The Inside Winemaking Podcast With Jim Duane

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: How to pick vineyards for a specific wine style Rebekah's thoughts on extended maceration The size and diversity of vineyard blocks at Quintessa in the Rutherford AVA Biodynamics "as we believe it to be" and the preparations applied in the vineyard Protocol 2010 and the contractor that Quintessa uses to have confidence that new vines are clean when planted Ideas to help consumers feel confident with her wines, and the differences in tasting with other winemakers vs. consumers Plans for the winery re-design at Quintessa What it's like to work with the Huneeus family LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS

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:  The differences between organic and sustainable farming practices The ways that sustainable operations look at the bigger picture, including workshops available through the Napa Valley Grapegrowers Association and The Wine Institute The various challenges of farming vineyards on hillsides v. the valley floor.   How important private tasting groups can be in developi

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.   LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Garrett's first appearance on Inside Winemaking in Ep. 008 and 008 Part II Premiere Viticultural Services and Vine Info Tendu Wines from Steve Matthiasson CCOF Calfornia Certified Organic Farmers SUPPRESS an organic herbicide Deep Winemaking 2017 is scheduled for August 10-12th in Napa.  Come spend three days immersed in technical visits with winemakers, viticulturists, barrel cooperages, and wine laboratories

"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: Why Zinfandel is particularly well-suited to California throughout its winemaking history before refrigeration The unique resilience that Zinfandel vines have in tolerating virus and disease How eustress is healthy, but the recent drought years brought too much stress Why Tegan views the tracking of acidity to be particularly important in producing Zin Tegan's fascination with  Why the 2012 vintage was like a rebound relationship How to guide a notoriously difficult Zinfandel fermentation into finishing Why Tegan only likes B

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.   LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Carmel Winery, Israel Ella Valley Winery, Israel Margalit Winery, Israel Winery Technology and Operations - Yair Margalit Screaming Eagle, Napa Dalla Valle Vineyards, Napa Dana Estates, Napa Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, Washington Hagafen Cellars, Napa's Kosher winery Covenant Wines, Kosher winery out of Berkeley Sphera Winery, Israel  Marsel

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.   LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Native Fermentation Management with Philippe Melka and Megan Zobeck Jeremy Weintraub of Adelaida Vineyards and  Winery and Site Wine Co

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.   LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Dierberg Vineyard, Santa Barbara County Star Lane Vineyard, Santa Barbara County

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.   LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Pellet Estate, Napa Ambassador Winery, Washington Duckhorn Vineyards, Napa Provenance Vineyards, Napa Hewitt Vineyard, Napa Freemark Abbey, Napa 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?  Com

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 v

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 Atelier Mel

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:   Organic practices for weed control Winery design and gravity flow at Ovid The difference between sugar measurements Brix and sugar-per-berry The method Austin uses to measure sugar-per-berry and the results they have observed in their vineyards The advantages of barre

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   LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Colgin Cellars Clos P

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.     LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Wilson Foreigner  Alheit Vineyards in South A

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.   LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Plumpjack Winery Cade Winery Odette

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 farmi

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 prepara

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.