Napa Sonoma Live- The Best Things To See, Sip & Savor

Join us for an interesting episode on heirloom beans, their origin and distinct flavors. We open up with my co-host Jean-Charles Boisset telling us of his love for local agricultural products and his respect for Rancho Gordo, the top local source not only for the beans, but the seeds to grow them. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. First, as usual, we taste a few wines, inspired by the earthy flavors of beans. Todays wines include the 2016 Secret Indulgence Evoluna Chardonnay, a limited-edition clean and modestly rich, mineral-driven white wine. Next up is the 2016 Raymond Vineyards Napa Valley Reserve Merlot, an earthy, fruity and impossibly smooth red wine from St. Helena vineyards. Talking with Steve Sando, we learn how he hatched the idea for growing and seeking out heirloom beans through his travels to Mexico. He encountered many indigenous farmers growing unusual and uniquely flavorful beans in small quantities.Through trial and error, Sando discovered which varieties would adapt to California and then started planting and growing them. He takes great pride in helping out the small farmers in Mexican states like Guerrero by regularly visiting and buying products from them. Rancho Gordo now grows close to a half-million pounds of beans per year and has an online monthly bean club, for fans who want to receive a regular supply. The package might include little-known varieties such as Yellow Indian Woman, Rebosero or Vaquero. It’s a priority of Sando’s to sell all beans within one year of harvest, making them not only fresh but soft enough to cook without soaking overnight. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly to your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.  

Today, my co-host Jean-Charles Boisset and I sit down to discuss everyone’s favorite treat: chocolate. We talk about the nuances and complexities in chocolate that strike a chord with winemakers. Today we taste the 2015 JCB Passion red Bordeaux blend, bringing cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, petit verdot and merlot together, showcasing the best Napa has to offer. Its persistence and length make a fun pairing for the chocolate. We also sip on the lovely Buena Vista Angelica, a sweet but not cloying dessert wine made of the historic Mission grape, a thick-skinned grape with deep tannins and rich flavors of dried fruit, hazelnut and vanilla creme. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. Chocolate has long been a passion for confectioner and artist Patricia Doyle of Farm Chocolates, her line of handcrafted organic chocolates. Doyle makes a variety of sweets, from bars to caramels, and works through each step from scratch and by hand, rather than using more conventional machines for tempering, cutting and dipping the candies. Her top pick for base chocolate is a 70% cacao from Columbia, with a nice balance and hints of coffee. Doyle date-stamps her sweets since they don’t contain any preservatives. She even molds the chocolates by hand so each piece is slightly different in shape, a detail she admires. Aside from crafting the luxury goodies, Doyle also designs her own labels. Sustainability is a top priority for Doyle, and to that end, she minimizes waste, uses compostable packaging and seeks out efficient delivery methods. The chocolates speak for themselves in flavor and texture. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly to your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

We stay hyper-local in this episode and talk with a few acclaimed guests from the Oakville area. My co-host Jean-Charles and I talk about the unique and highly sought-after grape-growing region then we taste a single Oakville wine in this episode: the 2015 Raymond Vineyards Oakville District Collection Cabernet Sauvignon. The lush and rich, dark red wine is soul-satisfying and pairs great with grilled filet mignon. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. We move into a conversation with Rudd Estate Vintner Samantha Rudd, daughter of the late Leslie Rudd. By the age of eight, Rudd knew confidently that she would devote her life to wine, after her family bought the iconic estate in Oakville and relocated from Wichita by way of Aspen. Their empire included not only the winery and Press restaurant, but also the Oakville Grocery, which she sold to Jean-Charles and Boisset Collection. Rudd adores being a landowner and tending to the estate sustainably for future generations to enjoy. Rudd crafts a lovely fresh white wine with fruit from Mount Veeder, and her red wines are all made with grapes grown on her organic and biodynamic estate. In total, she produces 4,000 cases, with the Rudd Estate Bordeaux blend the most representative of the Rudd Estate’s iron-rich soil and rocks. Hear more about several of their other labels: Samantha’s Cabernet (launched in 2008) and a second label, Crossroads, re-launched in 2019. Next, we sit down with Joyce Stavert, Executive Director of the Oakville Winegrowers. Stavert shares with us the distinctions in soil, location and orientation that make the coveted Oakville AVA so unique. Her rich expertise comes in part from work at two acclaimed Oakville Vineyards: Robert Mondavi and Far Niente. Stayed tuned to hear more on the special wine project launched by the winegrowers association in 2005: a collaborative, limited production called the Oakville Cuvée, a blend of wine from a group of local Oakville winemakers who each contribute five gallons for the blend. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly to your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

  This episode kicks off with a chat about Michael Pollan’s Omnivore's Dilemma and the association with our upcoming guest, Angelo Garro of Omnivore products. We talk about salt as a critical ingredient in cooking and diet, one which often enhances a dish. The wines we taste today include the 2016 1881 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, with a label displaying the map of Napa’s wine regions. The rich red wine bursts with depth, spice and energy. We also taste the JCB No 3 Pinot Noir, a blend of grapes from Burgundy and Sonoma that my co-host Jean-Charles Boisset says represents the best marriage of France and America, his homeland and his adopted country. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. Born in Sicily to a family of cooks, Angelo Garro grew up around good food from a young age. While he’s a blacksmith by trade, he missed his family’s home cooking as he traveled the world. He launched his Omnivore line of salts, herb blends and sauce to reproduce those familiar flavors. His flavor boosters caught the attention of Alice Waters, who used his mixes, and author Michael Pollan, who accompanied him during foraging expositions, documenting the experience in the third chapter of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Foraging was natural to Garro, as it was a skill he learned from his grandmother. Eventually, he launched a Kickstarter campaign, with German film director and friend Werner Herzog as narrator of his pitch video, and raised over $100,000 to launch the business in 2015. The Omnivore line also features hot sauces and a Sicilian savory flavor concentrate, all made with fresh local organic ingredients. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly to your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

Recognizing that wine isn’t the only beverage crafted in California’s wine country, my co-host Jean-Charles Boisset and I talk about the long history of apple orchards in America, and in particular, in Sonoma County—with the heart of the industry in Sebastopol. We also discuss how his family has a history of hop growing, something Jean-Charles still continues to do with hop trellises at his properties. Today, rather than tasting wine, we sample Boisset’s La Captive Cider, produced in Sonoma. We then taste the Oakville Grocery 1881 Pilsner, made with Boisset estate hops, by one of the guests on this episode Nile Zacherle. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. Ethic Cider’s Ned Lawton joins us for our first interview covering his hand-crafted hard ciders from Sebastopol. With a commitment to sustainability, Lawton produces small batches of ciders from his certified organic orchards just north of Sebastopol. Using apples indigenous to the region, Lawton’s ciders range from the Golden Rule, Ethic’s signature orchard blend to the Gravitude, made from heritage varieties, to the limited-release pink-colored Scarlett, infused with blackberries and raspberries. Next up is craft beer, or to be more specific, origin beers with Nile Zacherle, founder and brewmaster of the Mad Fritz craft beer from St. Helena. A winemaker at David Arthur, Zacherle imparts elements of winemaking into his beer making, sourcing the barley, water and even hops from specific local purveyors and areas. Mad Fritz bottle labels alone are works of art, replicating detailed drawings from Aesop’s Fables. With 40 different beers rotating in production at a given time, Zacherle continues to add to his count, creating modern takes on several well known beer styles such as pilsner, imperial rice stout, IPA and saison. Currently, Zacherle is producing a private label pilsner lager for Oakville Grocery. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly in your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

In this episode, my co-host Jean-Charles Boisset and I discuss the meaning of good food and how the Good Food Foundation has createdt a certification process to reward foods that not only taste delicious, but respect the environment. As with each episode, we also taste two wines; this week’s selection includes the JCB Infinity NV Sparkling Crémant de Bourgogne and 2015 Raymond Vineyards 1½ Acres Bordeaux blend. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. Good Food Awards Merchants and Communications Manager Katherine Harris helps dispel any misunderstandings about the definition of good food. We learn of the strict criteria the foundation uses to judge and rank the more than 2,000 products submitted to their Good Food Foundation. The foundation currently has 13 food categories and over 300 judges from an array of food specialty areas, to award deserving products with the coveted Good Food Award, which appears on the product label. Founder Sarah Weiner spent time working with Alice Waters and the Slow Food movement in Europe before launching these awards a few years ago. Harris tells us that there are dozens of products at Oakville Grocery sporting their recognizable award, including crackers, chocolates, and caramels. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly in your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.  

This fun episode covers the two basic food groups in wine country; cheese and charcuterie! Co-host Jean-Charles Boisset and I talk about the wonderful craft cheeses and meats made fresh in the area. The wines we taste today include the 2016 DeLoach Vineyards Estate Chardonnay and 2015 DeLoach Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir, both from Boisset’s certified organic and Biodynamic Russian River Estate, which pair perfectly with our cheese and meat selections. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. To shed light on the cheeses of Sky Hill Napa Farms, we talk with Will McCosker, whose family founded the goat cheese farm when he was a child. McCosker reminisces about their first pet goat, Oscar McCosker, and how the farm got its start. He talks about the varieties of goat cheeses Sky Hill produces, from fresh to flavored chèvre, and goat feta cheese. The milk for all varieties comes from their goat herd, which has grown to over 500 animals. We hear from Assistant Cheesemaker Patrick McKeon, who takes us through the cheesemaking process. McKeon talks about farmstead cheese, a term that refers to the milk used in production originating from a single farm and herd—parallel to estate wine that originates from a single vineyard property. Moving from cheese to meat, we sit down with Pete Seghesio of Journeyman Meat Co. in Healdsburg to learn more about his hand-crafted and cured meats. After extensive travels in Italy, Seghesio designed his  meat market to replicate some of the most striking shops near Rome. Borrowing European techniques, he ferments his meats at low temperatures, each in individual fermentation rooms, allowing more flavor development. He also ages the meats twice as long as typical American meats. Seghesio recently entered into a joint project with Oakville Grocery to craft heritage salumi using Boisset’s finest wines from esteemed vineyards like DeLoach and Buena Vista Winery. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly in your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

Get an inside peek at this historic Victorian located next door to Oakville Grocery. Co-host Jean-Charles Boisset shares his love of history, stemming back to his childhood in Burgundy, and reflects on the inspiration for the museum and the 1881 Napa wines. Wines we taste today are the 1881 Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine, made of 100 percent chardonnay grapes along with the 2016 1881 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. We talk with Ali Madrid, tasting room manager at 1881 and learn more about the setting, its bountiful collectibles and  the 16 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Napa. Madrid shares a few of the tasting experiences available in the salon, and then introduces us to the gorgeous outdoor patio. Next, we sit down with 1881 Winemaker Thane Knutson. We hear about how he started at Raymond Vineyards a decade ago and brings his winemaking insights to the newest line of 1881 Napa wines.  From the sparkling wine and rosé, to the chardonnay and red blends, Knutson describes the winemaking techniques. We learn more about the AVA collection, bringing visitors an opportunity to taste side-by-side across the various regions in Napa Valley. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly in your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

In this episode on the unexpected, Jean-Charles Boisset and I enjoy talking about the finer items in the store, including caviar and a selection of highly coveted wines by the glass or taste, that visitors may be surprised to discover in the same location as sandwiches and potato chips. The wines we taste today include JCB No 21 Brut Cremant de Bourgogne, bubbles that work beautifully with caviar, along with the 2015 Secret Indulgence Tarot Cabernet Sauvignon—showing that even red wine works with the tiny eggs. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and shops with strong historical and family roots. Today we interview Oakville Grocery Wine Director Ed Maass, who shares insights into the mission of the Oakville Grocery’s new wine program in Napa. A nitrogen gas wine-preservation system allows guests to sample a dozen wines by the glass, including a selection from small producers that you otherwise might not have an opportunity to taste. But the unexpected element is the small selection of wines that are super high-end and extremely difficult to access. It's a surprise to see Screaming Eagle offered at $120 for a single ounce or $600 for a 5-ounce glass. Another unexpected item at the grocery is Tsar Nicoulai Caviar, one of California’s few caviar producers. We speak with Tsar Nicoulai Vice President Otto Szilagyi and learn about the artisanally crafted white sturgeon roe that is farm-raised in a sustainable environment not far from Sacramento. We talk about the mystery of the eggs, their rating system, and how they are delicately and precisely brined. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly to your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

In this episode, Jean-Charles Boisset and I talk about our other favorite beverage besides wine: coffee, and how it plays such an important role in most people’s mornings. But as visitors tour Napa Valley, it's not easy to find a good cup as you drive up and down Highway 29. Oakville Grocery has forged a relationship with a master of coffee selecting and brewing: Derek Bromley of Ohm Coffee Roasters. We taste the 2017 JCB No 33 Chardonnay as well as the 2016 Buena Vista Winery Chateau Buena Vista Cabernet Sauvignon. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. Our interview today is with Derek Bromley, the founder of Ohm Coffee Roasters. Bromley's background as a sommelier informs his astute sense of smell and taste, which he now focuses toward coffee. Derek had his first cup of coffee (milked down and sugared up) when he was only five years old, and ever since he’s had an intense passion for the libation. He chats with us about the thousands of small, family coffee growers and how the quality of the bean dictates the style of roasting. We learn about the new hipster roasters that launched the light-roast movement as a backlash to the heavy-handed roasting of the big-name coffee moguls. His roasts fall right in between, bringing out subtle citrus flavors yet roasted enough to bring out bold flavors. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly to your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

In this episode, I sit down with my co-host Jean-Charles Boisset to introduce this segment on the future of food. Boisset's passion for supporting local purveyors and farmers is at the heart of his philosophy on food. We also sip on the refreshing 2015 JCB No 76 Chardonnay, a rich and full-bodied white wine with subtle hints of oak and a light freshness. We also taste the 2016 Raymond Vineyards Generations Cabernet Sauvignon, with most of the grapes originating from St. Helena vineyards. This velvety and weighty red wine is simply divine, mouth coating and well-balanced. This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. Our interviews include Perry Hoffman, chef/partner at Boonville Hotel, and Gibson Thomas, publisher of Edible Marin and Wine Country. Hoffman recently took the helm at his uncle Johnny Schmitt’s 15-room Boonville Hotel restaurant after stints at the highly acclaimed Shed in Healdsburg and Etoile Restaurant. He talks of his background and immersion in the local food culture in Napa Valley with both his grandparents and parents, who were equally influential in his love of the kitchen. As a kid, he cut his teeth working at their Yountville restaurant The French Laundry (they were the original owners). Hoffman appreciates the inclusive nature of the area and strongly supports local food and wine artisans, a philosophy he shares with Oakville Grocery. The future of food revolves around the seasons and the farmers, and he feels deeply responsible for and committed to encouraging and inspiring local farmers to grow amazing produce. Likewise, Edible Marin and Wine Country publisher Gibson Thomas supports local purveyors and has been featuring them for a decade in her publication. Thomas adores the local farmers markets but knows they are mostly seasonal, so she's thrilled to see the year-round commitment to local, organic, Biodynamic and sustainable ingredients and wine at Oakville Grocery. She continues to support the growers and artisans, covering them in her quarterly magazine and making their products part of her personal lifestyle. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly to your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.

Tune in for the inaugural episode of Napa Sonoma Live, our first-of-its-kind luxury lifestyle podcast covering the best things to see, sip and savor in wine country, hosted by Napa Sonoma magazine's Executive Editor Laura Levy Shatkin and co-hosted by Jean-Charles Boisset, Proprietor of Boisset Collection. Napa Sonoma has been the ultimate guide for visitors and locals alike, full of vibrant stories, photos and tips on the best things to experience in wine country for over a decade. The podcast is brought to you by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries, gourmet shops and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots. This first episode, Oakville Grocery Then and Now, details how California’s oldest continually operating grocery store has shaped the food culture both in the past and the present. Guests on the episode are Lin Weber, a Napa Valley historian, and Barry Dinsmore, the general manager of Oakville Grocery. This interview takes you from the grocery's founding in 1881 to today. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly to your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.