Cru Wine Podcast | Stories From The People Behind Wine

As one of the 4% of female winemakers in California who are also owners of their own winery, Sonoma-based LaRue Wines winemaker and owner, Katy Wilson is also making waves within the 10% minority of California wineries whose lead winemaker also happens to be female. Because, not only does she manage every harvest decision, punch down and barrel regimen under her own label, she also the winemaker for Anaba Wines, Claypool Cellars, Reeve Wines and Smith Story Wine Cellars.

Jody Bogle is of the third-generation winemakers & Director of Public Relations for Bogle Vineyards in Clarksburg, California. An award-winning winery for its sustainability efforts, Bogle Vineyards is setting the industry standard when it comes to responsible growing and wine production. In addition to the Green Medal Leadership Award, Bogle was also honored by the California State Fair for the family’s contribution to the wine industry.

Michael Evans is the co-founder of The Vines of Mendoza, a winery in the Uco Valley of Argentina that crafts nearly 300 custom wines each year with 130 private vineyard owners.

David Wilson is the co-founder of Wilson Foriegner & Director of Vineyards & Grower Relations at Pahlmeyer. In this episode, David & I dig into his story and background, he tells us the history behind his family’s ranch, Rancho Chimiles in Wooden Valley, and we discuss the concept of a California terroir. We then chat about his new wine label, Wilson Foreigner, which makes Valdigué from the same vineyard as Michael Cruse, Albarino from the Rorick Vineyard, and Zinfandel from the Del Barba Vineyard.

Noah Dorrance is the co-founder & chief winemaker of Reeve Wines based in Dry Creek Valley, California.

Originally from Provence, Julien Fayard is one of Napa Valley’s most respected consulting winemakers producing California varietals with French finesse. Formerly of Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Philippe Melka’s team, he lends two decades of winemaking expertise to more than a dozen different brands, including the highly-rated Le Pich and Purlieu wines, as well as his own labels — Azur, Covert Estate and Empreinte. You can learn more at FayardWines.com

Norman Hardie, @normanhardiewinery, is the owner & winemaker of Norman Hardie Winery in Prince Edward County, Ontario, making some of the best Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and other Burgundian varietals in North America. We’ll get into some of the extreme tactics that Norman and his team have to employ simply to keep their vineyards alive, but one of my favorites he mentions is having helicopters hover over the vineyard to ward off frost.

Jennifer Reichardt is the founder and winemaker of Raft Wines, a small production wine label based in Santa Rosa, California with a heavy focus on Rhone Varietals. In this episode, we dig into Jen’s story, how she got into wine when being raised in a household that was all about ducks, why and how she makes the types of wines she does, and the exciting and rewarding work that she is doing with Rebuild Wine Country, and a new project with the help of Liberty Duck and Tonnellerie Radoux.

Chelsea Boss, @seaboss on Instagram, is the general manager of Senses Wines who make fantastic small production pinot noir and chardonnay based in Occidental, California and one of the founders of Rebuild Wine Country, an organization that is working with Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County to raise $5 million dollars in order to rebuild owned & rented homes lost in the Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Mendocino, and Lake County wildfires.

Sara Morgenstern is one of those people that if you try to introduce her to someone, she’s already good friends with them and if you ask her to join in on a project, she’ll dive in head first even though her calendar is already fully booked.

Blair Guthrie is a kiwi transplant to the Napa Valley and winemaker for Stewart Cellars, Hollis Wines, Slingshot Wines, and his personal passion project, Guthrie Family Wines all based in Napa Valley.

As a wine lover and fan of podcasts I took the opportunity to record a bonus episode with Jim Duane, who produces the Inside Winemaking podcast. Our conversation ranges from my background, my goals in building a wine podcast, and what I've have learned from the wine professionals that have shared their experience during my interviews.  

In this episode, Raj and I dig into his story of being both a sommelier and winemaker, we chat about the fascinating topic of the terroir of California, and Raj tell us about his new book The Atlas of Taste along with his new, 500 person wine club he’s opening soon.

David Ramey is the owner and winemakers of Ramey Wine Cellars based in my new home of Healdsburg, California. You may have heard of Ramey, or even purchased a few bottles, as it is distributed in almost every market. David has been making wine for 40 odd years in France, Napa, Sonoma, most notably at Chateau Petrus, you’ve probably never heard of that though, Chalk Hill, Matanzas Creek, Rudd Estate, and Dominus in Napa and Sonoma.

Melinda Kearny and Michèle Ouellet, the mother-daughter duo behind Lorenza Rosé based in Napa. Learn more about Lorenza with the show notes here.