Wine Soundtrack - USA

Peay Vineyards is a family-run estate winery started in 1996 by Andy and Nick Peay. We were the first to grow grapes in the northwestern corner of the West Sonoma Coast. The 50 acre vineyard lies at 600 feet elevation, 3 miles from the chilly Pacific Ocean. A cool afternoon ocean wind, our placement in the cold coastal inversion layer produced by the Pacific Ocean, and our ancient marine soils allow us to produce wines of elegance, intensity and focus. Our winemaker is Vanessa Wong, formerly winemaker at Peter Michael Winery with stints at Château Lafite Rothschild, Domaine Jean-Gros, et al.

Physicist, farmer and winemaker, Don Hagge produces VIDON wines from his Chehalem Mountains Estate Vineyard that he built with his wife Vicki (Vi-Don, get it?).

Don brings science and engineering to the Willamette Valley wine industry, where he is intentionally unconventional – from the vines planted in the vineyard to the self-engineered wine equipment to the non-cork closures. VIDON produces between 1,500 and 2,000 cases each vintage of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Viognier, Syrah and Tempranillo, all grown on the Estate Vineyard.

Both the winery and the vineyard are LIVE certified, and VIDON practices sustainable farming and minimal intervention in the winemaking process including indigenous fermentations.

On one of California’s earliest wine estates, a unique terroir and ideal microclimate support a classical standard of viticulture, land use, and winemaking that is as relevant today as it was over a century ago. An intimate valley within the greater Napa Valley, Stags’ Leap is a place of natural beauty, storied buildings and gardens, a lively history, and a reputation for elegant wines showing finesse and intensity.

Estate Founder Horace Chase partnered with his uncle, W. W. Thompson, on land where grapes had been planted in the 1880s by T.L. Grigsby (of nearby Occidental Winery, today’s Regusci Winery). The construction of the Manor House in 1890 was followed by the blasting of the Historic Wine Cave and first vintage in 1893. By 1895 production on the estate was up to 40,000 gallons of wine.

The Stags Leap name originated in the late 1880s with the founding Chase family, and is attributed to a native Wappo legend of a stag leaping to escape hunters. The mountains behind the property on the eastern side came to be known as the Stags Leap Palisades.

Wine production has been interrupted periodically since the first Chase vintage due to financial reversals, Prohibition, and war; however, wine grapes have been grown continuously on the estate since its founding.

A fashionable country resort in the mid-twentieth century (the Grange Era), popular with Hollywood due to its 1890s stone Manor House and historic gardens, legends of bootleggers and gangsters, ghosts and gypsies, Stags’ Leap has been home to three major family groups up through the modern revitalization of the winery that began in the 1970s.

First and foremost, James MacPhail is a winemaker.
For over 18 years he has handcrafted high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay - in small quantity. His AVAs have ranged from Santa Barbara to Eola-Amity Hills in Oregon - with Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley, and the cooler regions of Sonoma Coast peppered in between. With an industry flooded with novices, James is a reputable veteran. His long history of success making premium wines for his own label (and others) has primed James MacPhail to offer this expertise as a high-end wine consultant, and so ‘Wines by James MacPhail, LLC’ was born. Undoubtedly dedicated and committed to his craft, James has produced over 100 different Pinots and Chardonnays (also a Merlot and a Cab!) with 90+ point scores -- making him one of the only few members of the 90+/90+ Club in Sonoma County.
James realized that winemaking satisfied his interest in the things that motivated him and kept his interests keen: the local land, art, business - and the desire to create. So it seemed natural for him to launched his own brand in 2001: ‘MacPhail Family Wines’. His gift for creating exceptional wines was recognized and in 2007 James was asked by The Hess Collection to start Sequana, an exclusive Pinot Noir program focused on Pinot noir from the Russian River Valley and the Santa Lucia Highlands appellations. By 2011 he was making 4000 cases for MacPhail Family Wines, and 12,000 cases for Sequana. The hats James was wearing were many, and in the fall of 2011, it was mutually agreed that The Hess Collection would acquire his brand so that James could focus on what got him into the industry in the first place - his love of winemaking. In 2016, after years of intense ‘hands-on’ for both brands, James decided to leave The Hess Collection and take his knowledge and expertise in crafting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and become a resource for others.
“Wines by James MacPhail” became a reality.
Partnering only with wine-growers and vineyard managers that understand the significance of terroir-based, vineyard designate wine, and share his same commitment to sustainable farming, James’ dream has always been to make something from the earth that he can share with others. An expert in his craft, James plans to make wine as long as he retains his six senses - the sixth being his acute understanding of the grape. Throughout it all, he stays true to his belief in traditional, old world techniques and minimal intervention. James MacPhail takes very seriously the honor of being a part of people’s tables. Here, he says, is where relationships are formed, ideas are exchanged, and passions are shared.

Flying Goat Cellars, an urban winery located in Lompoc, will celebrate it’s 20th harvest this year. Winemaker Norm Yost has almost 40 years in the industry, working as winemaker in Napa, Sonoma, Oregon and Australia before arriving in Santa Barbara County in 1998. Yost launched the first sparkling wine program in the SB county in 2005. He now offers five expressions of méthode champenoise handcrafted sparkling wine produced in-house. He’s also recognized for his elegant vineyard designated Pinots from Santa Maria Valley and Sta. Rita Hills AVAs. Look for Flying Goat's 20th anniversary barrel select Pinot Noir to be released later this year.

FEL Wines produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris from the Anderson Valley and the Sonoma Coast. Meticulously crafted by Winemaker Ryan Hodgins, FEL also features a unique portfolio of vineyard designate wines, including both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from our estate Savoy Vineyard. The letters in FEL represent Florence Elsie Lede, founder Cliff Lede’s mother, a home winemaker who provided the early inspiration for Cliff’s love of wine.
Growing up in Alberta, Canada, Cliff remembers the tulip as signifying the end of winter, bringing with it a freshness and excitement of warmer days ahead. The FEL Wines label, featuring an illustration of an opening tulip, is a tribute to Florence’s passion for gardening.

L.A. Lepiane Wines was established in 2013 with the simple goal of crafting vibrant, exciting, balanced wines made by my own two hands.
The name of my project is a nod to my great grandfather, Luigi A. Lepiane, who came from Piane Crati in Calabria, Italy with a dream of making a successful life for his family in the New Country. He settled in Hollister, California, where he established a grocery store and his own winery, L.A. Lepiane.
Three generations later, that deep Calabrian love of food and family guided me through my education and career. I studied biology and Italian at U.C. Santa Barbara, devoting a semester to studying abroad in Siena, Italy, where my love for Italian food and wines turned into a healthy obsession. Later, while earning my master’s degree in Viticulture from U.C. Davis, I jumped at the chance to work for one of the top wine producers in Barolo, Italy, making some of the best wines in the world.
Now at home in Santa Barbara, California, I have embraced the region’s unique ability to grow Barbera and Nebbiolo, alongside more well known grapes like Grenache. It is both thrilling and challenging to work with grapes so few have experience with here in California.
I dedicate these wines to my great grandfather’s memory, my family, and to you and your dinner table. It is my earnest hope that you drink them in the spirit of enjoyment.

It all started when a teenage kid was the designated driver for his family going wine tasting in Napa, CA. It was then, that Jason Goelz, future owner and winemaker, fell in love with the industry. After receiving one of the first minors in Wine and Viticulture at Cal Poly SLO, Jason had a dream of entering the wine industry. After college he worked in the corporate/tech world, but continued building on his dreams by making wine in a friend’s basement. After making a major career change and taking some risks, he eventually achieved his goal and opened the doors to Jason-Stephens Winery on October 2008.

Keller Estate started in 1989 when Arturo and Deborah planted the first 13 acres of Chardonnay, soon after 6 acres of Pinot Noir followed and Ana joined the family effort in 1998 with the mindset to start producing wines. Keller Estate Winery began making wine in 2000 and is 100% estate. Our mission is to produce wines that reflect our unique terroir.
The uniqueness comes from the windy Petaluma Gap site and from the intense minerality found on the property. Crafting wines that as food friendly is the always the guiding light as we gently take the fruit from the vineyard to the bottle.
We are moving towards biodynamic practices as we have realized that integrating our farm holistically is the only way to ensure our ranch will be passed to the next generation and that we can continue to farm for generations to come.
Our focus in establishing the Petaluma Gap comes from the need to help define the Sonoma Coast for both trade and consumers.

The Titus brothers, Phillip and Eric.
From a young age, Eric worked in the family vineyard in Napa Valley with his brothers and father and continued the tradition until he left for college to earn his doctorate degree in Biology where he was drawn to the dynamics of marine science and toxicology. Following this path, he worked around the world as a researcher and an envi- ronmental consultant throughout the 1990’s.
In 1997 he returned to St. Helena to help with the harvest at Titus Vineyards. The family business was growing, and Eric decided to devote himself to return to the winery full time in 2002 to help with management of the burgeoning family business. Today he is General Manager and Vineyard Operations Manager of the winery.
In the vineyard, Eric has adopted green practices that support sustainable farming. His aim is to farm with tech- niques that ensure minimum impact on the local environment. Eric’s goal is to have as light a footprint as possible in the vineyard. Nearly all vineyard work is done by hand; row by row. He collaborates with Winemaker brother Phillip to ensure that vineyard practices deliver expressive and focused fruit from their two estate vineyards. An estate-based winery allows for harvesting each row at the right moment for each wine.
Eric has served as President of the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association and is active with both the St. Helena Viticultural Society and Appellation St. Helena. He is committed to preserving agricultural land and the local ecosys- tem in Napa Valley. Eric works along with the local viticultural community to promote the Napa Valley as a world- class winegrowing region.
From the age of 12, Phillip took an interest in viticulture and worked with his father and brothers in the family vine- yards in Napa Valley. His introduction to fine wine was at the family dinner table when his father shared Bordeaux, California Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel from his cellar. Many of these formative wines were intriguing varietal and field blends.
In college, Phillip studied agronomy, viticulture and enology at the University of California at Davis. He also traveled to Burgundy and Bordeaux to gain more exposure to great European wines. After graduation, he began his career working at Quail Ridge Winery, Stratford and Chappellet. In 1990 he was named Winemaker at Chappellet and continues to make the wines there today. That same year he also became Winemaker at his family’s Titus Vineyards.
Phillip focuses on harvesting the grapes at optimal maturity, whereby showcasing the unique characteristics of each lot and vineyard block. His intimate knowledge of the two-family estate vineyards since childhood helps him to guide the creation of superior wine from the individual blocks. His wide-ranging experience with exceptional vine- yard sites large and small across Napa Valley inspires his acute blending sensibilities. Phillip’s focused winemaking direction for each lot brings out dynamic flavor profiles, textural balance, and complexity in the distinctive Titus Vineyard wines.