Wine Soundtrack - USA

GRO Wines is the brand of seasoned winemakers Lars Bjorkman and Molly Hill. GRO means ‘to germinate’ in Swedish. The brand ties Lars’ Swedish influence about site—picking blueberries, mushrooms and crayfish from the area his family founded in Sweden had a huge impact on his formative years and how he understood site—to Lars’ knowledge about Napa Valley terroir. Being winemakers, Lars and Molly pull fruit from the best ‘insider’ sites, mini archipelagos within the larger Napa Valley appellation. All wines are from single vineyard locations.Lars is the long-time associate winemaker for Saddleback Cellars and the winemaker for Casa Nuestra, in addition to having several other projects around the valley. Lars grew up in Fresno, in the heart of central valley agriculture. He graduated with a degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis.
Molly is the long-time winemaker for Sequoia Grove Winery. As a fourth generation Californian, her family has long agriculture ties to the area and she grew up in Summerland, California, surrounded by avocados and lemons. Also a graduate of UC Davis’ program of Viticulture and Enology, she and Lars raise their two children in their mid-century home in Calistoga, California.

The idea to create Nenow Family Wines came about in mid-2014 after Mike and Tracie Roesbery welcomed their second child into the world. They were sitting in the hospital room with Tracie’s younger brother, Drew Nenow, chatting about their dreams for the future and enjoying time with the newest member of the family. A love of wine runs deep in this family and the conversation shifted to talking about the possibility of one day coming together and starting their own label.
Through the support from many family members, countless brainstorming sessions and a ton of hard work, in 2017 the family purchased their first grapes. Through Nenow Family Wines, the Roesberys and the Nenows have a desire to create a legacy for their families and to always remain committed to produce unique wine based on quality, care and love – which is what you will experience with each bottle you enjoy.
The business model is simple. Do what they love and make really good wine!
The family is committed to sourcing from vineyards that are dedicated to farming their grapes with quality and care, rather than quantity. From there, winemaker Drew Nenow focuses on using the truth of the fruit to create a wine they are proud of!
In the Fall of 2020, they opened Nenow Family Wines Tasting Room located along Paso Robles’ Westside Peachy Canyon Wine Trail, which features a charming, laid back outdoor setting surrounded by rolling hillside vineyards. The tasting room offers guests a firsthand opportunity to sample and purchase wines from the Nenow Family Wines’ portfolio of limited production, thoughtfully sourced Rhone-style wines from Paso Robles and Santa Barbara County.
Most recently, they released their inaugural 2020 Rosé of Grenache made in a Provencal style and sourced from Paso’s Adelaida District.

Founding winemaker Delia Viader, PhD. applies a unique approach to grape growing and wine making, challenging new world conventions while honoring old world traditions; resulting in a highly sought after and coveted cult wine – their flagship Viader Proprietary Red Blend. Delia forged the vision for this hillside estate vineyard and exceptional wine blend in 1986.Today Viader Vineyards is a thriving multi-generational family business as son Alan continues to produce world-class wines from their magnificent, mature estate vineyard on Howell Mountain. For an elevated yet welcoming level of hospitality.
Born in Argentina, proprietor Delia Viader spent much of her formative years in Europe and especially in France. Delia came to the United States as a post-graduate student and holds a doctorate in Philosophy from the Sorbonne University in Paris, France and pursued advanced business Studies at three American universities: MIT, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.
After MIT, she moved to California and continued business school at the University of California Berkeley. During her studies, she realized the opportunities in the United States for both starting a career and raising children in a healthy environment.
Recognizing the potential of the up and coming wine region nearby, Delia soon set her sights on purchasing land in the Napa Valley and subsequently plunged into the wine business in the early 1980s. With an initial loan from her father, Engr. Walter Viader, she acquired their Howell Mountain property and set out to create a world class wine estate. Delia continued learning about winemaking through programs in Enology and Viticulture offered at University of California, Davis to better learn the practical theory behind making fine wine. All while raising four children on her own, Delia forged the vision and design for this unique estate vineyard property, wine blend and brand. Delia’s story illustrates the importance of education and understanding coupled with following one’s instincts. The Viader®estate and Delia’s wines have consistently reflected these strengths.
As a leader within the local wine community, Delia contributes her perspective and industry experience to the Napa Valley Vintners and California Wine Institute where she currently serves on the Board for both organizations. Her history with the Napa Valley Vintners dates as far back as 1990 where she and a select group of local vintner leaders helped frame the organization’s strategic plan. Since then, Delia has helped spearhead Premiere Napa Valley – an annual grand tasting and futures trade auction that consistently raises more than $4 million each year, and has also contributed to Auction Napa Valley in various roles, spending a decade as part of the beneficiary vetting committee and helping to set the focus and parameters that would determine adjudication of funds.
Alan spent his childhood on his family’s vineyard estate on Howell Mountain. His early education in wine and formal schooling helped shape his respect for terroir-driven wines, organic farming, and diverse viticultural practices from around the world.
He started working in the family vineyards at the age of nine and continued to help throughout his childhood, including working as cellarhand in the caves at Viader After high school, he pursued his passion for grape growing with a hands-on program in Sonoma where he received a degree in Viticulture Management. In 2002, Alan officially stepped in as Vineyard Manager for Viader in 2002, while simultaneously continuing his education at UC Davis, where he learned the fundamentals in winemaking. In 2005, Alan worked a harvest at Achavel-Ferrer winery in Mendoza, Argentina, which convinced him that winemaking was his calling. Alan officially stepped in as lead winemaker for Viader® in 2006. Today, he continues to oversee vineyard management operations while working in all areas of wine production together with his mother, Delia at Viader
An avid adventurer and seasoned traveler, Alan continues to visit the world’s best wine producers and wine growing regions throughout Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. In 2013, he went to the University of Sciences Agro to study viticulture in Bordeaux, France.A hands-on experimentalist and eternal student of the vine, Alan has been at the forefront of trialing and adopting the right combination of organic, biodynamic and sustainable practices, not to mention new technology integrations that optimally benefit the quality of Viader wines. In the cellar, Alan has been equally fervent about delivering better quality results, experimenting with different blends, yeasts, fermentations, barreling, etc., always open to new ideas, trials and opportunities to responsibly deliver improved quality wines. As the right-hand to his mother & founder, Delia Viader, Alan oversees Viader production from start to finish. Having inherited his mother’s passion for winemaking and expressing Viader ’s unique terroir, Alan is looking forward to continuing the family business for many exciting vintages and generations to come.

After 25 years passionately crafting and creating some of the world’s largest and most revered
brands, acclaimed international winemaker and consultant Matt Parish launched the Matt
Parish® label in 2012. Winemaker-driven and all about approachability, pleasure, and discovery,
the range includes vibrant rosés, delicate and delicious Pinot Noirs, and richly textured
Cabernet Sauvignons from Sonoma, Anderson Valley, and Napa. Matt also loves making what
he calls "diamonds in the rough" - wines from California’s El Dorado and Contra Costa Counties,
Spain’s Montsant, and Portugal’s Douro. Matt’s wines have received numerous 90+ ratings and
other accolades, and in 2017, he was named Winemaker of the Year. Matt is hands-on at every
step of the winemaking process and shares this experience from grape to glass with his loyal
following through social media

When we purchased Alegría Vineyards In 1990, Bill was able to pursue his childhood dream of being a farmer, trading in his law books for books on viticulture, pruning shears, and a tractor.
“Alegría”, our vineyard name, means “Happiness” in Spanish. Bill is much happier working in the vineyard and making wine than he was working as a lawyer. He likes working with his hands and being outdoors. He knows every vine on our 32 acres and takes pleasure in making a physical product that people can enjoy and appreciate. As he often says, he never got such positive feedback for well-crafted legislation or a contract.
“Alegría” is also an apt description of how you will feel when you discover our wines. Betsy makes visiting ACORN Winery is a memorable experience. Betsy enjoys welcoming visitors and sharing our wines and our story.
We are passionate about preserving the tradition of field-blending and co-fermenting. The oldest part of our vineyard, which dates back to 1890, is a field blend of Zinfandel inter-planted with Alicante Bouschet, Petite Sirah, and many other grape varieties. That mixed planting inspired us to plant about 100 different varieties as we planted new vineyards adjacent to the old. As far as we know, ACORN is the only winery where every wine is a co-fermented field blend.
At first, we sold all of our grapes to Ridge Vineyards and other local wineries, but in 1994, we decided to make wine ourselves and established ACORN Winery. An acorn is a popular symbol of prosperity, good fortune, and potential. (“Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.”) We are tiny like an acorn; Our wines have a lot of potential; our historic vineyard is lined with tall oak trees; and our wine is aged in oak barrels, so ACORN was the perfect name! Our first release was our 1994 Sangiovese, co-fermented with Canaiolo and Mammolo.
We are dedicated to creating co-fermented field blends from our certified sustainable grapes that truly reflect this special place. We have always been committed to farming and living sustainably. We enjoy the biodiversity of the creatures, great and small, who share this land with us. Today, after more than 30 years, we continue to find alegría living in the middle of our vineyards, enjoying the Russian River climate, growing grapes and sharing our ACORN wines.

Lang & Reed Napa Valley is a wine producing family, specializing in Cabernet Franc. We take an open-minded, youthful approach to consistently producing delicious wines that are true to their grape variety and are praised for their balance and restraint. We have been dedicated to making accessible and enjoyable wines in the Napa Valley for more than a quarter of a century!

In 2009, after many happy years spent working in the world of premium travel and hospitality, we settled in the heart of the Napa Valley and founded Silver Trident Winery. We started small, and we’ve stayed that way by choice. We’re still a boutique family winery, producing just 3,500 cases a year. We focus mainly on single-varietal wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc as well as a proprietary Napa Valley Red Blend. Our wonderfully talented winemaker, Kari Auringer, joined us in 2009 and we crafted our inaugural vintage of Twenty Seven Fathoms Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. The following year, we debuted our renowned Benevolent Dictator Pinot Noir. In March, 2015, we opened the doors to our celebrated Tasting Home in Yountville. Furnished exclusively with the Ralph Lauren Home Collection, a whole new approach pairing great wines with world-class home décor was born. We’ve been welcoming guests from all over the globe ever since to experience our wines and our world in an elegant, yet wine-country-casual setting.

In 1992, when we started Clif Bar & Company, we were driven by our passion for food and adventure and a desire to create convenient, portable and above all delicious food for today’s busy lifestyles. Several years later, in 1997, we moved with our family to the Napa Valley. What started as a home in the country soon developed into a wonderful adventure in winemaking and a deeper commitment to sustainability and farming. Today, on CCOF-certified organic farm we grow a variety of fruits and vegetables that make their way to our Clif Family Bruschetteria Food Truck and into and our preserved fruit and vegetable products. For our wines, we source our fruit from some of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley and Mendocino appellations, working with growers that have demonstrated a commitment to the environment and sustainable farming of their land. Our Cabernet Sauvignon wines come from our organically farmed Howell Mountain estate vineyards. In spring 2018, we purchased a 40-acre vineyard in Napa Valley’s famed Oak Knoll District. We are looking forward to our first harvest from this organically farmed vineyard in 2021.
Our goal is to craft unique, regional wine and foods using practices that care for the earth and to support growers who use sustainable and organic farming methods. In this way, we can contribute to a more vibrant and healthy food community.

With 100 years of agriculture in Napa, it comes as no surprise that the heart and soul of Gamble Family Vineyards is deeply rooted in the soil. Founded by third-generation farmer Tom Gamble in 2005, Gamble Family Vineyards owns prime estate vineyards from many of Napa’s most respected AVAs—Oakville, Mt. Veeder, Rutherford and Yountville. Its winery and by-invitation-only tasting room have a quiet presence, sitting modestly in an isolated nook off Highway 29 in the heart of Napa Valley’s Oakville AVA. Set back from the main road, Gamble’s mission here is to carry on the heritage of farming that his ancestors sowed when they came to Napa as farmers and cattle ranchers in 1916. They left with him a legacy of deep and abiding affinity for the land from which came not only their livelihood, but also a life full of purpose.Having shadowed his father on the family ranches as a child, Tom has had a hand in the land since an early age. In 1981, at the age of 20, he purchased his first vineyard with several partners, making him the first Gamble to begin growing grapes commercially. “Given this legacy, one does not continue farming for dispassionate reasons alone—there are easier ways to make a living. And thus, taking the next step and putting my name on a bottle of wine does not come lightly,” says Gamble.

Winemaker Jim Close follows Gamble Family Vineyards’ mission of producing Old World style wines that seamlessly bring together elegance, balance, nuance, with good structure and moderate alcohol, while embracing and highlighting the characteristics Napa Valley terroir imparts on the wines. Jim Close began his winemaking career in the southern Languedoc region of France, and has made every bottle of Gamble Family Vineyards wine since inception.

Bouchaine was founded in 1981 by Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, making it one of the oldest, continuously family-owned properties in the Carneros AVA today. Under the Copelands’ leadership, Bouchaine has grown from a pair of ramshackle buildings into one of the leading producers of sustainably farmed Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the region. In 2015, they recruited Chris Kajani as general manager and winemaker, along with Erik Goodmanson as associate winemaker.
Fueled by imagination, passion and with an eye toward the future, Kajani and her team have since elevated the farming practices and vineyards, modernized the cellar, and developed a new world-class hospitality center and demonstration kitchen.

As the winery enters its 40th year, the Copelands, who are based in Delaware, continue to bring an international perspective to the winery with an eye to the future. They invested in this cool-climate region long before it was well known and remain active in the day-to-day operations and strategic plans. The Copelands care deeply about sustainable agriculture and growing elegant wine, while also bringing effortless fun to each of the winery’s touchpoints. If one sentence can encapsulate the energy they bring, it is the words embossed in the floor entrance of the winery’s new Visitor Center: “Wine Makes you Happy.”