, where he is a ski host at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, an avid hiker and a grandfather. He is as passionate about wine as he is about community development. He is also the benefactor and chairman of the Diana “Dee” Williams Freestyle Fund, a charitable foundation to benefit the development and advancement of promising mogul skiers to the Olympic and World Cup level.

I invite you to drink in this informative episode with the energetic Alex Gambal.

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Monique Soltani is an award-winning journalist who has spent the majority of her life working in newsrooms in California's major cities from San Francisco to San Diego, and everywhere in between and through Wine Oh! TV, she has developed a core connection with the wine country community. Monique first brought Wine Oh! to life in 2008, in over 1.5 million homes across California’s Central Valley once a week on KSEE 24. From 2013 - 2018, Monique formed and executed distribution deals for Wine Oh! TV with Comcast/NBCUniversal, Xumo, TV4, streaming on Hulu, Roku, Amazon Prime Video and international distribution. As if that wasn’t enough, during that same period of time, she gave birth to twin daughters.

In 2018, Monique was shooting a production of Wine Oh! TV in Italy when she got the phone call no ever wants to get. Her husband was alone with their 2-and-a-half-year old twins when he found out he had Stage IV incurable colon cancer. Monique stopped production and came home to take care of her family. Mark Erman passed in July 2019 at only 47 years old. Then the pandemic hit and added more challenges for Monique and her young daughters, but her resolve was unwavering. The 2022 season of Wine Oh! TV is Monique’s first post-pandemic production and the first since losing Mark. In June 2023, Wine Oh! TV debuted on broadcast television on CBS Bay Area.

I invite you to drink in this uplifting episode with the unsinkable Monique Soltani. 

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Famed winemaker Jean-Nicolas Méo (of Domaine Méo-Camuzet in Burgundy, France) and legendary co-founder of IRS Records (think Police, REM, The Go-Go’s, etc.) Jay Boberg met serendipitously at a party in Philadelphia over 25 years ago. Their friendship has led to a remarkable collaboration in Willamette Valley, Oregon—where they make outstanding wines that, “we like to drink.” I invite you to drink in this extended episode with Jean-Nicolas Méo and Jay Boberg of Nicolas-Jay Wines. It will be “music to your ears…”

Wines tasted in this episode:

2018 Nicolas-Jay Affinités Chardonnay

2017 Nicolas-Jay Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

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Michael Kennedy created the Vin Fraîche Wine Group in 2018, after launching three distinct wineries in Napa Valley, Bordeaux and Oregon. In 2020 an additional winery was acquired to the group in Tuscany, Italy. Kennedy's drive to create wines of freshness, vibrancy and life has created a thread of commonality in the wines throughout the brands. His passion for wines that are complex, long lived and built for food has driven him to assemble a team of winemakers and friends that help create wines of substance. He has been called a “Rising Star” by Food & Wine Magazine, “Super-Somm” by Bloomberg’s Elin McCoy and a “Top Young Entrepreneur in America” by Business Insider. He splits his time between Napa Valley, Bordeaux, Tuscany and his hometown, St. Louis. He and his wife Rachel have two sons, and one more on the way. Drink in this delightful episode with the refreshing Michael Kennedy.

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Gustavo’s love for wine runs deep into his childhood. He grew up in California’s Central Valley, surrounded by family with longstanding ties to agricultural business who instilled in him a love of the land and an appreciation for wine. He spent his summers in orchards, vineyards, cotton fields, tomato fields and canneries, but he never intended to be a farmer, much less a winemaker. His dreams were filled with airplanes and rockets and cars. But one day he found a bottle from Robert Mondavi Winery that his father had put away. After reading the mission statement on the back label, his trajectory changed and led to 17 years at Mondavi, where he earned the title of head red winemaker. In 2009, Gustavo established Mira as one of the top producers of small production, single-vineyard wines in Napa Valley—including fruit from premier vineyard sites such as Hyde Vineyard in Carneros and Schweizer Vineyard in the heart of the Stags Leap District. Drink in this episode with the fascinating Gustavo Gonzalez.

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One day, entrepreneur David Kong asked himself, “What good is glassware if it never gets used?” That question inspired David to leave his job at a hedge fund and develop his own brand of hand-blown glassware designed for regular use. Glasvin was born! Working directly with the factory, Glasvin is able to offer wine lovers the unparalleled sophistication of hand-blown glassware at a mainstream price. Glasvin’s pieces are designed to be effortlessly lightweight yet durable and dishwasher-safe. Each style in the collection is designed to promote an uncompromising sensory and wine-drinking experience. Today, Glasvin is the glassware of choice at many of the top restaurants in the U.S., including 14 Michelin Star restaurants. it is also the stem of choice for Christie’s Wine Auction. I invite you to drink in this episode with David Kong.

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Mike Reynolds began his career at Hall Wines as winemaker and general manager during the infancy of the winery, and was later promoted to president. Since 2002, Reynolds has overseen development of the HALL, WALT and BACA businesses—including production, vineyards, operations and construction. Mike also leads the vineyard acquisition program for Kathryn and Craig Hall. They now own close to 500 acres of premier vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Santa Barbara counties. Mike holds an master's in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor's in fermentation science from the University of California, Davis. In addition, Mike is a board member for the California Wine Institute, a member of the Young Presidents Organization, and vice president at Napa Little League—where he also manages a team!

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