Podcasts about daedalus howell

Rob Loverde is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell for another round of Beatles and Beer. The first Beatles and Beer show was this episode last April. Rob is an audio engineer and a Beatles expert. Today is Paul McCartney’s 84th birthday. Herlinda made her original list of Beatles tunes and beers together with Rob, six years ago and he joins Herlinda today for the second Beatles and Beer show. Rob is a mastering engineer for Mobile Fidelity, aka MoFi. That is the last phase of audio manipulation or editing. It is also the first step in production by producing a master recording for duplication into different media. Today Rob and Herlinda will pair beers with Beatles and Wings songs. Herlinda and Rob have seen him perform in concert. When I’m 64 was the first song recorded for Sgt. Pepper. Meanwhile, the Scots are drinking Boston dry during the World Cup.   .--. .- ..- .-...Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more..--. .- ..- .-... Since 1966 Paul has owned a farm in Scotland, where he lived with his wife Linda. The Wings song Mull of Kintyre was for a while the highest selling single in UK history, (since then only three songs have sold more). The song is unknown to American audiences, where it was released to modest sales and was soon forgotten. That’s understandable, since the song has a strong Scottish character that appealed to UK audiences. US audiences did not pick up on any of that local joy. They toast to Paul with a Scotch Ale. Paul practices yoga and according to Herlinda, “…still stands on his head every day.” In April of 1973 Pablo Picasso passed away. Paul and Linda were visiting Dustin Hoffman then, talking about their craft. They discussed Picasso and his last words, “Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can’t drink anymore.” Paul started strumming the guitar and started writing the song Picasso’s Last Words at Dustin’s suggestion. Herlinda brought a Paulaner Pils, a Bavarian style pilsner beer. The Beatles connection to Germany dates back to when they went to Hamburg, to play steady gigs. They met Klaus Voorman who was an art director and artist. He drew the cover of Revolver. Also, he later became the bass player of the Plastic Ono Band. The Liverpool Beatles Museum that Pete Best and his brother Roag own, has an exhibition of Stu Sutcliffe’s art, through this September. He heard a song from Wings called Old Siam Sir, from the last Wings album. So, Herlinda opens a Chang lager from Thailand. Unfortunately it has been in storage too long. Lagers do expire, especially in green glass. Also, to celebrate Apple Records, Herlinda has brought a cider called WildCide. The Beatles’ last public concert was in San Francisco in 1966. In honor of that location she has an Anchor Steam Beer. Herlinda believes it is possible that the Beatles drank that beer while they were in San Francisco. 

Scott Lindstrom-Dake from Thumbprint Cellars joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. This is Scott’s first time on the show. Thumbprint Cellars is located in the Petaluma Gap. The first tasting is a 2024 Nouveau, primarily made with Grenache with a little bit of Zin, meant to be served chilled. It has a dark pink color and is a refreshing easy-drinking wine. Dan notices that it is very dry but not soft, either. It has the personality of a red but the structure of a white. This wine also got 50% malolactic fermentation which gives it body but not too much. The fruit flavors are coming from the Grenache. This is the result of carbonic maceration is when you put the whole cluster in without crushing, so every berry is whole when they develop their own fermentation. It’s not meant for aging but for enjoying now. (++++) California Wine Country is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that produce exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference!  (++++) The next wine is the 2021 Passion Valley, which Scott calls their prestige brand. Scott was making wine when he was an art student mostly doing sculpture, so he wanted to call it Sculptured Cellars. But then one evening, his wife handed him a gold pen to customize some labels on the bottles of some of his home made wine. The gold ink leaked from the pen, and he used his thumb to blot the ink. Then he left a gold thumbprint on the bottles. He realized he had a name when people asked for more of “that thumbprint wine.” This Sculptured Cellars wine won a Gold Medal at the North Coast Wine Challenge. It comes from 75-80 year-old Carignan vines, 50%, with another 50% Syrah. It gets a little barrel aging in French oak, about 20% new. The Carignan is grown near the Russian River, so it gets cooler evenings. Dan finds it succulent and mature, ready for further aging. He would serve it slightly chilled, with barbeque. Scott started making wine as a hobby after his wife got him a book about how to make wine in your garage. He thought about what he would want on the label. While staring at wine labels in a store for half an hour, he would read labels. He thought that the information he wanted was lacking. Scott decided it was important to put some information on the label, so the customer has an idea of what’s going on. Scott is making Cabernet Franc, which will be more and more in demand. In Napa valley, it is already more expensive than Cabernet Sauvignon. Dan predicts that its popularity will increase. Cabernet Sauvignon is a cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It is not easy to grow. Cabernet Franc is not as difficult to grow. Scott describes winemaking as an art, and the science part is important but secondary. He started by making wine at home. He was lucky to work for a family in Dry Creek Valley who allowed him to make wine there, as part of his compensation. Today his artistic expression comes through his winemaking, instead of sculpture. 

Jim Vander Giessen with Prochiller PROGreen and Nick Gislason from Hanabi Lager join us on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Nick has been on the show before, the last time was this episode last January. Jim Vander Giessen is a co-founder and CEO of Prochiller. He is in California for the ProGreen50 Showcase in Napa. Jim Weatherwax from ProChiller is also in the studio today.  ProChiller manufactures a wide range of refrigerant systems. They have a new product line called PROGreen Solutions which uses refrigerants that have a negligible global warming potential. Herlinda discovered this company at the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia. ProChiller was showing their PROGreen systems at the conference. Herlinda was there with a friend who introduced her to them. They mentioned that they were coming to California soon to present their products in Napa and they have just arrived. ProChiller and Hanabi Lager Nick Gislason is the owner of Hanabi Lager. He is also a professional winemaker and he knows the ProChiller company from using their systems in the winery. Refrigeration is important to both industries. Nick is doing a six-month experiment with a ProChiller system.•-• •-• -••• -•-•Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.•-• •-• -••• -•-• In brewing or winemaking, you need chilling for different steps in the process and up to the finished goods. In both cases, there is fermentation which produces heat. If you let the fermentation run away, it ruins the product. You have to pull the heat out and move it from the tank to a radiator outside. The ProChiller PROGreen system is a CO2 based chiller that does not use traditional chemical refrigerants. Those chemicals have a high global warming potential if they are ever accidentally released. But the CO2 has a negligible index, about 1, compared too 500 or more. Nick explains his reasons for chosing to work with this new system. CO2 chillers actually produce boiling water as a “waste product” which is very useful around the brewery. ProChiller will be demonstrating the PROGreen chiller on Thursday, June 11, at Hanabi Lager in Napa. Soon they will hold other demos in the Sonoma County area. 

Tony Lombardi from Lombardi Wines is our guest on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. This is his first time on the show. The winery is located in the Petaluma Gap, which we have described in many recent episodes. This episode from 2018 is about the 3rd anniversary of the Petaluma Gap AVA, We start with Chardonnay, which Dan says is in the mold of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which is an estate in Burgundy, in the Côte d’Or region in east-central France. They produce red and white wines of distinction. If you visit DRC, as it is known, they serve the reds first, then the whites. They believe in the richness and the full-bodied character of Le Montrachet. Dan says that this wine from Lombardi wines has that character which makes it an exciting wine.-•• • --- -•• --- .–. .-California Wine Country is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that produce exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference! -•• • --- -•• --- .–. .- The Lombardi Family The Lombardi family has been in Sonoma County since the ’40s. Tony has been a winemaker for 30 years. He grew up in Sebastopol and calls Sonoma County the Garden of Eden. Tony is happy to work with a friend from high school named Mike Sullivan. He got access to a few tons of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Maratella vineyard in the Russian River Valley. Tony only made 8 barrels of this wine. He used one old barrel, seven new ones, and some stainless steel. He fermented different vineyards together, then they went into different barrels. Later he blended them all together. Dan calls it a classic example of a Russian River Valley Chardonnay. It has just a hint of oak. Tony wants the oak to just capture the edges and round it out. You want subtleness and integration, so you you catch a little bit of crème brulée, or lemon curd, or minerality. Dan says, put this wine with the right food and it get better. Tony suggests Dustin Valette’s Scallops en croute. If a Chardonnay is too buttery and oaky, it can overpower the flavors in the food. Dan noticed that Russian River Valley Chardonnay has citrus flavors that contribute to the acidity. It’s something you don’t want to lose in your blending. This vineyard is west of the town of Santa Rosa. It has some inland warmth compared to his place in Petaluma Gap. Next they taste two Pinot Noirs. In Tony’s career he has learned about regions and wines from all over the world. Now he has settled into Chardonnay and Pinot Noir which he likes for their versatility. Every March, he is part of a festival called Pigs and Pinot. Tony can blend a couple of barrels of Gap’s Crown vineyard in with the Russian River Valley fruit. 

Jeremy Marshall from Lagunitas has brought their Trooper West Coast IPA to Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Jeremy was on Brew Ha Ha on this episode of November 22, 2018. Lagunitas is putting on an air guitar contest to celebrate the release of their Trooper West Coast IPA. Jeremy will pour from a growler of the Trooper West Coast IPA, drawn straight from the tank. The  air guitar championship is set for 6/6/26. That’s Saturday, June 6, 2026, the same day as the beer release. Herlinda will be one of the judges. It’s a collaboration with Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickerson. He is a beer guy, an entrepreneur, and a motivational speaker too. To register as a contestant, you will need to provide your stage name. Sign up at Eventbrite right here under Lagunitas Trooper, or look on Instagram, Facebook. If you’re interested, act fast, since they will cap the number of contestants. The prize is an actual real guitar, a 50th anniversary edition Fender. Contestants must choose the song they will perform when they register. These are the three songs to choose from:– Hallowed Be Thy Name, 5 to 5½ minutes– Two Minutes to Midnight, 3 minutes– Phantom of the Opera, 6 minutes ++++++Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.++++++ A US Partner for Trooper Ale Robinsons Brewery in England was the first to give the name Trooper to their signature premium ale. There is also a Brazilian Trooper ale. So when Iron Maiden was searching for a US partner, Bruce’s son’s wife told Bruce that Lagunitas was the perfect fit. Eventually Jeremy went to meet them backstage after a concert. He brought a cooler full of samples to share with a who’s who of metal bands. He found that Bruce was quite articulate about what flavors he liked. The Lagunitas Trooper West Coast IPA uses a new hop called Krush. Jeremy likes its flavor profile. He tastes “weed, passion fruit, guava…”  It was HBC586 in development and now it's Krush. Watch out for a 100% Krush Beer for the radio station The Krush KRSH 95.9! Jeremy confirms that Heineken is letting Lagunitas be Lagunitas. Heineken is the only worldwide beer company that is still majority owned by the family. Jeremy went to UC Davis and studied brewing science. Michael Lewis and Charlie Bamforth were his teachers. They taught English ale styles, whereas Seibel in Germany is where to learn about lager beers. Lagers are a colder, longer stored style, like Coors Banquet or Budweiser. He describes the students at Davis as Beards versus Vests. Wine guys wore vests and beer guys had beards. Lager and Ale Compared to Lager, Ale is a little fruitier, and louder. If you hop it even more, you get to IPA. They are produced quicker and are more expressive and more popular in America. Wisconsin’s German-American community drove that city’s brewing history, so they made more German Lager styles. After UC Davis, Jeremy’s first beer gig was Lagunitas. Tony asked where else he sent the letter. He wrote to all the breweries that made the beer he drank at Davis. Most were Ales, like Arrogant Bastard from Stone. Jeremy has seen it all at Lagunitas. He knows that in the future, the successful breweries will have great focus and discipline. Other than Lagunitas, Russian River Brewing Co. is an example of that.   

Matt Taylor, owner of Matt Taylor Wines, is our guest today on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. This is his first time on the show. Dan Berger did talk a little about Chenin Blanc in this recent episode. On April 30 this year, Matt Taylor was the subject of a feature story in the New York Times. Chenin Blanc is coming back. It was popular in the 1970s. It was sometimes a sweet wine, but it can be dry. Today winemakers prefer to make dry Chenin Blanc and Dan approves. Matt has brought the first bottling of Chenin Blanc from the Mammoth Rock vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. ••••• California Wine Country is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that produce exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference!  ••••• Chenin Blanc was sweet for centuries even in the Loire Valley. People are making it dry only in this century. Matt works with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the Sonoma Coast. But in 2016 he tasted a Chenin Blanc and that was a revelation. It put him on a path to the Loire Valley. He brought some budwood back and planted a vineyard in Sonoma Coast about 10 years ago. (That’s why it’s known as the Samsonite Clone.) This is the first bottling of that wine and Dan thinks it is spectacular. Chenin Blanc Then and Now Why was Chenin Blanc always a sweet wine? Dan explains that decades ago, nobody had invented a filter that was tight enough to get rid of all the sugar and yeast. It wasn’t until 1943 that the filter was invented and 1947 before it was applied to the wine. Now we have been making dry Chenin Blanc that has personality, terroir and depth from aging in barrels. This is everything Chenin Blanc could have been but never was. This wine is soft in the aftertaste but not sweet. The pH is about 3 and 12.2% alcohol. 2023 was a long season. He picked in late October or November. In 30 minutes after breathing, it will transform. There is a brightness to the wine that pairs with oysters and abalone. Dan says that Matt took a risk when he put Chenin Blanc in this place, because it is so cold is hard to get the grapes to ripen. You have to push Chenin Blanc to its limits in a cold climate. Matt Taylor pours a tasting in the Loire Valley every year or two. Sometimes the wines don’t travel so well, so having this high caliber domestic production is an advantage for us here. 

The 8-Ball Tavern‘s new owners Julie, Jen and Audrey, join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha today. This is their first time on the show. They have taken over the 8-Ball, which has been through quite a few incarnations. Julie has been running it for the last 8 years. Cotati is a college town, SSU is nearby. Herlinda has known the bar since university days, and has known Julie for a while too. Yesterday we celebrated the 55th anniversary of the 1971 California Supreme Court decision that finally allowed women to bartend. Before that, the only women who could bartend legally in California were those whose male family members owned the bar, or those who owned the bar’s license themselves. There were various reasons given for the prohibition, which included some chauvinistic attitudes. Herlinda describes the legal twist. When a bar owner petitioned to open a topless bar, the judgement struck down the previous law as discriminatory. Because of this decision, the state had to allow women bartenders.•••••Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.••••• Griffo Espresso Martinis There is a new vibe and new umbrellas, and it’s a lot cleaner than it was, but without significant changes to the dive bar look. “We just want to make a happy place for people to come and vibe and just be themselves.” There are food trucks that come. Mondays and Tuesdays there are great tacos. Sunday is Fun Day, with all kinds of games. They are open from 7am to 2am every day. They are at 8 Charles Street in Cotati. Some of the old bartenders from back in the day are back, such as Jim and Cassie. This has brought some of the old patrons back too. They have restored the place and positioned it for the future to provide a safe place for people in the community to meet. There is a new coffee machine and they still have three pool tables with a pool league on Friday nights starting June 21. Customer Safety is Paramount The 8-Ball Tavern new owners are committed to making it a safe place for women. There are plenty of security guards and the bar staff are trained to look for signs of bad behavior. They have HenHouse Hazy, Old Caz One-Way IPA, PVA on tap, many beers from Morris distributing, like Bear Republic Racer 5 and Farmer’s Light. There are also have lots of bottles of beers from outside the area. They have seven or eight taps, which are the fresher, local beers. Every Bloody Mary is made by hand and every bartender has a style. Follow the 8-Ball Tavern Instagram page for all the latest info. They have three shifts at their bar, 7 to 12, 12 to 6, then 6 to 2am. Any time is good, and “…the daytime crowd is so cool.” And they would be amenable to a remote broadcast on the back patio, so stay tuned for that!  

Kevin Bersofsky, owner of Montagne Russe wines, 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 2024. Kevin has brought a French style sparkling Rosé. Dan likes this sparkling Rosé because it is dry. This is a 2022, 85% Pinot Noir and 15% Chard, Keller estate Petaluma Gap fruit. Kevin is very light with the dosage, 2.5 grams, here. It’s like lemons and lemonade. A little sugar makes it drinkable. 2022 was a hot year, but Kevin says there are wines before the heat, and after the heat, a tale of two completely different vintages. This was picked before the heat. Kevin calls the Petaluma Gap a sort of mini-San Francisco. At about five o’clock, a coastal breeze comes in. The effects are well known. First, the wind slows the maturation of the grape. Also, the wind stops the photosynthesis of the leaves. This favors thicker skins and color. It also keeps the acid levels up.++++++California Wine Country is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that produce exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference! ++++++ Kevin says he waits for acidity to come down before sugars get too high. In other places, you reach sugar maturity and acid maturity at the same time. Kevin picks on 3 criteria. Flavor is first. He can taste and predict Brix. When he tastes something, he knows. He has a flavor catalog in mind. For example, the Roberts Road vineyard, he has flavor criteria, and he knows what he wants. Dan says California can have fruit, acid and body without having to sacrifice one. Greg Jones is a meteorologist and Oregon farmer, who runs a weather forecast site. Visit the Abacela winery website. Too much oak. Chardonnay in California usually has too much oak. Kevin’s Montagne Russe Chardonnay is different. It has a bit of lemon oil and tropical fruit. But the acid is holding everything together. 2023 was a cold year. He did half ML on this wine. They use Puncheon barrels, which are 2.2 times larger than regular barrels. That puts less oak per unit of volume, onto the wine. Next, they taste a 2022 Pinot Noir with spectacular color. 2022 was a difficult vintage. The fruit came from the Sangiacomo family vineyard. Dan says the grower gets credit. When you pay premium prices for fruit, you also get the grower’s expertise and personal care. Dan finds this wine faintly rustic, as opposed to the bright cherry and berry. It’s a different kind of Pinot Noir. Petaluma Gap always delivers because it has more than just cold climate. It is more subtle and has more character. When Kevin has picked, he asks around to see who else has picked. Sometimes he’s the first. Gary Farrell would often pick early too and made great wine. +++++ On June 9 at 6 pm, the Healdsburg Wine Library is opening the new Millie Howie Memorial Garden and Patio. It’s free to the public and tickets are available at the Healdsburg Wine Library events page. +++++ The last wine is the Syrah. They have 23 bottles left. 2022 Petaluma Gap Syrah from Keller Estate. The Keller estate had some extra Syrah and Viognier that they offered to him. “Co-fermentation time!” says Dan. They put it all together, 100% whole cluster, 9% Viognier. It spent the final 8 months in stainless steel. He created an entirely different label for it. It came alive after a year in bottle. Dan says that this one “identifies” Syrah, which is meaty in a fruit sense, it’s not gamey. The Wind to Wine Festival is coming, October 17, 2026. Start planning now! 

Natalie Cilurzo joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha, to tell us about Russian River Brewing News and upcoming events. Her last time on the show was with Pliny the Younger  back on March 18. Natalie has brought three beers to taste, including Vinnie Cilurzo’s first signature beer, Blind Pig. Herlinda and Natalie were at the Craft Beer Convention in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago. The industry is contracting. Schlitz beer is closing, in Milwaukee. They have been there for 120 years. Somebody might acquire that brand. Unreasonable Hospitality One of the speakers they heard was Will Guidara. He talked about his book called Unreasonable Hospitality. Natalie is a fan and describes his advice for companies and people in any industry related to hospitality. He used to own 11 Madison Park, a Michelin 3-star restaurant. His approach is to do things for guests that are unexpected. For example, he sent his staff outside to get a hot dog from a street vendor, so he could serve it to his guests at his Michelin restaurant. He overheard their wish and did this to surprise them. ••••Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.•••• That made Natalie and Vinnie think a lot about the experience that people get from their annual Pliny the Younger release. Natalie remembers a young family there last year and the mom was pregnant, so Natalie gave her a RRBC onesie. The next year, they were back with the baby, wearing the onesie. The little details and personal touches are what make a customer’s experience special memorable. “It’s not just the beer, it’s the experience,” says Herlinda. The first beer they taste today is called Stivo. It’s a Keller Pils that they have made in collaboration with Firestone Walker for about 20 years, although this is the first year that RRBC is actually producing it. It has a dry hoppy flavor, but not like an IPA, what they call German hoppy, not as strong. A Really Fun Busy Summer at Russian River Brewing Natalie grew up around cars and racing, and when they built the location in Windor with a big parking lot, she thought it would be a great place for a car show. So, they are doing that and there are 4 of them on the calendar this summer. One of the cars on display is an original Volkswagen van, owned by the third generation of the family. There will be lots of cars, a chopper sometimes shows up, a fire engine and an old Highway Patrol car too. The NHRA top fuel drag races are coming to Sonoma Raceway and they will display the cars on Wednesday, July 15, before the race, Anton Brown’s top fuel dragster will be on display. 

Don Chigazola is back with Chigazola Merchants French wines on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. Don Chigazola receives the first Golden Corkscrew with a fanfare for brass orchestra, for being a guest ten times on CWC. The last time Don Chigazola was on CWC was this episode last January, with a selection of wines he imports from Italy. Today, we will taste Chigazola Merchants French wines, which Don has just begun to import. These wines come from a vineyard and winery called Domaine Tour Campanets, located about an hour north of Aix en Provence in a village called Les Puys. Don has brought five bottles, two whites, two Rosés and one red blend. The winemaker is Emanuelle Baude, the daughter of the family that bought the property decades ago. The first is a Rosé, made of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah. We’ll hear a lot of those varietals today, since they make up a lot of the production in Provence. California Wine Country is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that produce exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference! Chigazola Merchants French Wines Don Chigazola opened Chigazola Merchants 14 years ago after retiring from Med Tech. The regulatory process took 6 months, but he finally got federal and state licenses to import, distribute and retail wines from Europe. They have been importing wines from Italy for 13 years, including most of the well-known Italian varietals, from 12 of the 20 regions covered. They developed an interest in French wines when his wife Debbie tasted some French Roses. Now, Chigazola Merchants French wines are coming in through the same process they have for importing Italian wines. Dan says that this Rosé wine carries so much more of that tropical fruit plus spice component from the Grenache. The Syrah is there for flavor but not or intensity. Dan says that Grenache makes the best Rosé in Provence. It’s delicate but dry, loaded with flavor. Domaine Tour de Campanets There is a centuries-old tower on the property, Tour de Campanets means bell tower in Provençale French. The wines labeled Bois des Fées are their top quality production. Along with his wife and son, Don travels to meet the producers and visit the wineries. The don’t import from a producer unless they walk the vineyards and get to know the family. The other Rosé is under the Bois de Fées label. This one is made with Cabernet Sauvignon, it has more acidity and more weight. Dan observes that American wine buyers think that if a wine is inexpensive, it can’t be any good, even if they are. People didn’t trust inexpensive wines from Provence because the price was low. On the east coast, these were the bargain hunters’ paradise. People knew about them. But on the west coast they didn’t sell. All these wines cost under $30 but Dan says they are comparable to wines that cost over $40. Don says to his clients who may resist Rosé, if you taste this Rosé it will change what you think about Rosé. A Vermentino by any other name The Tour de Campanets Cuvée is a blend of 50% Rolle (which is another name for Vermentino), 35% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Ungi Blanc. Rolle, or Vermentino, has taken hold in France. The Italians claimed the name and so the French renamed it. This grape has a trace of pineapple in the aromatics that you don’t get anywhere else. This wine is completely dry. Daedalus suggests marketing it as “Rolle in the hay,” Marketing department, work on that. Ungi Blanc is the same as Trebbiano. It is another renaming. In Sardengna, Cannonau is Grenache, but the French wouldn’t let the Italians use the name Grenache. It’s the same grape. It’s global politics in a bottle. There is an annual wine show in Paris that the Chigazolas have attended for the last 3 years. This is how they started making contacts in France. The last tasting is a 2024 red blend. Dan says that Don is doing a service to his customers These wines are different than his Italian wines. Don has the experience to know how to find these wines, that are unique, delicious and priced at $30 and below. These wines and these bargains are unique. 

Ned Lawton, Ethic Cider founder, is our guest on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Ned Lawton came straight from the farm. That’s the farm in your glass, says Herlinda. The aroma rises from a wine glass. Ned was on BHH last year on May 15, 2025, almost exactly one year ago to the day. Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Coming soon to Windsor, the Way-Back Wednesday Antique Car Show, June 17, July 22, August 19 and September 16, 5-7 PM, with a display of vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles. For more info, check out RRBC dot com and the RRBC socials. Anything that is fermented fruit, like wine or cider, is made, and taxed, like wine. Ethic has a cider made from Arkansas Black apples. It is a late harvest apple and a slow ferment. In terms of wine talk, these apples are about 20 Brix, where apples are usually around 14 or 15 Brix. Cider makers can choose from different varietals, and they can also flavor it in many ways, such as adding fruit or using bourbon barrels. Ned says that’s where they bring fun to the game. Ethic Cider has a 3.5 acre apple orchard, with about 20 varietals. They have some Gravenstein and Goldan Delicious and Johnathans. They use those as a basis and build on top of that, getting apples from other growers as well. Blending Cider: balancing tart, sweet and bitter. Blending cider is a balance between tart, sweet and bitter. They can also add sugars. Ned says they also use natural yeast. The majority of the small makers do natural fermentation. They like to let the ciders start naturally, then finish with some white wine yeast. They do it carefully, but it is to make the flavors more predictably uniform. This middle path between wine and beer is Ned’s own way. He says cider people can be iconoclasts, a bit against the grain. He came from tech, did twenty years of that, then bought a farm in Occidental. He found that there was a lot to be done there, refurbishing the land. It was already apple country. He had a lot to learn about agriculture and refurbishing the land they are on. Ned sees that cider is growing. Since there is a known decline in wine and beer, people are discovering the option of cider. Everyone is asking what the consumer wants. Some of it is non-alcoholic. Ned thinks the growth in cider will also be driven by local production and brands. Ethic Cider Events Ethic Cider has events coming soon. The Summer Celebration Kick-Off is on May 30 from Noon to 5pm, at the Ethic Cider orchard in Sebastopol. Music, cider, barbeque and fun, no reservation required. Cider pairs well with BBQ! Also, they will also start doing Cider Salon on the second Thursday of the month, from 5-8 PM. The first Cider Salon is June 11, and they run through October. They taste a Newtown Pipin, which grows in the back of the orchard. Later they taste an Eau di Vie which is a brandy. They distill it from apples. It is clear and has no wood and no wood influences. It is really a spirit. So they add things to it. It can go into a spritz, with a cherry and some ice. Eau de vie can support a really nice cocktail. They also make a tonic water, which came from the need to have an N.A. option. They didn’t want to make a fermented cider and then de-alcoholize it, so they use apple cider vinegar mother to flavor it. With ethic tonic and apple cider vinegar, you can make a “shrub.” Herlinda points out that any menu or event should have at least one really good non-alcoholic option. This is to make sure that there is something for everybody. The problem has been sugars, and finding NA beverages that are not so high in sugar. 

We have a selection of Bottle Barn picks from Dan Berger on California Wine Country with Dan and Daedalus Howell today, wines that Dan says show a trend in the retail wine business. He has brought selections from Bottle Barn that will illustrate this new direction. Dan Berger is our weekly co-host and has also been featured on the show, such as this episode about Gamay Beaujolais. Many younger consumers are looking for something different. Instead of dwelling on doom and gloom because of low sales, there is an opportunity to reset the industry and to rethink things. As consumers change, the industry needs to adapt to changing tastes and provide more variety. Dan calls it a Return to Reality. So, for example, we have seen a rebirth of Chenin Blanc in the last 10 years. Barry Herbst, wine buyer at Bottle Barn, makes sure that the store has lots of choices for people looking for something new. ++++ 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 ! ++++ Esporão, Assyrtyko and Pigato The first taste is Esporão, a Portuguese white wine made in the style of Chardonnay. It is aged in wood, but delicately. It has only 13.5% ABV. The region is near the Atlantic Ocean in a cool area. It’s a 2020 and still fresh. It was $30 at first release, but now it is $12.99. The wine has the aging that it needs, it’s ready to drink. The next tasting is a 2024 Assyrtyko. It is a Greek grape that grows primarily in Greece. But this one is from Jim Barry Wines in Claire Valley in Australia. It sells for about $24 at Bottle Barn. Dan thinks the next wave of interest in wine will not be from collectors. There will have to be more diversity in the choices of wines, varieties and origins. Wine today is better than it has ever been around the world, because of better grape growing and better technology. Then they taste a 2024 Pigato from Liguria from the Durin label. It has some lemon blossom in the aroma. It’s delicious and has a lot of personality. Pigato only grows in Italy in Piedmont and Liguria, both are cool climates. Wine makers need to plant grapes like Pigato here in California. Pithos Rosso and Verduno Pelaverga Next is a red, Pithos Rosso. The bottle is 750 ml but has a squat shape. The grape variety is Nero d’Avola and is native to Sicily. The label says both Italy and Sicily. It is red, but light and delicious and not particularly tannic. Last is a 2024 Verduno Pelaverga from Fratelli Alessandria. It is a light grape from the Piemonte province, where Barolo and Barbera also grow. Pelaverga was planted as a blending grape. After 1945, they sent cuttings to UC Davis. Then, the vineyard was bulldozed and became extinct in Italy. But UC Davis had cuttings and now they have replanted it in Italy. It is as light as a Rosé but it has the taste and flavor of red wine. It’s Dan’s favorite recent discovery. Bottle Barn has it for $29.95, down from $45. It has the flavor profile of a good Barolo. Black pepper, violets, green herb, “complexity without knowing what it is.” Pelaverga is very rare here. The importer is North Berkeley Imports. Dan says they are committed to the wines they import. 

Drew and Kevin Patterson from the Marin Irish Festival 2026 join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. Drew also came on Brew Ha Ha last year on April 24, 2025, to promote last year’s event.  This year the festival has grown to cover two days, Saturday and Sunday May 16 and 17. Herlinda remembers attending the first Marin Irish Festival last year. Kevin’s parents started the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in the ‘70s. They also produce the Dickens Christmas Faire at the Cow Palace in December. They have everything Irish; food and drink, music, sheep dogs and a sanctioned Irish dance competition, called a feis, pronounced “fesh.” Theirs is maybe the biggest feis on the west coast. They have some Guinness, Smithwick and Tullamore whiskey, There are two Irish pubs. One is called the Bearded Goose, and the other is called The Gander. They sell all the Irish brews they can bring in. Drew says live music is what makes an Irish pub live. You can actually bring your instruments and play along. ++++ Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. ++++ Lagoon Park Comes to Life Lagoon Park is in the Marin County fairgrounds. The park comes to life with 6 stages. There will be demonstrations of falconry. One falconer has worked with them for more than 30 years. They will actually fly the birds from the main stage. There is also a pen for a small flock of sheep, where they demonstrate how sheep dogs work with the sheep. The festival began when some friends of Kevin’s were organizing a feis, but they had nothing happening around it. They developed the festival around the feis. Smithwick’s is a red ale and they are proud that they have it on draft. The Guinness is also on draft. Every glass of Guinness takes a two-minute pour. Tickets are $30 which Herlinda says is reasonable enough to allow someone to also do some shopping. There is a selection of craft vendors, makers of candles, glass blowing, kilts and more. There is a traditional meat pie booth. Hop Monk puts a special menu together. They also have kebobs and Greek food. The Tully Pickleback is a shot of pickle juice with a shot of Tullamore Dew whiskey. Hair of the dog? Pre-emptive hair of the dog? For example, Hop Monk makes Irish tacos, with corned beef and cabbage on a tortilla.   

Sal de la Cruz from Ludor Wines joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell in the studio on California Wine Country today. This is the first time on the show for Sal and for the winery. All of the wines that Sal has brought come from the Weiler vineyard in the Sonoma Valley AVA. They begin by tasting a red wine blend called Yuma, named after their beloved nine-year-old dog, who is on the label. It’s a very casual wine, delicious and fruity. Dan says that this is the modern era of red wine. “Drink it soon,” but it is authentic to the fruit. It is similar to Beaujolais but with better grapes. The Merlot character is right up front, and it has beautiful other nuances of black fruit. It is in a clear bottle. They wanted to show the color and break the boundaries of a traditionally dark glass. Since it isn’t meant for long aging, the clear glass is fine. It was just bottled three months ago. This is a great picnic wine, declares Daedalus. It got no wood, all made in stainless steel and unfiltered. “It feels like the French countryside,” says Daedalus and Dan agrees. The Ludor Wines 2024 Merlot Next they taste the 2024 Merlot. “This is serious stuff,” says Dan. Their vineyard has two kinds of soil, a clay loam and a sandy rocky soil. They planted it in the mid-’90s and they have been farming it for the last 25 years. Sal has been working there since he was a kid. They know the land very well. Sal says they do all the touches on all of their wines, meaning they farm it, they make it and they bottle it. Then they try to educate people about it. The name Ludor comes from his mother’s great grandmother. The family has a history in farming, mostly corn, beans and squash. (Those are the “three sisters” of native American agriculture.) ***** 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!  ***** The Ludor Wines 2024 Cabernet Sauvignon The next wine to taste is a 2024 Cabernet Sauvignon from the same property, the Weiler vineyard in the Sonoma Valley AVA. The vineyard is on the valley floor. It spent about 17 months in French oak before bottling. Dan says you can tell it was made classically and will age well. He suggests leaving a wine open for a few hours and if it improves, that means it will also improve with some years in the bottle. Five more years would be great for this wine but at least you should aerate it with a decanter. Cabernet Sauvignon is quite tannic so have a steak or something with it. About 30 years ago Napa and Sonoma wineries would release Cabernets for sale when they were roughly four and a half years old. Before tasting the fourth wine today, at minute 16, listen to Daedalus riff on the Yuma wine, for 20 seconds it’s a brainstorm the captures and expresses that wine’s character with just words. The Ludor Wines 2024 Cabernet Franc Sal explains how they pay careful attention to the ripening of this wine. They have to sacrifice some grapes, since a big crop load doesn’t produce the ripening that they want. It responds to air faster than Cabernet Sauvignon.  

Carol Shelton brings her latest Gold Medal winners to California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. She produces Zinfandel and other varietals under her own label, Carol Shelton Wines. She has been on the show several times and her very first episode was this one in December of 2017. Dan explains that Carol always does extremely well in wine competitions. “Gold medal, gold medal…” says Dan, and he says it’s because she uses fruit that she knows and elevates it every single vintage. The Wild Thing Zinfandel is the wine she is most known for. She started making it back when she was at Windsor Vineyards. It is a wild yeast fermentation, and it is organically grown. Without pesticides, the wild yeast grow on the skins of the grapes without any damage or weakness, so she can count on them to do the fermentation all the way through. The wine is “smooth and polished and long and slurpy,” she says. 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!  Wild Thing Zinfandel Dan calls it silky and elegant, with good acidity and perfectly balanced. It has a little Carignane (14%) blended in, and a little Petit Syrah (7 or 8 %). This wine just got 94 points and a Gold Medal at the North Coast Wine Challenge. She won a total of 8 gold medals and two double golds, and one was a best in class. The half bottles are 375 ml. During the first decades of Carol’s career she worked for Windsor Winery and produced a lot of excellent wines. Dan got to know here when he was writing about the winery’s direct-to-consumer program, which was a new process then. She produced 200,000 cases a year of 48 different wines. “Everything was exemplary,” says Dan. Carol is one of the first women to get an Enology degree at UC Davis. In the early years she remembers there were about ten or fifteen women winemakers. She noticed more and more until today there are about sixty or eighty. She belongs to a roundtable of women in wine that meets monthly. Albini Zinfandel The second wine they taste is the 2023 Albini Zin, grown in Windsor. The vineyard is not old vines, it is only about 35 years old. She and her assistant winemaker taste every barrel. The first year they got that fruit, they both agreed that “the new Albini” was the best. Dan explains why Russian River Zinfandel is hard to find, because a lot of vineyards were converted to Pinot Noir. She also makes some other Zins from old vines and both styles are in demand. There is an undefinable spice component in Russian River Zin that you don’t find anywhere else, says Dan. This wine got 97 points and a double gold medal. Dan explains that a lot of Zinfandel suffers from having too much alcohol. He actually put a small amount of water in the glass to balance it and free the flavors. All of Carol’s wines are under 15% alcohol, usually about 14.5. She used to use Clark Smith’s process for removing some alcohol from wine. Dan remembers a clinical tasting session with Clark Smith. The “sweet spot” for flavor was more apparent at different alcohol levels, and his favorite was the lowest. Then they taste the third and fourth wines. Third is an old vine Carignane called Wireless because the vines are not growing on trellis wires. Fourth is an Alicante Bouschet. That is a grape named after the botanist who created it. For a consumer looking for something “off the beaten path” this is a good choice. It has a dark red color. It is unusual and makes a great gift. Dan would give it 10 years but with really good storage.  

On Brew Ha Ha today, Herlinda is calling in from Philadelphia to talk to Daedalus Howell about the Craft Brewers Conference there, happening along with the World Beer Cup. Russian River Brewing Co.’s Velvet Glow Helles-style lager just won a Bronze medal at the World Beer Cup. Just as Herlinda was checking in with her media credentials, there was a crush of other media people around her. She saw that Joe Frazier’s daughter was there for the dedication of a statue of Joe Frazier in Philadelphia. Frazier was a heavyweight champion from Philadelphia. Next year the conference will be in San Antonio. The World Beer Cup is a competition among more than 8,144 beers from 1,644 breweries in 50 different countries. There were 255 judges, 128 of them were from outside the US.  113 beer categories and 5 cider categories made for an average of 69 beers in a category in the competition. So there are dozens of winners in all the different categories and styles. The local promoters always showcase the local beers, so Herlinda noticed that there were lots of Pennsylvania beers too, in circulation. Why does Gen Z drink less? The conference has sessions about the state of the business, and equipment, yeast, etc. There was a seminar about why Gen Z people aren’t drinking as much. They collected suggested reasons why, and Herlinda’s Gen Z daughter had some thoughts. She points out that there are so many people on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications now and you can’t drink when you’re on those meds. Nobody had brought that up. Another seminar reported evidence showing that people are spending 45% more time alone still, after Covid. Socialization is important to personal well-being as well as to recovery in the industry. Breweries are aware that to keep people together, they have to offer beverages and experiences beyond just the beer. Herlinda’s daughter also points out that that people have limited disposable income and don’t want to lose a day to a hangover. The RRBC site describes Velvet Glow as an homage to an old Grace Brother’s beer. The Grace Brother’s brewery operated in Santa Rosa from 1933 to 1966. They created many iconic beer brands including Velvet Glow and Happy Hops. Velvet Glow is a clean, crisp, and refreshing Helles-style lager. It has a bright straw color and flavors of bread crust and biscuit. There is a very low bitterness with a mild hop aroma. The top five countries for number of entries were the US, Canada, China, Japan and Brazil. Herlinda got some really cute socks too, that she will bring back. In Brews News, Toronado Beer Bar in SF has been acquired by one of its regulars. The owner was ready to retire so it’s a good move. Firestone Walker has also bought Stone Brewing in Southern California. Some locations will close but it will continue. Sapporo had owned Stone and the Firestone people are happy. Nice that it’s a beer company and not a hedge fund. Also, Evil Genius of Philadelphia has bought out 21st Amendment Brewing in SF, a favorite stop of baseball fans in the city.  

Gabi Demozzi, a Dim Sum chef and beer judge from Brazil, is our guest today on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Gabi is a certified Cicerone, professor, consultant and chef who has been working with beer for 16 years. She is currently working on opening a restaurant that will match Dim Sum with craft beer named Dim Sum da Gabi. It is already operating via delivery and private dinners. Today is her first time on the show. Herlinda met Gabi two years ago when she was a judge in the Brazilian national beer competition. Herlinda describes her trip to Brazil in this episode, from the week after she got back. Gabi was in Denver recently for the World Beer Cup, and they will be in Philadelphia next week for the World Beer Cup. A Beer Judge’s Job Judging beer is hard work and carries a lot of responsibility. In the field of professional beer judging, there are thousands of beers in many different categories. Usually there are four or five judges per category. Beer judges have to swallow the beer in order to properly evaluate it. This is different than wine judges who spit the wine out after they taste it. Yesterday Gabi spent six hours at Russian River Brewing Co. in Windsor. Afterwards they even went to Russian River downtown. The official Brew Ha Ha cocktail shaker is ready and we hear it in minute 10. Gabi has brought a bottle of Cachaça (pron. “ka-SHA-sa”). It is distilled from fresh sugar cane juice. The Caipirinha (pron. “kai-pi-REEN-ya”) is the Brazilian national cocktail, made with cachaça. This one is flavored with cinnamon and clove. She mixes limes and lemons, but Caipirinhas can be made with any kind of fruit juice. The better quality the Cachaça, the tastier your Caipirinha will be.   

Real Talk with Daedalus Howell From The Drive 95.5

Erica Stancliff, Deodora Estate Vineyards winemaker, joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. This is her fifth time as a guest on the show. Her very first time was this episode on February 20, 2019 and her last time was May 23, 2025 with Doug Mryglod and Judy Phillips, the owners of Deodora Estate Vineyards. The Artemis II crew just splashed down off the coast of San Diego just this minute, as the show is being recorded live, so we toast with some great Riesling. The wine they are tasting is the 2019 made by her friend Ashley Holland who was the first winemaker at Deodora, and who taught her that Riesling from Petaluma Gap could be gorgeous, aromatic, age-worthy and not sweet. Dan explains that you have to pick the fruit early enough to get the structure that will age well. The 2023 vintage represents Ashley passing the torch to Erica, who took over as winemaker that year at Deodora. 2023 was a cold year. 2023 was very cold on the Sonoma Coast, which made it a great vintage. Erica explains that the colder growing season is longer and that favors greater phenolic ripeness. Things need time to develop and if it is not so hot that you have to pick to keep the sugars from taking over, you have a chance for more interesting flavors. As the sugar comes in with ripeness, the acid drops. You don’t want too much of either one. But the phenolic compounds will provide flavors that may fall into balance. You can add a small amount of water to manage the alcohol content at the right time. Erica compares that to putting a little bit of water in the sauce while you’re cooking it. There are other additives in the winemaker’s toolkit, like yeast, which some winemakers need, especially in a wet year. They actually use grape skins to feed the yeast. After the two Rieslings, they will taste the 2018 early cask Pinot Noir. Erica was president of the Petaluma Gap wine growers’ alliance for a few years. In Petaluma Gap it is all about the wind. Dan explains that the Pacific Ocean has a wall of cold that is different than the Atlantic. The Petaluma Gap’s winds are persistent and not as strong as other places where geologic features increase the wind. The wind is regular but slow enough. Primordial Buds David Ramey believes that the Carneros is cool because of this same wind. Erica agrees. Every year, there are two vintages on the vines, the current year and the primordial buds of the next vintage. This causes some overlap in the influence of vintage years. Dan tells a story from the book Wine and War that he read years ago. In 1939 the wine was very poor but then the Germans demanded all the wine so they sent the swill. Erica knows the story, they hid all the good wine and the caves under Dijon are still there. They grow 5 clones of Pinot Noir. She compares clones to different color coats of the same breed of dog. They produce two Pinots, one they call early cask and another late cask. One is aged in wood for about 10 months. A late cask gets 14-16 months in the barrel. They can decide which direction the wines from the same vineyard can take. This late cask Pinot is also called over-vintage. Erica explains why crystal glasses raise the aromatics, more than glass. The surface of crystal is more jagged, and this is believed to raise more aromatics when you swirl the wine in the glass. They are tasting the 2018 early cask Pinot Noir. Daedalus suggests it is like opening a cigar box and finding a blood orange with cloves stuck in it. 

It’s not business as usual this time on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell, as Herlinda presents Beatles and Brews today. She has had this playlist on her main fridge for about 6 years. What’s more, she has such a collection of beers that she can line up the labels to match the songs for today’s show. The show begins with two Beatles tunes, She Loves You and I Want You / She’s So Heavy. Herlinda is a Beatles superfan. She knows Pete Best, who was the drummer for The Beatles before Ringo joined the band. Herlinda even has a signed picture with him from when he played in Petaluma on tour. Pete’s mother Mona Best bet on a horse named Never Say Die to win the 1954 Epsom Derby, at 33-1 odds. (sorry, audio garbled at 8:00) She used the winnings to buy the house where they built The Casbah Coffee Club in the basement. Pete’s brother Roag still runs tours at the original Casbah location. She Loves You goes with A View From The Top from Five Boroughs Brewing in Brooklyn. They brewed this beer to commemorate the refurbishing of the Empire State Building. It matches the Beatles arrival in NY in 1964 on Ed Sullivan and at Shea Stadium, and all the later New York connections. Daedalus asks Herlinda how she became such a big Beatles fan. Herlinda’s dad was in the Navy, and they were stationed for a while at Hunter’s Point Shipyard. Candlestick Park was nearby, and her mom wasn’t at the Beatles concert, but she said she could hear the crowd screaming. When her dad was in the Far East in the Navy, there where places where he could record albums onto reel-to-reel. Herlinda had an Akai reel-to-reel tape player. He gave her an audio documentary history of the Beatles that she listened to it over and over again. Black is Beautiful and Blackbird Herlinda was doing her math homework one day while living at Hamilton AFB in Novato. She was listening to KRQR San Francisco when the news came in of John Lennon’s murder. She immediately started her reel-to-reel recorder and captured the local coverage from all the local radio stations. Herlinda opens a beer called Black is Beautiful. She pairs it with the Beatles song Blackbird and points out Paul McCartney’s story of its origin. A bird means a girl in British English and Paul had seen stories of young black girls having to be escorted to school in the American south, and he wrote the song to describe them. The Black Is Beautiful beer started from an African American brewer Marcus Baskerville in the wake of George Floyd’s death. The song Tomorrow Never Knows, with its Indian sitars, suggests an IPA, India Pale Ale. There is more beer and Beatles music than we have time for in one show, so we will have to revisit this topic. Before we end this episode, Herlinda opens a Ukrainian style Golden Ale flavored with coriander. The BJCP judging guidelines recently admitted this Ukrainian style to their catalog. Herlinda suggests the song Golden Slumbers, for the Ukrainian ale. We will have to do a 2.0. We didn’t even get to the English beers. 

This episode marks another Clark Smith Double Gold win, on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. This is also Clark’s 12th time as a guest on the show. Clark Smith’s first CWC episode was this one in 2017 . It was one of our very first shows! Today we can say he has filled the case, with his 12th guest appearance. No other guest has been on the show as often as Clark Smith, and few of them have won as many awards. One of the wines they will taste today is a recent Double-Gold medal winner. Clark begins by saying that he cut his teeth on European wine. That means wines that are balanced, that don’t have too much alcohol and will age well. “I don’t like to release them until they are ready and that means sometimes waiting 6 or 8 years in the barrel.” He doesn’t like woody wines. The barrels he owns are over 20 years old. Double Gold for the Petit Verdot Clark is one of the only winemakers who makes wine from Norton, a grape that was discovered in Virginia in the 1920s. Hardly anyone grows Norton. Clark also makes a lot of uncommon wines, “goofy stuff.” His Petit Verdot just won a Double Gold from the American Institute of Wine. It is a 2018 that he just bottled, after six and a half years in the bottle. The problem with Zinfandel is that too many people buy it to drink right away. Some are ridiculously high in alcohol. The higher alcohol, the less the variety shows its signature. 17% alcohol is the equivalent of adding two tablespoons of vodka to your wine. Don’t do that. All of the flavor components are soluble in alcohol so the heat from the alcohol masks the aromas. Dan says that this is a problem for the heavy Napa Cabernets. They will be prune juice in 20 years and undrinkable, unlike this wine which is below 14% ABV. 

James Pardieu and Drew Tomassini, co-chairs of Battle of the Brews 2026 and D.J. Graves, co-owner of 3rd Street Aleworks, join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. Battle of the Brews is an annual event that the Active 20-30 Club #50 of Santa Rosa produces to raise money for their charitable activities. They describe their mission as, “providing young adults an opportunity for personal growth, friendships, and leadership development while improving the quality of life for the underserved children in our communities.” The Battle of the Brews 2026 will have a panel of judges for the Craft Cup competition. There will also be a People’s Choice competition. There will be over 50 different breweries. They expect over 100 different craft brews to be available. In addition to all the beers, there will be a Barbeque competition featuring 10 different BBQ teams. The three categories are ribs, Tri-Tip and chicken. One of the Active 20-30 Club’s favorite and most popular initatives is the Back-t0-School Shopping Day The Active 20-30 Club of Santa Rosa members are men in their 20s and 30s. The organization provides an opportunity for community service to men at a time in their lives before they start families. Daedalus Remembers Tony Magee Daedalus remembers being a cub reporter at the Petaluma Argus-Courier when he visited Tony Magee. He asked how his beer fit in and Tony said, “We’re going to take out foreign beers and replace them with craft beer.” He became fabulously successful. Then he attracted the only buyer he really wanted, as he explained on this episode of Brew Ha Ha in April of 2024. Then he became a foreign beer, in an ironic twist of fate. Listen to Tony Magee’s complete interview with Herlinda Heras from April 18, 2024, which was a great scoop for the show! Herlinda remembers bringing Lagunitas to a beer festival in Lithuania in December one year. Now Laginitas IPA is the number one IPA brand in the world. Beer judges use Lagunitas IPA as the baseline for that style. She explains that with Lagunitas and Russian River Brewing Co., Sonoma County’s reputation as a world beer capital is secure. 

Herlinda’s cousins Lloyd and Lee Palmer are visiting from Oregon and they are in the Brew Ha Ha converted train coach studio with Herlinda and Daedalus today. Lloyd Palmer is a train expert and today he will tell us all about the retired train cars that make up the Wine Country Radio studios and offices here in Santa Rosa. Herlinda has brought her family to the show before. Her father Eloy Heras, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, was on this episode back in April of 2018. That day, he told some stories that involved both the Navy and beer. Also, Eloy and Herlinda’s brother Anthony came on Brew Ha Ha on this episode, last year on June 19, 2025. Lloyd is also a retired Navy veteran like Herlinda’s father Eloy. “Trains and beer? I can talk all day!” said cousin Lloyd upon Herlinda’s invitation. They have a caboose in their own backyard, with beer. Lee says they have brewskis in the caboosky. Lloyd has a collection of almost 2500 craft beer tap handles. They are all on display in his garage. He started the collection about 30 years ago. He collects tap handles from Oregon microbreweries and IPAs nationwide. Trains are the only vehicle you can drink a beer on and not really worry about it. –Daedalus Howell, Words of Wisdom The Wine Country Radio studios may be the only train car radio studios that Lloyd has ever heard of. There are several types of cars. There is a boxcar and a baggage car. The KRSH studios and Exitos, sister stations, are in the boxcar. He thinks the Wine Country Radio studio was a passenger coach, not a caboose, given its fine original woodwork, high vaulted cieling and windows. Rails from 1925, Cars from 1910-1915 There is still some rail and some historical railroad ties in the ground under the cars. Lloyd found the mill mark on a rail from 1925 from a steel mill in Tennessee. He suggests that these tracks were a spur at a station, used for maintenance, before becoming a train parking lot. A spur means it is not parallel to the main track. Lee has turned her caboose into a painting studio. She wanted to restore it rather than convert it. The caboose is from 1981 and was in use until about 2006. The interior colors are the same except they put a little bar in it. There was a strict rule on the railroad called Rule G which prohibited workers from consuming alcohol before or during work shifts. Now they have a red bar across the Rule G sign. In an ironic twist, Brew Ha Ha is recorded in Studio G. Lloyd estimates the Studio G coach was built from about 1910-1915 since it is made of wood, rather than steel. Its full length extends past the hallway that crosses it. As for the boxcar, that is a standard 40-foot boxcar. They were in use from the 1940s to 1960s, for what they called single car freight, or single loads. Most interstate trains today are what they call Unit Trains like oil tankers or double-stacked container trains. Those carry standard freight containers so boxcars are much less in use today. If you ship a lot of freight, rail takes a lot of freight off the roads. Each rail car takes 3 trucks off the road. So a 100-car train takes 300 trucks off the roads. There is a great train station in Los Angeles, Union Station. It is in fine shape despite its age. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner runs from San Luis Obispo to San Diego with convenient station stops all along the way. 

Dan and Darryl. Darryl Miller is back on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell, with wines from two Sonoma County wineries, Dehlinger Winery in the west county and Peterson Winery in Dry Creek Valley. He has been on CWC a few times, the most recent is this episode on July 18, 2025. Darryl Miller is retired from the wholesale wine business. He works with the Dehlinger winery, assisting and advising them with their sales and marketing. He even used to live on that property in the 1980s. Darryl also works as an advisor to the Peterson family in Dry Creek Valley. Dan Berger and Darryl Miller met when they were judges at a wine competition about 40 years ago. They found that they appreciated the same qualities of structure and balance in wine. For Dan, there is no such thing as a great wine that does not show good balance. There are unbalanced 100 point wines that are by definition, not great. The Goldilocks Dilemma Darryl agrees. They are either too heavy or light. They are not made well. Darryl describes the Peterson's method as zero manipulation. They grow the right fruit the right way and then they don't have to intervene. The wine being tasted is a 2024 “3V” made of three Italian white grapes whose names begin with V. Vernaccia 37%, with a kind of chalkiness to it. Darryl says it's like Chablis. They also blend in some Vermentino which has some pineapple tropical fruit flavors. Then some Verdello, which has grapefruit rind flavors, similar to a Sauvignon Blanc. 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!  They make the three wines separately and then blend them. There is also a red blend, of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. They call it GSM or GMS, in order of appearance. Blends Are Back Blends are becoming popular again. This is because winemakers find that if they have Grenache and some other varieties, they can end up with a better wine by blending them. That is better than making single varietals  which by themselves may not be as good as the blend. Dan objects to blends that don't tell you what is in the bottle. We want to know what is in it. It is not illegal to do, but does not help. The Peterson wines are very careful about telling the percentages in blends.

Herlinda and Lisa. Adam Lamb and Jevon Hatter Oiadeje from the Rewind Arcade Taproom in Sebastopol join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. Lisa Brower is also here in the studio. She is the host of Jeopardy! bar league that meets at Rewind Arcade. Jevon was on Brew Ha Ha last year on this episode, talking about Rewind Arcade. Their third anniversary falls on Memorial Day this year. The Barlow is a great place for this kind of thing, says Daedalus. Herlinda lists the selection of beers that Jevon has brought. He is in charge of the beer menu. It has a great variety as well as an automated tap system. You get an RFID card that you use to track your pours and make your check. Jevon appreciates that there are so many great local producers to feature. They have 33 pinball machines, up from the original 10. They also sell Stern pinball machines and service them too. He spent a lot of time in a bowling alley as a kid, where his stepdad was the bartender. Here is their 30-second tour Instagram video. 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 Pliny the Younger 2026 information. Jeopardy! Bar Leagues Herlinda mentions her friend Lisa Brower who is the host of a live local version of the game show Jeopardy! They are the only official Jeopardy! bar league in Sonoma and Marin Counties. It is officially sponsored by Sony Television. They worked with a company called “Geeks who Drink” that organized the business. They got the rights to produce it and set up an entirely digital system of results reporting. Everything is on your phone. As an officially sanctioned event the questions come from the Jeopardy! staff. They are launching the national Jeopardy! bar league championships. Teams from around the country will be divided into regions with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. The winner national winner gets a sponsored trip to Los Angeles, a studio tour to meet the host and team and an exclusive audition.  They also win an official Jeopardy! party at their home venue. Herlinda and Daedalus consider putting a team together, a dream team with them and Aurelio and Mindi. @19m Daedalus, a host, asks how you become a host of Jeopardy! Their answer button is on their phone, laptop or tablet. The tournament will go on for the next 8 weeks. There are links to it all at Rewind Arcade website. @23m Thanks for plugging the podcast on the radio show!

Dan and Ross. Winemaker Ross Cobb is our guest again today on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. He is the founder of Cobb Wines. Ross was on the show once before, on this episode in January of 2025. Daedalus Howell remembers meeting Ross Cobb maybe 30 years ago, when they were both at the beginning of their careers. They begin by tasting a Chardonnay from 2023, which Dan describes as a nice cool vintage. The vineyard is in the eastern Sonoma County in the Sebastopol area. It was planted in the late 1990s. He got some Pinot Noir from the new owner, and he also got some Chardonnay. He considers this to be one of the best Chardonnay vineyards around. The vines are mature, it gets 10% new oak, full malolactic fermentation, 22 months in barrel, and it's not overly done. Dan Berger gives credit to all of those techniques, which gives it a combination or richness and tartness. The texture is rich and the aftertaste is delicate. It is only 12.5% ABV so it won't knock you over. 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!  Ross describes how his parents planted the vineyard in 1988-1989. He attended UC Santa Cruz where he designed his own program focussed on the living soil. Then he met all of his neighbors who had vineyards, names like Dehlinger and Rocchioli. Then he worked for Ferrari-Carano, Williams-Selyem and then for Flowers. Next they taste a Riesling. Ross and Dan Berger both get their Riesling grapes from Cole Ranch. Both of them make it dry and Dan credits Ross for a great product aimed at Riesling purists – like Dan. After the break they taste the Pinot Noirs. Ross Cobb says the 2023 Pinot Noir from Emmaline Ann Vineyard was his transformational vintage. He recalls the 2006 crop when he picked at 21.9 Brix. At first he was afraid that he had made a bad decision. But it turned out well, because of the secondary chestnut and spicy aromas that emerged. Dan Berger says 2006 was the greatest age-worthy vintage Sonoma County history. “This is astounding!” says Dan. He likes it because it was a cool year. Dan says Ross did well to pick early because the problem with a lot of wine is over-ripeness. Dan observes that this year’s crop is dealing with 90-degree daytime highs in March. He also thinks that we will also have some cooler weather in the next month. Dan says the best weather report in the world comes rerom Abacela Winery. Greg Jones who has a PhD in climate science, publishes excellent meteorological reports on the western US. His reports are free online.  Look for the Current Weather and Climate Report on this page. The last tasting is the 2021 Doc’s Ranch Vineyard. It is another representation of Sonoma Coast style. They have 22 acres of vines at high altitude. It is risky, and can yield as little as half a ton per acre. Ross calls it a good place for ripening in September and October. This vintage was picked in late October.

Natalie and Vinny Cilurzo join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha with the first taste of Pliny the Younger 2026. This is the 22nd year that Russian River Brewing Company makes Pliny the Younger. “It’s the biggest news of the year in beerdom,” declares Daedalus Howell. For the last 22 years, Brew Ha Ha has hosted the first taste of Pliny the Younger and this is Daedalus Howell’s first time as the host, for this big event. Pliny the Younger has become a “colossal, global event,” says Daedalus. Natalie Cilurzo describes the pressure that they all feel at RRBC during Pliny. Life throws curveballs, like recessions, weather and Covid, but Pliny pours on.  “We keep doing the best we can. “We are just elated when we see people waiting on Friday morning,” says Natalie. Vinny Cilurzo describes Pliny the Younger as using seven hops, the same as last year, but in a different mix. It’s always (about) 10.25% ABV. It used to be 11 but they dialed it back. The malt is a mix of two malts. There is “two row” malt from the US and Canada and some Pilsner malt. It has is a lot of sugar that gives it a dry taste. There was a potential of smoke taint in the region where their Simcoe hops come from. They had to pick the hops earlier. Vinny summarized the history of Pliny the Younger. It was available for five years before the world discovered it. In 2010 there were people waiting outside the brewery at 7AM. Vinny did not know that their beer was Number One and Number Two in the world, on two influential beer rating sites. “We still don’t know how it happened.” 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 Pliny the Younger 2026 information. The Community of Pliny the Younger They did fill growlers and they didn’t distribute it. It was a small batch but word got out to beer enthusiasts. That was a moment when curiosity about beer was rising, back then. Today Craft Beer is established. Back then, there was a novelty factor. Vinny and Natalie both say that their favorite part of the whole thing is walking the line and meeting the customers. Herlinda appreciates that both Vinny and Natalie are natural teachers. Also, they are working as hard as their staff, to make the event a success. “It’s a lot of fun for us,” says Natalie. It has turned into a big reunion. They get visitors from all over the world. There are people who have met in line at Pliny the Younger who have gone on to get married. It’s a pilgrimage. You can meet people from around the corner and around the world. Some people have an annual friends reunion at Pliny.

Dan, Daedalus and Bob. Our guest is Bob Cabral again, on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell, with four of his wines to taste and describe. He was one of our very first guests on this episode of June 21, 2017, a couple of years after he launched his own label, Bob Cabral Wines. Since that first podcast appearance in 2017, Bob has been on California Wine Country many more times. His last time on CWC was June 14, 2024, with a double episode. In the first part of that show, Bob talked about his own wine company and about having just finished his 45th harvest. The other part of that show was with Mark Tchelistcheff, to talk about the film André the Voice of Wine. Bob Cabral started in the wine business in 1980. The Judgement of Paris had happened in 1976 and it got a generation of future winemakers like Bob interested in wine. He studied winemaking at Fresno State, then  found a job working at the bottom of the totem pole as a “cellar rat,” hoisting barrels, etc. Dan points out that most great careers in the wine industry have begun this way. The experience is critical and all of one's knowledge is goes into the work and to teaching others. 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!  You Have to Clean and Scrub! Dan took a two-day intensive wine course at UC Davis in 1976 and he had to be completely alert the whole time. The most important class he took was Winery Sanitation. Bob says it was also the first thing his professors at Fresno State told him. You can't control mother nature, but you can control sanitation. You have to clean and scrub. A lot of Bob's fellow students became famous and influential winemakers. It was a generation that caught the wave growth in the California wine industry. The first wine they are tasting is Bob Cabral's 2019 Wildflower Riesling. Daedalus notices tropical fruit flavors. It comes from two vineyards on the Sonoma Coast. Bob fermented it in a concrete amphora. He used native yeast and no barrel aging. Dan says this is what the Germans do, they age Riesling. Dan believes that great white wine age well, such as some of his Italian Arneis. Supporting the Local Community All of the proceeds from Bob Cabral Wines after operating expenses go to charity to support local causes. Dan appreciates how important that is for the community of Sonoma County. One out of every five people work in the wine industry, directly or indirectly. Dan notices that in addition to the tropical fruit, it has “TDM” which is a ‘petroleum' taste. TDN stands for 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene. It gives a SLIGHT gasoline or kerosene aroma. The traditional German Riesling bottle shape (“Schlegel” in German) will be either green, blue or brown, depending on the region. The shape of the bottle can be different from red wine bottles because the shoulders and the push-up bottom are there to to trap sediment. White wines don't have sediment, which makes the flute bottle OK for it. The next wine is the 2024 Chardonnay whose name is Acoustic Sunset. Neutral barrels give more flavors than mere stainless steel. Dan says this wine has an expressive personality. The secret to this one is there was no ML so the pH and the acid stayed the same. So this wine has all the pieces, which will merge and combine with one to three years in the bottle. He only made four barrels of this one. Bob tells a lot of stories about famous musicians he has met, who were interested in his wine. Two Pinot Noirs The next two bottles to taste are Pinot Noirs. The wines have proprietary names, Troubador and Fillmore, and the fruit comes from several different vineyards. The Russian River one, Troubador, has all the features of RRV, says Dan. The last tasting is a library wine, a 2018 Pinot Noir called Fillmore. He calls it “a one-off” because he got some special fruit once only. He only made six barrels.

Dr. Hoby Wedler, a PhD organic chemist and sensory expert, is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. He has been on the show before, the last time was this episode back in August of 2020. His Instagram has almost 480,000 followers as of today’s show date. Hoby was born sightless, and was raised to have high expectations for himself. He was inspired by his great high school chemistry teacher who has worked at Petaluma High School for a while. He thought he might study history because the prospect of needing an assistant to perform manual jobs in a chem lab. But his graduate advisor was a computational organic chemist. This subject provided an avenue for him to study chemistry with more independence. His original goal was to teach freshman chemistry at the college level. He is an inspired teacher and wants to make his subject more than a requirement. “Hey maybe this is something really interesting that I never thought I would love.” He taught several freshman chemistry courses while at UC Davis. He prepared lessons and study materials carefully, but found that many students just wanted “the minimum knowledge value” to simply pass the class. 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 Pliny the Younger 2026 information. Then Hoby met Francis Ford Coppola, who asked to organize truly blind tastings at his winery. Hoby then trained his palette by tasting and smelling things, day after day. He was at UC Davis where the brewing program was going on right next to where he was getting his PhD in computational organic chemistry. Professor Charlie Bamforth, “The Pope of Foam” worked nearby, so did Michael Lewis. An Intersection of Art and Science Hoby thinks of wine and spirits and beer as a very fine intersection between art and science. Science gives us the tools and art gives us the way we want to use those tools. Herlinda first met Hoby Wedler at one of his Tasting in the Dark events. Guests were encouraged to take their time and focus on taste and smell. They use the blindfold “…so people can focus on their other senses even more.” Today they will taste two brews, a barleywine and a Tripel from CuVer Brewing in Windsor. Herlinda admits that as a beer judge, she begins by looking at the beer. Is it clear? What color is the foam? Hoby says you can smell the carbonation. Hoby points out that you can hear the carbonation too. When he smells the cuVer, he tastes clove, allspice, a bit of nutmeg and orange peel. These elements are coming from the yeast, which produces esters. Belgian yeast is special and produces esters that carry these fruity flavors. He can also taste the malt. It has a low-to-mid hop profile but the flavor is dominated by grain and malt, and the ester compounds coming from the yeast. He also knows that the water in Belgium is special, it's very pure. Herlinda smells coriander and also the alcohol. Tasting in the Dark Hoby promotes his tasting experience called Tasting in the Dark. It works with many kinds of foods and beverages, including wine, beer, spirits, olive oil, vinegar and even beef. He did a tasting experience of scotch, gin and bourbon for the launch of a new kind of freshwater fish bait. The bait is designed to be attractive to the fishes' sense of smell. Hoby's Instagram has grown explosively in the last year. He put a few reels online from their tastings and they proved to be very popular. Some of them were from Hawaii about tropical fruit. They went from 3000 followers to 480,000 followers today. The second tasting is a Barleywine called Bigfoot from Sierra Nevada. Hoby knows Ken Grossman who started Sierra Nevada out of the back of his pickup truck in 19790. Barleywine uses light hops and so much malted barley that the beer has a similar alcohol concentration to wine, 9.6% ABV.

Daedalu, Drew, Daisy and Dan. Our guests today are Drew and Daisy Damskey, who join Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. Drew's father and Daisy's husband Kerry Damskey has been on this show several times, most recently on this episode of March 1, 2023. The first wine in our glasses is a 2023 Semillon, made by Drew Damskey for Palmieri Wines. This white wine grape is relatively common in Hunter Valley in Australia. It is also the grape used for white Bordeaux and is a common blending grape. This Semillon comes from a vineyard planted in 1886 and is the second oldest Semillon vineyard in the world, called Monte Rosa vineyard. The vineyard is at the top of Moon Mountain which is above the town of Sonoma in the Mayacama range. Drew considers it to be ideal for Bordeaux varietals. They make about 75 to 100 cases of this wine per year. That 2023 Semillon has some of clean, crisp freshness of Sauvignon Blanc but with the weight, richness and texture of a Chardonnay. Dan “Lay It Down” Berger Dan would give it a minimum of three years of aging. He has 30-year-old Semillons that are still good. Dan contends that all wine ages, even whites. Dan opened a 1990 French Chardonnay the other day that was “just about perfect.” Speaking of perfection, Dan had a 1991 red wine from New Zealand, a Syrah, which Dan called perfect. 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!  The next wine tasted is Daisy’s Chardonnay, which Drew and his father made for Daisy. They were making only red wines for a long time but Daisy wanted them to make a white wine too. So father and son got some fruit and made the wine. Dan says it’s terrific, with great presence and acidity and a little bit of oak character. The fruit comes from Dorell vineyard. Drew explains that the wine undergoes Malolactic Fermentation,

David and Dan David Ramey, founder of Ramey Wine Cellars, joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. He has been on CWC before, but it was a while ago, on this episode in 2018 and again here in 2019. The weather today is unseasonably warm, but it doesn't affect Dan's work. People tell him it seems he has the greatest job in the world. They think he just has to drink wine and write about it. But Dan actually drinks very little, when tasting and evaluating wine. The better the wine, the less of it you need to drink to appreciate high quality. “It’s not about volume, it’s about character,” says Dan. “Wine is food. It's fermented grape juice and it goes with food. You might get a little relaxed but you you don't drink wine to get drunk,” declares David. Dan reminds everyone, “Life’s too short to drink bad wine.” Dan Berger declares that Chardonnay today is better than it has ever been, and he thinks David Ramey can explain why. David thinks that the Chardonnay producers went down the wrong path, when rich, hedonistic wines, fruit bombs, were popular. Robert Parker was an influential wine critic and he liked that style. David Ramey’s Chardonnays represent a reversal of that trend and an appeal to wine lovers who know that Chardonnay can do much more than those big buttery fruit bombs that don’t age well. 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!  MS in Enology David Ramey describes his pathway into the profession of winemaking. He grew up in Sunnyvale, a schoolmate of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. He attended UC Santa Cruz from 1969-1973, when the campus was brand new. He worked as a waiter where he also had the chance to taste wine. He thought he would go and teach English in Colombia, but he never made it there. He was driving from Mexicali to Hermosillo and one day he describes a coup de foudre, French for a lightning strike, when he realized he should make wine. It’s something that people like, it’s not bad for the environment, it’s an aesthetic statement, lot to like about it. So he applied to UC Davis in enology. He had to take all his college level math and science courses at San Jose State before he could start the major. He graduated with a Master of Science in Enology. Several of his fellow students became famous winemakers. They are tasting one of David’s Chardonnays, which is not chilled. “Chardonnay is the red wine of whites.” Both whites he brought are 2015s and the reds are both 2013s. Both combine richness, strong acidity and good structure. Claret David went to France after he graduated. “I’m a classicist,” he says. He wanted to go where people have been making wine for a very long time, to learn how to do it. He ended up working in Bordeaux. Then he worked a harvest in Australia. They processed 37,000 tons of grapes that time. Next they taste the Claret. That name is protected now but David says they can still use it, they are grandfathered in. It is a generic British English term for a Bordeaux wine. The French claimed it, despite the fact that there is no place named Claret. It’s just a generic word, but it was ceded to the EU in trade negotiations. Ramey also treademarked two varietal blend names for themselves. Their Left Bank Blend is a Cabernet based blend. Template is another name, modeled on the Right Bank, so it is Merlot based. This is all with Sonoma County grapes. Dan adds that the name Ramey on the label indicates a higher level of quality, by itself.

Marty Nachel Marty Nachel, founder of the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame, calls in to discuss the 2026 HOF nominations, on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. Marty has been on the show before, including this episode back in December, about his recently published book the Beer Story Project. Today’s Brew Ha Ha show is appearing online as 3 separate podcast episodes, so that all the guests can have their own page, and their own Internet traffic. This also makes it easier for listeners to find the guest they are looking for, among the other two.  Marty Nachel is a well-known author who also wrote the popular book Beer for Dummies. He is calling from Chicago, which always invites the comparison of the weather there and in Santa Rosa, California, aka Beer City. 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 Pliny the Younger 2026 information. The American Craft Beer Hall of Fame will induct its second annual class on Saturday, February 28, at 3:00 EST, 12 noon PST, they will livestream their induction ceremony. Eight people are being inducted this year, whose names will be revealed at the ceremony. There are links to the live stream at their website. There will also be events at different breweries where people will gather to watch. Herlinda wants to have one here in California too, next year. The event will be on YouTube afterwards, for on-demand viewing. This is the second year of the Craft Beer Hall of Fame. Last year the inaugural class included several famous founders of the craft beer movement. Jack MacAuliffe, Fritz Maytag, Ken Grossman, food and beverage journalist Michael Jackson, and eight others made up the class.

Conor Begley from Fathers Brewing is the guest of Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha today. This is his first time on the show. Sayre Petrokowski, the executive director of the Brewers Guild, introduced Herlinda to Conor. Fathers Brewing was launched less than a year ago, last July. They went through a lot of R&D to create their first two flagship beers. They are a lager (with a red label) and a light lager (with a blue label). Before Fathers Brewing, Conor started a software company that he sold for a lot of money in 2021. His bio is a whirlwind from graduation, to “a startup company that grew really fast” then went to Australia with his girlfriend who is now his wife. He worked for Thunder Road Brewing Co. in Melbourne, Australia, running their digital and social media operations. What he learned there led to his software company, which in the long term has led him back to beer. Relentless R&D The brand is being built in a streamlined format for growth and further investment. Conor is committed to founding the company upon the best possible quality product by a relentless process of R&D. The brand identifies as “clean beer” similar to how his partner's previous company had a product based on clean skin care. 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 Pliny the Younger 2026 information. When the question for a brewery is, ‘How to stand out?' Fathers Brewing is defining itself by being organic and clean. Their first production on other people’s equipent, a.k.a. “gypsy brewing” worked at first. Now they have invested in the company adding capacity, from 20 barrels to 400 barrels at a time. That improves the quality and makes it consistent, in the higher quantity. Mikkeller and Evin Twin beers are actually made by rival brewers who are twins. They were gypsy brewing for a long time. Mikkeller became one of the most sought after and expensive beers in the world this way. Conor spoke to a lot of other successful beer entreprenurs, to learn from them. Overall in the brewing business, people are willing to help each other. Clean Beer They have tested for the presence of micro plastics in beer, in the materials from suppliers and in all stages of packaging and processing. Any stage that uses plastic has the potential to shed microscopic plastic debris. Another example, is using surfactants to supress the production of foam. But the material is plastic. It may increase the yield but, “that can’t be good.” So pouring plastic on the beer is right out!

Miro Tcholakov is back on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell, and Melissa Galliani is also in the studio today.  He operates Miro Cellars and is also winemaker for Trentadue Wines. Miro has been on CWC before, on this episode back on September 9, 2020. and his last appearance was this episode on April 5, 2024. Miro has brought a Chardonnay, the only Chardonnay he makes now. The vineyard belongs to the De Loach family. It was given “incomplete” malolactic fermentation, so it doesn't have too much “popcorny” flavor. This wine won a gold medal at the SF Chronicle competition. Miro grew up in Bulgaria. Sometimes he refers to it as “way back east.” After college in Bulgaria, he came to the US on a student visa. He had good grades in biology and, also needed to do two years of military service. His degree was agronomy engineering, specialized in viticulture. Then in 1990 he won access to an exchange program to the US. He chose viticulture and he was the only one of the six who went to the west coast. He worked a standard harvest internship at Dry Creek Vineyards. The night before he was supposed to leave, they asked him to stay, to cover for an injured colleague. He rose through the ranks and nine years later he took a full time winemaker job at Trentadue. When he was growing up in Bulgaria, his grandfather made wine. They made about 1000 bottles of wine per year. 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!  Pinot Noir too Next they taste the Pinot Noir. Miro doesn't usually make Pinot Noir. He was known for making Petite Syrah and Zinfandel, but he wanted to try it just to say he can do that too. He gives credit to the work in the vineyard. “I am in opportunistic buyer…” of Pinot Noir grapes. It won a double gold medal from the SF Chronicle competition. Daedalus tastes dry cherry, old books, dustiness. Miro thinks maybe it's from the oak or the terroir. It's supple and round. It might handle about five or six years of aging. Daedalus' judgement: “Super drinkable, dangerously drinkable.” Later the discussion turns to the wine market and everyone’s opinion of how this downturn looks from their point of view. Aurelio Aguilar who is twenty-six, speaks for his generation. He suggests that winemakers have an important opportunity to get young people familiar with experiences like wine tasting. Then Miro tells his story of how the cave woman invented wine. Next they taste the Grenache named after his daughter, Cuvée Sasha. He started making it when she was born, 23 years ago, and for the last 10 years the grapes have come from the same vineyard on the shore of Lake Mendocino. Grenache is a good wine for any occasion, sort of like Pinot but spicier, and can have a hidden bite of tannin when younger. It’s fruity but can also be earthy. It is easy to pair with anything, Miro suggests grilled salmon or tuna. It can benefit from chilling, too. Melissa suggests bringing Grenache as a hostess gift, for it novelty and quality. Affordable Luxury “You can make high quality wines at a reasonable price. It’s possible. I’ve been doing it for twenty-three years.”

Herlinda, Rob and Chismosa Rob Saccuzzo, Old Caz GM, is our guest in studio today on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell. This is Rob’s first time on the show but the brewery has been featured many times. Old Caz co-founder Brian Rengel is the featured guest on this episode of Jan. 21, 2024. He was back for an update the following August on this episode on August 8, 2024. Rob Saccuzzo is the General Manager of Old Caz Beer and is also a board member of the Bay Area Brewers Guild. They are preparing for some big events coming soon. SF Beer Week is the biggest event of the year, and they are also putting on the SF Beer Week Beer Fest at the Salesforce Park beer garden on the top of a skyscraper in the city. Rob is busy doing ten events at Old Caz in ten days. They are releasing 16 beers, six of which are being released at the kickoff party on February 20th and many of them are collaborations. Old Caz themselves are releasing another seven. “This is the biggest slew of events we've ever done,” says Rob. 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 Pliny the Younger 2026 information. One of the things Herlinda likes about the beer business is collaboration and mutual assistance. Rob describes one with the same ingredients and two brewers. One brewery will add all the hops at the beginning then the beer is hot, and other one only later when it is cool, to produce two different flavor profiles. Chismosa Rob is also a very enthusiastic participant at beer festivals. He likes to remind people that Old Caz is a party and everyone is invited. While they can talk seriously about beer, they will also spray confetti in a Mexican wrestling suit just to get attention for the beer. Their most awarded beer is Chismosa, and has won medals in numerous beer festivals for this beer. He compliments their brewing team for keeping it so consistent. Rob says that if someone had told him in high school that his chemistry class would help him make beer later in life, he would have paid more attention. Old Caz has “a cavalcade of human beings who are hard working and who believe in the brewery.”

Dan Berger, Chris O’Gorman and Daedalus Howell. Chris O’Gorman and Chris Sawyer are our guests on California Wine Country, to present Pour and Explore at Rodney Strong Vineyards on Feb. 12. Chris O’Gorman is in the studio and Chris Sawyer joins us on the phone. Chris O’Gorman has been on CWC before, his last appearance was this episode last August. It was actually Daedalus Howell’s first CWC episode as full time host of the Drive. Dan has brought one of the wines he will be pouring at the Riesling table next week at the Anderson Valley White Wine Festival on February 14th. The 2021 Smith-Madrone Riesling is a dry wine but not as dry as some of the really bone dry types. Dan likes it with Thai food. The winery is releasing their 2022 Riesling now. This is the same hillside where Stony Hill winery also makes Riesling on an adjacent property. Chris Sawyer is with us on the phone from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He is there to judge the American Fine Wine Competition. It is one of the largest invitational wine competitions in the US. It is taking place at Florida International University. Pour and Explore at Rodney Strong Vineyards Chris O'Gorman describes Pour and Explore which is taking place next Thursday night, February 12, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Rodney Strong Vineyards. Pour and Explore will feature Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, by themselves or blended. Dan enjoys the company, since there are winemakers pouring the wine, so they can answer his questions. 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!  The first tasting today is a Rodney Strong Bordeaux blend named Symmetry. Rodney Strong has been producing Symmetry since 1996. Single varietal wines are not as common in France as they are here. They realized that Chateau St. Jean provided a model of a successful blended red. This Symmetry wine is a 2021 vintage. The label shows it is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon. With other wines being released at 2 and 3 years old, this wine is different. Cabernet Sauvignon can’t be too young. Chris O’Gorman describes the qualities that each of the five grapes bring to the blend. Next they taste a wine from Alexander’s Crown, one of the most historic red wines in Sonoma County. The first Alexander’s Crown vintage was 1974. This is the first single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County.  

Natalie and Pliny Natalie and Vinny Cilurzo join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha with the first taste of Pliny the Younger 2026 from Russian River Brewing Co. Today is a very special edition of Brew Ha Ha because Vinny Cilurzo is also here along with Natalie Cilurzo. They have brought the first taste of the Pliny the Younger 2026 in a keg. Today they celebrate the distribution of Pliny the Younger on draft at all of the bars and restaurants in their distribution network. It will all leave the brewery by Friday. It is a huge effort for the staff but it is like a holiday event. The retail release at the two RRBC locations runs from March 20 to April 2, 2026. Tapenings have begun! Pliny the Younger 2026 “tapenings” are happening and will go on the rest of the month in about 130 locations. The other release of Pliny the Younger to the general public will be in March. Right now, the trucks are on the road for Maine, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, as well as northern and southern California. Vinny also mentions ten or so brewers who are working hard in both breweries. Their sales reps in southern California have worked hard to prepare for Pliny the Younger 2026 to be a big event. A month ago, every tank in both breweries was full. The month of February would normally be the slowest time of the year for a brewery. Their original idea was to create a promotional brew to goose sales for the slow time. At first they never dreamed that it would become such a success. 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 Pliny the Younger 2026 information. Vinny tells the story of Pliny the Younger Vinny describes Russian River Brewing Co.'s history since he took over the brand from Korbel, the original founder. It used to be that barley wine was the winter brew. Vinny decided to see how far they could push the hops. For the first five years of Pliny the Younger, “It wasn't a huge deal.” But in 2010 everything changed. Vinny would always show up on the first Friday in February to tap the first keg. That time, there were people waiting outside. That is when Vinny learned that this beer was rated the number one and two beer in the world on two popular beer rating websites. He did not know about any of that. By the time they opened, they had to call every employee they could get, and limited people to 4 growlers per person. A table of 4 would buy 16 growlers. They were overwhelmed by its popularity that day. The websites were taking votes from beer enthusiasts. They ended up having to make up rules to govern and limit the traffic. During covid they had to split the distribution between bars and restaurants first and then the retail distribution later. They were forced to wait about 2 months and ended up March into April. They do that every year because it turned out to be an easier way to manage the whole season. Herlinda remembers how they organized a vaccine clinic at the brewery. The Magnificent Seven Hops The recipe has changed a little bit from year to year, but for the last few years it has used the same selection of hops. This is the first year they have used the exact same seven hops. They are Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, Tangier, Mosaic, Nectaron and Warrior. There are five different hop formats. There are whole cone hops (as they grow) and there are pellets, which resemble rabbit food. Then there are other advanced products that are concentrated flavor extracts. Some of the processes that hop companies are using for extracts are the same as used to make cannabis extracts. As for the malt, it is about 60% silo malt, 30% Pilsner malt and about 10% sugar. They use sugar because it ferments right into alcohol and doesn’t leave any body at all. Pliny the Younger 2026 is 10.5% alcohol but it doesn’t taste so strong. The Sonoma County Economic Development Board has studied the economic impact of Pliny the Younger. In 2024, the last year studied, they found 8.3 million dollar impact on the community. This comes from business to hotels and other hospitality businesses and more. Natalie and Vinny are very proud of this.

Chris Puppione from Puppione Family Wines is back on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. The last time Chris was on the show was this episode last summer, on June 6, when he spoke to Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Chris has brought four wines that Dan describes as “fabulous” and they are low-alcohol wines. Dan says Chris has had an opportunity to explore the lower-alcohol market. Chris says that people are just looking for flavor and “what’s old is new” and Dan notes that higher alcohol takes flavor away from the variety. Low alcohol is not less wine but just less noise. It takes away from nuances that they prefer to bring forward in their wines. There is a white and three reds. First, Dan’s cellar wine is the 2024 Bahl Fratty Riesling, which he will pour at the VIP event at the Anderson Valley White Wine Festival. “It’s coming out of its shell,” but in three or four years it will be really ready. They will also pour Vermentino and other whites. Dan’s table is all Riesling. It’s at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds, February 14. Tickets are $160 and are all-inclusive, with beverages and food. 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!  Friulano The Puppione label is blue, which is supposed to discourage spontaneous sales. Well, not always, says Daedalus, tell that to Blue Nun. Chris wants to make “Tuesday night wines” not Friday night wines. Festa was his grandmother’s name, so he makes a Festa Bianca and Festa Rossa. The white is Friulano, which means “from Friuli” which is in north-eastern Italy. He got the vines from a high mountain vineyard in California. He uses a combination of stainless steel and barrels. His children press the grapes with their feet. The alcohol is just 12.4%. Compared to those othe heavy wines that come in around 15% or 16%, this is refreshingly light. It is just a 2023 and it will still evolve. “This is something I do with my wife and kids for fun,” says Chris. Chris made his first wine to honor the birth of his daughter. He made it in secret. He is grateful to have help from many friends in the business. Everyone agrees that this camaraderie and willingness to help other is typical of Sonoma County people. Juventus Cuvée Next they taste a red wine. It is their Juventus Cuvée. His family is from a village outside of Torino in Italy, and one of the home teams is Juventus, but also Juventus is the goddess of youth. This is a blend of Syrah and Cab. He used stainless steel and captured a little effervescence. It’s in a clear bottle and he suggests chilling it. It reminds Dan of the simple wines you find in the back roads in France. He smells “fruit, not adorned…” This is a young wine that doesn’t need any maturation. After 2 years it is still lively and fruity. Dan says that Syrah and Cab are compatible varieties and compliment each other.

Daedalus Howell shares about the challenges in his creative process as a writer and filmmaker.

Dan, Daedalus and Julie Julie Pedroncelli from Pedroncelli Winery is back on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. She has been on the show before, the last time was this episode of last January. Dan describes the current slowdown in the wine business. The other times that the wine market went soft, there were one or two causes, but today there are several causes. But the benefit to the consumer is, the longer it takes to sell the wine, the more the wine improves. The Pedroncelli family has owned the property for almost 100 years. The vineyards are very carefully farmed and they take great care making their portfolio of wines. “Four generations and still going strong,” says Julie. Her grandparents put down roots in Dry Creek Valley outside of Geyserville. They bought a property in 1927 that had a vineyard and a shuttered winery. The previous owners were making wine as far back as the early 1900s. Their winemaker Montse Reese just completed her 18th harvest at Pedroncelli. They produce mostly Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and a few red wine blends. Her father is 94 and retired just a few years ago. 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!  Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel Julie has brought the “block party” today, with single-vineyard wines that represent certain blocks in the Pedroncelli vineyards. She has brought a Sauvignon Blanc, which they will start with, before moving on to the Zinfandel and others. “White wine is always good to start with.” This Block 11 reserve Sauvignon Blanc, vintage 2024, is not their regular production. It is a special designation reserve. Block 11 showcases the grassier, herbaceous side of SV and Montse Reese thought the neutral oak would bring out that side of SV without overdoing it. Daedalus detects a bit of Pez candy flavor, which Dan thinks is like green mint. Next is a Block 13 Zinfandel from 2023 which was a cool year. This is a little spicy, with a bit of black pepper flavors, and a raspberry note that Dan says is a characteristic of Dry Creek Valley Zins. Block 13 has had Zinfandel grown on it for over 100 years. It is the third generation of Zinfandel vines on the property. Some of the vines are 100 years old but they have replanted twice. It was Zinfandel, then Petit Syrah, then back to Zin. Montse found that this block stands out and merits a single-vineyard bottling. They used bud wood from the Rockpile vineyard for the planting and Montse also uses a yeast that was developed at Rockpile. Julie describes its character as feminine, not high in alcohol, very delicate in its fruit, “…it doesn’t hit you over the head, it’s not a fruit bomb, it’s more like a light spice bomb,” says Julie. Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah The Cabernet Sauvignon needs to breathe, decanted it would be a little more open. The long finish is not oak, though, it’s all the flavors you want in Cab without the other flavors like too much Oak. Dan Berger will be opening a 1966 Louis Martini Barbera next week for a special occasion. There are two Masters of Wine candidates from Taiwan who are taking a course at the Flamingo. Dan has met them and they expressed interest in an old California wine. Dan has one of two remaining bottles. He will open one for the students at Ca’ Bianca in Santa Rosa, along with two or three other wines from the era. The fourth wine they taste today is the Pedroncelli Syrah. Dan says he has never heard of anything like this before. It is a lower-alcohol Syrah, about 12%. This one was earlier harvested, to make a lighter style of red with lower alcohol. They picked two or three weeks before they otherwise would have.

Nick Gislason of Hanabi Lager 1/22/26 – Santa Rosa, CA –  Since there is no live radio show today, for the podcast here is an encore performance of one of our favorite shows from last year, with Nick Gislason of Hanabi Lager. Brew Ha Ha will be back live on 1/29 with Janelle and Chris from Visit Santa Rosa talking about FeBrewary and Santa Rosa Beer Passport. 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 Herlinda brought back is from the Saint Sixtus Monastery in Westvleteren, where she visited. 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!

The book that Dan and Don agree is the best one on this subject. Don Chigazola has brought Colle Ciocco wines to taste and review with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. Don’s company Chigazola Merchants imports selected small lots of Italian wines made by small family-owned wineries. He travels to Italy regularly to find wines and to meet everyone involved. Don Chigazola has been on California Wine Country several times, the last time was this episode on June 13, 2025, with wines from the Alto Adige region. They begin by tasting a very dry Trebbiano. It's a white wine popular in Italy but not widely known in this country. This Trebbiano is one of the wines Don has brought today, all from the same producer, which is one of his favorites, the Spacchetti family in Montefalco, Umbria. Their label is Colle Ciocco, which translates to “Choko Hill” in English. Don Chigazola founded Chigazola Merchants to travel in Italy looking for wines to import. They started importing from the Spacchetti family after he got to know them about four years ago. They only make about 5000 bottles per year. The wines that Don chooses for Chigazola Merchants are combinations of a variety and a region that are common in Italy but not well-known here. Don looks for those varieties that will surprise and delight his customers. Dan Berger remarks on a wine that was a 2022 Sancerre which is made with Sauvignon Blanc and it was sweet, not dry as he expected. Sweetness sells, apparently, according to Dan. Trebbiano Spoletino There are different clones of Trebbiano in this wine which make it unique. Trebbiano Spoletino is grown around the village of Spoleto in Umbria. Don describes it as very clean and dry, flavors of apricots, peaches, stone fruit. Dan notices good minerality that makes it go well with food. The only way to get a California Chardonnay to have any acidity at all is to chill it down. We all agree that's a cheap trick and beneath us. Don Chigazola has run Chigazola Merchants for about 13 years now. He has seen the shift in demand from Italian reds to white wines. So he began to favor white wines about six years ago. Now his portfolio of Italian white wines is very strong and unique among American retailers. Some of Chigazola Merchants' wine club members are local wine producers. They are eager to taste a wide range of production. A lot of his members have joined after they got to know the wines from their friends. Grechetto The next wine is a Grechetto, another Italian white grape grown around Orvieto and near the town of Todi. The Spacchetti family has blended a couple of clones of Grechetto with about 15% Viogner, which gives it a soft finish on the palette and “rounds the edges.” The third wine tasted today is a red blend, called Montefalco, which is 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and 15% Merlot. Dan notices this difference: in California, we make wines that are big and rich and bold, for reasons “I don't wanna talk about,” ok fine. But he finds them tiresome. Contrast that with what these Italian wines accomplish. “It is not very ripe, only just ripe.” Sagrantino Then they have a Sagrantino from Montefalco. This is a 2019. Sagrantino was first a sacramental wine, and was made to be sweet. But it is now a dry wine because tastes have changed. Don explains that the Spacchetti family ages it for two years in barrels and then a minimum of five years in the bottle. With all that it still feels young. There are over 400 varieties of Italian wine, so Don says that nobody can claim to be an expert, there is too much to know.  But Dan Berger begs to differ and cites Ian D’Agata and his book, Native Wine Grapes of Italy. Dan admires the author as an expert because of his book. Don actually knows Ian and agrees about his level of knowledge. Don describes himself as a student of wine.

Dan, Daedalus & Courtney Courtney De Graff, from the Anderson Valley International White Wine Festival joins Dan Berger & Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. She is the executive director of the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association. The International White Wine Festival is coming this February 14th through 16th. Courtney was on California Wine Country at this same time last year, for the previous annual festival. Courtney De Graff, of the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association talks to Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell about Anderson Valley White Wine Festival. It is happening on February 14-16, with the 14th being the big tasting day. 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!  Dan remembers when this was called the Alsatian Festival, but they changed the name to include more wines from other places. Dan Berger will be there this year at a special Riesling table. There will also be Gewürtztraminer, Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Dan likes the festival because white wines are easier to identify by their scent. The 17th Annual Festival This is the seventeenth annual festival. It has had a few different names and rebrandings.There are 64 members in the Association and not all of them produce Alsatian varietals. Dan notices a worldwide evolution in white wine tastes. There are grape varieties showing up today that were not produced in great volumes, because we lacked the technology to make the wine. Anderson Valley is eager to do a white wine festival because white wine is at the forefront of the current evolving trends in wine popularity. The Anderson Valley is an hour north of Healdsburg, on the way to the town of Mendocino. festival is on Hwy 128. Visitors either say overnight or make a day trip. Saturday is the grand tasting from 11 to 3, then on Sunday is winery open houses. They will open their doors for food, wine and entertainment. There are 44 wineries booked this year, the largest contingent ever. They also have wineries from all over the world, including Swiss, German, Italian, French and Mexican wines. It is held at the Booneville Fairgrounds.

SF Beer Week 2026 Sayre Pietrowski is back on Brew Ha Ha with Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell, to introduce SF Beer Week, coming soon this February 20 through March 1, 2026. Sayre was on the show last August when he had recently been named Executive Director of the Bay Area Brewers Guild. This is Sayre's first time for SF Beer Week as the Executive Director. He explains that the guild was born from an alliance of local beer organizations that got together and promoted a beer festival. Then they learned that other cities had beer weeks. So they decided to bring it to San Francisco, with the support of great brewers like Pliny the Younger and Anchor Brewing. In 2008 or 09 the whole guild was a small enough number to fit on one evening's menu. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

Dan, Daedalus and Casey Graybehl. Casey Graybehl from Grenachista Wines joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country today. This is Casey’s first time on the show, although we mentioned Grenache as recently as last September on this episode with Oded Shakked of Longboard Vineyards. Grenachista Wines specializes in Grenache, and makes several types and styles of this one varietal. Before getting to Casey Graybehl’s Grenache wines, Dan Berger has brought another cellar dweller this week. It is a 2004 Rkatsiteli from Dr. Konstantin Frank, in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. It is a French grape that has been grown in Eastern Europe for decades. Asked why he chose Grenache, Casey explains that he needs guardrails, to constrain himself. By focussing on his favorites, he can run a small operation and produce a high quality product. Dan explains that Grenache is also an important blending wine. The same is true of Syrah. You need some Grenache to make a Rioja from Tempranillo grapes. There is also the GSM blend, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. Instead of making wines for other people’s tastes, he makes wine for his own palette. The Holy Trinity of Grenache Casey describes the holy trinity of Grenache as Grenache Gris, Grenache Noir and Grenache Blanc. They taste a Grenache Gris and then a Grenache Rosé. Dan and Casey agree that their favorite varietal for Rosé is Grenache. “It’s a fruit salad in a glass,” says Daedalus. Dan says the tropical notes are fermentation flavors called terpenes that will be gone in six more months. “This is not one to age,” says Dan. 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!  If you’re going to limit yourself to one grape, Grenache is the one to do, says Casey, because of its versatility. Next they open the North Coast Grenache Noir. The grapes come from Sonoma Valley, Napa Carneros and Mendocino, which qualifies it for the North Coast AVA. Dan notices pomegranate and cranberry flavors. Casey says some nice licorice and leather flavors will come on with aging. Dan finds that Grenache is more sensitive to its soil and vintage than many other red wine grapes. Pinot Noir can be a headache but Grenache can be more consistent. They call it a blender but it is really a base, making up 60% of blends, such as Gigondas.

Rob Shwenker, Russian River Keepers Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Co. and Rob Shwenker from Russian River Keeper join Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell on Brew Ha Ha. This is Rob's first time on the show. Natalie has been on many times before, the last time was this episode last January for the preview of Pliny the Younger. They are here to present a new beer called 110 West Coast Pils, which refers to the number of miles that the Russian River Runs, from Ukiah down to Jenner. Vinny Cilurzo made it for the first time last year, and came up with the name of this beer. Natalie felt the need to do something positive for the river. She worked with with Russian River Keepers several years ago. Then she and Vinny were invited to the annual Russian River Keeper gala where she met Rob. Their idea was to distribute their new West Coast Pils with a portion of the proceeds going to Russian River Keeper. This arrangement is for perpetuity for as long as they make 110. “It's not a promotion, it's a commitment,” says Daedalus. 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 Keeper Rob describes the purpose of Russian River Keeper as protection of a healthy Russian River habitat. “Our mission is a healthy, fishable, swimmable equitably shared Russian River. (…) We pull about 500,000 pounds of trash out of the watershed every year.” They work to prevent trash from entering the river because ultimately that leads to the marine environment. They also do restoration, fighting to preserve animal and plant species. One example is the giant bamboo that they are removing. It is a massive user of water and hard to remove. Russian River Keeper is also an advocate for the river at all applicable levels of government. Some of Rob’s job involves lobbying in Sacramento for favorable environmental legislation. They are members of the California Coast Keeper Alliance. Worldwide there are about 300 different water keepers. Visit our sponsor Pizzaleah in Windsor for the finest pizza menu and the most authentic flavors around!

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!

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!

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!