9/26-Mike Horn visits with Gary Pisoni & Randy Ullom

Gary Pisoni - Pisoni Vineyards

Winemaker Gary Pisoni is not normally a reserved man; ask anyone in the wine business and they will tell you that he's a larger than life character, with his cascading ringlets of hair and his booming voice.

Gary Pisoni comes from a long time California farming family; his parents started farming vegetables in the Salinas Valley, near Gonzales, back in 1946. With profits from a bumper celery crop in 1979, they made a down payment on a property high in the Santa Lucia HIghlands that would eventually become Pisoni Vineyards. Gary Pisoni started planting the vineyard in 1982 and, after a couple years, was selling grapes to other wineries. In 1998, he began producing and bottling wines under his own Pisoni label.

Randy Ullom - Winemaster Kendall Jackson

Personal Philosophy on Winemaking: Make wine that can be enjoyed by all, enjoyed without a PhD, wines that have a lot of forward fruit, are easy and enjoyable to drink, with long enticing finishes...that linger, beckon and entice for another sip. Favorite Part of the Process: Walking the vineyards, tasting the grapes, then the excitement, anticipation and chaotic rush of the harvest! I love the family feeling and team effort of our winemaking group. And finally, watching a smile appear on someone's face as they sample and enjoy the wines we have made.

If you were snowed in on a mountain-top villa...what two wines would you want?
I'd have to go with our Highland Estates Camelot Highlands Chardonnay and Stature.
Favorite wine descriptor? "Lush." "Rich" and "Velvet" are close seconds.

Randy's Creative Path: A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Randy became interested in wine during a three-year stay in Chile, while on sabbatical from college in the early 1970s. His stay inspired a cross-country trek through Chile's vast wine-growing regions. On his return to the United States, he entered Ohio State University to study crop production with a specialty in Viticulture and Enology and received his degree in 1975.

After six years as a vineyard manager and Winemaker in Ohio and upstate New York, Randy moved to California to become associate Winemaker at De Loach Vineyards in Sonoma County. He was promoted to Winemaker and Vice President in 1991. The wines produced during his tenure were consistent gold medal winners at wine competitions.

Hired by Jess Jackson in 1993 as Winemaker for some of our smaller and international vineyards, Randy was handed his most prestigious assignment in 1997 - Winemaster for Kendall-Jackson Winery.

"I look at all of the vineyards we own, and all of the individual lots of wines that we make, and the thousands of barrels we have sitting in our cellar and sometimes I think, you gotta be kidding me! After I've sufficiently recovered from my daily panic attack, I take off my coat, dig in my heels and take it one barrel at a time. It's a rewarding job that I love."

9/19-Michael Horn talks to Marie Gewirtz & Nicole Bacigalupi

Marie Gewirtz - 2011 President, Sonoma County Harvest Fair

Sonoma County Harvest Fair is a celebration of harvest featuring three full days of wine tasting with 150+ wineries, wine sales, marketplace, chef demonstrations, farm and harvest agricultural activities for children and adults, the World Championship Grape Stomp, continuous live jazz, an art show and sale, crafters pavilion, farm animals to meet, and much more.

September 30th - October 2nd

Nicole Bacigalupi - John Tyler Wines

Nicole, just like her twin sister Katey started her love for the wine industry at an early age. Growing up on the ranch and watching her father and grandfather develop their property from barren land with a few prune trees to what it is today, has been an inspiration for her to continue the family legacy. After high school she attended San Diego State receiving a Business degree with an emphasis in marketing. She gained real world experience by heading out on the road and building accounts with retail outlets and restaurants all over California. As in most family business Nicole and Katey take a hand in every daily winery and vineyard activity. In December of 2006, Nicole met and feel in love with Jarrod Dericco, also a Healdsburg native. Jarrod has also lent a hand in the vineyards; this harvest will be his third with the family. The two are scheduled to marry in June of 2010.

Nicole has now teamed up with her sister Katey to develop new marketing strategies aimed at their own demographics.

“Most of my friends and people I meet that are in our age range (24-30) drink wine, and lots of it. We have a huge advantage in that, Katey and I are part of this population we know how they think, act and buy their wine and mostly importantly what they want out of their wine tasting and buying experience. We want to show the industry that you can up hold your traditional values and family heritage but also be on the edge and take risks in our marketing efforts.”

In 2006 with Nicole heading the project the family began the endeavor of building their own tasting room on Westside Rd to showcase John Tyler Wines to the public. The end result will be a place where customers can experience the history of the early days of the wine industry, including all that the Bacigalupi and Heck families have contributed over the years.

9/12-Michael Horn visits with Nicole Bacigalupi & Cathleen Newman

Nicole Bacigalupi - John Tyler Wines

Nicole, just like her twin sister Katey started her love for the wine industry at an early age. Growing up on the ranch and watching her father and grandfather develop their property from barren land with a few prune trees to what it is today, has been an inspiration for her to continue the family legacy. After high school she attended San Diego State receiving a Business degree with an emphasis in marketing. She gained real world experience by heading out on the road and building accounts with retail outlets and restaurants all over California. As in most family business Nicole and Katey take a hand in every daily winery and vineyard activity. In December of 2006, Nicole met and feel in love with Jarrod Dericco, also a Healdsburg native. Jarrod has also lent a hand in the vineyards; this harvest will be his third with the family. The two are scheduled to marry in June of 2010.

Nicole has now teamed up with her sister Katey to develop new marketing strategies aimed at their own demographics.

“Most of my friends and people I meet that are in our age range (24-30) drink wine, and lots of it. We have a huge advantage in that, Katey and I are part of this population we know how they think, act and buy their wine and mostly importantly what they want out of their wine tasting and buying experience. We want to show the industry that you can up hold your traditional values and family heritage but also be on the edge and take risks in our marketing efforts.”

In 2006 with Nicole heading the project the family began the endeavor of building their own tasting room on Westside Rd to showcase John Tyler Wines to the public. The end result will be a place where customers can experience the history of the early days of the wine industry, including all that the Bacigalupi and Heck families have contributed over the years.

Cathleen Newman’s Passion for Your Palate at The Parlour

Nestled in the quaint enclave of downtown Glendora, lives a restaurant reminiscent of boutique epicurean hot spots in New York City, Los Angeles and Paris. The Parlour wine bar and bistro on Glendora Ave is the creation of Cathleen Newman. Cathleen entered the food and beverage industry with likeminded wine and food lovers to give the San Gabriel Valley and surrounding communities a food and wine experience like no other.

Cathleen’s love of food and wine came after years of working in the field of medicine. She graduated from APU with a nursing degree and worked in hospice care for 15 years and owning her own hospice care facility for 7 years.

The Parlour features nearly 400 wines by the bottle and 35 wines by the glass, artisan beers and sakes to be enjoyed in an atmosphere of casual sophistication. Guests often comment that they feel comfortable dining dressed up or even after the gym.

When you enter The Parlour, you feel transported. There is simply no other place in the area like it. The food is inspired by wanting all the guests who dine here, to leave with a favorite item they can’t live without. A few of the most requested favorites are chef Ed’s Wontons and the fried mac-n-cheese sliders. Chef Ed Mac is the executive chef who used his creative culinary talents to enchant his dining guests with unique yet comforting familiarity on traditional dishes as well as the exotic. Collaborating with some of the finest professionals in the industry, Mac and his team create The Parlour’s dining experience.

Cathleen’s wine list has recently earned the Wine Spectator award of excellence. Superbly reviewed on sites such as Yelp and Open Table, The Parlour successfully gained a solid following of fans/guests. It’s no surprise given Cathleen’s passion for perfection for all her guests. The Parlour is open Monday through Saturday for dinner. It’s also available for special events and monthly unique wine dinners on Sundays. The wine dinners are an exquisite treat and usually sell out quickly. A variety of soups, small plates and entrée specials change weekly so visit the Parlour often. Reservations are highly recommended.

Cathleen Newman
Owner
Cathleen has over 6 years experience in business ownership and management. As a Glendora resident for nearly 20 years, she understands the needs and trends of the community. A love for food and wine is the driving behind The Parlour. "I am so excited to introduce The Parlour to the community, the food menu and wine menu are something Glendora hasn't seen before in this area, now everyone won't have to drive out of the city to get this quality of food and wine, I'm bringing it to you"

Our mission is to be the best location in Glendora and the surrounding cities to buy wine and dine on extraordinary culinary delights in a welcoming, comfortable setting. The wine list is hand selected, focused on high quality wines at fair market prices, eclectic and boutique wines, standards and a guarantee that there is something you love on the shelf and on the by the glass list. Our food menu will change with the seasons and our produce is grown locally by organic famers. Chef Sharon pays much attention to the ingredients she blends to create a recipe that you will return for over and over again. The style of food pairs perfectly with the wine on our by the glass menu. We will have bi-weekly tasting events: Wednesday will be our “economy” night, wine tasting flights priced around $8 for 3 2oz pours. Friday nights will be our higher end flights. Guests are always welcome to taste anything on our by the glass menu prior to ordering. The goal here is to love what you are eating and drinking, it is an environment to share precious time with friends, to learn about wine and to taste amazing food.

9/05-Encore Presentation Michael Horn visits with Louis Lucas & Clay Mauritson

Encore Broadcast. Happy Labor Day!

Louis Lucas - Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards

Originally from the Central Valley of California, Louis Lucas is one of California's premier grape growers. He literally grew up in the business. His father, son of Croatian immigrants, was a leading table grape grower in California for decades. Louis is described best as part innovator and part magician, utilizing a variety growing practices and techniques. His vast knowledge and viticulture expertise span over 30 years, making him a

sought after speaker, consultant, and advisor. Louis has sold wine grapes to many wineries over the years including: Sebastiani, Korbel, Chateau Montelena, ZD, Wente Brothers, Ridge, Callaway, Bargetto, Kendall-Jackson, Robert Mondavi, Steele, Rusack, Fess Parker, Sunstone, Dan Gehrs, Austin Cellars, Foxen, Sanford, Viansa, Fiddlehead, McKeon-Phillips, Rideau and Bonny Doon.

In 1963, Louis graduated from Notre Dame University with a degree in Finance & Business Economics. Aside from his studies, Louis excelled in track and made his best attempt at Irish football. After four cold Indiana winters, Louis headed back to California to join the family's table grape, wine grape, and almond business. Several years later, he embarked on a new venture, one that would mark him as a pioneer in the California Central Coast's wine industry. In 1970, he formed Tepusquet Vineyards with his brother George and partner Alfred Gagnon to become one of the first commercial wine grape growers in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties.

In the early 1970’s, he worked with Jack Niven to form Edna Valley Vineyards and expanded Tepusquet to the Shandon region of Paso Robles. It was during these years where Louis tested all of the growing theories of the past and created some of his own. He spent several summers touring the finest wine regions of France, Italy, Spain and Germany studying their methods and systems. His conclusion was simple, as he states, " The best decision I ever made in the early 70’s was going against conventional wisdom by planting more vines per acre, adapting trellis systems to fit specific varieties, and instituting suckering, hedging, thinning and leaf removal programs. I had learned this from growing table grapes with my Father, and my travels in Europe confirmed these techniques were essential to growing quality wine grapes."

As the 1980's approached, a shift began to take place in the wine industry as a whole. Johannisburg Riesling had been the primary white, but Chardonnay was well on it's was to replacing it. Louis adjusted to this shift and converted most of his vineyards from Cabernet, Merlot, and Gamay Beaujolais to Chardonnay (only keeping the Pinot Noir). He also planted another vineyard in the Los Alamos Valley of Santa Barbara County. There he instituted the 'Geneva Double Curtain' trellis system for his Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Sauvignon Blanc. “This system [Geneva Double Curtain] produces a stronger more massive vine, elevating it off the ground with a large open canopy promoting greater production, quality, and health of the vine in general."

Louis’ current venture, Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards (L&L), has once again placed him at the top of his class. In 1996, he joined forces with retired Judge Royce Lewellen, with two of his existing vineyards, and together, they acquired several premium wine producing properties. These vineyards are located in the three principal wine grape growing regions of Santa Barbara County: the Santa Maria Valley, the Los Alamos Valley, and the Santa Ynez Valley, allowing them to utilize the 3 different climate zones that are unique to Santa Barbara's County's coastal climate. L&L vineyards experience warm days and cool nights with long, gentle growing seasons for their over 400 acres and 24 varieties of grapes. L&L is now in the process of planning a winery and tasting room facility in the Los Alamos Valley. In Louis’s own words: "Growing great wine grapes requires a great deal of work. It is a true labor of caring to find a balance between the soil, the vine and the climate. All of these things must occur at the right time and are critical for vine maturity, resulting in real quality yields."

Never too far away from his vines, Louis, his wife Jill and their two daughters live in Solvang, California overlooking one of their beautiful vineyards.

Clay Mauritson - Owner & Winemaker Mauritson Wines

Winemaking may have been the logical evolution in our family’s long history of farming in the Dry Creek Valley, however, it took an absence from the valley and attention to those inner voices that led Clay Mauritson back to these same vineyards that he spent planting, tending and picking as a teen. What he came to realize was that he already had a lifetime of understanding about the subtleties and strengths of each micro-climate within the Dry Creek, Rockpile and Alexander Valleys. The only thing left was to DREAM BIG!

Clay will be talking about Project Zin on October 29th.

Chef Charlie Palmer and Winemaker Clay Mauritson invite you to the First Annual Project Zin event, Saturday, October 29, 2011 at Hotel Healdsburg located in the heart of Sonoma wine country. This preeminent wine event will gather some of the most sought after Zinfandels paired with decadent bites from Chef Palmer and other local Sonoma County chefs. All proceeds will benefit the Sonoma County Down Syndrome Support Group, (SCDSS).