Inside Winemaking - the art and science of growing grapes and crafting wine

In this episode, I talk with Ry Richards, winemaker at Chappellet on Pritchard Hill, about his circuitous path from selling wine in high school to learning enology on the job and growing into his current leadership role. Ry describes Chappellet's long‑tenured, family‑driven culture, their production team structure, and the importance of process, communication, and harvest "flow state" in managing complex vintages. We dig into recent and challenging Napa vintages (2011, 2013, 2021, 2023, 2025), shatter and low yields in 2026, and how drought, heat, and smoke have reshaped decision‑making. Ry also details Chappellet's estate and sourced vineyards on the Vaca range, their work with Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, and Bordeaux reds, and why Chenin and site‑specific hillside Cabernet remain central to their identity. Along the way we cover yeast strategy, bottling realities, replanting and trellis choices on steep slopes, the unique trademarked status of Pritchard Hill, and why, despite market headwinds, he stays optimistic and rooted in the idea that wine and visiting Chappellet should fundamentally be about joy.

Resources from this Episode

Chappellet Winery

This podcast is sponsored by Wine Compliance Alliance.

Are you concerned about your winery's reporting? Do you worry that it's not being done correctly, or being vulnerable to a TTB audit? Help is here!

The Winery Compliance Training Academy has custom-designed courses created by industry experts with deep backgrounds working at wineries managing production compliance! Our course, The TTB reports all US Wineries are required to file is designed to walk you through the 3 reports all US wineries are required to submit to the TTB. This course is a fit for all winery staff who are responsible for filing reports or label approvals to the TTB.

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Jillian Johnson DeLeon - Laffort

In this episode, Jim sits down with Jillian Johnson DeLeon of Laffort to dig into the practical mechanics of yeast nutrition, starting with the difference between organic (amino-acid based) and inorganic (DAP) nitrogen sources. They walk through how to calculate the Nitrogren needs for a successfule fermentation across a two-addition strategy, timing the first dose within 24 hours of pitch (or at first signs of cap formation for native ferments) to support the yeast's growth phase, and the second closer to mid-fermentation to carry them through to dryness without triggering Hydrogen sulfide production. The conversation covers dosing heuristics like the one-third organic to two-thirds DAP ratio for that second addition, how nitrogen demand varies by yeast strain and biomass production, fermentation temperature's effect on ester versus thiol expression, the risks of both under- and over-dosing nutrients, and the case for early co-inoculation with malolactic bacteria to avoid stuck ferments and reduce spoilage risk. Jillian also shares her own field-tested Brix-to-potential-alcohol conversion figures and closes with an overview of Laffort's broader product lines, from oak alternatives to vineyard applications.

Resources from this Episode

Laffort

This podcast is sponsored by InnoVint.

Wineries of all sizes rely on InnoVint's winery operating system to optimize vineyard tracking, manage wine production processes, automate compliance reporting, track costs seamlessly, and make data-driven decisions.

The best part? The software is intuitive, easy to use, and mobile and offline friendly! And with the highest-rated customer service in the industry, you're guaranteed to have a smooth transition, even right before harvest.

Learn more: innovint.us

Get a demo: innovint.us/request-a-demo/

Join our free winemaking community: innovint.us/join-the-punchdown/

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In this episode I talk with John "JJ" Julius Naab, assistant winemaker at Matthiasson Wines and founder of Lamitié Wines, about his unconventional path from Chicago brokerage and endurance sports into the wine world. JJ traces his move from finance to Santa Barbara hospitality and DTC sales at Brewer-Clifton and the moment he realized he wanted to make his own wine. We dig into his decision to complete the UC Davis Winemaking Certificate, how that "inch deep, mile wide" technical foundation pairs with on-the-job experience, and what he really learned during his first harvest at Kosta Browne in the middle of COVID and wildfire smoke.

We then dive into JJ's Chardonnay-focused Lamitié project: why he chose to be known for one thing, his focus on low alcohol, high-acid chemistry, and what he looks for in vineyards like Charles Heintz (clone 4, cool sites, marine influence). JJ explains his press strategy ("the juice isn't always worth the squeeze"), fermenting Chardonnay in puncheons on full solids, running relatively warm ferments, and then moving the wine to stainless for a second year to tighten texture and enhance reduction in his efforts towards a Burgundy-inspired style that still reflects California fruit.

Resources from this Episode

L'Amitié Wines

Matthiasson Wines

This podcast is sponsored by Wine Compliance Alliance.

Are you concerned about your winery's reporting? Do you worry that it's not being done correctly, or being vulnerable to a TTB audit? Help is here!

The Winery Compliance Training Academy has custom-designed courses created by industry experts with deep backgrounds working at wineries managing production compliance! Our course, The TTB reports all US Wineries are required to file is designed to walk you through the 3 reports all US wineries are required to submit to the TTB. This course is a fit for all winery staff who are responsible for filing reports or label approvals to the TTB.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

Now on Spotify

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Jennifer Williams joins Jim to talk about her work as a contract winemaker, leading Arrow & Branch and co-owning Zeitgeist Cellars with her husband, Mark Porembsky. They dig into the design and philosophy of the new Arrow & Branch custom crush facility in Oak Knoll—its flexible tank mix, "white glove" service model, and how it's built to handle challenging vintages and a range of client brands. Jennifer explains the stylistic goals and vineyard sourcing for Zeitgeist, including heritage whites like Chenin Blanc and Trousseau Gris, and a Cabernet Franc program that uses barrel fermentation and moderate maceration to shape tannins. Along the way they get into pick-date decisions and herbaceous character in Cabernet Franc, managing slow malolactic fermentations, the realities of custom crush pricing and client expectations, and how small Napa brands are navigating a tougher wine market through relationships, thoughtful growth, and authentic visitor experiences.

Resources from this Episode

Arrow & Branch

Zeitgeist Cellars

This podcast is sponsored by InnoVint.

Wineries of all sizes rely on InnoVint's winery operating system to optimize vineyard tracking, manage wine production processes, automate compliance reporting, track costs seamlessly, and make data-driven decisions.

The best part? The software is intuitive, easy to use, and mobile and offline friendly! And with the highest-rated customer service in the industry, you're guaranteed to have a smooth transition, even right before harvest.

Learn more: innovint.us

Get a demo: innovint.us/request-a-demo/

Join our free winemaking community: innovint.us/join-the-punchdown/

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

Now on Spotify

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This episode features a conversation with Elias Fernandez, longtime winemaker at Shafer Vineyards in Napa Valley. Fernandez, who was raised by migrant farm workers in the Napa Valley, traces his path from studying enology at UC Davis to joining Shafer in 1984, where he became winemaker in 1994. He discusses the winery's evolution under John and Doug Shafer, its shift toward estate-only vineyards with additions like Wildfoote and Altimeter, and the current portfolio, including Hillside Select, TD-9, the One Point Five, and the Wine Spectator–acclaimed Relentless Syrah. The conversation also covers his hands-on approach to extended maceration, his early and enthusiastic adoption of non-Saccharomyces yeasts and crossflow filtration, and his use of AI-based tools like Tule for vineyard water management. Fernandez closes by reflecting on mentoring his son, now assistant winemaker at Shafer, and on the importance of introducing younger generations to wine.

Resources from this Episode

Shafer Vineyards

In this solo episode of Inside Winemaking, Jim tackles one of the questions he gets most often: how to manage empty barrels. Working through the full lifecycle of a barrel, Jim covers receiving and inspecting new barrels on arrival, keeping them hydrated before harvest (his go-to: shrink-wrap them tight and lock the moisture in), and recovering barrels that have dried out. He walks through swelling and leak-testing before filling, the realities of finding and repairing leaks with spiles, and smart practices for stacking, filling, and leaving proper ullage for young wines still off-gassing CO2.

From there, Jim gets into cleaning and sanitizing — why an immediate rinse matters, where he lands on tartrates, and his candid take on the trade-offs between burning sulfur, SO2 gas, ozone, and steam. He closes with short-, medium-, and long-term storage strategies, how often to recharge sulfur based on cellar conditions, and how to tell when a barrel is truly done. Practical, opinionated, and grounded in real cellar experience, this episode is a field guide for anyone trying to keep their empty barrels healthy between fills.

This podcast is sponsored by InnoVint.

Wineries of all sizes rely on InnoVint's winery operating system to optimize vineyard tracking, manage wine production processes, automate compliance reporting, track costs seamlessly, and make data-driven decisions.

The best part? The software is intuitive, easy to use, and mobile and offline friendly! And with the highest-rated customer service in the industry, you're guaranteed to have a smooth transition, even right before harvest.

Learn more: innovint.us

Get a demo: innovint.us/request-a-demo/

Join our free winemaking community: innovint.us/join-the-punchdown/

Recorded high above the valley floor in Silverado's Stags Leap estate, this episode with winemaker Alison Rodriguez dives into both Napa viticulture and her global winemaking journey. Alison unpacks the 2025 growing season—early bud break, late rains, and the shadow of El Niño—while describing the constant tension between picking early for safety and waiting for full ripeness in a fire-prone era. She explains what it means to farm 325 acres of 100% estate vineyards, how early-season decisions set up harvest success, and how she manages tannin and extraction in small-berry hillside Cabernets, including the tradeoffs of pressing sweet to keep structure in balance.

Alison also shares how a Baton Rouge upbringing and a career in wine sales led her to **Geisenheim** in Germany, European cellar work, and ultimately Napa. She explains the German technique of *Maischestandzeit* for aromatic whites, her evolving approach to Sauvignon Blanc at Silverado (skin contact, neutral barrel ferment, and textural focus), and how she thinks about acid, phenolics, and oak as part of a single matrix. The conversation ranges across Silverado's portfolio—from estate Cabernet blending **Stags Leap and Coombsville**, to Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Kerner, and old-vine Chardonnay—before closing on the smells of her Louisiana childhood, Napa's collaborative winemaking culture, and why she's still betting on Riesling's long-overdue comeback.

Resources from this Episode

Silverado Vineyards

This podcast is sponsored by InnoVint.

Wineries of all sizes rely on InnoVint's winery operating system to optimize vineyard tracking, manage wine production processes, automate compliance reporting, track costs seamlessly, and make data-driven decisions.

The best part? The software is intuitive, easy to use, and mobile and offline friendly! And with the highest-rated customer service in the industry, you're guaranteed to have a smooth transition, even right before harvest.

Learn more: innovint.us

Get a demo: innovint.us/request-a-demo/

Join our free winemaking community: innovint.us/join-the-punchdown/

This episode features Livermore Valley winemaker and consultant Meredith Sarboraria for a wide-ranging conversation recorded on location in the heart of the appellation. A proud self-described "Livermoron," Meredith traces her path from tasting room work in the late 1990s to earning her Viticulture and Enology degree at Las Positas College and building her consulting business, Barrel Down Wine Services. Along the way, she paints a vivid portrait of Livermore's wine country — from the outsized influence of Wente and Measure D on land preservation, to the region's sandy loam soils, marine-influenced climate, and its newly adopted signature varietals: Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. She also shares candid insights into the valley's growing community of female winemakers and the collective they've built to support one another.

The conversation then shifts to winemaking craft, with Meredith diving deep on the challenges of working with high-acid Barbera, her philosophy of balance over manipulation, techniques for punch-downs in macro bins and T-bins, and the smart use of enzymes during fermentation. Jim and Meredith also preview an upcoming Inside Winemaking group trip to Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California — Mexico's oldest New World wine region — where Meredith has traveled three times and serves as the group's guide. She covers everything from crossing the border by shuttle to the region's savory, marine-influenced wines, its world-class restaurants, and the exciting mix of traditional and modern winemaking happening in the valley. The episode closes with Meredith sharing the childhood smells of Livermore that still bring her home.

Resources from this Episode

Barrel Down Wine Services

Inside Winemaking's Feb 2027 Trip to Valle de Guadalupe

This podcast is sponsored by InnoVint.

Wineries of all sizes rely on InnoVint's winery operating system to optimize vineyard tracking, manage wine production processes, automate compliance reporting, track costs seamlessly, and make data-driven decisions.

The best part? The software is intuitive, easy to use, and mobile and offline friendly! And with the highest-rated customer service in the industry, you're guaranteed to have a smooth transition, even right before harvest.

Learn more: innovint.us

Get a demo: innovint.us/request-a-demo/

Join our free winemaking community: innovint.us/join-the-punchdown/

In this episode Jim Duane sits down with Elizabeth Vianna to explore her unconventional path from pre-med student to one of Napa Valley's most respected Cabernet Sauvignon producers. Elizabeth shares how a late discovery of wine in New York City led her to University of California, Davis, and ultimately to a long-term career rooted in estate winemaking in the Stags Leap District. The conversation dives into the evolution of Chimney Rock's vineyard and winemaking philosophy, including its commitment to 100% estate fruit, the use of exclusively free-run wine, and the influence of site diversity on wine style.

The episode also goes deep on practical winemaking decisions, from extended maceration strategies and tannin management to sulfur timing, racking protocols, and blending philosophy. Elizabeth discusses her increasing focus on regenerative farming, vine health, and long-term sustainability in the face of climate change, as well as her approach to working with alternative white varieties like Sauvignon Gris and Fiano. Along the way, she reflects on mentorship, leadership, and the importance of helping the next generation of winemakers develop their own instincts—making this episode both technically insightful and personally grounded.

In this episode, viticulturist Patrick Riggs dives deep into the realities of organic farming in Napa Valley. We unpack what it takes to convert vineyards from conventional to organic, from soil testing and rethinking fertilizer programs to choosing equipment for under‑vine weed control and managing more volatile, season‑driven budgets. Patrick explains how tools and machinery for cultivation have evolved, how he approaches weed control without herbicides, and why organic systems demand a more diagnostic, problem‑solving mindset.

Patrick also details integrated strategies for managing vine mealybug organically—combining year‑round mating disruption, biological controls like parasitic wasps and mealybug destroyers, and very selective use of organic sprays. From there, we explore floor management, soil moisture dynamics, and irrigation strategy in drought years: when to irrigate, how to prioritize limited water, why shaded interior leaves can be "water hogs," and how canopy design and trellis choices are shifting to protect fruit in a hotter, drier future. We close with newer tools like Surround (kaolin clay), spore trapping for mildew risk, updated organic nematode approaches, and even a duck‑powered experiment to clean a reservoir overrun with Azolla.

This Jim sits down with James Molesworth, Senior Editor for The Wine Spectator, to trace James's unconventional path into wine—from a Francophile, academic household in Queens to blind-tasting Burgundy in a tiny West Village cellar, and eventually orchestrating tastings and writing for one of the most influential wine publications in the world. James reflects on formative mentors, the discipline and humility required to learn both tasting and journalism at a professional level, and how his anthropology background shaped his "observe and report" style of wine writing. He also unpacks Wine Spectator's mission to educate and entertain, the magazine's role in the global wine ecosystem, and how landmark moments like the post‑9/11 New York Wine Experience revealed the deep, relationship-driven core of the wine community.

The conversation then widens to a rich exploration of regional evolution and the future of fine wine, focusing especially on Bordeaux and Napa Valley. James explains how Bordeaux's garagiste era parallels Napa's cult Cabernet phase, how shifts in farming (organic, biodynamic, agroforestry, soil health, old vines) are reshaping ripeness, structure, and balance, and why Cabernet Franc is becoming more important on both the right bank and in Napa. He talks candidly about climate pressures, changing consumer behavior, and why he remains bullish on Napa's future—as long as the valley stays rooted in agriculture, terroir, and authentic hospitality. Along the way, James shares insider perspectives on how Wine Spectator chooses which wines to review, the power of storytelling versus scores, and his "bookshelf" model for building regional expertise.213

In this episode of Inside Winemaking, Jim Duane sits down with Matteo Abreu, fifth-generation Napa Valley farmer and part of the Abreu vineyard management family, to explore what it means to grow and farm at the highest level in one of the world's most demanding wine regions. Matteo shares his path into the family business, the realities of multi-generational vineyard management, and how Abreu approaches vineyard site selection, soil preparation, drainage, and long-term vineyard design. The conversation highlights the importance of matching the right varieties to the right sites, with a particular focus on Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and how disciplined vineyard preparation sets the foundation for premium wine quality.

The discussion also dives into modern challenges and hands-on solutions in Napa Valley viticulture, including heat management strategies such as shade cloth, pre-irrigation cooling, and selective use of misting, along with crop load management and canopy decisions for Cabernet Franc. Matteo also shares insights into Abreu's small-lot winemaking philosophy, co-fermentation practices, and the limits of automation in both vineyard and winery operations. Beyond grapes, listeners will hear about Abreu's olive oil production, olive fruit fly management, and commercial blueberry farming, offering a broader look at how diversified, detail-driven farming supports both wine quality and long-term sustainability.

In this episode of Inside Winemaking, Jim Duane speaks with Leigh Meyering of MyEnologist about the practical and analytical aspects of heat and cold stability in wine. The discussion focuses on how and why protein haze and tartrate instability occur, with an emphasis on white and rosé wines. Leigh explains the principles behind heat stability testing, protein denaturation, and the use of bentonite to prevent haze, as well as how stability concerns differ between red wines and lighter-colored styles. The conversation also addresses the sensory and chemical impacts of stabilization decisions, including common concerns around stripping, mouthfeel, and visual clarity in finished wines.

The episode then moves into cold stability, detailing the Davis conductivity, DIT, and ISTC 50 tests and how to choose the appropriate method based on a winery's stabilization strategy. Leigh outlines the roles of traditional chilling and seeding, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and mannoproteins, including their limitations and compatibility with protein stability. Throughout the discussion, Jim and Leigh emphasize correct sampling strategy, filtration level selection, and timing of tests to ensure results accurately represent the wine that will be bottled. Practical lab workflows, sample volume requirements, and real-world bottling considerations are covered to help winemakers reduce risk and avoid post-bottling stability issues.

Leigh previously appeared on Inside Winemaking in May 2019 to discuss the founding and early development of her wine lab, MyEnologist, including its analytical services and role in supporting winemakers. This episode builds on that earlier conversation by applying lab-based analysis directly to cellar decision-making, with a focused, technical look at stability testing and intervention strategies used in modern winemaking.

This episode features Tommaso, a vineyard consultant whose career spans from Venice and Montalcino to Burgundy, Bordeaux, and other renowned wine regions. Tommaso discusses his background in viticulture, the technical aspects of working in different European vineyards, and how he manages various grape varieties and regional challenges. The conversation highlights real-world issues such as vineyard management, adapting to climate change, and the critical decisions involved in harvest timing and vine care.

A significant part of the discussion focuses on the curretage technique, a method for removing diseased wood from vines using specialized tools. Tommaso explains the origins of this approach, how it is applied in European vineyards, and its role in combating trunk diseases. The episode also covers Tommaso's work as a viticultural consultant specializing team training for vineyard surgery, adapting vineyard design to environmental pressures, and practical steps for maintaining vine health. This episode is well-suited for listeners interested in the technical and operational side of vineyard management.

In this episode, Andrea shares her unique journey to becoming the Director of Winemaking at Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Starting her career without the initial intention of entering winemaking, she found her path through roles in the laboratory, cellar, and bottling lines, developing a passion for the hands-on aspects of the craft. Andrea highlights the value of practical experience, local education, and her commitment to continual learning, which eventually led her to oversee the winemaking team at FFC. She discusses adapting to changes like the acquisition by Delicato Family Wines, her focus on mentorship and team guidance, and her philosophy of keeping winemaking rooted in the region's character.

The conversation covers the structure and innovation at FFC, including their iconic wine programs, creative approaches to blending, and the development of new products such as low-alcohol, low-calorie wines. Andrea explains the logistics of vineyard sourcing across California, their strategies for maintaining quality and consistency, and the balance between digital tools and traditional whiteboards in managing production. She also offers insights into industry trends, the winery's club and visitor experience, and her role representing the brand through travel and events, always aiming to empower her team and stay connected to the evolving world of wine

Resources from this Episode

Francis Ford Coppolla Winery

This podcast is sponsored by InnoVint.

Wineries of all sizes rely on InnoVint's winery operating system to optimize vineyard tracking, manage wine production processes, automate compliance reporting, track costs seamlessly, and make data-driven decisions.

The best part? The software is intuitive, easy to use, and mobile and offline friendly! And with the highest-rated customer service in the industry, you're guaranteed to have a smooth transition, even right before harvest.

Learn more: innovint.us

Get a demo: innovint.us/request-a-demo/

Join our free winemaking community: innovint.us/join-the-punchdown/

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

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This episode features an in-depth discussion about winemaking at Whitehall as the team nears the end of the 2025 harvest season. The episode begins with insights into the progression of the harvest, focusing on the completion of most varietals and the ongoing work with late-harvest selections like Semillon.

Our conversation runs the gamut of technical issues such as stabulation of Sauvignon blanc juice, cellar techniques to avert the need for fining and filtration, and Whitehall's trials with Pierce's Disease resistant clones from UCDavis.

Resources from this Episode

Whitehall Lane Winery

This episode is sponsored by Harvest Pillar concrete trellis posts. Want to know why more growers are going for concrete? It's because Harvest Pillar is the last trellis post you'll ever need.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

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Ben is a seasoned viticulturist and winemaker currently serving as the Director of Viticulture and Winemaker at Large at Walsh Vineyards Management, overseeing approximately 1,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma. His journey in the wine industry began in 2004 after graduating with a biochemistry degree, starting at RH Phillips and later working with Jim at Seavey Vineyard.

At Walsh Vineyards Management, Ben works with a team of 125 full-time employees and up to 400 seasonal workers, focusing on client relations, vineyard management, development. Alongside his professional role, he has created his own wine brand, Vidi Vitis, which started in 2015 with a unique opportunity to salvage a ton of Stags Leap District Cabernet. His winemaking philosophy emphasizes quality fruit, experimentation, and a passion for exploring different grape varieties.

Resources from this Episode

Walsh Vineyards Management

Vidi Vitis / Forgotton Union Wines

This podcast is sponsored by InnoVint.

Wineries of all sizes rely on InnoVint's winery operating system to optimize vineyard tracking, manage wine production processes, automate compliance reporting, track costs seamlessly, and make data-driven decisions.

The best part? The software is intuitive, easy to use, and mobile and offline friendly! And with the highest-rated customer service in the industry, you're guaranteed to have a smooth transition, even right before harvest.

Learn more: innovint.us

Get a demo: innovint.us/request-a-demo/

Join our free winemaking community: innovint.us/join-the-punchdown/

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

Now on Spotify

And Amazon Music

This episode is my opportunity to answer questions that have been submitted by listeners. As is my style the answers are a practical approach addressing how I would think about these situations in my own cellar. Thank you to all the people who have emailed their questions and also sent them in from my Instagram page.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Winemakers that have quarantine wine for you

Principles and Practices of Winemaking book Amazon Associates link

"The Bay Area is drinking 42% more alcohol than usual while sheltering in place" article by Esther Mobley in the SF Chronicle

This podcast is brought you by the hope that you are keeping safe and healthy. if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show using the Paypal link. Thank you for the support!!

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This episode features Julien Fayard, who is a consulting winemaker based in Napa. Julien was raised in Provence, trained in Bordeaux, and since moving to California in 2003 has built his own brand, Azur Wines, and is now consulting for an impressive list of clients. We recorded this podcast at Covert Estate, a beautiful winery built under a hillside that Julien constructed with his business partners. Our conversation ranges from Julien's background, native fermentations, rosé winemaking, and the key aspects of working with clients to support their projects.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Fayard Winemaking - Napa Valley

Azur Wines

Covert Estate - Napa Valley

Nicholson Jones - Napa Valley

Atelier Melka - Napa Valley

ETS Laboratories

Hendry Ranch Wines - Napa Valley

This podcast is brought you by the love of the good lord and my wife reading the intro. if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show using the Paypal link. Thank you for the support!!

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

This episode features Patrick Rue, founder of Erosion Wine Co, who I first met when he was part of the Deep Winemaking course in August, 2019. Prior to Patrick's winemaking venture he was the founder and brewer at The Bruery in Orange County. Our conversation covers Patrick's founding and growth of The Bruery, their numerous products, blurring the lines between beer and wine, flavor additive management, his winemaking vision for flavor targets, aluminum crowlers, key kegs, and the two taprooms that Erosion is now opening in Napa.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Erosion Wine co - Napa Valley

The Bruery - Orange County, CA

Offshoot Beer Co

Berkeley Fermentation Science

Pulse Air Wine Cap Management

Key Keg - PET wine dispensing keg

This podcast is brought you by the love of the good lord and my wife reading the intro. Please consider donating to the podcast using the Paypal link at the bottom of the Homepage.

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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This episode features Jasper Riddle, proprietor and winemaker for Noisy Water Winery in Ruidoso, New Mexico. I was able to meet Jasper when he was in town for the Unified Symposium trade show in February 2020. After being founded in 2009 Noisy Water is a winery that Jasper took from his parents' early venture and built into a medium-sized winery that now has five tasting rooms in New Mexico. During our conversation, Jasper mentions some of the challenges in growing grapes in New Mexico but spends most of his energy describing the opportunities that he sees in his area and around the state.

This episode features Tim Colla, Winemaker for Saintsbury, in Carneros, Napa. Tim and I had the chance to talk about Chardonnay and Pinot Noir production as told through the history of Saintsbury's presence and experimentation in the Carneros in south Napa Valley.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Saintsbury, Napa Valley

Chappellet, Napa Valley

Seavey Vineyard, Napa Valley

This podcast is brought you by Fruition Sciences. At the start of 2020 we know what is on your mind. As winemakers and winegrowers we are thinking about keeping our vines healthy while producing consistent quality yields year in and year out. However, we know that you are also considering the effects of climate change on our vineyards and wines and the improved management of our natural resources like water.

We have great news. Now, we, winegrowers and winemakers, can use a compelling method that allows us to keep our vines healthy and improve yield and grape quality while also saving water and reducing costs. We are happy to inform you that this is possible. The method is called 360viti-Water Pilot and is base on sap flow sensors technology.

This impressive technology developed by Fruition Sciences is based on more than ten years of experience show stunning results in California, Australia, and France. The method measures and monitors the transpiration rate of your vines so you can make sure that they receive the right amount of water at the optimal time. You will precisely know when your vines need water so that you can respond appropriately, keeping them healthy and performing at their optimal levels. Because this measurement is plant based, you will be able to target and address the needs of the specific vines or areas of your vineyards, improving the quality of your grapes when it comes time to harvest.

Given the latest heatwave episodes this will be a necessary measure to keep your vines safe. Please contact the Fruition Sciences team today. Together we will change the way we use our precious resources while taking care of our beloved vines.

To learn more visit fruitionsciences.com or you can also send an email to leyla@fruitionsciences.com or find us on Linkedin. We are also available by phone at 888-295-5187.

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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This episode's guest is Adam Casto from Gandona Winery in Napa. We had a great conversation ranging on topics from winemaking philosophy, the Antipodes (I had to google it too), and the new ways Adam would like to gather and organize both vineyard and winemaking observational data with analytical tracking.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Gandona Winery, Napa Valley

Dana Estates, Napa Valley

Laing Limit, work by Australian psychologist David Laing reporting that people can only pick out by smell four or less distinct smells from a complex mixture. The book The Nose Knows by Avery Gilbert covers this is more depth.

This podcast is brought you by Wine Compliance Alliance. Ann Reynolds, who runs Wine Compliance Alliance has been on the podcast twice before. In Ep. 45 we discuss common compliance issues that wineries deal with and in Ep. 61 she has a solo episode where she covers the compliance items for starting a new winery.

Winery compliance. Bring it up to winery owners or their staff and you get either a completely blank look or a grimace of some sort. In other words winery compliance is a topic that is either very unfamiliar or very disliked. But yet, every winery is required to do it and can suffer serious consequences if they don't. Wine Compliance Alliance focuses on providing wineries with solutions to both of these areas of issue. If a winery has little familiarity with their compliance requirements our office can provide training assistance to get them up to speed to be able to manage it themselves. If a winery would prefer instead to have their files managed for them we've got you covered there too. Wine Compliance Alliance, Full throttle from grape to bottle.

Find out more at winecompliancealliance.com

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode features Frederick Ammons, Winegrower for Rudd Estate in the Napa Valley. Our conversation covers Frederick's education in Bordeaux, his early jobs in California, his stint at Seavey Vineyard, the building of The Napa Valley Reserve where he made wine for nine years, and his current position at Rudd Wines. We spend the majority of our time discussing philosophical and practical viticulture touching upon organic and biodynamic practices. The central role of robust ecology and biological diversity both in vineyard soils and wine fermentation is a core theme that weaves throughout all of Frederick's work in the vineyard and in the winery.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Rudd Estate, Napa Valley

Dry Creek Vineyard, Sonoma Valley

Seavey Vineyard, Napa Valley

The Napa Valley Reserve

Plumpjack Winery, Napa Valley

Kelli White's, Guild Somm article on biodynamic farming. Photo of the weed crimping roller used at Hanzell Vineyard

Wine yeast DNA Fingerprinting analysis from ETS Labs

Article - Soil Fertility and Biodiversity in Organic Farming - Mader, et. al.

Book's mentioned

Le sol, la terre, et les champs, pour retrouver une agriculture saine by Claude and Lydia Bourguignone

Vinification et Fermentation : Les Méthodes biologiques appliquées à la vinification et à l'oenologie by Max Leglise

La vigne et le vin entre Ciel et Terre by Max Leglise

This podcast is brought you by Scott Laboratories -- For over eighty years, Scott Laboratories has been the leader in providing the North American specialty beverage industry with innovative solutions and products including fermentation goods, filtration media, equipment, packaging products and laboratory services. Scott Labs is introducing their new website, which features online ordering, order history, and a technical library. They can be reached at 707 765-6666.

Scott Laboratories new website

Managing Diacetyl from their technical library

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode features Chris Tynan, who is the winemaker at Cliff Lede Vineyards in Napa. Chris also has his own small brand, Christopher Tynan Wines. Our conversation covers Chris' background, high-end Cabernet production, and a couple of varietals that haven't had much attention to date on the podcast, Sauvignon vert, and Semillon

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Cliff Lede Vineyards - Napa Valley

Christopher Tynan Wines - Napa Valley

Colgin Cellars - Napa Valley

Blankiet Estate - Napa Valley

Cain Vineyard and Winery - Napa Valley

Youtube Video interview with Henri Jayer

This podcast is brought you by 360viti, powered by Fruition Sciences -- You may already know them as the pioneer in sap flow sensors and vineyard monitoring. In Episode 72 of podcast Thibaut Scholasch from Fruition Sciences talked in-depth about sap flow monitoring and the viticultural services that he and his team have developed.

Now, based on 10 years of vineyard measurements and data science expertise, Fruition Sciences launched 360viti. 360viti is a unique web platform to help winegrowers quickly and easily analyze vineyard data, while storing it all in one central location!

The platform centralizes data and presents clear dashboards, maps and graphs, information such as weather data, fruit analysis numbers, and aerial imagery maps. Its features enables you to save time and be more precise by compiling and analyzing multiple variables year after year.

360viti supports your experience and observations to secure your decisions, work better as a team and improve your vineyard performances. To learn more call 888-295-5187

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode's guest is Chris Carpenter, who is making wines in Napa for Jackson Family Wines and is overseeing Cabernet and Bordelais varietals grown on several of Napa's mountain AVA's such that he has become known as a mountain winemaker. Our conversation covers the mountain wines being produced from Mount Veeder, Spring Mountain, Howell Mountain, and Diamond Mountain AVA's, but also Cardinale, the flagship Cabernet that is a blend from throughout Napa including the valley floor. Chris describes his roots in Chicago, the path to becoming a winemaker, his site-specific approaches for tannin management and his involvement in a winemaking project in McLaren Vale, Australia.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Brands that Chris makes for Jackson Family wines

Cardinale Napa Valley

Lokoya Napa Valley

La Jota Vineyard Co - Howell Mountain

Mt Brave - Mt Veeder

Hickinbotham Vineyard - McLaren Vale, South Austrailia

This podcast is brought you by Wine Compliance Alliance. Ann Reynolds, who runs Wine Compliance Alliance has been on the podcast twice before. In Ep. 45 we discuss common compliance issues that wineries deal with and in Ep. 61 she has a solo episode where she covers the compliance items for starting a new winery.

Winery compliance. Bring it up to winery owners or their staff and you get either a completely blank look or a grimace of some sort. In other words winery compliance is a topic that is either very unfamiliar or very disliked. But yet, every winery is required to do it and can suffer serious consequences if they don't. Wine Compliance Alliance focuses on providing wineries with solutions to both of these areas of issue. If a winery has little familiarity with their compliance requirements our office can provide training assistance to get them up to speed to be able to manage it themselves. If a winery would prefer instead to have their files managed for them we've got you covered there too. Wine Compliance Alliance, Full throttle from grape to bottle.

Find out more at winecompliancealliance.com

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

If it were possible to have a riveting conversation about filtering wine, there are very few people I'd consider. Scott labs has such an enigmatic guru. Maria Peterson is a filtration specialist, one who has the uncommon ability to translate technical expertise into practical winery practice. This is a sponsored episode—something I arranged with Scott Labs in order to support the podcast and extend that as a technical resource for filtration, one of the most difficult aspects of commercial winemaking. My conversation with Maria covers the wine filtration technology available today with a focus on small winery production. We get out into the technical weeds discussing enzyme usage, temperature influences, filter regeneration, NTU vs. filterability, surface area calculations and basic equipment evaluations. Make sure and check out the resources; videos and articles that Scott Labs has available on their website.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Filtration Articles and Protocols from Scott Labs

Lenticular Filter Setup and Usage Video from Scott Labs

Cartridge Filter Setup and Usage Video from Scott Labs

Sheet Filter Setup and usage Video from Scott Labs

NTU vs. Wine Filterability Index article by Paul Bowyer

Scott Labs contact: info@scottlab.com or 707 (765)-6666

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

Straying from the usual focus on grapes, this episode dips into cider and the opportunities to be explored from fermenting apples. Andrew Byers is the Head Cidermaker at Finnriver Farm in Chimacum, Washington (on the Olympic Penninsula, west of Seattle). I met Andrew while moderating the Creativity in Fermentation panel during the Scott Lab's Ferment event. Even for those who might not have a specific interest in cider making, the parallels with winemaking, especially marketing, present a new perspective for winemakers and wineries seeking to tell the stories of their brands and production methods. This conversation between and myself covers all of the basics of cider production and gets deep into technical territory including phenology, chemical analysis, production logistics, physical stability, microbiological stability, and a thorough description of the process for crafting a keeved cider.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Finnriver Farm and Cidery - Chimacum, Washington

Eve's Cidery - Van Etten, New York

Malus - A quarterly print zine exploring the philosophical and cultural underpinnings of American cider

This podcast is brought you by Fruition Sciences, 360viti and a brand new technology called the Bacchimeter developed by the company Force A. The Bacchimeter provides a qualitative vision of the vineyard through quantitative measurements of anthocyanins, it brings a new mindset to vineyard management.

Do you want perfect color and a beautiful aromatic profile for your wines? Do you want insights to be more precise for tasting within your block? Do you need to schedule vineyard blocks for selective harvesting and find the optimal harvest date? Do you want to measure and enhance the impact of your wine growing practices on fruit color to make better vineyard management and harvesting decisions? Bacchimeter is the perfect, non-destructive sampling and mapping tool for you. It brings simple, real-time information related to phenolic maturity directly from the vineyard block.

To learn more visit their website at 360viti.com, or call 888-295-5187

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode features the first Oregon winemaker on the podcast. Anthony King is currently making wine for a number of small brands under as part of King Wine Consulting, he is the general manager at Carlton Winemakers Studio in Carlton, Oregon where he also produces his own brand, Ratio Wines. Anthony and I spent most of our time talking about Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as he has spent his winemaking career with those varietals starting at Acacia Vineyard in Napa and Lemelson Vineyards in the Williamette Valley. Our conversation gets into the weeds on topics such as Oregon's grapegrowing, wine acidity, and managing reduction in barrel.

This episode features Amanda McCrossin who is a sommelier, wine director, and the creator of @sommvivant. As the Wine Director for Press Restaurant in St Helena, Amanda oversees a tremendous list of Napa Valley wines and serves as an ambassador for the wines on offer and the stories of their producers. On top of Amanda's work at Press she has leveraged her access to the valley's wineries in order to create one of contemporary wine's most prominent Youtube channels covering wine basics, in-depth video profiles of wineries, and her professional experiences as a sommelier. My interview with Amanda set out to understand what issues wine consumers are concerned with and the best practices for winemakers to build relationships with sommeliers and wine buyers. Make sure and check out Amanda's library of work on both her Youtube and Instagram channels.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Press Restaurant, St Helena, Napa Valley

@sommvivant Youtube channel

@sommvivant Instagram

Food & Wine's Liquid Diet article featuring Amanda

Wine Writers Mentioned

Kelli White

Karen MacNeil

Esther Mobley

Jancis Robinson

Winemakers Mentioned

Tony Arcudi

Josh Phelps

Dan Petrowski

This podcast is brought you by Fruition Sciences, 360viti and a brand new technology called the Bacchimeter developed by the company Force A. The Bacchimeter provides a qualitative vision of the vineyard through quantitative measurements of anthocyanins, it brings a new mindset to vineyard management.

Do you want perfect color and a beautiful aromatic profile for your wines? Do you want insights to be more precise for tasting within your block? Do you need to schedule vineyard blocks for selective harvesting and find the optimal harvest date? Do you want to measure and enhance the impact of your wine growing practices on fruit color to make better vineyard management and harvesting decisions? Bacchimeter is the perfect, non-destructive sampling and mapping tool for you. It brings simple, real-time information related to phenolic maturity directly from the vineyard block.

To learn more visit their website at 360viti.com, or call 888-295-5187

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode features Leigh Meyering the proprietor of MyEnologist, a small commercial enological laboratory that she runs as a family business in Napa. Our conversation covers Leigh's winemaking background, the harvest experience in France that seeded the idea for a small, independent enology lab, and the development of the business, which also provides consulting services and a winery supply shop. I was attracted to MyEnologists service packages because all samples receive a full panel of analysis at low costs. I've outsourced nearly all of my own winemaking labs to MyEnologist and believe it might be a great resource for the portion of the podcast audience that is looking for reliable analyses.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

MyEnologist

Spring Mountain Vineyard, Napa Valley

Charles Krug Winery, Napa Valley

WineScan from Foss Analytics

vinoBRETT by Invisible Sentinel

Laffort Enological supplier

Ideology Cellars, Napa Valley

Golden State Overnight, Claifornia shipping

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode features Dr. David R Montgomery, professor from the University of Washington and author of three books that shine a light on the often-overlooked role of biology underground and the connections and influence these microbia have with plants. David is a professor of geomorphology at the UW and together with his wife, Anne Bicklé, has ventured beyond the inorganic confines of soil science in authoring books and speaking to a wide range of agricultural industries regarding the value of conservation agriculture. i heard David speak at a Napa Valley Grapegrowers seminar earlier this year and wanted to share his research and experience with the Inside Winemaking listeners.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Dig2Grow.com David Montgomery and Anne Bicklé's website

Microbial Terrior for Winegrapes journal article from Gilbert et. al.

From Tree to Shining Tree podcast from RadioLab

This podcast is brought you by 360viti, powered by Fruition Sciences -- You may already know them as the pioneer in sap flow sensors and vineyard monitoring. In Episode 72 of podcast Thibaut Scholasch from Fruition Sciences talked in-depth about sap flow monitoring and the viticultural services that he and his team have developed.

Now, based on 10 years of vineyard measurements and data science expertise, Fruition Sciences launched 360viti. 360viti is a unique web platform to help winegrowers quickly and easily analyze vineyard data, while storing it all in one central location!

The platform centralizes data and presents clear dashboards, maps and graphs, information such as weather data, fruit analysis numbers, and aerial imagery maps. Its features enables you to save time and be more precise by compiling and analyzing multiple variables year after year.

360viti supports your experience and observations to secure your decisions, work better as a team and improve your vineyard performances. To learn more call 888-295-5187

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode features Brett Weis, who is the Associate Winemaker for ElevenEleven Wines in Napa. Beyond making the full portfolio of wine for ElevenEleven Brett is managing the custom crush clients that have their wines produced at ElevenEleven. Our conversation covers his background, the ElevenEleven vineyards and wines, the ar throughout the winery, tips for working in as a custom crush client, and the aromatherapy room at ElevenEleven.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Eleven Eleven Wines, Napa Valley

Antica Napa Valley

Groth Vineyards and Winery, Napa Valley

Mountain Tides Wine

Innovint cloud based winemaking software

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

The guest for this episode is one of the most industrious and deep-thinking winemakers for whom I've had the opportunity to sit down and explore their winemaking brain. Tim Milos is a winemaking consultant and through his various projects is all over California, Oregon, and has experience with more varietals than anyone on the podcast to date. Our conversation gets into the weeds on technical aspects of extended maceration, ideal varietals for natural winemaking, the merits of racking, Tim's organizational strategy, and problem-fermentation management.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Tank Garage Winery, Calistoga, CA

Immortal Estate, Sonoma, CA

Bounty Hunter Rare Wine and Spirits

T-Vine Winery, Napa, CA

Esther Mobley's mentioned article from The San Francisco Chronicle

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

The guest for this episode is Jenny Heinzen, who runs a real estate business in Paso Robles, California, focused on vineyard and winery sales. Jenny's real estate services span both residential and commercial properties. I wanted to talk with Jenny about issues buyers and sellers should be prepared for when buying or selling vineyards and/or wineries. Jenny works with her husband, Randy Heinzen from Ep. 86, to help clients maneuver through the technical aspects of vineyard due diligence. Randy makes a cameo in this episode when we wade into those technical land and viticultural issues.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Jenny Heinzen Real Estate

One of Jenny's listings - 320 acres with 74 acres of planted grapes in Paso

Vineyard Professional Services, Paso Robles, California

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode features Matt Iaconis of the husband and wife team that is Brick and Mortar Wines. Our conversation covers the development of Brick and Mortar, the winemaking decisions that accompany its stylistics goals, and then focuses on the process and equipment involved in packaging wine into aluminum cans. Matt is also a winemaker with Naked Wines. His description of working with Naked Wines is a great accompaniment to my earlier podcast with the folks from Naked (Ep. 65). Matt and his wife, Alexis, are currently developing Delta Wines, which is a brand dedicated to supporting the environmental organizations they care about. Each purchased bottle of Delta Wines will have $1 donated to those environmental organizations.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Brick and Mortar Wines

Matt's Instagram video of canning Brick and Mortar Wines

Antica Napa Valley

Joullian Vineyards and Winery - Carmel, California

The Restaurant at Meadowood - Napa, CA

Cape Mentelle, Margaret River, Australia

Ball Corporation Food Technical Services - For canning

Delta Wines - website forthcoming

Naked Wines - Link includes $100 off upon sign up

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This podcast is the third installment where I answer winemaking and vineyard questions that have been submitted by email. If you would like to submit a question, please send them to jim@insidewinemaking.com.

Sign-ups for Deep Winemaking are now open. If you are interested in coming to Napa to learn technical winemaking for three days in August, please check out further details here. These events are a lot of fun for beginners and competent winemakers alike.

This podcast is brought you by TheOakLab.com, a new division of Scott Laboratories dedicated to oak infusion products. The Oak Lab™ was founded with the vision of changing the perspective of the oak infusion market by developing and embracing new technologies, and re-imagining the process of product trials, selection, and application. Their line of premium quality oak infusion products is paired with a revolutionary process for bench trials and the ability to create unique, customized blends based on your wines.

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode features Randy Heinzen, who is the owner and president of Vineyard Professional Services (VPS), which is a vineyard farming and consulting company based in Paso Robles, California. VPS currently manages over 2,400 acres in Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties and has designed and developed over fifty properties in the last twenty years. I met Randy years ago when we working working with a shared vineyard in Napa. Our conversation covers Randy's full professional background, including his time managing To Kalon, Dr Crane and the other northern Napa properties for Beckstoffer Vineyards. We also spent time discussing compost tea brewing and use in grapegrowing and Randy's experience in sourcing the healthiest possible grapevines from commercial nurseries.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Vineyard Professional Services, Paso Robles

Beckstoffer Vineyards

Saintsbury, Napa Valley

Every day I drive by Shafer Vineyards (twice) and never fail to slow down in order peer into that special sloping set of vineyards within the Stags Leap District where the hillsides graduate from difficult-to-grow-grapes to upright cliffs. In 2018 Doug and his team at Shafer began producing "The Taste with Doug Shafer" podcast and that presented the opportunity for me to connect with him and explore this small part of Napa Valley. In preparing for this podcast I found and read Doug's book, A Vineyard in Napa, which was published in 2012 and captures the first forty years of Shafer Vineyards' History. Our conversation weaves through Doug's experiences in making wine, running Shafer Vineyards, writing his book, hosting his podcast, and includes very helpful advice for winemakers on marketing trips.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Shafer Vineyards, Napa Valley

The Taste with Doug Shafer Podcast … iTunes linked here

A Vineyard in Napa book by Doug Shafer with Andy Demsky published 2012

From the Ground Up; Shafer Vineyards' First 25 Years book by John Shafer published 2004

This podcast is brought you by HomeBrewIt.com -- Providing winemaking supplies for the hobbyist and small to mid size wineries

Everything from small amounts of wine chemicals and shrink caps, to stainless steel tanks, presses, and commercial bottle fillers

Largest selection of Winexpert Wine Kits on the web

Real pricing, meaning we don't hide our shipping costs in the price of an item!

Family owned and operated for over 20 years

Customer service driven

Use the code INSIDEWINEMAKING2018 at HomeBrewIt.com/inside-winemaking and get 10% off purchases of winemaking equipment

Molly is a good friend and has a tremendous wealth of viticultural knowledge from her years in commercial grape-growing both in California and Oregon. Now as the Vineyard Coordinator and Instructor, Molly is teaching the viticulture courses at Napa Valley College. This podcast covers the two topics I most wanted to discuss the with Molly. First: how to farm grapes in cooler, wetter climate that is Willamette Valley, and second: the V&E courses and degree programs that are available from Napa Valley College. Consider this the second episode in the viticulture and enology education series, following Ep. 82 with Dr David Block from UCDavis.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Viticulture and Winery Technology, Napa Valley College

Chehalem Winery, Williamette Valley, OR

Flora Springs Winery, Napa Valley

This podcast is brought you by Scott Laboratories -- For over eighty years, Scott Laboratories has been the leader in providing the North American specialty beverage industry with innovative solutions and products including fermentation goods, filtration media, equipment, packaging products and laboratory services. Scott Labs is introducing their new website, which features online ordering, order history, and a technical library. They can be reached at 707 765-6666.

Scott Laboratories new website

Managing Diacetyl from their technical library

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

Near the end of the 2018 harvest I recorded this episode with Ben and Cameron after they had a chance to work with me at Seavey. I have known both of these guys since they came on the Deep Winemaking trip in 2017. Making the leap from a comfortable career to starting from the beginning as a winery intern requires significant sacrifice. Working a harvest is what I recommend to anyone who finds themselves pondering the first steps in winemaking. Ben and Cameron share their individual paths into wine and we have a frank conversation about the specifics of working in a winery for the first time.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

FEL Wines

Savoy Vineyard, Anderson Valley

VENJobs The UCDavis Bulletin Board for Winery Jobs

Deep Winemaking

This podcast is brought you by HomeBrewIt.com -- Providing winemaking supplies for the hobbyist and small to mid size wineries

Everything from small amounts of wine chemicals and shrink caps, to stainless steel tanks, presses, and commercial bottle fillers

Largest selection of Winexpert Wine Kits on the web

Real pricing, meaning we don't hide our shipping costs in the price of an item!

Family owned and operated for over 20 years

Customer service driven

Use the code INSIDEWINEMAKING2018 at HomeBrewIt.com/inside-winemaking and get 10% off purchases of winemaking equipment

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

This episode features Dr. Dave Block from UCDavis. Dave is the Chair of the Dept. of Enology and Viticulture, teaches both enology and chemical engineering courses, and directs a research lab. I did my graduate research in Dave's lab and got to know him during our conversations about tinkering with Cabernet fermentor shapes and sizes. I went back to Davis in July, 2018 to record this podcast and find out what Dave is currently working on, what the Dept of V&E has going on, and to discuss the opportunities for online winemaking certificate program, which many podcast listeners consistently ask about.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Dr Dave Block's UCDavis webpage

Dept. of Viticulture and Enology, UCDavis

UCDavis Online Winemaking Certificate Program

This podcast is brought you by Scott Laboratories -- For over eighty years, Scott Laboratories has been the leader in providing the North American specialty beverage industry with innovative solutions and products including fermentation goods, filtration media, equipment, packaging products and laboratory services. Scott Labs is introducing their new website, which features online ordering, order history, and a technical library. They can be reached at 707 765-6666.

Scott Laboratories new website

Managing Diacetyl from their technical library

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

The folks who put on the City of Riesling invited me to their events this past June in Traverse City, Michigan. I was able to record this podcast featuring Hunter Smith from Frankland Estate, situated in the Frankland River Region of Western Australia, and is known for their Rielsings. Hunter does a great job of describing this remote site, 70 km from the coast, where they are farming and certified organic.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Frankland Estate, Western Australia

City of Riesling, Traverse City, Michigan

South African Garden Weevil

This podcast is brought you by HomeBrewIt.com -- Providing winemaking supplies for the hobbyist and small to mid size wineries

Everything from small amounts of wine chemicals and shrink caps, to stainless steel tanks, presses, and commercial bottle fillers

Largest selection of Winexpert Wine Kits on the web

Real pricing, meaning we don't hide our shipping costs in the price of an item!

Family owned and operated for over 20 years

Customer service driven

Use the code INSIDEWINEMAKING2018 at HomeBrewIt.com/inside-winemaking and get 10% off purchases of winemaking equipment

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

The folks who put on the City of Riesling invited me to their events this past June in Traverse City, Michigan. I was able to record this podcast featuring Fred Merwarth, who is the owner and winemaker at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyards in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Our conversation covers Fred's introduction to winemaking, the challenges of growing grapes in the Finger Lakes, the grapevine nursery, which is part of their business, and of course, their many bottlings of Riesling.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

This podcast is brought you by HomeBrewIt.com -- Providing winemaking supplies for the hobbyist and small to mid size wineries

The folks who put on the City of Riesling invited me to their events this past June in Traverse City, Michigan. I was able to record this podcast featuring August Deimel, the winemaker for Keuka Spring Vineyards in the Finger Lakes. August has a talent for storytelling and I was incredibly fortunate to connect with him on a whim. Having attended Cornell's enology program, August provided a peek into east coast wine education and winemaking that was a novel perspective for this podcast. His enthusiasm for the grape varietal Vignoles has me eager to try this potential long-lived wine.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

This podcast is brought you by HomeBrewIt.com -- Providing winemaking supplies for the hobbyist and small to mid size wineries

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

The folks who put on the City of Riesling invited me to their events this past June in Traverse City, Michigan. I was able to record this podcast featuring the team behind Washington state's Eroica Riesling, produced by Ste Michelle Wine Estates. Bob Bertheau is the head winemaker for Chateau Ste Michelle and Ernst Loosen is the proprietor of the Dr Loosen wines in Germany's Mosel Valley. Since 1999 they have had a partnership focused on an iconic Riesling from Washington called Eroica. More than just a discussion of the Eroica partnership, Bob and Ernst take me through the challenges and technical evolution that encompasses both Washington and Germany.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

This podcast is brought you by HomeBrewIt.com -- Providing winemaking supplies for the hobbyist and small to mid size wineries

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

3 Michigan Winemakers - Sean O'Keefe, Bryan Ulbrich, and JayBriggss

The folks who put on the City of Riesling invited me to their events this past June in Traverse City, Michigan. I had a great time, was introduced to the many of the people who are at the helm of Michigan's viticulture, got to taste a lot more than just Riesling, and recorded six podcasts with winemakers from around the world. This episode features Sean O'Keefe, Bryan Ulbrich, and Jay Briggs, three winemakers based in Traverse City. These guys have been prominent in the skillful handling of Vinifera and modern winemaking that is demonstrating that wines from this special place within Michigan are world-class. Halfway through the episode, Bob Bertheau from Chateau Ste Michelle in Washington state, slips in and widens the prospective of high-latitude winemaking.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

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if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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This episode features Josh Jacobsen, who I met when he signed up for the forthcoming Deep Winemaking immersion trip in Napa this coming August. Formerly of Facebook, Josh agreed to help walk me through all the important aspects of creating ads in a manner that would be specific for wineries. Josh provides an incredible insight into creating, tracking, and evaluating the messages and costs that a winery could use on Facebook and Instagram ads.

This ended up being a very technical podcast, not in the usually enological way, but as a guide for winemakers venturing into targeted marketing. Josh patiently talks me through all the steps involved in creating a focused ad campaign, and the show notes include links to all the relevant tools within Facebook's Ad Manager platform. For the portion of the Inside Winemaking audience that has any interest in social media marketing, this will be played on repeat.

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if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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This episode features Michael Evans, who is the co-founder of the Vines of Mendoza in Argentina's Uco Valley. After falling in love during a trip to Mendoza in 2004 Michael found a local partner and created a place for individual owners to build a wine starting right from vineyard plantings. Under the guidance of full vineyard staff and consulting winemaker, Santiago Achaval, owners can choose the varietals and winemaking style in order to build their own personal wine. Vines of Mendoza has grown to 1,500 acres and now features The Vines Resort and Spa, which includes the restaurant Siete Fuegos directed by acclaimed chef, Francis Mallmann. Michael has an infectious passion for winemaking and the beauty of Mendoza, which made for a great podcast.

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I will be at City of Riesling in Traverse City, Michigan on June 10 and 11th. If you love Riesling, please come check out the trade and consumer events that this event has to offer. David Bos is billing City of Riesling as "The best white wine on earth in one of the prettiest places on earth."

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal, Bitcoin, and Ethereum links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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This episode features Frederic Panaiotis, Chef de Cave for the Champagne house, Ruinart, which was founded in 1729 and lays claim to being the oldest maison in Champagne. Frederic was on a press tour in the US and I had a chance to record this podcast with him in San Francisco. Chef de Cave translates to Chief Winemaker, which is the post that Frederic serves at Ruinart. As both a holder of tradition, and innovator Frederic is leading the technical team at Ruinart. What i learned from our conversation is that this historic Champagne house is anything stagnant.

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I will be at City of Rielsingin Traverse City, Michigan on June 10 and 11th. If you love Riesling, please come check out the trade and consumer events that this event has to offer. David Bos is billing City of Riesling as "The best white wine on earth in one of the prettiest places on earth."

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal, Bitcoin, and Ethereum links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

This episode features Gabrielle Shaffer, who is the viticulturist and winery relations manager for Stagecoach Vineyard. AT 600 planted acres across 175 distinct parcels, Stagecoach is one of the largest and most important vineyards in the Napa Valley. Gabrielle works with 90 different winemakers, who are purchasing grapes from Stagecoach. Gabrielle also has her own brand, Gamling and McDuck, which she founded with her partner, Adam McClary. Gamling and McDuck, which features Chenin blanc and Cabernet Franc, is opening a tasting room in downtown Napa.

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if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal, Bitcoin, and Ethereum links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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This episode features Thibaut Scholasch, founder and VP of Research and Development for Fruition Sciences. Our conversation gets deep into the weeds of technical viticulture. Fruition Sciences provides four technical vineyard services that track novel parameters within grapevines. Thibaut discusses those services chronologically as they are pertinent during the growing season and describes how viticulturists and winemakers can utilize the data to optimize inputs such as irrigation and Nitrogen fertilization. Thibaut has also created the Vintage Report seminar that is an annual gathering "connecting terroir and innovation."

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This podcast is brought you by Hanna Instruments. Makers of edge and Halo Wine pH meters, these tools are purpose built for winery environments. The edge Wine pH meter is rich in features including using digital electrodes that can be swapped out anytime to switch to a different parameter, built in rechargeable battery, two USB ports, datalogging, automatic calibration, and Hanna's exclusive calibration check feature that will alert the user to potential problems during calibration including when to clean the electrode and when the buffer might be contaminated. The edge Wine pH meter is a versatile pH meter for winemaking that be used as a benchtop, portable and even a wall mount to conserve space.

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal, Bitcoin, and Ethereum links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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This episode features Rudy Zuidema, who is the winemaker at Shadybrook Estate in Napa, where we met to record this episode. Rudy also makes wine for other clients and is known for his experience with organic and biodynamic farming. Under his own brand, Zuidema Wine Co., Rudy produces a single vineyard Grenache from the McGah Vineyard in Rutherford. The second half of this podcast is focused on the winemaking technology known as flash detente process. Rudy founded and operates Flash Wine Technologies, which provides flash detente services to wineries with grape lots as small as ten tons. His flash detente operation is based out of Kunde Family Winery in Sonoma.

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if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal, Bitcoin, and Ethereum links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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This episode features Becky George, who is the winemaker for Kelly Fleming Wines in Napa. Becky also produces her own wine under the Mojave Wines brand, which is a tribute to her childhood growing up in the Mojave Dessert. Becky and I studied winemaking at UCDavis together 15 years ago, and used this podcast to catch up on all of Becky's work throughout the globe leading up to her current projects in Napa and Anderson Valley.

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This podcast is brought you by Hanna Instruments. Makers of edge and Halo Wine pH meters, these tools are purpose built for winery environments. The edge Wine pH meter is rich in features including using digital electrodes that can be swapped out anytime to switch to a different parameter, built in rechargeable battery, two USB ports, datalogging, automatic calibration, and Hanna's exclusive calibration check feature that will alert the user to potential problems during calibration including when to clean the electrode and when the buffer might be contaminated. The edge Wine pH meter is a versatile pH meter for winemaking that be used as a benchtop, portable and even a wall mount to conserve space.

if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal, Bitcoin, and Ethereum links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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Pam Starr has been making the wines and building the Crocker and Starr brands since she first met with Charlie Crocker of the Crocker Estate in 1997. This podcast covers the long story of how Pam built Crocker and Starr beginning from the handwritten business plan. Associate Winemaker, Evyn Cameron discusses Crocker and Starr's portfolio, they ways how her and Pam evaluate Cabernet Franc fermentations, and some of the winery's cool new equipment. Our conversation gets out into the weeds of Cabernet Franc, which is one of the varieties that Pam is most known for. It was a ton of fun to have this Franc geek-fest and discuss a grape that doesn't often get the limelight.

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if you learn something from the collection of podcasts at Inside Winemaking, please considering donating to support the show. Paypal, Bitcoin, and Ethereum links at the bottom of the Inside Winemaking homepage. Every small donation is helpful.

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Dave is a long time friend and agreed to help create the recent Winemaking Chemistry Series - pH and TA episode. I asked Dave to be a part of that project because of his background in organic chemistry and his ability to describe where in winemaking those principles are most critical. We ended up going deep on several aspects beyond wine acidity and I made the decision to make this a stand-alone episode. Dave is currently the winemaker at Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma. HIs experience making wine at a larger scale than most previous podcasts guests presented the opportunity to discuss the highest-leverage winemaking tools and the advances that oak suppliers have made available to wineries. The final portion of Dave's episode is our discussion of pH and TA that was featured in the previous Chemistry Series podcast.

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This episode is the second in the chemistry series and focuses on the acidity elements of pH and TA (Ep. 56 was on sugar and alcohol). Dave Nakaji, winemaker for Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery, came on the podcast to discuss how he integrates pH and TA as parameters to guide his decision-making all the way through from grapes to finished wine. Beyond his experience with wine, Dave has a PhD in organic chemistry, and the rare ability to simplify the complex understanding of acid chemistry as it is applied to winemaking. The next episode (Ep. 68) will feature Dave's full interview. After Dave and my discussion of pH and TA, Casey Banach from Hanna Instruments joins the podcast to review the care and maintenance of pH meters.

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This podcast is brought you by Hanna Instruments. Makers of edge and Halo Wine pH meters, these tools are purpose built for winery environments. The edge Wine pH meter is rich in features including using digital electrodes that can be swapped out anytime to switch to a different parameter, built in rechargeable battery, two USB ports, datalogging, automatic calibration, and Hanna's exclusive calibration check feature that will alert the user to potential problems during calibration including when to clean the electrode and when the buffer might be contaminated. The edge Wine pH meter is a versatile pH meter for winemaking that be used as a benchtop, portable and even a wall mount to conserve space.

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This is the first episode of Inside Winemaking to leave the West Coast and learn about winemaking in Virginia. Tyler Henley is the winemaker for Boxwood Estate and has been making wine in Virginia for four years, after an extensive background working at wineries in California and Chile. Tyler and I worked together at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars ten years ago. Thankfully we've kept in touch and were able to connect over Skype to record this episode. Beyond Tyler's background we cover what makes viticulture unique and the challenges of growing grapes in Virginia. Winemakers working in marginal climates have to get creative, are master problem-solvers, and their experiences can be of great value when shared.

The audio in this episode is a bit rough, and I appreciate your patience during this discussion that was recorded over Skype.

For those of you that are new to Inside Winemaking, having learned of it from Eric Asimov's mention in his NYTimes article, welcome. Most podcasts are recorded in person, but I will record remote episodes from time to time when the opportunity presents.

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See the link below for the $100 gift card to sign up and shop

Shortly after the fires in northern California during the harvest of 2017, Naked Wines put together one of the coolest fire recovery fundraisers that I came across. They have raised $832K as of January, 2018, and drawn support from their members worldwide. That was the final impetus I needed to contact Naked and ask for an interview. This episode features Alex Farber, who is a Wine Production Manager and also has her own wines brand within Naked, and Cari Roberts, who is Head of Acquisition and the woman I ran into at a hamburger stand before a tractor parade and convinced to green-light this podcast. Alex's black lab, Maui, who is being raised to be a service dog for children with Type I diabetes, was also part of our podcast team.

Alex, Cari, and I spend this entire episode discussing the questions I had about Naked Wines, both as a winemaker, and as a member "Angel." It's my hope that someone listening to this podcast will then go on to pitch a winemaking project and become a winemaker within Naked. Lastly, Cari hooked me up with a special URL so listeners of this podcast can get $100 to sign up and shop on the Naked Wines site. I used this deal to get a case of mixed reds for $69 and then added a few bottles to get the tab up to $100 to qualify for shipping to be included (wineries can't legally use the words "free" and "shipping" for some odd reason). I've already gone back to order more of a Spanish Tempranillo from Jorge Caus Pertegaz at $10.

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This episode covers my recent journey through the creation of a new wine. A pink wine. From grapes to finished wine that is almost bottle-ready three months later, this foray into rose has been an exciting new winemaking challenge. As an experiment I recorded this solo episode while driving home from work. Because I'm a captive in the car during the recording, it's part harvest chronology and a bit stream of consciousness. I hope that the winemaking decisions that I grappled with presents thought for others producing rose wines.

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As VP of Operations for White Labs in San Diego Neva Parker has extensive experience with the full spectrum of yeast that are cultured and available for the brewing industry. While most known for their brewing yeast, White Labs also provides yeast and bacterial strains for producers of wine, sake, kombucha, and craft spirits. Our conversation covers Neva's entry into yeast production, the array of available strains, pitching rates, and the various ways yeast influences flavor, fermentation kinetics, and alcoholic strength. While Neva's expertise is focused on beer and brewing, there is much that winemakers can learn from this parallel industry that, because of its reliance on yeast, has sought a deep technical understanding of how producers can manage the cultures they provide.

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As a wine lover and fan of podcasts I took the opportunity to record an episode with Chappy Cottrell, who is the man in charge of Cru Podcast. Chappy recently moved to Healdsburg to work the 2017 harvest and is beginning a new position as a sommelier and wine buyer at the esteemed restaurant and resort that is Cavallo Point (at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge). Our conversation ranges from Chappy's background, his goals in building a wine podcast, and what he has learned from the wine professionals that have shared their experience during his interviews.

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This episode features the return of Ann Reynolds, who runs Wine Compliance Alliance, and was on the podcast previously in Episode 45. As I was busy with grapes and harvest during the month of October, I asked Ann to record a solo episode and discuss an outline navigating the federal and California state winery permitting processes. Ann has vast experience in helping clients obtain both Alternating Permit and Custom Crush / Wholesale licensing, processes that are daunting to folks approaching either for the first time. If you are in looking to start a wine brand, or know someone who is looking into it, this episode is a great beginning resource.

This episode features the return of Ann Reynolds, who runs Wine Compliance Alliance, and was on the podcast previously in Episode 45. As I was busy with grapes and harvest during the month of October, I asked Ann to record a solo episode and discuss an outline navigating the federal and California state winery permitting processes. Ann has vast experience in helping clients obtain both Alternating Permit and Custom Crush / Wholesale licensing, processes that are daunting to folks approaching either for the first time. If you are in looking to start a wine brand, or know someone who is looking into it, this episode is a great beginning resource.

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QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK: JIM@INSIDEWINEMAKING.COM

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This episode features John Caldwell, the maverick, the grape-grower, the vine-smuggler, the clonal researcher, the winemaker, and the story-teller. John didn't plan to start his own winery, and neither did he plan to plant grapevines on his property in Coombsville when he first bought it. Today Caldwell Vineyard is a thriving winery and also continues to sell grapes to other wineries. This episode starts a little slow--John didn't even realize that I was recording an audio podcast--and then delves into chaos. It's not for the faint of heart, or the easily offended. I'm sorry? You're welcome? Strap in for this one!

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This podcast is brought you by Musto Wine Grape Company. Musto is the largest and oldest wine grape and juice distributor in New England, with their own vineyards in Suisun Valley, CA and long-standing contracts with growers in Lodi, Central Valley, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Washington State. Musto services all aspects of the industry for wineries and home winemakers. Whether you need grapes, juice, equipment, chemicals, or winemaking help, Musto is there for you. Contact sales@juicegrape.com for the full inventory of grapes and supplies.

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Having grown up on the Cinnabar Winery estate in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Caleb Mosely has worked with grapevines for nearly all his life. In this episode we talk about his upbringing at Cinnabar, school at CalPoly, work at Ridge Vineyards and then his vineyard positions in Napa before he moved to his current role as viticulturist with Mike Wolfe Vineyard Services. We cover a ton of technical geekdom about rootstocks, weed management, and organic practices.

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This podcast is brought you by Musto Wine Grape Company. Musto is the largest and oldest wine grape and juice distributor in New England, with their own vineyards in Suisun Valley, CA and long standing contracts with growers in Lodi, Central Valley, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Washington State. Musto services all aspects of the industry for wineries and home winemakers. Whether you need grapes, juice, equipment, chemicals, or winemaking help, Musto is there for you. Contact sales@juicegrape.com for the full inventory of grapes and supplies.

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK: JIM@INSIDEWINEMAKING.COM

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As the fourth generation in the Musto family business, Christina Musto is on this episode of the podcast to talk about what Musto Wine Grape Company has available for home and commercial winemakers in New England and to discuss her role as a founding member of Women Winemakers of Connecticut. Musto is the largest and oldest wine grape and juice distributor in New England, with their own vineyards in Suisun Valley, CA and long-standing contracts with growers in Lodi, Central Valley, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Washington State. They also supply fresh grapes, frozen must and juice from Chile, Argentina, Italy, and South Africa.

Christina, who has her Wine Business MBA from Sonoma State University, runs marketing and sales at Musto Wine Grape Company and has deep understanding in the details of helping customers make wines from Musto's inventory of grapes and equipment.

OUR CONVERSATION COVERED:

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This podcast is brought you by Musto Wine Grape Company. Musto is the largest and oldest wine grape and juice distributor in New England, with their own vineyards in Suisun Valley, CA and long standing contracts with growers in Lodi, Central Valley, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Washington State. Musto services all aspects of the industry for wineries and home winemakers. Whether you need grapes, juice, equipment, chemicals, or winemaking help, Musto is there for you. Contact sales@juicegrape.com for the full inventory of grapes and supplies.

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Hailing from the Pisoni family that helped put Santa Lucia Highlands on the winemaking map in California, Jeff Pisoni shares the story of his family's relationship with farming and the development of Gary's, Pisoni, and Soberanes, which supply grapes to numerous top end wineries across the state. Recounting clandestine attempts his father, Gary Pisoni, undertook to find water on the family ranch, Jeff shares how he and his brother, Mark Pisoni, grew up on the farm and now split the work with Mark managing vineyards and Jeff in charge of winemaking. Jeff describes some of the challenges of growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah in the Santa Lucia Highlands, and the ways he approaches the uniqueness that the grapes bring to his winemaking. The Pisoni Estate brand is focused exclusively on Pinot Noir. Jeff explains the creation of his family's other wines including Lucia Vineyards that encompass Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah, and Luli Wines, which also includes a rose and Sauvignon blanc.

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This episode is the first in a series of solo podcasts where I present my assessment of the most critical chemical analyses a winemaker needs to understand. It's a peek inside the chaotic jungle that is my harvest-season brain and the attempts to organize sugar's conversion to alcohol during harvest, when winemaking decisions are most critical. If there was a straight-forward and precise working ratio of sugars to ethanol, this would be a simple, 60-second podcast. Approach this as my quest to identify the variables that affect primary fermentation's numerical outcome, the tools available to a contemporary winemaker, the value and costs of each tool, and the limits of their ability to yield accurate measurements. Not every winemaker would agree with my thoughts presented here, so use this as one of many resources to gain proficiency in wine chemistry.

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In the basement of the world's cutest micro-winery, I met with Mark Porembsky to talk about his work there making not only the wine for Anomaly Vineyards, but also for his own brand, Zeitgeist Cellars.

Our conversation covers:

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Three years after my first podcast with Mike Dunn, he helped me rope Randy Dunn into a podcast so that we could learn more about old-school Napa winemaking and the stories from a place that had far less glitz than exists today. Not one to seek the spotlight, Randy has consistently turned out iconic mountain Cabernets, which have brought the spotlight up to their otherwise quiet ranch on Howell Mountain since the 70's. Mike and Randy count their harvests together in decades, not years.

There are two reasons this turned out to be a great podcast. First, Randy painted a picture of his background and some of the adventures from his early days at Caymus Vineyards, including misleading immigration raids. Second, Mike and Randy were candid about their methods of working together together at Dunn Vineyards.

For a primer to this episode, check out Mike's first podcast on Inside Winemaking in Ep. 3 from August of 2014, where we discuss his path back to Dunn Vineyards and the creation of his own wines with the Retro Cellars brand.

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I had a great time talking with Rebekah Wineburg, who has made worked at some of the top wineries in the world and is currently the winemaker at Quintessa in Napa Valley. Rebekah told me her background and then the full history on Quintessa including the key elements she uses to describe the wine, "Elegance, harmony, and layers."

Our conversation covers a whole range and vineyard and winery topics such as:

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As Vice President and General Manager at Cliff Lede Family Wines Remi Cohen oversees the grapegrowing and winemaking for the Cliff Lede wines in Napa and the FEL wines from Anderson Valley. In this episode Remi tells of her job in entomology that led to enrollment to study viticulture at UCDavis. From there she quickly rose through the vineyard ranks at Napa wineries and farming companies, such as Saintsbury and Bouchaine. With her technical background and MBA from Berkeley she was well suited to take on the operations of two wineries in two distinct parts of northern California.

Our conversation covers lots of cool vineyard topics such as:

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Viticulturist and vineyard guru, Garrett Buckland, returns to the Inside Winemaking Podcast to discuss organic farming as it applies to winegrapes. Garrett has a wealth of vineyard experience, having spent his entire life farming grapes in Napa. He is one of the rare farming gems who also understands winemaking and is immersed in the creation of some of Napa Valley's leading wines. We spend the majority of the podcast discussing my questions about the actual vineyard practices that are employed for organic, conventional, and sustainable winegrowing.

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"California terrior through the lens of Zinfandel." As a winemaker sourcing Zinfandel vineyards, from 12 counties throughout California Tegan Passalacqua has an unrivaled view of this grape's potential in his role at Turley Wine Cellars. Tegan and his wife also have their own small brand, Sandlands Wines, which is often known for its Chenin blanc, but is also producing lesser-known varieties such as Trousseau noir. In this episode of The Inside Winemaking Podcast Tegan and I discuss:

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Spanning wine regions in Israel, California, Walla Walla, and Chile winemaker, Maayan Koschitzky, has accumulated more winemaking experience in ten years than many enologists would in an entire career. Our conversation in this episode explores the practices of Kosher winemaking, especially from Maayan's early career in Israel. After moving the the US to take winery jobs at Screaming Eagle and Dalla Valle Vineyards, Maayan moved into his current position as Director of Winemaking at Atelier Melka, working with Philippe Melka. This episode is full of great technical discussion of winemaking both in the vineyard and winery.

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In this episode I take questions submitted from listeners and give my best advice. Winemaking is like cooking in that there is rarely a discreet best answer, so each response is to be taken with a grain of salt. There's more than one way to ferment a grape. When appropriate I explain how you might scale up or down given the size of winery involved. Questions in this episode about how to make wine cover: the use of SO2, winemaking in Texas, nutritional strategies for native fermentation management, red-wine color extraction, the myths and realities of decanting wines, how dry yeast can ferment a must, can vs. spur pruning, how to run a safe extended maceration on a small scale, predicting wine flavors from grape flavor, and the difference between cold settling and cold stabilization after an addition of Potassium Carbonate.

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If you are interested in the Napa winemaking immersion experience I am putting together for 3 days in August, 2017, send me an email...... jim@insidewinemaking.com

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Tyler Thomas, who is the director of winemaking at Dierberg and Star Lane Vineyards, was the guest on the very popular Episode: 35 of The Inside Winemaking Podcast. In this episode Tyler returns in a solo format to give color to his thoughts on what it means to be a winemaker and then results from some of the vineyard and winery trials that he has taken on. There are numerous academic studies of how yield affects wine quality, but Tyler's trials with Pinot Noir might surprise you. How about the importance of pumpovers? Perhaps there is a task with a higher value return. Can you make a decent wine without using SO2? Is it worth the microbiological risk? Maybe, but the grape better have the inherent characteristics to protect from oxidation. Tyler is very forthcoming with his experience in the vineyards, cellar, and his attempts to question the basic principles of winemaking.

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I'm hoping to put together an episode where I answer listener questions about grapegrowing and winemaking. Please email what's on your mind jim@insidewinemaking.com

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Tom Rinaldi

I had the privilege to sit down and talk with one of my professional heroes, one of the most requested winemakers for this podcast, Tom Rinaldi. After a long career including building the Duckhorn brand from the ground starting in 1978, Tom then went on to launch and direct the Provenance and Hewitt brands with the Chalone group. Tom is now retired from full-time work, but continues to consult on small winemaking projects in Napa and Washington state. Our conversation ranges from what Napa looked like four decades ago, to advice Tom gives for young winemakers.

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I'm hoping to put together an episode where I answer listener questions about grapegrowing and winemaking. Please email what's on your mind jim@insidewinemaking.com

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ANN REYNOLDS, THE INSIDE STORY OF A WINE LABEL

This episode features author, Ann Reynolds, and her book The Inside Story of a Wine Label. Ann's business, Wine Compliance Alliance, is focused resource on navigating the sea of the TTB's federal regulations for everything from grapes to bottling. Ann's book details all of the regulated items on a wine label from brand name, alcohol content, to the specific nuances of appellation and the items that are not required on a wine label. After years involved with wineries large and small, I learned that even I was not fully aware of all the details regulated on a wine label. Winemakers rarely have a comprehensive education in the minutia of TTB regulations, but the feds are serious about the laws when it comes to an audit, and The Inside Story of a Wine Label is a way for winemakers to pull the guide off of the shelf in order to stay on top of each facet of a wine label. Make sure and check out the Wine Compliance Alliance Youtube channel, which has lots of free videos that cover everything from getting a winery bond to the differences between custom crush vs. an Alternating Proprietor (AP).

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I'm hoping to put together an episode where I answer listener questions about grapegrowing and winemaking. Please email what's on your mind jim@insidewinemaking.com

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This episode features Philippe Melka, one of the most renowned winemakers in California. Joining us is Meghan Zoebeck, who is one of the winemakers that make up the small Atelier Melka workshop, which is responsible for the consultation to some of Napa's leading wineries. I have received many requests for a discussion of managing native fermentations and I felt Philippe's experience would be ideal for this topic. After Philippe shares the mishap of feeding red pomace to the winery cows at Seavey Vineyard back in 1995 we get right into the thick of fermentation management including both philosophical and technical aspects. This episode gets deep into the weeds of red wine fermentations and we also cover the practice of extended macerations. We wrap up with a discussion of Philippe and Meghan's recent forays into Pinot Noir winemaking. I had a great time recording this episode and I'm excited to share it with all the Inside Winemaking listeners.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

I'm hoping to put together an episode where I answer listener questions about grapegrowing and winemaking. Please email what's on your mind jim@insidewinemaking.com

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

Questions? Comments? Let me know what you think: jim@insidewinemaking.com

Austin Peterson decided that he wanted to become a winemaker his father, also a winemaker, tried talking him out of it. Winemaking may not be the most lucrative career, but it is rife with people choosing passion over payment. Austin, now winemaker at Ovid Vineyards in Napa's Pritchard Hill, brings a relentless passion to the vineyard and winemaking processes at Ovid Vineyards.

Austin and the rest of the Ovid team might have one of the most spectacular daily commutes. Resting above the main valley of Napa Ovid is situated on Pritchard Hill perched on its western slope. It's this slope that allows cool air to flow out from the vineyard and leave the vines out of frost's harm.

In this episode of the Inside Winemaking Podcast we discuss:

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I'm hoping to put together an episode where I answer listener questions about grapegrowing and winemaking. Please email what's on your mind jim@insidewinemaking.com

From experiments with co-fermentation, harvest timing, and shade v. sun-side canopies Robert Hunt has a contagious curiosity for the endless pursuit of refining his technical approaches to winemaking. In 2016 Anderson's Conn Valley lost its founder, Gus Anderson, and thus I asked Robert to describe the founding of stories of the vineyard and subsequent winery. Our conversation in this episode covers topics from estate winemaking and its gritty details, what a good winery lab job looks like, to the lessons of selective harvesting Robert learned from winemaking mentors. Make sure to catch the final question where Robert discusses the fantasy wines he would love to make in Italy, as his travels and interest in Italian wines is impressive.

I'm hoping to put together an episode where I answer listener questions about grapegrowing and winemaking. Please email what's on your mind jim@insidewinemaking.com

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The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

Questions? Comments? Let me know what you think: jim@insidewinemaking.com

This episode features Jeremy Weintraub, who is making some of the most exciting wines in California's Central Coast. Having worked at wineries in New York, New Zealand, Italy, Napa, and throughout the Central Coast, Jeremy is well suited to understand vineyard potential and the methods to craft wines that demonstrate what he finds exciting in each site. Our conversation covers his path to winemaking, lessons from Antinori in Chianti, how to co-ferment Viognier and Syrah, meshing lessons from academia with practical farming, how grape clones might not be so important, the commercial reality of making and selling Nebbiolo, the illusions of ripe, brown seeds, his impressions after working with an optical sorter, and the importance of the winery crew being exposed to great wines from around the world.

Fueled by tequila, and recorded naked in an ofuro, or Japanese soaking tub, this episode gave me the chance to exhaust my thoughts on flavor through grapes and winemaking. Part science, part clinical experience, and part bad science veiled as expertise the thoughts presented range from highly technical to pure speculation. I think the hot water and cold night air allowed me to relax and ultimately gives a peek inside my thought processes during grape ripening and the harvest season.

A friendship that spans the divide between California and The Cape in South Africa has manifest in the partnership that is the talented viticultural and winemaking prowess behind Wilson Foreigner. After working the 2004 harvest together in South Africa, Dave Wilson and Chris Alheit, remained friends as they both gained experience working at some of the most prestigious vineyard and winery estates throughout the world. In 2015 they produced a Valdigue from Rancho Chimiles, Dave's family's home vineyard in Napa, and also an Albarino from the Rorick Vineyard in the Sierra Foothills. The Wilson Foreigner wines have a clearly delineated style, which Chris describes as a "nervous energy," and the hue of the Valdigue is "electric magenta." This podcast captures the passion that this young partnership has for finding off-the-radar sites and showcasing their excitement for those vineyards with minmalistic winemaking.

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The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

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After working among some of the top wineries in Napa, Aaron Miller took over the helm as winemaker for Plumpjack Winery in 2012. Plumpjack sits on some of the most valuable real estate in the Napa Valley, with the estate vineyard planted in the iron-red soils of Oakville's eastern edge. In this episode Aaron tells the story of Plumpjack and its relation to its sister wineries Cade Winery and Odette Estate, also operated by the Plumpjack Group. Each of the three wineries has been created to express the unique qualities of its estate vineyard, each in a different district of Napa. Our conversation in this episode covers Aaron's background, his observations of growing Chardonnay in the warm northern half of Napa, the characteristics of fermenting in steel, oak, and concrete tanks, the efforts to manage those different tanks, and Plumpjack's 20 years of experience in bottling the top Cabernet under cork and screwcap closures.

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Questions? Comments? Let me know what you think: jim@insidewinemaking.com

In a quiet nook off of Silverado Trail in St Helena District of Napa Valley, Boeschen Vineyards is hidden where the grapevines meet the oak hillside. Cypress trees interplanted with the Sauvignon blanc vines was the compromise the Boeschens struck with their master gardener mother, Susan. After a career as a strategy consultant for technology companies Doug Boeschen was compelled to take a viticulture job and learn about growing grapes and making wine. That compulsion is what catalyzed the purchase of vineyards that would become Boeschen Vineyards and then the building of a winery within a cave to solidify the new estate brand. I met Doug during our studies at UC Davis, but used the opportunity of this podcast to catch up and learn the stories of both his education in winemaking and the creation of the Boeschen wines.

Our conversation ranges from the land stewardship certifications that the Boeschen earned, to the influence of the Porsche Carrera in his winemaking, and then to technical aspects of farming such as Pierce's Disease and shade cloth to protect grapes from the afternoon sun. One of my favorite aspects of this episode is what Doug learned from working in a tough internship in Bordeaux. Thanks for listening.

This episode is the return of David Bos, a guru of organic, biodynamic farming, and one of Inside Winemaking's most popular guests. For those that have yet to listen to David's initial interview ( #011 "Beyond the Cowhorn" from Februrary, 2015) I would suggest listening to that first. During his round two we get explore compost, its creation, and how to source high quality material. David gives a background on his early experiments with biochar, something that has a potential to aid compost in the soil and also describes rock dust, AKA Azomite.

In the second part of our discussion we talk about the critical elements of running on organic spray program for grapes, specifically to control powdery mildew. There is a lot of hippie information about "natural wines" out there and David gets frank regarding what he considers natural and how organic farming fits into the battle with powdery mildew. Our conversation weaves in and out of technical farming and then even touches into some of the biodynamic preparations and how, and when, they are used in the vineyard. Always one to put his words into action, you can check out David's own wines at BosWine.com and the new Wine and Swine Club.

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This episode of the Inside Winemaking Podcast is an exciting one for two reasons. First, my guest, Tyler Thomas weaves us through the epic vineyard and winery estate that is Dierberg and Star Lane Vineyards. Second, this episode was recorded over Skype, and is the initial foray outside a previously limited geographic range of the northern California.

From own-rooted vines, to the differential rates of flavor and tannin extraction, all the way to the 250-year plan that Star Lane Vineyards is built upon, this conversation with Tyler is a treasure trove of ideas for winemaking geeks.

As I prepare to bottle my 2014 red wines I've put together a working document of all the important aspects that have to come together to successfully wrap up wines' tenure in the cellar. This episode of The Inside Winemaking Podcast is a peek inside my brain, and my planning for the end of the 20-month affair I've had with these grapes and wines. With so much to prepare and a heightened level of consequence, winemaking becomes very technical on the route to the bottling line.

After an education that spanned the Canary Islands, Barcelona, and Bordeaux, Anthony Weytjens has set roots in Napa as the Winemaker and Estate Manager at Edge Hill Estate. It wasn't until Anthony left Tenerife, the main island of the Canaries, and went to law school in Spain that he found an interest in vineyards and winemaking. In the podcast Anthony weaves through the trials that were a part of his viticulture and enology education at the University of Bordeaux, including his having to learn French from scratch. After interning at some of the top Chateaux within the Christian Moueix group in Bordeaux, Anthony took the opportunity to work in Dominus Estate in Napa and thus began his career in California. Now at Edge Hill Estate in the St Helena district of Napa Valley, Anthony oversees the grapes and rebuilding of one of the valley's most history wineries. We recorded our podcast in the old distillery that was initially built in 1869 and was painstakingly re-constructed o that every stone was set in its original orientation. We discuss the efforts Anthony is heading at Edge Hill to convert the vineyard to dry farming and biodynamics.

And the podcast would not be complete without some insight into the vineyards and wines of the Canary Islands. Although he has yet to make any wine on the Canaries, Anthony describes some of the cool aspects of growing grapes in volcanoes, cliffs, and wind-swept slopes. There are spots with vines that are 200 years old, others that drape off of cliffs such that people have to wear harnesses to pick the grapes and use donkeys to pack them out. Fortunately, some of these wines are being exported, so don't miss Anthony's recommendations.

This episode is all about the use of whole berry fermentation in red winemaking. I used this opportunity to make a solo podcast and go over what whole berry fermentation is, the reasons a winemaker would want to employ this technique in a winery, and also the multitude of challenges that it presents. For each of the challenges, I address the methods I have adopted in order to overcome potential issues.

After an extensive string of internships spanning New Zealand, Napa, and Australia, Laura Barrett made a list of her top ten women winemakers that she hoped to work with and landed herself a job with a superstar, Mia Klein. After working with Mia at Fisher Vineyards, Laura was the winemaker at Casey Flat Ranch before taking on her current winemaking post at Clif Family Winery. Based in Napa, Clif Family gained notoriety for their line of snack bars popular with endurance athletics before branching out into the wine business. Under Laura's stewardship, Clif Family is producing a stellar line-up of wines, including Bordeaux varieties from their organically-farmed estate on Howell Mountain.

Laura showed up prepared for this episode of the podcast, notes and all. Don't miss her trials with Grenache-based rose, and the unpopular belief she employs in the winery.

After a three week garage sale in Dallas, Texas, Jason sold everything thing he owned in order to move to Napa and tread his own path that involved learning how to make wine and creating Modus Operandi, the project that arose from this quest. Jason recalls the efforts that were involved and the way he chose the mentorships over technical studies. If you like stories of hustle, networking, and the passion to pursuit new ideas, this podcast with Jason will be a hit. Make sure and catch the tale of how his wine, Antithesis, was conceived and then manifest in the winery.

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I sat down with Dave, explained what a podcast was, he took off his worn John Deere hat, I hit record, and 70 minutes later I left grinning with the anticipation of sharing this episode with the Inside Winemaking listeners.

Dave recounts the experiences that brought him into winemaking and the early days of the Orin Swift wines, while working at Robert Mondavi and Whitehall Lane, including the lessons learned from the difficult 1998 vintage. Our conversation leads from assessing vineyards to blending and the "perception of sweetness." In 2010 Dave sold two of his brands; The Prisoner and Saldo, but continued to build the Orin Swift brand and went on to create Locations Wine after the idea struck while stuck at Charles de Gaulle airport. Locations Wine is now producing individual wines from France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, California, Oregon, Washington, Corsica (great story of the label here), and soon to add Portugal.

Not content just to oversee the winemaking, Dave is the creator of all of his wines' labels, a collection that has been inspired by world travel, simple observation, and a desire to give his fans something they can't find anywhere else. The labels are too cool for me to do them justice - check out them out atInsideWinemaking.com. Dave tells the stories behind the Machete, Abstract, and Mercury Head wines. We finish out our conversation with his story of how the Orin Swift tasting room floor in St Helena came to be furnished with pages from "pamphlets of Maoist propaganda." Don't miss Dave's answer to the question. "What do you believe that nobody else does?"

Listeneners may recall that Amy Warnock, who was the guest in Episode 7 is the director of viticulture for, and Zeke Neeley from Episode 14 is now working with Dave Phinney at Orin Swift.

Overlooking Howell Mountain and some of the greatest vineyards in Napa, Kent and DJ Nielsen operate a unique culinary experience for those interested in not just a great meal, but being a part of its creation. Cooks, Books, and Corks is a dining experience that they operate out of their home, a home complete with a near-commercial kitchen. In this episode of The Inside Winemaking Podcast Kent and DJ describe the fates that brought them to food, to cooking, to wine, and to their version of a cooking school and destination in wine country, all while their four German Shepherds circle us on their patio. Though not winemakers, these two know wines very deeply and give some great suggestions for pairing a variety of wine styles with dinner options.

This episode is not about technical winemaking, but it provided the opportunity to share the story of Cook, Books, and Corks, and to allow DJ to share the incredible story of her surprise run-in with the yellow smoke on the water and the British Navy.

This episode is focused completely on Riesling. Scott Sisemore, who is the man behind Waxwing Wine Cellars, began making only Pinot noir and Syrah, then when the time came to add a white wine to his portfolio made a very deliberate decision to make Riesling. Unlike many other white wines, Riesling requires a vintner to strategize a intentional style of final wine, and then a plan for its vinification. After tasting through the full range of styles of Riesling, particularly focusing on the level of final sweetness and its balance with acidity, Scott set out to create his Waxwing Riesling. During our conversation Scott recounts the methods and challenges that he has encountered during the initial vintages of his experience struggling with Riesling. A good winemaker can create a sound winemaking plan. A great winemaker can assess the realities of a difficult situation and adjust at every step of winemaking. This episode is full of Scott's experiences grappling with the fickle varietal that is Riesling.

Make sure and listen to the end where Scott offers Inside Winemaking listeners an exclusive deal on the Waxwing Wines.

You'll never mindlessly pop a cork out of a bottle of wine after hearing this podcast. Greg Hirson, who is the Technical Services Manager for Cork Supply USA, takes me in depth through the meticulous processing from tree bark to wine stopper. Its Greg's job to educate wineries on best practices for selecting appropriate closures and implementing sound bottling practices. He describes how it is not until the third harvest of tree, after almost 60 years of growth, that the bark is of a quality suitable for wine bottles. Subsequent bark harvests come every 9-11 years and a tree can give 10-15 harvests over the span of its production life.

Our conversation begins with a background and history of how wines have been ruined by TCA (tri-chloroanisole) - "corked" wines. The entire cork industry has taken great efforts to identify the sources of TCA and then to develop processing procedures to reduce its incidence. These efforts have spurned great leaps forward in delivering better quality corks to wineries worldwide in the past 20 years. Greg mentions the Cork Quality Council, which is an industry non-profit group that was created to promote education regarding cork stoppers. The final part of our conversation covers some of the best techniques and procedures for bottling wines with both corks or capsules.

As winemaker for Silver Oak, Nate Weis is the steward for one of the most prominent and recognized brands of Cabernet in the US. In this episode of the Inside Winemaking Podcast Nate shares how what may be considered an old-guard brand of California winemaking, Silver Oak, is actually on the cutting edge of innovation and is now the first wine producer to have taken an oak barrel cooperage in-house. After rebuilding the Napa winery due to a fire in 2006, Silver Oak has drawn from its experience in winery design and is now building its Alexander Valley facility with the goal of being LEED Platinum certified by its debut in 2017. Part of Nate's role is to oversee winemaking for the Twomey brand, which was created to produce Merlot, but now has a full range of wines including Pinot noir from Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Those interested in working a harvest vintage in New Zealand are encouraged to apply to the Doug Wisor Memorial Scholarship, which provides funding and a job placement at Craggy Range Winery. After working for Doug when he was in New Zealand, Nate now helps aspiring winemakers discover this opportunity to honor a man who was one of his own mentors.