The guys head into the eastern hills of Napa’s Oakville District. Second generation winemaker Maya Dalla Valle let Brian, Sam and John behind the curtains of her family’s esteemed Dalla Valle Vineyards estate, where there are no public tastings and there’s a waiting list to get the wines. Maya talks about growing up in Napa, the legend of her namesake wine and her path back to the family business. The wines are fantastic and corgi content is top-notch! [EP227]

I don’t think there’s another guest I quite so enjoy having on the show than Bob Cabral. Back in the days of “Heard it through the Grapevine” Radio show on KSVY I had Bob as a regular guest. And he or Three Sticks have been on The Wine Makers podcast several times. He’s just that much fun to talk with. Talk about somebody with a clear definition of what life should be like, Bob’s own line Bob Cabral Wines is a beautiful and complete full circle. He set out to achieve this and he is doing so. Beautiful Bob, thanks for being our guest again. Cheers [EP226]

This week we sit down with “TJ” from Ownroot Collective, a wine club that shines a light on small producers, most of which have other jobs that support their passion. Terra showcases two wine makers each month and offers their wines to her subscribers. Then they do a Zoom where they are able to meet the wine maker and ask questions. This is a very unique business model and the wines are carefully selected, each bottle we tried was amazing. Our friend Ben Larks from Idle Cellars, a small wine maker with multiple jobs, sits in with us and opens up his portfolio of wines and humor. This was a very fun show.

@ownrootcollective

ownrootcollective.com

@idlecellars

idlecellars.com

This week Kimberly T. Johnson from Philosophy Winery & Vineyard located in Baltimore City Maryland joins us on the podcast. Kimberly, winemaker started Philosophy wines along with her friend and partner Sommelier Denise Roles Matthews in 2018. Working in the Maryland wine industry for over a decade, in many capacities she discovered that wine was her passion. She had finally found her purpose, exploring distinct agriculture (land & soil) and producing high quality wine that highlights diverse grape varietals as unique as Maryland itself. Kimberly and Bart met through “The Roots Fund” an organization which was created to invest in communities of color to provide opportunities to those seeking a career and education in all aspects of wine. The rest of the story is best told on the podcast.[EP224]

www.philosophywinery.com

@philosophywinery

www.therootsfund.org

@rootsfund

Rebekah’s passion for winemaking began when she visited Napa Valley with her parents at just 16, being from Washington DC she didn’t grow up around wineries but that trip and a friend of her fathers explaining winemaking and wine tasting to Rebekah piqued her interest. The discussions from that visit left such a lasting impression that she went on to pursue a dual degree in chemistry and biology at Macalester college with the dream of becoming a winemaker. When she started gaining practical experience in the wine-growing regions of California, Oregon, Italy, and New Zealand, her path started to come into view. This week’s show is best told by her, check it out the wines are awesome.. [EP223]

www.postandvine.com

Pushing 80 degrees on a February day at the tasting house wondering if we’re just plunging headlong into Summer.  Good lord!  Jasmine Egan joins Sam, Bart, Brian and John for a Spring Release Dane Cellars party and they cover all thing wine for you organic listeners. Enjoy  [EP222]

Viticulturist Jake Neustadt is a bay area native who was attending UC Davis, studying journalism and international relations. Like other stories that we have heard he discovered viticulture and winemaking and how that maybe this was to be his career path. Starting at Rock Wall Winery, some time in New Zealand and then to Ridge winery where he dove deep into old vines. But it’s his time at Bedrock that has brought him to the podcast. What likely started out as a conversation about the Old Vine Palomino that grew at the Evangelho vineyard has become Soleras Del Pacifico. Flor-aged wines made from California’s ancient Palomino vines. Ready for a bit of education about Sherry? Check it out. [EP 221]

www.solerasdelpacifico.com

@SolerasDelPacifico

Randy Hester, creator of the Lightning wine brand, has taken over Austin Texas by storm. With his family name carried on with the C.L. Butaud line and Frenchy’s Rose, Randy and Brooke made the leap from Sonoma to Austin and did it right.  100% Texas wines is obviously a Really good thing in Austin and Randy tells all of the stories on this week’s show.  We sampled lots of great wines and heard and told lots of  old friend stories.  Enjoy.

clbutaud.com

Facebook @clbutaud

Instagram @clbutaud

Randy’s IG @elrandin

Delmas/SJR Vineyard had a problem. It’s a prime Syrah vineyard in the The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA in Walla Walla Valley but extreme winter temperatures were wreaking havoc on the vines and threatening the viability of the vineyard. Rather than keep doing what everyone else did, Brooke Delmas Roberts came up with a radical new way of pruning and training the vines-MHT or Mini Head Trained vines were born. Hear all about their vineyard, their wines and this premier OREGON appellation. [EP 219]

Lyle Fass is devoted to wine and sneakers. He’s devoted, emotionally, scientifically and financially. His devotion would verge on manic if he wasn’t so good at it. Never one to shy away from a story or an opinion, Lyle joins the Wine Makers via Zoom from Manhattan and breaks down, what he looks for in wine, how he finds and how he sells and tells us what he really thinks about natural wine…and Nikes. [EP 218]