Wine Soundtrack - USA

The company is owned and operated by Erica and Kim Crawford, experienced vintners from New Zealand.
Loveblock is Estate grown from its 4 different properties in NZ. Loveblock Farm is a certified organic farm with grapes and cattle beef as commercial ventures. The rest ofThe first vineyards were purchased in 2002 and 2004 to supply the Kim Crawford brand (which was sold in 2006) in Marlborough, and 2008 in Central Otago. The Loveblock brand was launched in 2013 and has garnered acclaim in NZ, the US and Canada where it is sold. The vineyards are some of the oldest in the Awatere Valley and at elevation - growing grapes in places and soils that have not been done before.

In a previous life I was immersed in the art and culture of the music industry, writing and producing in Los Angeles when a different muse caught my eye in the form of the seductive Pinot Noir, drawing me into the artistry of winemaking. After several years at various wineries such as Clos du Bois, Assistant Winemaker at Armida and Winemaker at Dutcher Crossing, I decided now to honor my muse with a creation all my own: L’Objet Wines.
My philosophy on winemaking is really very simple. I pursue the finest vineyards and fruit, turning away grapes I believe would require too much manipulation. I believe that the vineyard should do the talking and I am the steward for it’s voice. I am sure you will find the quality of the grapes, the vineyards and this wine will speak for itself.

Our estate vineyard is planted on the hilltop mesa overlooking the tasting room, orchard and lower vegetable gardens. The vineyard is a set of rolling and undulating hills, each planted to a grape varietal best suited to that particular location. The vines are all planted on their own roots, set into the classic 8’x10′ spacing.
Vineyard Manager Armando Zepeda has been farming the vineyard since it was first planted, and seems to know each vine personally. Armando is joined in the vineyard by soil consultant Stan Kadota and viticulturist Francisco Ramirez.
Harvest generally begins in September of each year, followed by the planting of a cover crop of barley, sweet pea and fava beans for the winter months. January brings the pruning crew, with each vine cane-pruned, with bud-break generally arriving in March, fruit set in May and veraison in July/August.
The vineyard map shows the changes over the years. The original vineyard plan was relatively simple, with largish blocks containing a single grape varietal: Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. This reflects our original focus on Bordeaux-style wines.
Over the years, our understanding of what grows well in our part of Santa Ynez Valley and our tastes in wine have evolved and we have grafted some of the original vines to other varietals. The biggest change is the addition of the Rhône varietals Syrah, Grenache Noir, Grenache Blanc and Viognier. Malbec was added to our palette of red Bordeaux reds and the Musque clone of Sauvignon Blanc added to give greater complexity and aromatics, and a bit of Chenin Blanc planted in 2017.

Janu Goelz is a Bay Area Native that grew up in Morgan Hill. She moved to SF for college and stayed there for 13 years. In those 13 years she went to USF, traveled to India to play the leading role in 2 commercial films, worked the corporate world a few years and after all of that started a clothing line. She partnered with a fashion designer friend to create a line that was a vision/fantasy of Janu’s since young. Ri Couture took recycled Indian Saaris and turned them into whimsical colorful cocktail dresses. An artist neighbor at their studio invited her for an interview at the local news station where she soon after became a Weather Anchor. During that time her focus shifted to her Weather position from her clothing line. Fashion has always been a passion for Janu which has resurfaced through Alara Cellars.

Janu met husband Jason Goelz, local vintner and winery owner, in the Summer of 2012. Her love for wine transitioned and developed from an enthusiast to a wine professional. Through what started off as mini getaways on sales trips with her husband she learned about wine sales and tasted her way through several trade shows. She has since completed and began and completed various wine educational programs including: CSW, CS, WSET3 and the Wine Executive program from UC Davis. Her hands-on work at Jason-Stephens Winery has helped her grow into an up and coming new winemaker with a passion to outdo her husband…because anything he can do, she can do better.

Behind the label’s fashion is designer Malene Grotrian

The Martinelli family has been growing grapes in the Russian River Valley since the 1880’s. At the ages of 19 and 16, Giuseppe Martinelli and Luisa Vellutini eloped from their small village in the Tuscany region of Italy, making their way to California looking for land to farm and start a winery. Giuseppe had been a winemaker in Italy and with his viticulture knowledge he was hired to plant a vineyard for a farmer in Forestville. Within two years he earned enough money, and borrowed some from a local wood cutter, to purchase land of his own. Working side by side on a 60 degree slope, Giuseppe and Luisa planted a small area of Zinfandel and Muscat Alexandria vines, which later became known as the Jackass Hill vineyard. Over 100 years later, this south easterly exposure remains the steepest non-terraced vineyard in Sonoma County.
To this day, the Martinellis still sell more grapes then are used to make their own wines; about 90% of the grapes they farm are sold to other Sonoma County wineries. Lee Sr. and his two sons, Lee Jr. and George, continue the proud legacy of care-taking the land, and you may meet one of the Martinelli daughters, Julianna or Regina, on the road at various events or at the winery.

Family owned and operated Left Coast Estate has been built and guided by two essential principles: a passion for winemaking and a deep connection to the land where we live and farm. Founded in 2003, we completed the initial phase of the winery just in time for the inaugural 2004 vintage of our label bearing a Lewis and Clark map, illustrating our special place in the world. We are in the middle of the Willamette Valley, just 37 miles from the Pacific Ocean with the immense, cooling benefit of the Van Duzer Corridor running through the property.
n the fifteen years since our beginnings, we have gone from a largely grape growing operation with long term contracts with fellow Oregon producers, a wonderful opportunity to establish the high quality of our fruit, to an all Estate commitment. We farm nearly 160 acres of vines on our 500 acre Estate, largely sedimentary soil laid down by the Missoula floods and some volcanic soil as well. We grow and meticulously tend our vines and grapes, handcraft our wines and bottle them on site, a fusion of art and science, most certainly a labor of love.

For over 90 years the Saini Family has been farming grapes in Sonoma County's Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys. Their vineyards are some of the most highly regarded in all of California and this Old Vine Zinfandel is their first release!

The summer leading up to my 50th birthday we went to France. It took that long to finally get there.
The trip included Laura, Skylar and me as well as neighbors from two households on our street. We saw lots, walked a great deal, eat amazing food, but one of the most wonderful moments w experienced was a fountain-side café in Aix en Provence that placed buckets of rosé in te fountain for service.
Upon seeing it, we wowed to go for lunch, right after we found our apartment and dropped off our luggage. After a couple of blocks and four flight of narrow and steep stairs up to our pad we headed back and lounged, sipped and laughed at a bistro table in a courtyard next to the very fountain Laura drew for our Provence inspired rosé.

Clarice Wine Company is a new and truly unique type of winery, combining aspects of an online wine community, a wine education website, and a limited-enrollment wine club. Members of the Clarice Wine Community have the opportunity to interact with fellow members, sharing wine opinions and wine list guidance, as well as recommendations for wine travel, restaurants, hotels, events and more. Clarice Wine Community Members gain exclusive access to Wine Industry Leaders from all fields of the wine business, enjoying the opportunity to interact with them in a private and intimate forum. A members-only section of the Clarice website offers a growing library of wine education and information articles authored by Clarice winemaker Adam Lee and fellow industry leaders on subjects ranging from vineyard acquisition and grape growing to winemaking and wine trends. As part of the Clarice Wine Community, members enjoy two exclusive parties a year, one focusing on the Clairce Pinot Noirs and the other spotlighting a fellow winemaker and their wines, during which members will learn about their viticulture and winemaking, taste their wines, and receive special discounts. Finally, members receive a case of Clarice Pinot Noir as part of their membership.

From a longtime career in classical music production for public radio, to being one of the fist wine podcasters to becoming a successful winemaker and brand co-owner, Cartograph Wines’ Alan Baker has had a journey fueled by creativity and passion.

Alan’s “Aha!” moment after opening a bottle of Riesling on a kayak in the middle of a lake, sparked an immediate desire to learn more about wine and ultimately inspired him to leave a 15-year career at Minnesota Public Radio to journey to Healdsburg, California – the heart of California’s acclaimed Russian River, Alexander and Dry Creek Valleys - to pursue this new craft. Unsure of what aspect of the industry he would be best suited to, he used his radio experience to create a wine-focused podcast (the second only in the industry) called Cellar Rat, trading publicity with wineries for knowledge and offering listeners an inside look at all aspects of the wine business. As one of the very first wine podcasters, through interviews and in-depth episode research, Alan was able to dig in and learn in-depth the ropes of the wine business. His quickly amassed knowledge and passion for the industry landed him a position at San Francisco-based custom crush and production facility, CrushPad - where he worked through the business to become a consulting winemaker.

Leveraging his podcast’s growing audience, Alan offered his listeners the opportunity to participate in the winemaking process and the fruits of his labor, in turn assisting him in funding his venture. For a fee, audience members could visit the production facility and take part in Alan’s project. He documented it all on a video podcast - which grew to be called Pinot 2.0 and the group of regular participants became known as “The Rat Pack”. Successfully utilizing his social media following, Alan employed crowd-sourcing to fund his first release (Cellar Rat Cellars) and build his brand long before these terms became commonplace.

Only after meeting Serena Lourie, his now partner in business and life, as her assigned mentor winemaker at CrushPad, was the dream of Cartograph conceived. A socially responsible company built on strong relationships and with a goal of producing truly exceptional and distinctive wines, Cartograph was founded in 2009. Known for their elegant, ultra-premium Pinot Noirs, Alsatian-styled white wines and now sparkling wines (new to 2018) the brand’s core values center on education and the importance of being hands-on, to make truly handcrafted wine.