Podcasts about daedalus howell

Melissa Galliani and Dan Berger. Dan Berger takes some time to explain Gamay Beaujolais today on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. Later in the show, Barry Herbst from Bottle Barn will be in, to talk about sparkling wines they have in the store for the holidays. That portion of the show has its own podcast episode, right here. Dan has brought a Beaujolais from 2023 from a California winemaker who moved to France. He got tired of trying to make European style wines in California. Johnathan Pey made Pinot Noir in Marin County and made a Cabernet in Napa called Textbook. He decided to make a break from California and move to France. This wine is his French production, Domaine Johnathan Pey. Beaujolais ain’t no “Boo-jo-lay” Johnathan Pey bought two cru vineyards in Beaujolais. Gamay Noir au jus blanc is the full French name of the grape. Beaujolais is generally an unpretentions wine, easy to drink and not expensive. Pey wanted to apply modern winemaking techniques to grapes from the old plantation. He bought the vineyard about five or six years ago and has been tending the vines personally. Dan says this vintage is starting to show depth and intensity above the average for Beaujolais. 13% alcohol. The color is intense and suggests a highter ABV but that’s not Beaujolais. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference!  Usually, Beaujolais is just to open and drink. But some of the Cru Beaujolais will benefit from a couple of years in the bottle. John found that the other producers in France were young, and he is teaching them California techniques that are ahead of the game. This wine is full of fruit, but also an intensity, a Syrah-like aftertaste. Dan thinks maybe this wine will age in two days once opened. “Way more interesting than a typical Beaujolais.” It doesn’t have any oak, there was no barrel aging.

Barry Herbst is here to talk about sparkling wines for the holidays on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. Barry has been on CWC many times before. For the comparison, here is a show where he brought sparkling wines, recorded on Dec. 29, 2023. He is the wine buyer at Bottle Barn. First, Dan recaps part one, which is here on its own podcast episode page, a detailed talk about Gamay Beaujolais. Then, right here, Dan and Barry conduct a tasting and discussion of four very fine sparkling wines that Barry has brought, all of which are at Bottle Barn. Late December is one of the peaks of wine purchasing season. The first peak usually comes at Harvest Fair, that and the Press Democrat Competition before that, “gets things going.” From the end of September it starts, then pops again for the holidays. Also people stock up for June events. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference!  Bottle Barn also does flash sales and rare wine sales on their website. Online sales account for about a third of their business now. They didn't even have a website until 2019 but now their website is first class. Dan says it's maybe the best wine sales site in the country. It was good that they did it just before Covid. The bottle barn site is well built and works great. Barry remembers six weeks when four people did nothing but data entry, to get the site started. They had 6000 SKUs. Cremant d’Alsace Rosé Sparkling wines are the order of the day. So they pop a cork and taste Bottle Barn’s best-selling sparkling wine of all time. Cremant d'Alsace made 100% with Pinot Noir, so it's Rosé. Bottle Barn sells 600 cases per year of it. It sells for $17.99. Dan says it tastes drier than it did before. You can really taste the Rosé character and the aftertaste is “clean as a whistle,” says Dan. Cremant means sparkling in French. Sparkling wines can only be called “Champagne” if they come from the province of that name. So there are Cremant wines named for their region, such as Cremant d’Alsace. That naming rule pertains to sparkling wines from Italy, which are called Vini Spumanti or Prosecco, depending on the region and the varietals. Cava are Spanish sparklers. The new British sparkling wines might earn a new name. Seppi The next tasting is Seppi, a California product. Mostly Pinot Noir, beautiful balance, says Dan. Intense pink wine flavors with more acidity than he expected, and rounded and more full bodied. Dan also mentions a grower champagne and Barry actually has one to taste,  Lalarge Peugeot. They grow everything biodynamically. Barry notes that they have kept their prices reasonable compared to their neighbors there, in the heart of Champagne. There is more Pinot Meunier planted in Champagne than Pinot Noir or Champagne grapes. Pinot Meunier is a red wine grape but lighter than Pinot Noir.

Herlinda, Tim and Shennen Shennen O’Donnell and Tim Welch, owners of Young and Yonder distillery, join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. Tim found a distillery that was already built and available for sale, so he bought it. It was a distilling facility and event space. They started a live music space due to Shennen’s experience. She grew up at The Mystic Theater which her parents owned and she has worked there all her life. Tim worked as a distiller for Moylan’s and won awards for many distilled products. Tim’s buddy from college was also a distiller who opened a distillery of his own in Mississippi. So he ran the place for “a lot of years.” They focussed on whiskey but also made other distilled products. Young and Yonder is located up in Healdsburg. Shennen describes their location as “Industrial Chic” with a casual fun funky feel. Tim does private tours and tastings. All of their grain comes from Admiral Maltings. All the botanicals for the absynthe and the gin come from San Francisco Herb Company. All organic and local. Admiral Maltings had a big distillers festival. The Rake Pub at Admiral Malting also serves Young and Yonder. Admiral Malting has been on Brew Ha Ha on May 1 of this year on this episode and the year before too, right here on June 20, 2024. They focus on locally grown grain, so that their malt does not have to travel long distances. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Russian River Brewing Co. Release in Jan. 2026 Russian River Brewing Co. has a special release coming out on Saturday, January 10, 2026. So Natalie Cilurzo will be on the first Brew Ha Ha show of the new year, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. As they are tasting a lime vodka made by Young and Yonder also makes absynthe and gin, which use lots of botanicals. Their botanicals come from San Francisco Herb Company. Tim describes their line, there is a 100% single malted rye, and a high rye bourbon, which is 60% non-gmo corn, 30% rye 5% barley 5% wheat. The single malt is 100% barley, but not released yet. They also have some barrel finished bourbons and rye. They use port and sherry barrels from Sonoma PortWorks, which are their next door neighbors. They also make an Absynthe which is made with wormwood. The flavors in this drink take a long time to describe. “Taste it!’ And since Young and Yonder are a full-service distillery, they also make gin. Tim has just made his second batch of it. 60 lbs of botanicals go into the mix, then 15 more pounds. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Garry Brooks from Brooks Note Winery in the Petaluma Gap is back on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. He has been on the show before, the last time was this episode in February of this year. They begin by tasting the 2023 Chardonnay. It started five weeks late and they didn’t think anything was going to ripen. These grapes are usually picked mid to late September but this time, it was mid October. “This is a brilliant wine, it has so much personality. It’s crisp and delightful with food, light and only 13% alcohol,” says Dan. There is a chicken truck that parks near the winery that cooks chicken with this wine and herbs. “This is a Chardonnay that doesn’t have that big rich buttery soft center.” It’s a wine made for food. It comes from 3 different vineyards, one in Sebastopol Hills, one in the Santa Rosa plain and one in Petaluma Gap. Dan says it is round and crisp. There is only one eighth done in oak barrels. That small amount is just a kiss of spice and sweetness. Garry says Chardonnay is risky when it goes through a crazy transformation when being made. If you try to bottle it too soon, it’s bland, says Dan. Bung and Roll If you stir Chardonnay you can gain and lose different flavors. There is no stirring involved here, they are just waiting. Dan says this was Jim Clendenon’s technique that he called “bung and roll.” He would fill the barrels with Chardonnay, seal it with a bung, roll the barrel away and never touch it. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference!  Next he has brought a couple of their single vineyard wines. There is one vineyard in southern Petaluma Gap, in Marin County, near Marin French Cheese. It’s cold and windy there. You can’t do barbeque in Petaluma Gap because the wind blows hard at 4:00 every day. As the wind speed goes up it slows down photosynthesis so you get a longer growing season. The coastal influence keeps it cool, so there are more floral notes and a lighter style to the wine. Dan describes the Azaya vineyard that grew this Pinot Noir. A really good wine has personality and if you use the word great, it has to have many good things about it, such as this one. They just did their first ever Wine Stroll in Petaluma. All the folks in Petaluma who sell wine, retailers, they sold 400 tickets. Petaluma has a great food scene and the wine scene is growing with the whole city, as an attractive district. They have live music tonight and live comedy tomorrow night. There is Trivia Night on Saturday, this weekend too. Panther Ridge Pinot Noir The next wine is the Panther Ridge Pinot Noir, also from the Petaluma Gap, but up on Sonoma Mountain. The vineyard is all volcanic soil, pumice and basalt, that gives dark flavors and good structure to the wine. Garry majored in Political Science at Duke and was in the Navy, in San Diego, France, Spain and northern California. By the time he was 23 he had tasted wine from all over the world. He was working in Hawaii, for a while selling advertising for the Honolulu Weekly. While going to go to the University of San Diego for an MBA and he met someone who said she was going to UC Davis for Viticulture and Enology. The very existence of such a degree was a surprise. Well, the passion became a job in 2004. He left a well-paying job as an IT project manager in the city and started the winery. All of his business skills carry over to winemaking in ways that help him ensure quality. The Wier Vineyard Pinot retails for $60. A 2018 is for sale now, already aged for you. This is already aged enough to be in the ‘right spot.’ Brooks Note is open daily from 11-6. Brooks Note is open daily from 11-6. Every Friday they have music from 5-7. Tomorrow (Sat. Dec. 13, 2025) the comedy show is at 8pm, there are tickets available on the website. They have Trivia next Saturday, Dec. 20. They only send ONE email per week. Weir Vineyards has a waiting list. He gets the fruit because his daughter went to school with the owner’s granddaughter and he pulled family friendship strings to get the fruit. Garry understands that he has to do things to attract attention for his wines. It all came together for him in Petaluma when he found his location. They bought the place in 2019 and it was their covid project to fix it up. Their capacity is  up to 150 people for private events. They have a couple of events, coming up. Dan Durkin the lead singer of Petty Theft, is performing. Bring a can of food to pass on to the homeless center, Friday Dec. 19, 2025. On Feb. 12, 2026 it’s a bigger event, stay tuned to California Wine Country and watch Brooks Notes Wines for more about that.

Dean Biersch, who runs Hopmonk Taverns and co-founded Gordon/Biersch, joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. This is his first time on the show. Herlinda has invited Dean Biersch whom she ran into at a Hopmonk concert last Saturday. Dean remembers his first job in hospitality was preparing big spreads for the passengers at Hornblower Yachts in San Francisco. “You learn a lot when you work on boats,” says Dean. “Hospitality in general is like 90% planning.” Daedalus remembers covering the opening of Hopmonk for the local press, back when it opened. Dean remembers having to reorganize the physical space in the first location in Novato, to create a beer garden. They developed the first venue as a music venture and beer garden at the same time and he feels that it is a magic combination. They would love to have more large concerts in Sonoma but there are regulatory barriers. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. “The trailing edge of the leading edge” Hopmonk was “on the trailing edge of the leading edge” of the beer revolution. His job was in the city and then a friend introduced him to a brewpub in Hopland. He had tasted real ale while traveling in Europe, so he recognized what they were doing there in Hopland. He wrote a business plan, showed it to a friend of the family who had always invited such a move, then he met Dan Gordon. They eventually became business partners. Dan had taken a brewery engineering university program in Germany. He brought small scale craft German beer to California, with Gordon/Biersch beers. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Bettina Sichel, the owner of Laurel Glen Vineyard is back in the studio as our guest on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. She was on the show once before, on this episode last May. Bettina has brought a new wine that Dan is tasting for the first time. This is a 2025 Gruner Veltliner from a historic vineyard on Sonoma Mountain, an unusual grape from a historic vineyard. It is most associated with Austria, usually made dry and has a natural richness. It is not as austere as a Riesling can be. Dan suggests a little bit of green tea component in the grape, and some mineral flavors like slate. It is dry and rich at the same time. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. The Steiner Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain has two acres of Gruner Veltliner. Dan remembers the Galen Glen Vineyard in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania also makes a great Gruner Veltliner. Dan appreciates that Laurel Glen Vineyard uses a screw cap. Bettina says that all their white wines are bottled with screw caps. Dan explains that screw caps work great but with red wines of a certain price, people just expect a cork. Recently some screw cap producers have developed different screw caps that completely seal or that allow a little bit of air. You can choose the cap that matches your intentions as a winemaker. If a wine has to sit on the shelf for a long time, the cap protects the wine better than a cork might do. They are tasting the Laurel Glen Cabernet, which is blended with about 20% Merlot, to soften it.

Marty Nachel, author of The Beer Story Project Author Marty Nachel is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell, to talk about his new book The Beer Story Project. He has been on BHH before, the last time was this episode last February. Marty also came on this show to talk about one of his other books, Beer for Dummies, on this episode in 2023. (Marty’s phone call came in during the Stateline Road Smokehouse episode, which has its own separate podcast page, right here. This way, both Marty Nachel’s book and Jeremy Threat’s restaurant each get their own online presence for their segment.) Marty Nachel is the founder of the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame and has just published a new book, The Beer Story Project. He started collecting stories in March of this year from as many people in craft brewing as he could find. Craft Brewers Tell Their Stories The stories are really across the spectrum from funny to sad, depending on where they are coming from. He simply asked them to tell their stories. Some people gave a few sentences, others wrote several pages. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Stateline Road Smokehouse co-owner Jeremy Threat is visiting Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell today. This is his first time on the show. During the show, author Marty Nachel called in to talk about his new book. That portion of the live radio show with Marty Nachel is on this separate podcast episode, so that both guests can have their own separately indexed episode page. Darryl Bell, the chef at Stateline Road Smokehouse, comes from Kansas City. He is also Jeremy’s business partner. After college Jeremy worked in operations management in the restaurant industry. So he went from hotel restaurants to a management position. Working for Thomas Keller, the owner of French Laundry was demanding. In previous restaurant jobs, he learned about the business side of the restaurant business. But at French Laundry, he learned how to create a company culture that fostered excellence. Keller was always pushing to improve, along the lines of the Japanese concept of kaizen. How do you do the same thing time after time, while making it consistently as good as it can be? That is the question. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Kevin Patterson, from the Great Dickens Fair at the Cow Palace through December 21, joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. Anderson Valley Brewing Company is also in the studio today. They are the official beer sponsor of the Great Dickens Fair. (The AVBC  portion of today’s radio show can be heard over here, at this other podcast page. This way, each guest gets to manage their own web traffic.) The Cow Palace in San Francisco has some great exhibition halls, that they turn into a miniature version of London, including shops, theaters, and six different pubs. Each one has its own style and identity. You enter the Great Dickens Fair through Victoria Station on a train that passes through a magical forest. Then you are “whisked into the 19th century” where the first stop is a pub called The Leather Bottle. This comes right out of Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Twilight All Day The lighting in the Fair is twilight all the time, which makes everything theatrical. The miniature village feaures a thousand costumed people, plus many of the visitors come in costume. You can also purchase a costume there. Some people really go all out. There is a music shop with instruments and singers. They serve beverages of all kinds. Some people have been working at the fair every year for a long time. This is the Fair’s 41st year and their 25th at the Cow Palace. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Anderson Valley Brewing Company taproom. Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell host another edition of Brew Ha Ha, featuring guests from Anderson Valley Brewing Company. They are the official beer sponsor of the Great Dickens Fair, a Christmas celebration happening at the Cow Palace now through Dec. 21. (During this show, we also got a phone call from Kevin Patterson, manager of the Great Dickens Fair. His portion of this show can be heard over here, on this other podcast episode. This way both guests have their own podcast episode, for their own linking and listener traffic.) Jason O’Connell and Ben Padrone are here from Anderson Valley Brewing Company. Jason is the new owner and Ben is the Lab Manager. They begin by tasting their Salted Caramel Porter, which gets its flavors from the malts that are used, not from any actual caramelized sugars. It is aged for 6 months in bourbon barrels and comes in at 9.5% ABV. QA and QC Jason’s background is in the wine industry and he finds the beer world to be more fun. He says he bought the brewery because he was bored. Ben’s job is QA and QC, quality assurance and quality control. They do a lot of testing on the water and the product. They get their water from wells that are on their property. Anyone visiting Anderson Valley may want to visit their 18-hole championship Disc Golf course. Next year’s Booneville Beer Fest is on May 2 next year. The theme is Godzilla vs. Barkley and there is a Japanese sake connection. Stay tuned for more information before the date. They have already about a dozen breweries signed on. Among beer producers this is one of the favorite events. Fal Allen is Back at Anderson Valley BC Fal Allen is back. Fal Allen is back on the scene at Anderson Valley Brewing Company. He has been the brewer there and a key person in the company. He left the company for a while and was working in New Zealand. Now he is working with AVBC for the moment from Hawaii. Fal Allen has a great radio voice and has been on Brew Ha Ha before. Here is his last appearance on Brew Ha Ha. Next they taste their West Coast IPA, which uses Mosaic, Citra and Ekuanot hops. All seven of the beers they brought today are available at the Great Dickens Fair. SAKE They have a plan to start making sake and to use the best possible rice. Sake is gluten free, which is an advantage for some people. They are experimenting with Sato, a kind of rice for sake. They are also making a sake flavored beer. Herlinda remembers when her friends asked her to taste a large selection of sake to help them get an import company started. Watch out for this to develop over the next five years. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Ben went to Humboldt State then the Master Brewers program at UC Davis. Jason studied engineering at U of British Columbia and worked in construction before working in the wine industry. He has recently acquired AVBC. Jason describes the situation as “exciting.” The sake idea is getting attention. Sake falls under the TTB brewers license but the labeling falls under wine. It is actually brewed like beer despite that some people in English refer to it as ‘rice wine.’ Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

James MacPhail James MacPhail is our in-studio guest today on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. This is his first time on the show. James MacPhail tells about how he was able to buy back the rights to his brand in July of 2024, so his business is undergoing a rebirth. He has just finished his thirtieth harvest. He and his wife started a brand in 2012 called Tongue Dancer Wines and he has four other collaborations where he is the winemaker. He works with some of the best vineyards in both Napa and Sonoma counties. Over several years he built his company MacPhail Family Wines, then sold it to Hess, then bought it back. Dan mentions that he will have to reassert his style over the brand's production. With the tagline, “Crafted by nature, nurtured by hand,” the prospects are very good. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. “After 30 years, I'm still a kid in a candy store. I still love what I do. I still get up at 4AM. You know? And it has not yet… put me down.” He and his wife collaborate on their company. He just makes the wine and she does everything else. “Sometime she is a lot busier than I am.” Their tasting room is open by appointment. San Giacomo Family Vineyards Dan asks about the connection to San Giacomo Family Vineyards. The name is well known in the wine business but not so much outside. James says the San Giacomo family represents Sonoma County to him. San Giacomo sends grapes to many wineries, but James MacPhail is the only winemaker who lists their name on the label. Dan credits MacPhail with being predicting of what Pinot Noir would become, starting in the early ‘80s. The San Giacomo fruit is “precise” says Dan. The San Giacomo vineyard had early success planting Chardonnay en masse, providing fruit to all the up and coming producers. At that time, UC Davis was really figuring out how to grow Chardonnay. At first, James made a lot of reds, but he needed to add a white to his production. Dan describes Chardonnay as red wine with no color, and Pinot Noir is like white wine but with color. Pinot Noir is seductive and Chardonnay can be powerful and intense. Dan says they should be served at the same temperature. James and his wife have been traveling to Italy recently so his knowledge of wine is extending to Italian wines. Vermentino, Arneis and Cortese are Italian white wines that were hardly ever exported until the last 25 years. That is because they have only recently improved production technology, using stainless steel that is temperature controlled. There are more varieties in Italy than anywhere, more than 200 white varieties and 400 reds.

Peg Champion and Brad Whitworth from the Sonoma County Wine Library join Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. The Sonoma County Wine Library is reopening and the wine community is celebrating the rebirth of this great resource. They even have an Instagram page, here. The library holdings document the history of wine in Sonoma County, as well as all over. The renovation of the Healdsburg regional library has been a benefit to the wine library too. There is more space for meetings and for study. The Wine Library Association has just opened The Millie Howie Memorial Garden. She was the founder of the association. They also have several transcriptions of oral history interviews done with wine pioneers starting in the 1950s and ’60s. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Peg, who is president of the Association, talks about their upcoming community events, starting with the Holiday Gathering on December 4. The library is in the center of Healdsburg. There is a photo exhibit of George Rose, the wine country photographer. and on December 16 he will be there for a “meet the photographer” event. The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association on Feb. 1 They also collaborate with other wine organizations. The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association will come in on Saturday, February 1, from 4-6 pm for a tasting of the Atlantic Seaboard's 2024 wine competition award winners. [@ 12:16] Peg describes the culture in wine country as being open to collaboration and sharing of information. That feels like the opposite of the business culture where NDAs are enforced. The Sonoma County Wine Library is a part of fostering and favoring that open information culture. Dan Berger says that the library is important so that 100 years from now there will be a story to be told. The wineries are too busy trying to stay in business. They don’t have time to document their own history. There are treasures that are the last of their kind, that don’t exist anywhere else. It’s not just for the wineries, it’s for any interested researchers. Peg Champion mentions Megan Jones, the Sonoma County Library research librarian dedicated to this subject.

Bibiana Ravé Bibiana Ravé, winemaker and co-owner of Shared Notes, joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. Bibana has been on CWC twice, first on this episode of August 29, 2019, to talk about her own wine brand Alma de Cattleya. Then, on April 5, 2023, Bibiana and her husband Jeff Pisoni were on this episode, to talk about Shared Notes. Bibiana grew up in Medellin, Colombia and studied enology in France. They are tasting a wine from Shared Notes, a winemaking project that she shares with her husband Jeff Pisoni. It is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The blend is a bit different from year to year, depending on how the Semillon tastes. French Winemaking in California Bibiana practices French winemaking techniques in California. She describes winemaking as a personal experience. During her time in France, she stayed there and focussed on French wines only. She didn't even study Italian or Spanish wines. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling.  Her wines are “bone dry” with no residual sugar. They are on the low-to-middle alcohol level. She believes that it is truly all in the vineyard. They work with great vineyard sites. Their Sauvignon Blanc comes from the Ridge Vineyard, which Dan says is one of the best. The vines are 60 years old and have a low yield per acre. She ways that she could not make the wine that she does, if the growers were not as committed as she is. Dan Berger says this wine shows the ancient style with all the dry flavors that it requires. “Very few people in this world make wine that you want to open when your child is 21.” These wines will support 20 years in the bottle. [12:38] Dan Berger: “Most people don’t realize, in the olden days, they would make a wine that was one of the greatest wines in the history of mankind and the next vintage they would make something that was undrinkable. Because they didn’t have the science behind them to tell them what they needed to do! Now we have science, so we can do what we need to do to make great wine every single year.” https://calwinecountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CWC-Promo-EG-Science.mp3 Every choice is a force on the vector There is a limit to letting the land and the vineyard speak for themselves. There are choices such as what to plant and where, how many vines per acre? For example, the difference between 848 vines per acre and 2420 vines per acre can completely determine the concentration, the phenolic ripeness and the quality of the fruit. Bibiana describes how she and Jeff wanted to produce wines in California in a way that many people thought could not be done. Dan says that this kind of project takes vision because there is no guarantee that anyone in this country will even understand these wines. [min. 20] Bibiana describes her arrival in Sonoma County in 2005 and she was making wine at the same facility as Jeff, for different labels. They became friends and then got married. Shared Notes Colombian Coffee [min. 23] Bibiana has also brought some special Colombian coffee. It is 100% hand grown single origin. The roast is done properly so the smell of coffee is permeating the room. Her two sons are 8 and 10 and she wanted something to connect her family to something positive from her home country. Coffee fits that perfectly. She thought they should start importing green coffee beans and roasting in California. That started in 2019, then in 2022 they started roasting coffee at the winery in Rhonert Park. Acidity is important for both coffee and wine. Also, both depend on fermentation, since even coffee beans have to be fermented to get the husks off. “I’ve never smelled a light roast with this kind of character,” says Dan Berger.

Fieldwork Brewing Company co-founder Barry Braden joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha today. Barry Braden and Erin Callahan are here from Fieldwork Brewing Co. They are expanding into Santa Rosa and Erin will manage their restaurant in Montgomery Village. They will open soon, after one last regulatory step. There is a buzz in the neighborhood and people passing by are noticing that it looks like a restaurant already. They will have an extensive beer selection and a full menu including pizza, salad, wings, French fries, fried cauliflower and pickles and lots more. Barry tells about how they serve a rotation of beers, so that fans of different types of beer can keep coming back for their favorites. He also says this is one way to make the brewers' jobs interesting. They are using a lot of new technologies with their hops, including hop distillates, extracts and experimental hops. Fieldwork Brewing also works with Berkeley Yeast. This company is engineering yeast to mimic certain flavors. This goes mostly into the hop-driven beers and their non-alcoholic or “N/A” beers. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Amidst the current downturn in the beer market, Fieldworks Brewing is actually growing. They are opening their tenth location in the Bay Area. The NHL's San José Sharks have chosen Fieldwork as their official non-alcoholic beer. Some of their N/A drinks use compounds (with complex chemical names) which confer extra flavors as well as a mood lift, according to Erin. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Listen to my interview with Daedalus Howell, from 95.5 The Drive, Wine County Radio. We discuss what is happening in education with some parenting tips!

Winemaker Adam Lee is our in-studio guest today on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. He has enjoyed a distinguished career as a winemaker and winery owner and now he runs Clarice Wine Co. The last time Adam was on the show was this episode of July 14, 2021. “If Adam Lee’s in the room, it’s gotta be Pinot Noir,” says Dan Berger, right at first. They are tasting a wine called Dial Tone, which has a picture of an old telephone dial on the label. For Adam Lee, Clarice should be, “…a very good honest Pinot at a reasonable price point.” It is 100% Pinot Noir with no alterations or additions. It uses the less expensive barrels which work well enough and are cheaper. This helps keep the retail price down. Adam remembers that the first wine he ever fell in love with was a 1989 Rocchioli Pinot Noir. It was great and cost about $13. Now he bottles this Pinot Noir and it retails for $19, so he achieved his goal. “Adam Lee is one of the greatest winemakers in America, period,” says Dan Berger. Adam founded Siduri Wines and also made wine in Oregon and Santa Barbara. He has also started a project in France. Clarice was Adam’s grandmother, born in 1896. She was his best friend growing up and taught him how to cook. There are QR codes on the labels with extensive information about what went into the wine. There is a lot of relevant information that does not fit on a 3×5 index card. Some wineries don’t publish this kind of information. Some people care to know the pH of a wine.

Jake Lachowitzer from Banshee Wines is our guest on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. Banshee Wines was last on this show on this episode of June 1, 2022 which featured their winemaker at the time, Alicia Sylvester. Banshee wines stand out because they “…are so good and so reasonably priced…” says Dan Berger. They have broad distribution and are available “everywhere.” They begin tasting their Sauvignon Blanc. SV has become an important grape in Sonoma County, especially because winemakers are making it from places like Chalk Hill and Russian River Valley. This one comes from Dry Creek Valley, Chalk Hill and Russian River Valley AVAs. Dan Berger explains that this variety is capable of holding up against warmer weather later in the year. 2024 will be Jake’s first vintage at Banshee Wines. Their tasting room has moved to Geyserville, from Healdsburg. This wine has good enough acidity that it is made to go with food. Dan likes to serve it with goat cheese. Daedalus suggests gorgonzola with a little bit of honey. Dan suggests to go light on the honey so as not to overpower the wine flavors. He detects some flavors of preserved lemon and  Chamomile tea. Most people don’t age their wines, but the most interesting aspects of wine come out, in whites as well as reds, with a few years in the bottle. Jake Lachowitzer Jake Lachowitzer had a long journey to winemaking. He was born in Fargo, ND and had several careers before this. He first studied Sustainability and Environmental Science at Minnesota State University, then he got a graduate degree in winemaking and moved to Sonoma County. His first job was at Sonoma Cutrer in 2019. Then, he was assistant winemaker at Chalk Hill Estate.  There isn’t much wine made in the midwest, but there are some varieties that are made to withstand the Minnesota winter. Dan Berger says that the farmers have adapted a cold-hearty variety of grapes to their soil types and weather. Next they taste the 2024 Banshee Chardonnay. It is sourced from the Sonoma County Banshee estate. There are flavors of creme brulée, lemon curd, banana and nice barrel spice to finish it. It’s 30% new French oak, 9 months aging. Dan mentions the citrus flavors that characterize Sonoma County Chards. Most restaurants will serve it too cold, and the wine will have different flavors. This is because the health departments require refrigerators to be below 40 degrees and they can’t afford a separate refrigerator that is less cold. Today they are drinking it at about 65 or 66 degrees, which is warm enough for the flavors to express themselves. Next up is a Pinot Noir. Dan Berger says that up to about 20 years ago, it was hard to find the right locations for Pinot Noir. Jake is working with a wide variety of clones and locations. They also taste a 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon, which Dan likes because he remembers it was a cool year. This wine has green herbal flavors and beautiful aromatics, structure and herbal notes. The fruit is mostly from Alexander Valley.

Nick Gislason, co-founder and Head Brewer at Hanabi Lager Co. is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Herlinda Heras is just back from Belgium and brought back so much beer that she had to pay for overweight suitcases. Daedalus is also back from his own trip to Paris and London. He gets to reconnect with Herlinda for a few minutes before having to leave for an event later this evening. One of the beers that she brought back is from the Saint Sixtus Monastery in Westvleteren, that she visited, and Daedalus gets to taste it before he has to take off. Hanabi is Japanese for "fireworks" The labels feature drawings of the patterns that different Japanese fireworks make, up in the air. Nick explains that “hanabi” means fireworks, in Japanese. “Hana” means flower and “bi” means fire, so literally their word for fireworks means “fire flowers.” The fireworks manufacturers used these drawings in the 1800s to describe their products, before photography was available to show the patterns that they make. Nick grew up on San Juan Island in Washington, and learned brewing from an uncle who was a home brewer. In college he brewed at Boundary Bay Brewing in Bellingham, where he met his wife. They both became winemakers and launched Hanabi Lager about six years ago. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Grain-Forward Lagers Nick says Hanabi makes grain-forward lagers. They are tasting the Hana Pilsner, which Herlinda says has a refined taste. Nick explains that beer is made from grain, and water, and hops are like a spice. Hops is like the barrels to wine, where the grapes are the main ingredient. So Nick focusses his energy in using the most delicious grains in the world. That fact that these plants are so important to human nutrition for thousands of years makes them sacred. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Elaine, the owner of Elaine Wines is our guest today on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. She started her winery after a career as an biotech intellectual property attorney. Dan Berger discovered these wines just by tasting them at an event. He was excited to find a Chardonnay that was not overdone and that smelled and tasted like Chardonnay. It is an older style of making Chardonnay that appeals to people like Dan who remember when that style was prevalent. Elaine Wines is a small winery but has already earned a bunch of awards. This first one for tasting is the 2023 Chardonnay, the youngest one that Elaine brought. All of the Chardonnays are made with fruit from her vineyard. She has three acres with one acre of Chard and two of Pinot Noir. Dan detects a little bit of dried pineapple character and the oak is very subtle. The vineyard is at high elevation and Dan says the wine matches the smell of the vineyard. There are fir trees and oaks nearby which influence the vineyard. Dan also appreciates the good acidity. The vines are 25 feet from their house. Before Elaine moved to California, she was a biotech patent attorney, with a background in molecular and micro-biology. She got an online certificate in winemaking from UC Davis, before she moved from North Carolina. Elaine found a custom crush where she was not obligated to meet a tonnage minimum, which allowed her to start making wine with a small production. She found a community of helpful people in California, who work in wine. That is uniform throughout most wine regions in the world, says Dan Berger. Dan says that Prohibition may have ended in 1933 but it was the 1960s before winemaking woke up in the US, in California mostly. Chardonnays The second Chardonnay they taste came from the same grapes, but the first had newer barrels and the 2022 was made in one single barrel that had been used once before. That is generally considered 50% new. She only made 23 cases of this, because they had a very low yield and she had promised some grapes to another winemaker. This wine won a Double Gold at the San Francisco Chronicle wine tasting. Dan says that the problem with a lot of Chardonnay today is that it has to be big and rich. This is the other side of the spectrum of types of Chard. A lot of people making Chardonnay are trying to make a wine that they think will sell. Elaine, on the other hand, came into this without that notion at all. She just lets the vineyard do what it can do, and then handle it in a way to bring that out. Don't serve it too cold, because the flavors won't come out. What's more, this wine is a 2022 and it has had enough time to reach full maturity. She likes to do "as little as I can" and treat it gently. Pinot Noir The next tasting is a Pinot Noir that earned 99 points and a Double Gold from the American Fine Wine Competition, and Gold Medals all over the place. Dan says that the judges like it when the dominant flavor is fruit not oak. Dan describes the flavor of beets that is hiding in the wine.

We open with Herlinda Heras calling from Belgium. Leah Scurto of PizzaLeah and Fairfax Brewing Co's Dan McGarry talk to Daedalus Howell after that. Herlinda is on a barge on a canal in Belgium, on a beer voyage sponsored by Visit Flanders, the tourist bureau. Herlinda's tour has taken her near the sites of some important battles of World War One. It included a visit to Flanders Fields. They visited the Saint Sixtus Abbey in Westvleteren, Belgium. The monks who live there and make beer were quite surprised when one of their beers came out Number One on RateBeer dot com. “The poor monks didn't know what to do with themselves, but now it's quite the destination.” They went to Rodenbach for a blending class and also to Chimay. Vinny and Natalie from Russian River Brewing Co. are also in Belgium for the Brussels Beer Challenge. However they and Herlinda are on different itineraries this time and won't meet up over there. Herlinda has also visited some small local breweries in France and Belgium. She will have a lot to say about her trip on next week's show. "It's tough but somebody's got to do it." Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Ken Wilson and Katie Ambrosi from Wilson Artisan Wines are here on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Harry Duke sitting in for the vacationing Daedalus Howell. This is their first time on the show, although some award-winning Wilson wines were mentioned on Dan Berger’s report from the 2023 Harvest Fair competition, on this episde. Dan says that Wilson Artisan Wines is one of the most successful brands in Sonoma County and wine country, with many award winning wines in their portfolio. Their first wins go back to 1991. They produce a lot of different varieties from several leading vineyards. The early ’90s were tough times for the wine industry. They were lucky that the first wine they made, a 1993 or 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon won Best of Class at Harvest Fair a couple of years after that. The business expanded as opportunities opened up, especially during wine market downturns. Most of their fruit comes from northern Sonoma County. The furthest south they go is probably a Bacigaluppi and some from St. Anne’s Crossing and a few others. But it’s mostly northern county and mostly mountain fruit. Mazzocco and Antoine Favera In the early 2000s there was another glut and nobody could sell wine to the East Coast, after 9-11. That’s when Ken had a lot of fruit that the wineries didn’t want that year. That’s when he acquired Mazzocco and that is when Antoine Favera became their winemaker. There are lots of other brands in the Wilson Artisan Wines portfolio, and each one has a view on the Wilson Artisan Wines website. One after another, Ken had the opportunity to acquire various vineyards. Some were in need of restoration but every one produces great wine. Some of them are specialized in one varietal, like Honey Hill is mostly Zinfandel. Ken tells the story of each one that Harry asks about. They also blend brandies. You get one gallon of distillate out of ten gallons of wine. They have been tasting the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon labeled Pocket Highlands. That is the name of their ranch at the top of Mayacama Mountains. It is about 2000 feet altitude. Pocket Highlands Ranch is located east of Asti. Ken loves his mountain vineyards. A picture of the vineyard is used as the Apple computer OS update Sonoma.

Dan and Kevin Kevin Bersofsky, owner of Montagne Russe wines, is back on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Harry Duke sitting in for Daedalus Howell today. He has been on CWC before, the last time was this episode of July 19, 2024. Dan Berger begins with a compliment for Kevin’s Pinot Noir. He replies, “Syrah is my spirit animal,” so he has brought some Syrah too. His cellar is 50% Syrah. Most collectors don’t keep as much as Kevin does. Dan explains that Syrah has to be grown in a cold climate, and warmer climates are risky. 2024 was “strange” and 2023 was cold. So the cold years give nicer aromatics. The San Giacomo Family vineyards The Pinot Noir says “Roberts Road” on the label, and Kevin explains. The San Giacomo family owns the vineyard. Kevin gives credit to the San Giacomo family for setting the conditions for making such a great wine. Angelo San Giacomo founded their company in the Carneros region. It wasn’t until about 1988-1990 when they started planting in what became known as the Petaluma Gap. The combination of the soils and the weather have made Petaluma Gap one of the most interesting AVAs in the country. There are volcanic soils on one side, and a mix of clay and loam in other areas. Gap’s Crown falls in the middle layer halfway up the hill, where the sediment has settled in the lower region. Every region of Gap’s Crown can produce different flavors, even just by crossing the street. Dan compares this to Burgundy. Montagne Russe means Russian Mountain literally, and is the French word for roller coaster. He was making 13 barrels of wine in his garage, which his neighbor objected to. He called ATF federal police and he had to destroy 4 barrels and promise to stop making wine at home. So then he and his friends started Montagne Russe. Their first wines got high scores, 93 and 94. About 3 months ago they opened a tasting room in Petaluma and they love it there.

Kenneth Di Alba from Songbird Parlour is our guest today on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. This is his first time on the show. Herlinda says and Daedalus agrees that Songbird Parlour should be the next Michelin starred restaurant in Sonoma County. Daedalus reads from a review he wrote for the Bohemian along with Kary Hess. It sounds delicious. Songbird Parlour is located in the historic Jack London village in Glen Ellen. It was founded in maybe 1832, he thinks. The property has been many things, a creamery, a winery, wine storage, recording studios, even. Now, it is a restaurant for the second time. Upon entering the place, Daedalus says he feels immediately transported. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Nicola Pellacani of Saintsbury Winery joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country today. Dan Berger explains that Saintsbury has been around for about 40 years with a record of getting better and better all the time and Nico will tell us their story. Saintsbury used to be focussed on Carneros and now have shifted toward Sonoma Coast. Nico has brought their Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, made from their favorite vineyards. They start with the 2023 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. Most of it comes from a San Giacomo family vineyard. Dan Berger describes the cool climate influence with a bit of the complexity of Chablis and a light acidity. Saintsbury has been using this vineyard for a long time. Some of the planting was even done for Saintsbury. Where the senses and the mind come together The process of building a blend involves three or four passes. Nicola describes blending as a process where "...senses and mind come together. You have to allow yourself to reach that point." Nicola started at Saintsbury as an intern in 2018. He worked on his first harvest that year, while was still a student in viticulture and enology at the University of Bologna in Italy. He is now the assistant winemaker A family winery with a family atmosphere Nico grew up in Italy and wine is on the table all the time. Dan Berger is eager to learn from the younger people in the world of wine. People's palettes have evolved and this continues, just as weather patterns have changed. Nico mentions two mentors at Saintsbury, they are Tim Colla, the head winemaker at Saintsbury, and Jaime, their cellar master who has been there for 20 years. They have lots of conversations and taste lots of blends. They have family style lunch every Friday at Saintsbury. Having come from Italy, Nico is grateful to have a family feeling at Saintsbury. Dan Berger describes the house style of Saintsbury, which has remained consistent for 40 years. Next they taste a pétillant-naturel, which is abbreviated to pét-nat.  It has very small and light bubbles and Dan declares it is delightful. They only made about 150 cases of it. Saintsbury has an event scheduled for November 1, 2025, at the Napa winery at 1500 Los Carneros Ave. It is a celebration of past and present winemakers. It is structured as a market, with local artisans.

Aaron Gore Aaron Gore, Vice President of the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. He is His personal website and his nickname are The Ale Chaser. In addition to his role with the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame, Aaron is VP of Sales & Marketing for The 5th Ingredient. They make customizable brewery management software. Herlinda was at the Sonoma County Tourism annual meeting yesterday. She talked to Santa Rosa mayor Mark Stapp about coming on the Drive this Friday (tomorrow).  Herlinda is now a certified Health and Wellness coach. She will also be starting a Health and Wellness segment on the Drive, stay tuned for details. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Aaron Gore joins the conversation on the phone. The American Craft Beer Hall of Fame was founded about a year and a half ago. Its purpose is to memorialize and celebrate the people who made the craft beer revolution. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Oded Shakked, Longboard Vineyards Oded Shakked from Longboard Vineyards is back on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. He has been on CWC several times before, the last two times were this episode on September 20, 2024. and a year before that, this episode on November 17, 2023. Today he has brought more Longboard wines to taste and to discuss. Oded Shakked’s episodes on California Wine Country have the distinction of holding the N.1 and N.2 positions for the most traffic (streams plus downloads) among all CWC episodes in the last eight years of the podcast. Congratulations to Oded and Longboard Vineyards! Daedalus Howell begins by remembering that his last film premiered at Longboard Vineyards, as part of what is now the True West Film Fest. Oded Shakked remembers that he liked the movie. 40 Harvests! This morning, Oded Shakked finished his 40th harvest, 28 for Longboard and the rest, for others. He still gets energized during harvest, when you work 12-18 hour days and feel jazzed afterwards. Oded wants to find a balance, for Sauvignon Blanc, using grapes from different regions and 40% in neutral barrels, the rest in stainless steel, so partial ML, but still good natural acidity. They are tasting the 2024 SV from Russian River Valley. A lot of SV has been converted to Pinot Noir, but not this vineyard. “It has a nice snap to it, … green pea… melon… Meyer lemon…” says Dan. It has a character that Oded likes to call sun-dried linen. Dan says that unfortunately, California Chardonnay is produced for people who like something rich. Dan considers those Chardonnays to be cocktail wines. SV is more fascinating because it has more nuances of flavor. In this Chard from Longboard, the ML is subtle. And unlike some New Zealand SVs, it is not too sweet. It is not served too cool, so the flavors are more evident. Watergirl Rosé Oded always wanted to make Rosé, and initially he made it from Syrah. However it did not sell. At the time, Rosé had not yet become fashionable. Most people in Russian River Valley make Rosé from Pinot Noir. Oded makes his Rosé mostly from Grenache, with some Syrah and Caringnane. He is looking for that southern French style. The name Watergirl Rosé comes from the wine’s previous name, which was Wahine. That means a surfer girl in Hawaiian, and nobody knew the word or could pronounce it. Oded is a lifelong surfer. He noticed that whenever there were women in the water, they had to work twice as hard to compete for space to drop in. He has a lot of respect for them because of that and so the wine is named for them. This Watergirl Rosé has juicy berry notes and watermelon at first, then the finish gets a little bit of the red wine component. Later in the show Oded tells the story of how he grew up 100 yards from the beach in Israel. He started surfing as a kid and he still surfs. After his military service he made surfboards for a living, for a while. He would close shop in September and go to surf the west facing beaches in Portugal, Spain and France for months at a time. His interest in wine started in Spain on surf trips, drinking Albariño. It took some time for him to get so interested in wine. A friend of the family told him about a winemaking school in the US, and he took the suggestion. Later, he started Longboard because he wanted to write off his surf trips and admits that at first, he never thought the winery would last, let alone be so successful.

Julie Julie Schreiber from Mycoventures is our guest today on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Mycoventures leads mushroom foraging adventures in wine country. They have a big event coming soon. She and her partner are doing a couple of new pop-ups. She has been cooking for a very long time and foraging for more than 30 years. So she likes to combine her interests. Julie is also a wine judge and winemaker. Yesterday she tasted 130-150 wines as a judge in the Harvest Fair. She uses bubbly water as a palette cleanser. Herlinda and Julie have a lot of knowledge and experience with palette cleansers during judging and how to manage the flavor load. Julie brought a truffle salami, a truffle potato chip and a truffle pate. They go well with cider or beer. Herlinda will have a dry Sincere Cider with this. Julie describes clever ways to get the mushrooms into the recipe, especially with powdered mushrooms. Julie uses a coffee grinder to grind dry mushrooms. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around! How about a mushroom pizza?

Christian Adams with the German Wine Collection is back on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. The last time he was on CWC was this episode last November . The name Fumé Blanc is still used by about 10% of the bottlers of Sauvignon Blanc. It was a name that Robert Mondavi came up with, for Sauvignon Blanc wine. Then in 1973 David Stare, founder of Dry Creek Vineyards, also started using it. Once the name was used, the federal government required the subtitle “Sauvignon Blanc” to explain Fumé Blanc. Dan Berger has invited Christian Adams again, to emphasize the great wines coming from Germany. They used to have a reputation for being dominated by sweet whites but that's no longer true. Who wants dry Riesling? I do! I do! After France and the US, Germany is the world's third producer of Pinot Noir by volume. The weather in Germany is just warm enough for Pinot Noir, although mostly still too cold for Cabernet. Pinot Noir was brought to Germany in the middle ages. Up to about 40 years ago, the German Pinots were rather light. Some producers were making “off dry” Pinot Noir, slightly sweet. Now they are making world class Pinot Noir that rivals those of Burgundy. “This is really good!” -Dan Berger The use of oak is so careful that it's almost not there, which favors the fruit flavors. Pfeffingen has been making wine since 1622. Pfaltz is the German name of the Palatinate region in western Germany where a lot of German Pinot Noir comes from. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. This wine is aged in a combination of smaller German and French oak barrels. Christian Adams raises the question that people often ask. What are the differences among barrels, where the wood is grown, and where the barrels are made? Christian explains that some wood comes from Romania or Germany. The differences include how much the wood is toasted and how big the barrels are. Smaller barrels make for more contact area with the wine.

Adam Bosch, Parliament Brewing co-founder, is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. His last time on Brew Ha Ha was this episode back in June, with Herlinda and Harry Duke sitting in for Steve Jaxon that day. Herlinda was judging the International Bread Awards at the Las Vegas Convention Center last weekend. There was also a cyber security convention on the other side of the convention center. Apparently the guys from the cybersecurity side were eager to check out the free sample in the bakery competition. The winner, a film maker, won with a sourdough from ancient grains, that he made. Daedalus observes, “a different kind of rising star.” Adam pops the top on one of two collabs they did to celebrate their sixth anniversary, which they will do on Sept. 20-21. The first is a take on a west coast Pils. Adam explains that he wants his west coast Pils to be light and drinkable, but still with a complex and rewarding flavor profile. What’s IBU? The term IBU, International Bitterness Units, is measurable in a lab, but they don’t have a lab. Herlinda guesses 68, Adam estimates lower, but it’s a guess only. He remembers beer at Bear Republic that rated over 100. Adam’s brother Justin went to UC Davis to study brewing and they are partners, together with their dad. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Kim Stare Wallace and Brian Pruett are our guests on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. Brian is the winemaker at Dry Creek Vineyards and this is his first time on California Wine Country. Kim’s last time on the show was this episode of March 30, 2022. Dan begins by describing Chenin Blanc and how versatile it is in Europe. Dry Creek Valley is making a sparkling Chenin Blanc to celebrate their 50th anniversary. They love Cremant de Loire, and the Stare family have friends in Loire Valley, so it felt right to make one for the celebration. Brian had never made a sparkling wine before but it worked so well they will make it every year. Sparkling Chenin Blanc They only needed to harvest a couple of weeks earlier than the still wine harvest, in order to get lower sugars and higher acidity. It is actually 90% Chenin Blanc and 10% Cabernet Franc. Chenin Blanc of course also makes a great still wine. Dry Creek Vineyards has been bottling Chenin Blanc for many years. They always called it Dry Chenin Blanc. Her father, is the pioneering winemaker David Stare. He always thought it important to point out the difference between their Chenin Blanc and many others, that veer toward the sweet side. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling.  Dry Creek Valley has been bottling Bordeaux-style blended wines “since the get go.” They have made some that favor the Cabernet side, and others like this new one that favor Merlot. They know the vineyards they are using, and they are looking for the oak not to overshadow the fruit or the vineyard. They want the wines to be as complex as possible and support combining with food. Daedalus notices a balance between power and elegance. Kim tells about Dry Creek Vineyard’s decision to focus on Dry Creek Valley as a source for their Bordeaux program. They have all kinds of conditions that favor the growth of Bordeaux varieties. Brian also remembers the influence of the Pacific Ocean that cools us off at night.

Goat Rock Cider. Goat Rock Cider co-founder Trevor Zebulon is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Trevor was on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke hosting, not too long ago on this episode. Now he is back with some news, along with another guest. He is part of the Petaluma Craft Beer Festival being held on Saturday, Sept. 13. John Burns from the Petaluma Rotary Club is also in, they are organizing the PCBF. Trevor has brought “something yummy” and he did say 15%. They open and pour, and we can hear it. When Daedalus was a reporter and arts and entertainment editor, John Burns was the publisher of the paper for about a year. So his career started then, and here they are together again, only about 15 miles from where they were before. Daedalus has also covered some of Trevor’s businesses, including one called Trevor’s Terrific Tours. He also had a place called Zebulon’s Lounge. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. What Rotary Club Does John describes what Rotary does. They put on events to raise money for the community, for homeless children, seniors, and river enhancement projects. On Saturday, they have great bands, including Orquestra Batacha and Johnny Sanchez who won the award for best Elvis impersonator in 2012. He is also impersonating Garth Brooks. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Dan Berger, Clark Smith and Clark’s book Postmodern Winemaking. Clark Smith, one of our most frequent guests, is back again on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. His last time on CWC was this episode on Dec. 6, 2024, when he talked about unusual varietals. Dan Berger is at WineSong today, and Clark Smith is here with Daedalus Howell. Clark Smith just got through bottling 12 new wines. One of the great things about wine is that you can’t experience it on the internet. You can experience a lot of BS about wine on the Internet, though. Daedalus remembers. At first, there were some important writers who moved wrote in magazines, now writing online. Clark remembers that they were friends of the wine industry. They wanted to promote the idea of wine as a beverage. In 1972 when Clark Smith went into the wine business, he toured the country and met as many of them as he could. Now there are 13,00o so that’s a big change. Clark Smith notes the difference between regulation of the wine industry between the US and France. In France, the regulations are all about making the wine, and in the US, regulation all about selling the wine. CWC is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. They have a Pinot Noir from the Lester Family estate in the Santa Cruz mountains, which Clark calls the best region for growing wine anywhere. They also have a Sangiovese and a Zinfandel classico. Dan Berger Calls from WineSong Dan is on the road at WineSong, calling on the phone. Clark mentions the Zinfandel they are tasting in the studio, which he made in the old style, “before the world went nuts” and people started asking for wines that were big “pruny high-alcohol” wines. Zins that reach 17% ABV, absurd. Why did Napa Cabernet go this way? It’s really a disgrace. Clark makes wonderful Napa Cabernet, the way they used to in the ’70s. “We got into this sort of wet T-shirt contest, how big can we make the wine?” Big became too big. Napa really grows some of the best Cabernet in the world, “then we just piss it away making these clown wines…” Word.

y Jeff Duckhorn, master distiller at Redwood Empire Whiskey, joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. This is his first time on the show, but Brew Ha Ha has covered whiskey makers before, such as here and here, in October and November of last year. Herlinda has wanted to have Redwood Empire Distillery on Brew Ha Ha for a long time. She saw that they were going to Mare Island for a grand opening party. Herlinda has personal connections to Mare Island, since she was born there when her father was in the Navy. Jeff Duckhorn is a master distiller, so he is in charge of the distillery and the distilling staff. He followed in indirect pathway to his present job. He was doing cost accounting for a wine company when the owner of the winery sold it and wanted to get into distilling. Jeff asked how he could be a part of that. They built the distillery in a couple of years and opened in 2015 with Jeff holding “the keys to the car.” Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Jeff has brought some of their whiskey to taste and discuss, their three core products that they launched in 2019. The first is their flagship product, called Pipe Dream. Named after Old Growth Redwood Trees Each of their whiskeys is named after a particular old grown redwood tree. The trees are well documented and have names. Pipe Dream is the name of one, and also their leading product name. Speaking of names, Jeff's uncle is the person who founded and gave the family name Duckhorn to the famous winery. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Winemakers Greg Morthole and Chris O'Gorman join Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. Greg is the winemaker at Davis Bynum. They are here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Davis Bynum's wine company. He was a pioneer in Russian River Valley and was one of the first to make Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is difficult to grow properly. Davis Bynum's father was a journalist and wrote a book about how to make wine. Davis became a journalist from the age of 25 to 40 for the San Francisco Chronicle. At 40 he studied winemaking at the Berkeley library and went through a few "hard knocks." Dan points out that the one thing about Russian River Valley is that the weather is cool. The wines had natural acidity and did not need to be adjusted. Davis liked the natural style of winemaking because they required less work. His wines were always very good. When Dan interviewed him in 1986, he was making Merlot which he loved. Greg remembers that Davis would also play music to the vines. He started by raising organic grapes but got tired of paying certification fees. Davis Bynum Greg Morthole got to work with Davis Bynum, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 92. He was an interesting character and Greg heard a lot of stories from him. They taste a 2023 Davis Bynum Dutton Origin Chardonnay (on the left, in the picture above). It has a beautiful rich personality. Dan calls it almost Burgundian in its aromatics. It has good acidity so it could be served with rich seafoods like lobster. It will probably get better after 2 or 3 years in the bottle. This wine come from a block that the Dutton family has been farming since the 1880s. The 50th Anniversary Wine The next tasting is the 50th Anniversary wine, a 2023 vintage. Dan Berger loves it but Greg Morthole gives credit to the weather. That year the ripening was slow, then there was some rain, and only then, the fruit ripened perfectly. "Mother nature just gave us a great wine," says Greg. Dan suggests, and Greg agrees, that the ripening conditions this year remind him of 2023. They only made 35 cases of it.

Justin from Kohana Rum and Laura Sanfelipe from Lo & Behold are our guests on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Lo & Behold Bar and Kitchen in Healdsburg is open on Mondays, which Herlinda likes. She was there recently, saw a Kohana Rum bottle and asked about it. She discovered that  Kohana Rum and Lo & Behold are sponsoring the Daquiri Crush Campaign, with proceeds going to Corazón Healdsburg. Laura describes the Daquiri Crush Campaign, which Justin brought to Lo & Behold. They have organized a Tiki Night with original and classic rum cocktails. Proceeds from the event are entirely donated to Corazón Healdsburg. The campaign will run for two months. The Corazón Healdsburg website says, “Corazón Healdsburg works to create a more just and compassionate community for all. Corazón operates a bilingual family resource center and offers family-centered case management, as well as a cradle-to-career approach to education for all ages. We amplify the local Latin-American voice, and host community events, trainings and discussions to promote and celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Hawaii to California Justin was born and raised in Hawaii, then moved to the Bay Area, then to Sonoma County since 2017. Kohana Rum grows 34 varietals of Hawaiian heirloom sugar cane. From that, they make single varietal rums, like the varietals of grapes and wine. “The Daquiri Crush Campaign is my love letter back to Sonoma C0unty reaching out for our farm team, supporting all of the incredible farm workers up here in Sonoma County.” Through the months of harvests, they will offer some daquiris in various locations. Go out and buy a daquiri for a farmer or a farm worker! Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Jamie Peters from WineSong is our guest here in the studio on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, September 5 and 6 will host Winesong. Dan Berger has invited Jamie Peters from Winesong to talk about the 40th anniversary of this event. Dan has brought some Riesling that was grown at Cole Ranch in Mendocino County. This is Dan’s production called Bahl Fratty. He made 65 cases this year. There is also an Anderson Valley Handley Cellars 2019 Gewurtztraminer and a Dancing Crow Vineyards wine, and many more. (Bahl Fratty is Boontling for Great Wine. Boontling is a historic local argot that is native to Anderson Valley. It was a secret code that locals used to confound visitors.) Mendocino Coast Healthcare Foundation Dan Berger describes WineSong as a tasting event with great food, music and a walk through the botanical gardens. The wine auction is a fund raiser for the Mendocino Coast Healthcare Foundation. They actually also have wines from Napa and Sonoma at the auction, and even from Oregon, but mostly local product. The foundation supports health care and also local fire stations. Forty years ago the idea for WineSong started at the kitchen table of a local nurse. She is still involved in the event. Dan is proud that one year, the auction raised enough to purchase a new ambulance. That was a big deal. There are lots of musicians who love to play this gig. Some are regulars, others rotate in and out. Some regular guests get to know the band members. Since it’s always the first weekend after Labor Day, the cooling breezes are always blowing at the end of the day. It’s a great scene for a great cause. It’s a barrel auction, so how do you get the wine home, asks Daedalus? They have a solution that turns it into about 24 cases.

Nicole Rogers from the Sonoma chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier joins Herinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. Les Dames d’Escoffier is an international association of women in culinary professions, beverage, agriculture and the supporting industries. Nicole is the chair of the Grants committee. The Sonoma chapter was started in 2020. Their inaugural fund raising event last year was Birds & Bubbles, and this year’s edition is set for this Sunday, August 24. Herlinda is a brand new proud member. Julia Child was also a member. Nicole enjoys being a member which gives her a chance to meet other members when she travels. Ethic Cider and CuVer Belgian brewery will be at Birds & Bubbles, with cider and beer, so sparkling wine will not have the only bubbles at the event. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Dora Lee has brought a desert from Jimtown and Then Some, in Healdsburg. They look like little muffins made of mochi, the rice paste, with an apple filling and miso caramel drizzle. Jimtown is open again, owned by a a fellow Dame. She will be providing some of the desserts at the Birds & Bubbles event. For tickets, visit the Dames So. Co. So. Co. website. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Sayre Piotrkowski is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell to talk about the Bay Area Brewers Guild and more. San Francisco Beer Week is coming, from February 20 to March 1, 2026. Sayre has been on Brew Ha Ha before, his last time was this episode on May 4, 2023. All the beers that Sayre has brought today are multiple award winners. Old Caz and Ghost Town were both very local. Ghost Town hired a world class brewer, and Old Caz just kept getting better and better. Now, these two communities can walk to some of the best beer in the world. Sayre is the executive director of the Bay Area Brewers Guild. The guild started as six brewpubs in San Francisco. At its height it represented over 100 breweries and SF Beer Week would have over 1000 events in one week. Now that beer is getting back to an equilibrium where it is more connected to its community, and no longer serving an investor class that is looking only for big profits. Sayre agrees and says it is good that the “smart money” has left craft brewing. Some investors would only expect to sell the company for multiples of their investment. There are cases where brands have disappeared, such as Pete's Wicked Ale. Herlinda cites the two examples of Lagunitas and Anchor. Craft versus Corporate Sayre wants people to understand the difference between buying a beer that is produced and sourced locally, and buying one from one of the biggest corporations in the world. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Some people still feel loyal to old brands but increasingly, it is evident that the difference between craft and corporate beer is the entire brewing ecosystem behind the glass. Visit our sponsor PizzaLeah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu, great beers and the most authentic flavors around!

Winemaker Michael Browne is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Daedalus Howell is sitting in for Steve Jaxon today. Michael has brought a few wines today. The first pour is a 2020 Santa Rita Hills, made under his Cirq label. It his is focus on Russian River. His other brand, Chev, focuses on all the west coast, from Oregon to Central California. The Santa Rita Hills is interesting to him because “it really moves in your mouth…it has a lot of movement. … It has massive presence. If you let it sit on your palette just a bit, you can kind of see that.” It is not heavy but it has presence. It has what he calls intense elegance. Michael Browne wrote a book called Pinot Rocks, subtitled A Journey Through Intense Elegance. He describes good wine as a piece of music, with high notes, middle notes and low notes. Daedalus calls it, “a wine that went to charm school.” The Song and the Instruments The “song” has been written in the vineyard and the barrels are the “instruments” that will play it. Dan Berger has one last bottle of a 2005 Santa Rita Pinot Noir that is one of the best he has ever tasted. California Wine Country is brought to you by Rodney Strong Vineyards and Davis Bynum Wines. Next to be tasted is under the Chev label, which is Russian River, heart and soul. It's a wine to be aged, or decanted at least. Their 2013s, '14s and '15s are in great shape right now. In the 1990s there was an explosion of Pinot Noir producers in California and also Willamette Valley in Oregon. When Kosta Browne started, they were the second wave, doing unique things with Pinot Noir. He tasted a “substantial” Pinot Noir from Williams-Selyem and asked winemaker Burt Williams for advice on how to achieve that result. He learned how to time his harvest to get exactly that result. They are also tasting a Santa Lucia Highlands wine. Michael Browne talks about making wine with “the Garys,” who are growers Gary Pisoni and Gary Franscioni. Gary Pisoni runs Pisoni Family Vineyards while Gary and Rosella Franscioni run Gary's Vineyard and ROAR Wines. Both of them are located in the Santa Lucia Highlands. “They are the best growers that I know… They are family to me, big time.”

You committed to an event and when the day comes... you really don't want to go. Why do we say no to connection, even when we want it most? From attending the Mile Long Table in Denver to peer pressuring our future selves, we're getting real about the emotional resistance to social events and why (and how) to go anyway. Whether you're unsure what to do in a room full of strangers or need to hear that awkward silences can actually be a good thing, this conversation is for you. Want to be a better conversationalist? Listen to our episode The Power of a QuestionCheck out Daedalus Howell, the radio host who interviewed Sam.Support the show by becoming a member of the Something More Society and gain access to exclusive episodes and more intimate ways of connecting.Stay Connected with Sam & ElliotLeave us a voicemail here! Grab your "A Little More Humani-tea" & shop our other merch!Follow us on Instagram & TikTok 

Kyle Cameron and Gianna Fugazi of Trecini Winery are our first-time guests on California Wine Country with Daedalus Howell in for Steve Jaxon, and with Dan Berger. Kyle is a seventh generation Russian River Valley farmer. They are farming grapes now. He and his wife Christina bought Trecini Winery in order to get more involved in the rest of the wine business, apart from growing grapes. The wine market is in a downturn, so he has a positive outlook. Dan Berger says this downturn is a predictable one or two year cyclic drop. Giana Fugazi is originally from Linden, California, where she grew up on a cherry orchard. She studied wine business and archaeology at Sonoma State. Her dad calls grape growing "fancy farming."  She worked as an archaeologist in Italy for three years. California Wine Country is brought to you by Rodney Strong Vineyards and Davis Bynum Wines. Dan Berger believes that the future will include more Italian grape varieties. He peaks to retailers all around the country and the world. Retailers are telling him that there is less enthusiam for the Number one varietals in white and red, which are Chards and Cabs. There are many wines that used to be obscure that people are asking for. "I'm interested in making any kind of obscure wine," says Kyle. Dan's Albariño and Gianna's Verdolo As a starter, Dan has brought a wine from grape grower Francis Mahoney, a friend of his. It is a 2024 Albariño, quite dry, sells for about $24 a bottle. It's in a lot of local retain shops. Gianna has brought a Verdolo from Portugal. There are less than 500 acres of this grape in California. This is a 2024 from Taft Street, where Gianna is a series winemaker. This is her first take, a 100% neutral barrel. The organic grapes are from Calaveras County. She fermented it outside in barrels, no temperature control, then she consolidated it into an egg (concrete). There was no temperature control, so it was risky but successful.

Brent Koen from Surfside Drinks is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell sitting in for Steve Jaxon. Brent has brought a lot of Surfside drinks today. The brand started on the east coast. He brought the Green Tea pack, the Ice Tea pack and the Lemonade pack. All are lower alcohol beverages. The company started as a vodka distiller but their mission changed as they read the market. The founders geared up with makeshift equipment in the parents' basement. It was about the time that Breaking Bad was on TV. When their father saw the brew lab, he thought it was a meth lab or he acted as if it were that, and he kicked them out. So they got investors and got serious. Stateside Urban Craft Vodka started doing well, before Covid. When they noticed that people were pouring their vodka into different concoctions and cocktails, they thought of doing the same thing. That's when they started making the light beverages. Surfside grew from 1.3 million cases in 2023 to to almost 5 million cases last year and projected growth to 12-15 million cases this year. Partners with the SF Giants Surfside Drinks are partners with the San Francisco Giants and they have branded locations inside the stadium.  The beverages have only 2 grams of sugar, 100 calories and only 4.5% alcohol. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

Matt Duffy from Vaughn Duffy Wines joins Steve Jaxon, Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country today. Daedalus Howell is also in. He is doing an hour every weekday from 2 to 3 PM on Wine Country Radio. Vaughn Duffy specializes in Pinot Noir. They make 8 or 10 Pinot Noir wines from Russian River Valley and Petaluma Gap. Their tasting room is on Sonoma Highway next to Palooza Restaurant. Today he has brought two bottles of Pinot Noir. The San Giacomo vineyard and Uberroth vineyard, as well as a barrel sample of another Pinot Noir that is in production. Petaluma Gap In August there will be a tasting event that culminates on August 10 at a new venue in Santa Rosa called The Backdrop. There will be over 100 Petaluma Gap wines to taste. Petaluma Gap is one of the greatest wine growing regions that gets its cool climate from the wind. This keeps the acidity levels high. As the climate gets warmer, regions like Petaluma Gap will enjoy favorable conditions. The wind comes up every evening at about 5:00 and it is unstoppable. The region is ideal for Pinot Noir but they grow Grenache, Syrah and Blau Frankish. Great Pinot Noir will not be dark red, and Dan noticed that about these wines. California Wine Country is brought to you by Rodney Strong Vineyards and Davis Bynum Wines. Pinot Noir lovers have been drinking Petaluma Gap wines since even before the AVA of Petaluma Gap was establihed in 2017. Before that, it was all Sonoma Coast AVA. But Sonoma Coast is a gigantic area and it made sense to carve out the Petaluma Gap due to its unique conditions and results. The Wind to Wine Festival is coming on August 8, 9 & 10 with exclusive vineyard walks, winery tours and the great tasting on August 10 with super-chef Charlie Palmer. Matt Duffy and his wife Sarah Vaughn are about to make their sixteenth consecutive bottling. His first year working was 2007. After being a harvest worker and learning winemaking from the process of doing it. He and his wife bought some grapes in 2009 and started making wine, while he was still working his day job managing the crush facility. They have a tasting room in Kenwood in the Sonoma Valley. "The wine business is a long game. It takes a year or two to get your line into the bottle to sell it... You've got to stick it out... Keep going, keep growing... look for better vineyards every year."

Dan, Melissa and Deadalus. Melissa Galliani and Daedalus Howell are our guests on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Melissa Galliani is the GM of Wine Country Radio.  Deadalus Howell is the editor of the North Bay Bohemian and some other local publications. He is also a frequent guest on The Drive with the Boho Buzz, a regular feature of what's currently in the paper. Lisa Santos, the advertising director of The Bohemian, is also in. This is Bay Area Burger Week. Co-incidentally, Dan Berger wrote an article this week about hamburger meat and hamburger sandwiches. There is just one vowel of difference between burger and Berger! There is a promotion with restaurants that have specials throughout the 12-day "week." Daedalus has a trivia question for listeners, which is, what actor played the part of McDonald's entrepreneur Ray Kroc in the movie The Founder? Listener Kelley knew that answer is Michael Keaton and she wins the prize. Later we will ask who played Pussy Galore in Goldfinger? Honor Blackman is the answer. After all the banter, the wines. Terry Damskey from Dehlinger Winery could not come in as scheduled today. So Dan Berger has brought a few wines from Bottle Barn for tasting and discussion. The first one tasted is a Washington state wine which was at Bottle Barn for a mere $4.99. Today is the first day of summer, so there will be a lot of whites (and Rosés) on the show. California Wine Country is brought to you by Rodney Strong Vineyards and Davis Bynum Wines. Then they taste a 2022 Babich Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. It is on sale at a close-out price at Bottle Barn. There is also a Cinsault from Lodi, California. The winery is called Jesse's Grove. They have their own vineyards, some of which are original vines planted in 1886. They have some of the oldest Cinsault grapes in the world. Finally, Ammunition is a Sonoma County Pinot Noir.

Dan and Paul from Small Vines. Paul Sloan from Small Vines Wines joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. Daedalus Howell also joins us today. Small Vines Wines makes “world class wines of distinction.” Paul grew up in Sonoma County on a 250-acre horse and cattle ranch, on the eastern side of Santa Rosa. He worked in restaurants and ended up at John Ash & Co., known as one of the original farm-to-table restaurants. His favorite wines were always from families that grew the fruit and also made the wine. When he fell in love with age-worthy, food-friendly wines, he continued to work for the Dutton family and studied viticulture at Santa Rosa JC. He planted some high-density vineyards over the years and his wines come from them. High-Density Vines Dan Berger says that the predictions of weather are less reliable than ever, as climate change is not uniform. Paul finds that high-density planting helps, in hot years by shading the vines. High density planting works but you have to take careful care of the vines. Paul was the first person to actually design a wine with good natural acidity by planting high density vines. California Wine Country is brought to you by Rodney Strong Vineyards and Davis Bynum Wines. Phylloxera is a root louse that is so small it is hard to see. It chews on certain roots and in particular, native roots. So you have to choose rootstock that is impervious to it. It appeared in the late 1980s. It was inevitable that all the vines affected had to be torn out and the vineyards replanted. The more leaf surface you have, the more dappled sunlight you have, instead of direct light. By planting a 4-foot tractor row instead of an 8-foot tractor row, you can get fifty percent less direct sunlight on the fruit. Daedalus asks about automation and the potential to use drones in the vineyard. Paul tells about advanced tractors that gather data. The high end producers will continue to do things by hand, but a lot of less expensive wines will have to use some automation. Dan Berger mentions that a lot of the automation is in the winery, rather than in the vineyard. There are tanks with built-in chemical analysis equipment. Also, sorting the fruit is still an important manual process. Ideally, you only harvest the ideally formed clusters of fruit. Their first tasting is a 2021 TBH Chardonnay, that demonstrates the fruit selection. They sort the fruit on the vine. You only take the ideal length of cluster and diameter of berries. Their 2021 Chardonnay is the current release. His goal is to make age-worthy, food-friendly wines, so he sees no reason not to hold his wines for a few years before releasing them.

Erica, Judy & Doug. Doug Mryglod, Judy Phillips and Erica Stancliff from Deodora Wine are our guests with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country. Daedalus Howell is also in the studio today. This is the first time that Doug and Judy have been on the show for Deodora Estate Vineyards. Erica Stancliff has been on CWC before on this episode of June 24, 2020. Dan Berger introduces Deodora for winning a gold medal for a dry Riesling at the latest wine competition. The 2019 that won was up against some very stiff competition. The 2024 is maybe better, says Dan. Judy says they bottled it back in February and this is the first bottle they are opening. The grapes come from “an amazing site in the Petaluma Gap.” This is precisely what the American consumer wants, and doesn't know it. It is dry but not too much, with just enough personality in the aftertaste to suggest what kind of food it would go with. It should be served chilled but not ice cold. Dan describes plumeria, wild tropical fruit, and citrus flavors. The lime flavors will come out in about two years. Judy says Dan's commentary makes the perfect tasting notes for this wine. It is not gripping and so lemony. California Wine Country is brought to you by Rodney Strong Vineyards and Davis Bynum Wines. Daedalus Howell is also here today. He notices the minerality in this wine, “a quiet little whisper” of slate, underneath the fruit flavors. It was barreled in concrete, there was no malolactic fermentation, and there was one neutral French oak barrel, and stainless steel. Doug tells the Deodora story that starts with Judy. In 2012 they got a property that was an old goat farm. It took them months to clean it up and decide what to plant. There is a story behind the Riesling. He worked with Ford family in the Finger Lakes region, Heron Hill wine. Doug fell in love with Riesling after tasting theirs. Doug's Riesling made for himself Doug didn't want his Riesling to be too dry or too sweet, just in the middle, and for himself only. Dan says, “I did the same thing… just for me.” Dan says that Riesling makes itself if you have the right grapes. Judy says it was hard for them to believe they won that award for the Riesling. Erica Stancliff tells how she was born and raised in Forestville with parents who were home winemakers. They started Trombetta Winery where Erica is the winemaker. Her mentor was Paul Hobbs and she is now a winemaker for various local labels. She loves Petaluma Gap for the wind, climate, Sonoma coast influence and the fog. That makes it perfect, absolutely perfect for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and also Riesling. Daedalus asks Erica if their friend Chris Sawyer, the “sommelier to the stars” is really the originator of the term Petaluma Gap. He claimed it, says Daedalus. Erica has a precise technical description of the climate that makes for slow development of brix levels. In Petaluma Gap you only get a few hours of the peak heat, before the wind comes in every day. The name Deodora comes from an old tree that is on a property he owns on a golf course. The tree is beautiful and comes from the Himalayas.

Send us a textFor our Season Five Finale, we welcome Leanne Battelle, the restaurant review writer for the Marin Independent Journal (and the editor of the Real Deal Marin website) and Daedalus Howell, the editor of the Pacific Sun (and Bohemian) for a lively discussion on the state of the restaurant business 

Today on the show we have writer/director Daedalus Howell. Daedalus' film Pill Head is the definition of being a Filmtrepreneur. So much, in fact, I used his film as a case study in my book Rise of the Filmtrepreneur®: How to Turn Your Indie Film into a Moneymaking Business. The method he used was the "regional cinema model." This model is based around developing, producing and distributing a film project targeted to the niche audience of a geographic area. He essentially made an Art House film for his hometown.Pill Head was entirely a hometown affair — from discounted permits to merchant buy-in and a recent theatrical release through a consortium of local exhibitors (no four-walling!) accompanied by tons of local press.After an overdose, art student Theda becomes an unwitting specimen in her university's experimental psych program. There's a side effect, however — she sees the branching possibilities of reality in an alternate universe. Moreover, an alternate self wards her off the program's enigmatic researcher Dr. Ashe. Determined to escape, Theda's salvation lays through the looking glass of quantum quandaries, romance revisited, and the jagged little pill of her own nature.In this interview, we go deep into the regional cinema model, how he creates multiple revenue streams and how he got that group of local theater owners to four wall his film for free.Enjoy my inspirational conversation with Daedalus Howell.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

[ interview starts at 3:50]An interview with the Editor of The Bohemian and The Pacific Sun Daedalus Howell in three parts!In the part first, Daedalus and Cincinnatus discuss his upcoming film shot entirely in Sonoma County, Wolf Story! It is a werewolf adventure romantic comedy that uses fiction and fantasy to impart grounded truths about life changes, identity and growing older.In the second part, they elaborate Howell's lengthy and varied career with dozens of roles in film and newspapers, which can nevertheless be simplified into career "story-teller." Daedalus gives something of his philosophic perspective on story and story tellers and myth-makers and how story imparts instructions about how to be a human being.In the third part of the interview, Daedalus talks about his role and responsibility as editor of two of the North Bay's most impactful newspapers. They discuss the master narrative of Sonoma County and whether it is true or false, empowering or despairing.Main Website: https://daedalushowell.com/Daedalus Howell Articles: https://muckrack.com/daedalushowellQuantum Deadline Book Trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aojkAfWq3Y0Pill Head Film Trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aojkAfWq3Y0The North Bay Bohemian : https://bohemian.com/

We talk with editor Daedalus Howell (also a filmmaker, writer, actor, and conceptual artist) to talk about the state of so-called "underground" newspapers.

Today on the show we have writer/director Daedalus Howell. Daedalus' film Pill Head is the definition of being a Filmtrepreneur. So much, in fact,​ I used his film as a case study in my book Rise of the Filmtrepreneur®: How to Turn Your Indie Film into a Moneymaking Business. The method he used was the "regional cinema model." This mode; is based around developing, producing and distributing a film project targeted to the niche audience of a geographic area. He essentially made an Art House film for his hometown.Pill Head was entirely a hometown affair — from discounted permits to merchant buy-in and a recent theatrical release through a consortium of local exhibitors (no four-walling!) accompanied by tons of local press.In this interview, we go deep into the regional cinema model, how he creates multiple revenue streams and how he got that group of local theater owners to four wall his film for free. Enjoy my inspirational conversation with Daedalus Howell.

Today on the show we have writer/director Daedalus Howell. Daedalus' film Pill Head is the definition of being a Filmtrepreneur. So much, in fact,​ I used his film as a case study in my book Rise of the Filmtrepreneur®: How to Turn Your Indie Film into a Moneymaking Business. The method he used was the "regional cinema model." This mode; is based around developing, producing and distributing a film project targeted to the niche audience of a geographic area. He essentially made an Art House film for his hometown.Pill Head was entirely a hometown affair — from discounted permits to merchant buy-in and a recent theatrical release through a consortium of local exhibitors (no four-walling!) accompanied by tons of local press.In this interview, we go deep into the regional cinema model, how he creates multiple revenue streams and how he got that group of local theater owners to four wall his film for free. Enjoy my inspirational conversation with Daedalus Howell.

Today on the show we have writer/director Daedalus Howell. Daedalus' film Pill Head is the definition of being a Filmtrepreneur. So much, in fact,​ I used his film as a case study in my book Rise of the Filmtrepreneur®: How to Turn Your Indie Film into a Moneymaking Business. The method he used was the "regional cinema model." This mode; is based around developing, producing and distributing a film project targeted to the niche audience of a geograhic area. He essentially made an Art House film for his hometown.Pill Head was entirely a hometown affair — from discounted permits to merchant buy-in and a recent theatrical release through a consortium of local exhibitors (no four-walling!) accompanied by tons of local press.In this interview, we go deep into the regional cinema model, how he creates multiple revenue streams and how he got that group of local theater owners to four wall his film for free. Enjoy my inspirational conversation with Daedalus Howell.

This edition of Daedalus Howell’s Night School of the Mind, is brought to you by Quantum Deadline, "...a noirish, sci-fi-lite detective story with a heap of self-parody that's by turns poignant, witty and comic..." says the North Bay Bohemian. And I agree because I wrote it and you can get it on Amazon right now in ebook and paperback. Remember when the entertainment industry was pushing the term “transmedia?” Yeah, neither do I but I do know what it means, because all I really need to know I learned on Wikipedia. Transmedia storytelling “is the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies.” The entry was first created in 2015, back before the prefix “trans” took on the cultural heft of gender issues and the term “media” became a rapidly deflating political football. Plus, “transmedia” always sounded like one of those meaningless corporate constructions like “multichannel” or “accountability.” So, how do we refer to the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms? Richard Wagner used the term Gesamtkunstwerk but the scope of media at the time didn’t reach beyond 15 hours of the Ring Cycle. Besides, gesamtkunstwerk sounds like something to say after a sneeze. I bring this up because I've been creating an immersive transmedia experience within a self-consistent fictional universe. Think Tolkien's Middle Earth or that galaxy far, far away. Or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or even the the Dublin of James Joyce's Ulysses, or the intertextuality of Kurt Vonnegut’s Midwest and you get the idea. In my case, the scope is narrowed to my own particular take on Petaluma, CA, where I grew up and, 20 years later, repatriated. I realize that sounds like the premise of a terrible TV show wherein the protagonist lives in the big city, gets knocked on his ass, and returns to small-town Americana and reconnects with old friends, lost loves, and forgotten dreams — and maybe even himself. That’s not my story. The fictional Lumaville is a sort of psychic space laid over the topography of the places that have long haunted me. It operates as a kind of imagined parallel universe inhabited by a protagonist who is, likewise, a parallel version of its author. But with a far darker world view. I like to put it like this: “I create autobiographical fictions that draw on my experiences as a small town reporter – but with more drinking, danger and death. They’re semantically-engineered to make you feel better than I do. And, let me tell you, I feel just fucking great.” Conceptually, I consider the endeavor literary performance art and I'll swear up and down that it's a true story if asked. Because, depending on your brand of quantum physics, it is – somewhere. In a way, creating this fictional, alternate universe isn't an act of fiction so much as reporting the history of another reality – one that I call the Lumaverse. This is the context in which I wrote my genre novel experiment Quantum Deadline as well as the screenplay for Pill Head, our upcoming feature film in which a pill-addicted young woman undergoes an experimental sleep treatment and awakes wayyy later to find she's on the verge of a psychic breakthrough ...or psychotic breakdown. “But, Mr. Howell,” you ask, “Besides your obsession with prescription drugs and inability mature beyond the environs of your youth, why do this all this work in different media? Is it just massive ADD?” Good question. This is how I got started... Read the rest at DaedalusHowell.com.

Long left behind in B-Movies, quicksand is making something of a cultural comeback. But maybe not in the way one might expect. From fetish films to a David Bowie word salad, your host Daedalus Howell plays through the sandtrap and finds old video games, snakes, and Nazis along the way. Links to everything discussed at http://daedalushowell.com/blog/quicksand.

The third and final installment of the mini-series "Burning Down the Art House" focuses on Tom Schiller’s hat tip to Fellini, "La Dolce Gilda," starring Gilda Radner and evoking a nostalgia trip for your host, Daedalus Howell. Links to the videos and more at http://daedalushowell.com/blog/part-three-art-films. Sign up for your free Screenwriting Structure ebook! http://eepurl.com/lVAWH

Let’s talk a little about New Year’s Eve. I know, I know. It’s not even Christmas yet. But given that some of the New Years Eve events I’m about to mention will be sold out by Christmas, I thought I’d better talk about them now, while you still have a chance to snap up a ticket. But first, let me offer a little perspective on the whole theme of New Year’s Eve traditions. Different people celebrate the turning of the year in different ways. In Canada, on New Year’s Eve, cities offer free public transportation. Not sexy, perhaps, as traditions go, but it’s certainly practical. In certain parts of Mexico, as the midnight bells strike twelve times, partiers eat twelve grapes—hopefully without choking—because they make a wish with each swallowed grape. In Albania, at precisely midnight on New Year’s, they make perfectly timed phone calls to wish each other a prosperous new year. Also not sexy, or particularly festive, but definitely warm and fuzzy and nice. It’s midnight. Let’s call Dad. I like it. Meanwhile in the San Francisco North Bay area . . . well, we do all kinds of things. Amongst them, it has become a certified tradition for theater companies to wrap a big happy New Years Eve party around a brand new theatrical production, often kicking off the next full run of their new show by debuting it on the 31st of December, followed by a champagne toast, confetti, cheers and a kiss or two. I like that too. Case in point: this New Year’s Eve, Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater (www.cinnabartheatre.org)—one of the first theater companies in the area to adopt the New Year’s Eve debut tradition—will be staging the first performance of their new show, Mahalia Jackson: Just as I Am. Written and performed by Sharon E. Scott, the show tells the story of America’s iconic blues and gospel singer, punctuating the tale with scorching renditions of Jackson’s best known songs. Cinnabar’s New Year’s Gala, running from $55-$66, begins at 9:00 p.m., and includes fancy pre-show desserts and champagne at midnight. Mahalia Jackson: Just as I Am, continues it’s run at Cinnabar through January 24. Over at Main Stage West in Sebastopol (www.mainstagewest.com), a bit of macabre mayhem will be added to the merriment on New Year’s Eve, as the esteemed theater launches Serial Murderess: A Love Story in Three Ax, Amanda Moody’s one-woman-show about a trio of famous female killers. Talk about drinking a cup of kindness … just make sure it’s not poisoned. Main Stage West’s first annual New Year’s Bash—cost $50, with the show beginning at 8:00 p.m.—includes food, drinks, a bit of murderous revelry, and the show itself. I suggest you dress to kill for this one. And finally, over at 6th Street Playhouse (www.6thstreetplayhouse.com), the New Year will kick in with a cabaret-style party and musical show—cost: $25-$40—featuring the return of Sandy and Richard Riccardi, the daft and daring duo whose charmingly satirical, tastefully raunchy songs have taken them to New York and back, and won them international acclaim on YouTube. There will be two shows, at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Food and drink will be available for purchase. These shows are actually much more than just a great way to kick off the New Year. Such special events are vital fundraisers; so even if you can’t make it out to your favorite theater, consider dropping off a tax-deductible donation as your way of saying Auld Lange Syne to support live theater in Sonoma County. Happy New Year, a little early, and here’s to a theatrically satisfying 2016.

Many of our Christmas entertainment traditions are tales of tribulation from Jimmy Stewart contemplating suicide in It’s a Wonderful Life to Charlie Brown’s seasonal affective disorder which becomes a kind of wistful melancholia with enough piano jazz. So, it stands for reason that writer and performer David Templeton would yoke is yuletide monologue, Polar Bears, to a similar strategy. “Tragedy plus time equals comedy.” But Templeton isn’t pursuing comedy so as much as a stage-borne catharsis. And he succeeds. Polar Bears is inspired by the true events that followed Templeton’s divorce from and the untimely death of the mother of his two young children and how he endeavored, against incredible odds, to keep the spirit of Christmas alive. Through funeral arrangements and an array of misunderstandings (including the inspiration for the title which will put a lump in your throat,) Polar Bears reminds that our children’s belief in Santa may not be the best measure for our belief in ourselves as parents. Well-directed by local theater veteran Sheri Lee Miller, the collaboration must have been akin to a protracted psychotherapy session. Though overcompensation is the modus operandi of many a divorced dad, Templeton’s story approaches the neurotic. By the second act it’s clear that Templeton’s son manifested a belief in Santa that endured long beyond what many might think healthy, or at least exceeded the initial benefit of Templeton’s efforts. The repercussions, of course, are grist for a dramatic confrontation that is by turns heartbreaking –and hilarious. And it’s testament to the raw honesty with which Templeton confronts himself as a father. Templeton is a writer first and an actor second – not a distant second, but enough that the latter sometimes has to play catch up with the former. At worst, Templeton has a tendency toward recitation, which, at nearly two hours of live performance, is a feat in itself. At his best, Templeton seems to eschew total fidelity to his text and speaks truly to the emotion of the moment. It’s like he’s speaking to a friend about one of the most challenging periods of his life. (Full disclosure: I consider myself among the playwright’s many friends who packed recent performance). Templeton’s hindsight, however, is not through rose-tinted glasses it’s more like a microscope whose slide is smudged around the edges with Vaseline. This affords it a kind of Golden Age of Hollywood-style nostalgia despite the rigorous self-examination. Polar Bears may not restore your belief in Santa Claus but might restore your belief in parenthood. Polar Bears plays Thursdays through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m., through December 20 at Main Stage West, 104 N. Main Street, Sebastopol. Tickets are $15 to $27 and can be had by calling (707) 823-0177, or by visiting mainstagewest.com. Not recommended for those who still believe in Santa Claus.