IWP Ep58 The California Wine Association (CWA) - Part 3 - Shopping Spree. This is part 3 of my series on the California Wine Association. Last episode we saw them battle the California Wine Makers Corporation in the so called “Wine Wars” The CWA was able to come out on top, as the winemakers Corporation was never able to truly work as 1 entity. The CWA was also able to hang on as wine prices dropped and dropped, making it tough to survive for those smaller producers. The production of California...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 58
IWP Ep57 The California Wine Association (CWA) - Part 2 - The Wine Wars. This is the 2nd part of my series on the California Wine Association or CWA. Last time we focussed on why and how the CWA came to be and some of the key players behind it including Percy Morgan, Charles Carpy, Samual Lachman and Kohler and Frohling. Incorporation was finished in August of 1894, just in time for harvest of that year. The wine firms involved already had San Francisco based offices and cellars and the CWA woul...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 57
IWP Ep56 The California Wine Association (CWA) - Part 1 - Wine is too Cheap. Today we start something a little different for harvest time. I have a series on the history of the California Wine Association or CWA. The largest and most dominant Pre Prohibition wine firm in the US. I hope you come along on the journey with me. This episode and the ones that follow in the series connect lots of different people. Ones we have spoken about previously will make appearances and we will also hear new nam...
Sep 13, 2024•43 min•Ep. 56
IWP Ep55 Monica and Beno - Catch and Release Wines - Today we’re with Monica and Beno from Catch and Release Wines. We discuss how they got started and selling your first vintage during the pandemic, how their wines styles have changed and evolved over the years, what farming and sourcing of fruit means to them and some 2024 harvest. They have a wine for every occasion from really dialed in and serious versions of Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir to the fun and juicy Block Party orange wine. You can fi...
Sep 06, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 55
IWP Ep54 Josh Hammerling - Hammerling Wines Today we’re hearing from Josh Hammerling of Hammerling wines in Berkeley. Josh and his team are making great traditional method sparkling wines in a variety of styles. We talk about how Hammerling got started, Some of the techniques they use when crafting their wines and a lot of the unique aspects of sparkling production. The hammerling wines are really unique with some great textures to go along with the high acids. You can find them at Hammerlingwin...
Aug 23, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 54
IWP Ep53 Kenny, Lynn, Kelsey and Stefan - Hobo Wine Company - Today I’m with Kenny, Lynn, Kelsey and Stefan of Hobo Wine Company. Hobo started about 20 years ago with a couple barrels of Zin and although they’ve grown, it’s still a family environment. They work in a low intervention way, farming and making wine responsibly while helping to ensure others can do the same. We discuss the start of Hobo and the style of wine Kenny was looking to make, farming their own fruit and how their impact repo...
Aug 16, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 53
IWP Ep52 Marty Winters and Alex Pitts - Maître de Chai - Today we’re hearing from Marty and Alex from Maître de Chai. They have a great story about their transition from cooking in Michelin starred restaurants to apprenticing with some of Californias great winemakers. They make great site based wines from their winery in Berkeley. We discuss how they made the transition from kitchens to wine, how 130 year old Cinsault inspired them and how you can support California winemakers. You can find thei...
Aug 09, 2024•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 52
IWP Ep51 Brent Mayeaux - Stagiaire Wine -Today I’m talking with Brent Mayeaux of Stagiaire. Brent’s making some of the best natural zero/zero wines around. He works with mostly with coastal sites and like the name implies, he’s always learning. He also runs the “Wine From Here” festival with Subject to change winery. We discuss his start, harvest hopping in France and Australia, the vineyards and places that interest him in California, working with classic varieties but Zero/Zero and Wine From H...
Aug 02, 2024•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 51
IWP Ep50 Matt Niess - North American Press -Today I’m talking with Matt Niess of North American Press. Matt’s making wonderful and expressive wines from native and hybrid grapes and some apples. His winemaking is top notch and low intervention. We discuss his introduction to hybrids, the characteristics of some that he’s working with, how to ethically forage and how these grapes fit in with climate change. Find Matts wine at www.NorthAmericanPress.wine or @ north_american_press Follow the podcas...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 50
IWP Ep49 Samantha, Michael, John - Viano Vineyards - Today I’m talking with Samantha, Michael and John who make up the 5th generation of the Viano wine growing family. This generation has been taking over more and more of the running of the family winery from their parents, like they did before. Viano vineyards has been producing estate wines since the 40’s from their dry farmed and head trained Zinfandel, Cabernet, Chardonnay, Petite Sirah and more vines. All grown in the rolling sandy hills ab...
Jul 19, 2024•38 min•Ep. 49
IWP Ep48 Matthew Keller - Don Mateo Matthew Keller or Don Mateo as he was sometimes known, was one of the pioneering winegrowers of Los Angeles, moving there when it was still barely more than a dusty pueblo. He wasn’t the first but was among them, we’ll get to his contemporaries in time. We’re going to hear a lot of quotes in the episode today, because Keller was a very prolific writer. The quality and quantity of his wine writing is matched by only a couple other winemakers in Pre-Prohibition ...
Jul 12, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 48
IWP Ep47 James Jelks - Florez Wines. James is a super thoughtful winemaker. His wines are full of uniqueness and personality. Most are made in a zero zero fashion from the converted apple warehouse he shares with Margins wines in Watsonville. He works with mostly Santa Cruz Mountains fruit as well as some from neighboring San Benito and Santa Clara counties.We discuss his start, the vineyrd he farms, Grenache, working with Pinot Noir as a natural winemaker, long aged Chardonnay and more. You can...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 47
IWP Ep46 Axel Borg - Distinguished Wine and Food Science Bibliographer Emeritus, University Library UC Davis. Axel worked for the library for 33 years, helping to build the food and wine library into the greatest of its type, before retiring in 2020, though he still volunteers his time and knowledge to the food and wine community. We discuss his work with Maynard Amerine and other food and wine luminaries, what makes this library special and the bibliographies he's currently working on. Follow t...
Jun 21, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 46
IWP Ep45 Maryam Hariri - Azizam Wines I was able to speak with Maryam Hariri in San Francisco during her tour releasing the Azizam wines. Maryam was a climate change policy maker before being a climate adaptive winemaker and we talk about both lives. She also works with Bichi wines, both based in Baja California. Working mostly with small vineyards and old vines. Palomino, Mission, Rosa Del Peru and Nebbiolo make up much of the production often fermented and aged in concrete Tinajas aka Amphora....
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 45
IWP Ep44 Kate Field - Eccentric In Her Genius. Today we’ll be talking about Kate Field. She was an author, playwright, actress and more. Her involvement in the wine industry was brief but she’s worth knowing about, wine connection or not. She helped in the fight to hold off prohibition. Prohibition wasn’t an overnight change, it was threatened for years and decades even. Counties and cities going dry, Saloon taxes enacted, bars shuttered, taxation laws around wines changed and when prohibition f...
May 31, 2024•31 min•Ep. 44
IWP Ep43 William Allen and Karen Daenen - Two Shepherds I recently sat down with William Allen and Karen Daenen of Two Shepherds Wine at their home and vineyard in Fulton. The vineyard is unique with tight 3x3 spacing which we discuss and the farm is also filled with an ever expanding array of animals including Goat’s, Donkey’s, Dogs, Cats, Chickens and the newest addition’s 2 baby Kunekune Pigs. They make a wide range of complex wines, from light and fun to real serious, including cans at their...
May 17, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 43
IWP Ep42 Christopher Buckley - Ravenswood, The Blind Boss of San Francisco and Lord of Livermore. Today we are looking at Christopher Buckley and his historic Ravenswood estate. Buckley was a blind Political boss in San Francisco during the latter part of the 19th century. Ravenswood was his 100 plus acre country estate in the upcoming wine producing region of the Livermore Valley. There have been books and articles written about Buckley but they all tend to gloss over the vineyard and wine prod...
May 10, 2024•32 min•Ep. 42
IWP Ep41 Cary Quintana - Cary Q Wines. Cary Quintana is our guest today. She’s making really vibrant and food friendly wines from great vineyards sites. We hear about her journey from owning a wine shop in Miami, how she keeps a hands on approach with all her wines and what she looks to bring out in each grape variety. you can find her wines at caryqwines.com and follow what shes up to on instagram @caryqwines Follow the podcast at www.instagram.com/indiewinepodcast or email indiewinep...
Apr 26, 2024•45 min•Ep. 41
IWP Ep40 The 2 Natoma Vineyards with Kevin Knauss - The American River, Bugbey and Gold. Today we're discussing the 2 Natoma vineyards, they were close to each other in both time and distance, enough so that they have fooled wine historians much smarter than myself. They fooled me too. I have Kevin Knauss helping me today, he was the one to set me straight, he’s spent years as a historian studying the American River and Sacramento area and has written about Bugbey and his Natoma vineyard, AP Cat...
Apr 19, 2024•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 40
IWP Ep39 Evan Lewandowski - Ruth Lewandowski Wines I recently spoke with Evan Lewandowski of Ruth Lewandowski wines. Evan started the winery over 10 years ago and since then has been making some amazing natural wines. We run through many of his current releases, getting fun back stories and history of the vineyards and blends while also hearing how he got his start, some of his influences, potential Utah vineyards and the things he really loves in a wine. The spring release for some of these win...
Apr 05, 2024•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 39
IWP Ep38 Thomas DeBiase - Jupiter Wine Co. Today I’m speaking with Thomas DeBiase of Jupiter Wine Company. We sat down on rainy day at the beautiful Idlewild tasting room in Healdsburg. Thomas and his business partner Michael Richardson started Jupiter in 2020 to not only produce low intervention wines but to give back to the community. They work with a fun variety of Italian varieties including Vermentino, Sangiovese, Montepulciano and Tocai Fruilano, give the wines a try. We discuss the start ...
Mar 29, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 38
I recently spoke with Chris Brockway of Broc Cellars in Berkeley. Chris has been making Natural Wine for over 20 years, starting Broc with a single Barrel in 2002 and continuing to grow since then, working with a large variety of grapes and regions. In 2023 they purchased Fox Hill vineyard after 10 years of working together and have now taken over the farming. We discuss how Chris got started, The natural wine scene at the time, some of his more iconic Broc wines, collaborations, and purchasing ...
Mar 22, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 37
IWP Ep36 Steven Kent Mirassou - Steven Kent Winery. I recently spoke with Steven Kent Mirassou of Steven Kent winery at his tasting room in Livermore. Steven is the 6th generation in his family to make wine. They trace their California wine roots all the back to the Pellier Brothers in the 1850’s. We discuss his family, how he made his way back into wine, living and making wine in Livermore, its vineyards and of course Cabernet Franc. You can find the Steven Kent wines at Stevenkent.com and foll...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 36
IWP Ep35 The Alhambra Valley 1850-1915 - Experimentation, Education, Conservation - Strentzel, Swett and Muir. This episode is about family and Friends in a small valley in the golden age of Pomology. They all are named John somewhat confusingly and all are referred to as the “Father” of something, John Swett’s son Frank is also a large part of the episode. Although Strentzel and Muir aren’t best known as winemakers, Strentzel was trained in it and did make wine and his agricultural work was ahe...
Mar 08, 2024•52 min•Ep. 35
IWP Ep34 Jared Brandt and Connor Bockman - Donkey and Goat I recently spoke with Jared Brandt and Connor Bockman of Donkey and Goat. Jared is of course one of the founders of the winery and Conor is the Director of Winemaking. Located in Berkeley California the winery celebrates it’s 20th anniversary this year. The natural wine landscape in California has changed a lot since Donkey and Goat started. We discuss some of things that have changed, how the winery started, the growers they work with a...
Mar 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 34
IWP Ep33 Short Stories on California Wine 1. Usually we have an interview or one subject running throughout an episode. This episode will be a little different. Doing research for episodes I often come across stories and people who can’t fill a full episode but the stories of both are fun and unusual and deserve to be heard. Sometimes these older publications just have weird and random columns, sections or sometimes it's just a sentence, nearly all of these I’m collecting will be Pre-Prohibition...
Feb 23, 2024•37 min•Ep. 33
IWP Ep32 Ryan Stirm - Stirm Wine Co. I recently spoke with Ryan Stirm of Stirm Wine Company in Watsonville. Since his first vintage about 10 years ago, Ryan has become really well known for his multiple Rieslings from the central coast and working with great vineyards like Kick On Ranch and Wirz. He’s also perhaps the foremost producer of Cab Pfeffer, working with the Siletto family vineyards as well as Gimelli vineyard, originally a part of the historic El Gavilan vineyard. He makes wonderful Z...
Feb 16, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 32
IWP Ep31 Julia Ornelas-Higdon - The Grapes of Conquest I recently spoke with author Julia-Ornelas-Higdon about her book The Grapes of Conquest - Race, Labor, and the Industrialization of California Wine, 1769–1920. Julia is an associate professor at Cal State University Chanel Islands and this is fascinating book if you’re interested in the history of California and California Wine especially Pre-Prohibition. It looks at this history from a different perspective than what we normally hear about ...
Feb 02, 2024•49 min•Ep. 31
IWP Ep30 Tyler Stacy - Commune Regional Wines. Tyler runs commune with his wife Emily and together they are making wines from places they love. These are well made, bright and textured wines from California that go great with food and family. We talked at the Haarmeyer/ Harbor winery in West Sacramento where Commune is based. These are amazingly food friendly wines made from unique sources in small quantities, you should try them. You can find the wines at communeregionalwines.com and follow wha...
Jan 19, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 30
New Episode Next Week! 2nd trailer for the Indie Wine Podcast. In this trailer you’ll hear short excerpts from some of the first 29 episodes. Many of our episodes are interviews with smaller independent winemakers, people who I think are making great wine from carefully farmed fruit. I’ve also spoken with some of the farmers growing those grapes. Authors, Sommeliers, Merchants and some episodes on California Wine History round out the current crop of episodes. These are all folks worth supportin...
Jan 12, 2024•12 min
