Podcasts about Sonoma Mountain

You won't want to miss today's episode on a fundamental shift in consciousness regarding scarcity and abundance and our relationship to creation. There really is enough to go around, we just aren't living that potential out, because scarcity is enforced. * You are enough and there is enough, here's why* Making a big change in our view of what abundance is without bypassing * How I overcame scarcity yesterday on a drive up the mountain * Activating chemistry which supports seeing things in your life in new ways. View from Sonoma Mountain of Moon Mountain Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

Good Morning Community,Wow did I have a big change, it is still taking time to arrive within me…but I wanted to share it with you and perhaps ask you…what is the IDEAL you have been living by and is there unconscious resistance that keeps you from receiving it?* My ideal has changed….here is the new one* Invitation to interview with me for The Quickening* What is your ideal? Has it changed over the years?* Do you have an unconscious resistances that is informing your conscious idealOur community had an exquisite day this weekend of doing clean up at Wild Water Creek on Sonoma Mountain.Blessings to each of youShiloh Sophia Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to another captivating episode of Beats, Vines & Life! I'm your host, MJ Towler. Today, we've got an incredible story to tell with our special guest, Justin Harmon, winemaker extraordinaire from Sonoma County and Napa Valley. In this episode, we dive into the heart of wine culture and reveal what it takes to start and run a first-generation family winery with no external funding. Justin reflects on a significant moment that sparked his passion for wine at a wedding and shares the trials and triumphs of creating his acclaimed wines, from Pinot Noir to Cabernet Sauvignon, all made with love and dedication. We explore the intricate details of wine production, the effects of extreme heat on vineyards, and the unique terroir of regions like Bennett Valley and Sonoma Mountain.But it's not just about the wine. We get personal as Justin opens up about the challenges of non-rehearsed, raw, and authentic social media engagement, his deep dive into wine history and culture, and how his chemistry background paved the way for his winemaking journey. Plus, we'll hear anecdotes about unexpected fans, wine-tasting adventures, and the meaningful names behind wines like "Rosetta" and "Babel." And if you're a fan of Spanish and Portuguese wines, you're in for a treat—we discuss their exceptional value and quality. With humor, banter, and a sprinkle of music references, this conversation is as multifaceted as the wines themselves. So grab a glass, sit back, and enjoy an inspiring journey through winemaking with us on Beats, Vines & Life. Cheers!---A Massive THANK YOU to JUSTIN AND BETH HARMONI!!! This episode in-studio wines: Argot 2022 “Bastard Tongue” Sonoma County Pinot NoirArgot 2021 “Babel” Napa Valley Cabernet SauvignonArgot 2021 “Rosetta” Sonoma County SyrahFor more information about Argot Wines click the link!Follow Argot Wines on IG!____________________________________________________________Until next time, cheers to the mavericks, philosophers, deep thinkers, and wine drinkers! Subscribe and give Beats Vines and Life a five-star review on whichever platform you listen to.For insider info from MJ and exclusive content from the show, sign up at blackwineguy.comFollow MJ @blackwineguyFollow Beats Vines and Life @beatsvinesandlifeThank you to our sponsor, GrenacheFest. The Second Annual Grenache Festival in Walla Walla, Washington, will be held on November 8th, 2024. It will feature a seated comparative seminar, followed by live music, food, plenty of Grenache wines, and tons of fun.For more information, go to GrenacheFestFollow GrenacheFest on IG GrenacheFest Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

City Lights, ALTA Journal, & Heyday Books celebrate the publication of "The Forgetters: Stories" by Greg Sarris (Heyday Books). Purchase books by Greg Sarris here: https://citylights.com/?search_type=author&s=Greg+Sarris Celebrated storyteller & tribal leader Greg Sarris offers a contemplative & enchanting story cycle in "The Forgetters," a collection that blends into an unsuspected harmony shimmering with waking life, human & animal forms, & eras bygone & still-to-come. Borrowing from the cadence of Native American creation stories & the enchantment of magical realism, these tales combine to reveal the foibles & folly that beset us & the lessons that recall us to ourselves & the world. "The Forgetters" excavates multilayered tales of California's Indigenous exiles, camp workers, shapeshifters, & medicine people as they interweave with the paths of settlers, migrants, & other wayfarers across the arc of recent centuries & beyond. Narrated by the enigmatic crow sisters, Question Woman & Answer Woman, this collection returns to Sonoma Mountain & traverses the homelands of the Coast Miwok & Southern Pomo. Rooted in today's Marin & Sonoma counties, these transporting tales glimmer with an intimate connection to place & past—from ancient mythic time when all the animals were people to a speculative future when the people return as environmental refugees to the mountain from which they came. Greg Sarris is serving his sixteenth term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria & his first term as board chair for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. His publications include "Keeping Slug Woman Alive" (1993), "Grand Avenue" (1994, reissued 2015), "Watermelon Nights" (1998, reissued 2021), "How a Mountain Was Made" (2017, published by Heyday), and "Becoming Story" (2022, published by Heyday). Greg lives & works in Sonoma County. Visit his website at: greg-sarris.com Blaise Zerega is Alta Journal's editorial director. His journalism has appeared in Conde Nast Portfolio (deputy editor & part of founding team), WIRED (managing editor), the New Yorker, Forbes, & other publications. Additionally, he was the editor of Red Herring magazine, once the bible of Silicon Valley. Originally broadcast from City Lights' Poetry Room on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Hosted by Peter Maravelis. Made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation. citylights.com/foundation

Matt and Rob sit down with ISMAY to talk about their new album Desert Pavement.   We go into other topics like the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival (in which their grandfather founded and their family still runs), the documentary Finding Lucinda (about the great singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams), Ismay's time working on a ranch with they're mother, the Stranger in the Barn video (and the puppet!) and much more! We had such a great time talking to ISMAY.  They are such a down to earth beautiful soul you won't want to miss this interview!  ... and who doesn't like talking about puppets ?  ******** A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ISMAY AND THEIR NEWEST RELEASE: For Avery Hellman, the Bay Area native behind ISMAY's unique sound, the album builds a bridge between past and present. "I create music that's informed by older traditions and makes you feel the way old folk music does," they say, "but it doesn't sound like something you've heard before." Like Songs of Sonoma Mountain, ISMAY's critically acclaimed debut, Desert Pavement was heavily influenced by the California ranch where Hellman spent most of their 20s working the land. "My mom bought the ranch when I was 19 years old," Hellman remembers. "Environmental restoration was very important to her, and I was with her every step of the way, working to develop the ranch, raise cattle, replant creeks, and tend to the sheep. The perspective of my songwriting is very rooted in ranch life." ************ You can find ISMAY at www.ismaymusic.com , Facebook and Instagram (@ismaymusic) Be sure to listen to their great new album DESERT PAVEMENT today! ************ KNOW GOOD MUSIC can be found on Podbean (host site), Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Iheart Radio, Pandora and almost anywhere you listen to podcasts.     If you go to www.linktr.ee/knowgoodmusic you can find all the links to the podcast platforms we are on.    Visit our YouTube Channel where you can see video promos from some of our interviews.  Just search "know good music"."

On today's episode, I talk to musician Avery Hellman AKA ISMAY. Originally from the Bay Area, Avery grew up surrounded by music - their grandfather founded the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival - but didn't think they would pursue making music professionally until a crisis propelled them in that direction. Their first album Songs of Sonoma Mountain was released in 2020, and their latest album Desert Pavement was just released last week, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

Welcome to Episode 1614 on Italian Wine Podcast, Masterclass US Wine Market With Juliana Colangelo. Today, she will be interviewing Liz Thach MW More about today's guests Dr. Liz Thach, MW is a Professor, Wine Writer and Consultant based in Napa and Sonoma, California. She is an award-winning author and educator, specializing in wine business strategy, marketing, leadership/executive development, and wine lifestyle. As one of the nation's leading wine experts, she also serves as President of the Wine Market Council – a non-profit firm that provides research on U.S. wine consumer behaviors and attitudes. Liz's passion is wine, and she has visited most of the major wine regions of the world and more than 70 countries. She has published over 200 articles and 9 books, including Call of the Vine, Best Practices in Global Wine Tourism and Wine Marketing & Sales. She frequently publishes in Forbes, Wine Business Monthly, Wine Spectator, and The Somm Journal, amongst others. A fifth generation Californian, Liz finished her Ph.D. at Texas A&M and now lives on Sonoma Mountain. In addition, she teaches wine classes at Stanford Continuing Education and Sonoma State University, as well as working as a consultant and wine judge. Liz obtained the distinction of Master of Wine (MW) in May of 2011, becoming the first female MW from California. Website: https://lizthachmw.com/ Connect: Website: https://lizthachmw.com/ Instagram @lizthach LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-thach-mw/ Facebook @Lizthach Twitter @ThachLiz More about Juliana Colangelo: Juliana Colangelo is a Vice President at Colangelo & Partners, the leading wine and spirits communications agency in the U.S. Juliana joined Colangelo & Partners in 2013 with previous experience in events, hospitality, and nonprofit development. During her tenure at C&P, Juliana has led the development of the California office, growing the agency's domestic presence to a dedicated office of 13 people with representation of leading wine companies such as Jackson Family Wines, Far Niente, Charles Krug Winery, Foley Family Wines and more. Juliana has completed her WSET Level 3 and her eMBA in Wine Business with Sonoma State University, allowing her to bring a strategic and sales-oriented approach to communications strategy for the agency. In 2021, Juliana was named one of PR News' Top Women in PR in the “Rising Stars” category. In 2022 Juliana became a Vinitaly International Academy Italian Wine Ambassador. Connect: Instagram: www.instagram.com/julezcolang/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/jules.colangelo/ Twitter: twitter.com/JulezColang LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliana-colangelo-mba-04345539/ Website: https://www.colangelopr.com/ _______________________________ Let's keep in touch! Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram www.instagram.com/italianwinepodcast/ Facebook www.facebook.com/ItalianWinePodcast Twitter www.twitter.com/itawinepodcast Tiktok www.tiktok.com/@mammajumboshrimp LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/italianwinepodcast If you feel like helping us, donate here www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/ Until next time, Cin Cin! Tune-in and hit the like! - Business, US Market advice, importing, exporting, business, personal stories and advice, plus she is very fun to listen to!

Arthur Dawson is as much detective as he is an historian, as much a naturalist as he is a storyteller. His life and work has given him a deep knowledge and appreciation for our local land, the people who currently care for it, and their ancestors have been doing so for millennia. As a historical ecologist, he uses science to better understand everything from water drainages to fire patterns. As an oral historian, he takes time to listen to the stories of people who have lived here long before he moved many years ago. And as an author and poet, he has captured the feelings associated with these histories both past and present. Having lived through (and lost his house to) the 2017 fires, his connection to nature is personal and meaningful, and yet he aims to continue connecting people to the natural world all around us. In this episode, we talk about the indigenous concept of fire as a member of our community, some of the history of Sonoma Valley, the beauty and majesty of Sonoma Mountain, even Arthur's travels around the world before he settled in Sonoma and his journey through it all. If you want to: Read more about Arthur Dawson, visit https://baselineconsult.com/ Learn more about Sonoma Mountain and to purchase the book visit https://sonomamountain.org/ Listen to more Hello Sonoma episodes, visit Hellosonoma.org Thank you, as always, for tuning in. And if you enjoyed this episode, tell a friend!

Vineyard manager and owner of Enterprise Vineyards, Phil Coturri has spent nearly his entire life as a mountain man, of sorts. He grew up on Sonoma Mountain, then started working on Moon Mountain in the 1970s. Between the two prominent ranges is the world-class wine-producing region of Sonoma Valley. Phil started learning about organic farming as a teenager, so it's no surprise he is referred to as a wizard and a guru, possibly even a vine whisperer. In this podcast, Phil talks about his background, traditional organic farming, and what makes Moon Mountain so distinctive.    It's no surprise the Moon Mountain District Association chose Phil to be my guest when I offered to promote the “Reach for the Moon” Master Class and Grand Tasting event. It's likely no one knows more about Mountain than Phil. The June 3rd event is going to be spectacular - tasting and learning about the wines that are the end product from the grapes that are grown in every direction, with unobstructed views from the mountain to San Francisco Bay. See the impressive list of winemakers who are attending and the wineries who will be sharing their wines by visiting MoonMountainDistrict.org, then click Events. You can bet I accepted their offer to attend!  I hope to see you there, too.

Carlisle Winery Sonoma Mountain Steiner Vineyard Gruner Veltliner In this episode, Rob and Scott review a small production white normally associated with Austria, but here we find it in California made by the highly regarded Carlisle Winery.  So come join us, on The Wine Vault.

In this week's podcast, Tribal Chairman and award-winning author Greg Sarris introduces us to the Crow Sisters, who tell of a young woman drawn on a mysterious journey to the lost village of Kobe·cha, near Sonoma Mountain in Northern California. Weaving traditional Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo creation tales with other histories of life in Northern California, Greg shows us the ways in which all stories—like all life—are deeply interconnected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Map: Sonoma County AVAs. Sonoma County Winegrowers  Over the last 12 years we've done so much on Sonoma but I realized that we've never done a podcast outlining the areas of Sonoma to give form to this wine paradise that has 18 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) and covers more than a million acres of land (405,000 ha) of which more than 60,000 acres are planted to grapes.   Sonoma is still full of small, family-owned vineyards. It's estimated that at least 85% of Sonoma County's vineyards are family owned and operated and 80% of vineyards are less than 100 acres (40% are less than 20 acres). The Sonoma landscape incorporates coastal ranges, valleys, mountains, flats, benchlands, and innumerable soils and microclimates, including a multitude of producers with different styles and ideas of what to grow.     In this show, we try to compartmentalize the areas of Sonoma, to help you figure out the big areas and their specialties.   Here are the show notes: We start with generalities… Climate: There are sunny days and almost no rain from May through September with most areas cooler near the coast and warmer inland. The Pacific Ocean/Petaluma Gap and San Pablo Bay serve as cooling influences for the western and southern regions of Sonoma County Land: Elevations and slopes slow ripening, provide poor soils with excellent drainage, and create complex wines. Wines from valley floors are simpler. Matching grape to site is important given soil, elevation, and climate diversity. Grapes: Everyone grows everything! You'll find dozens of varieties growing in Sonoma. Moon Mountain AVA, Sonoma. Credit: Sonoma County Winegrowers  Most of the show is spent detailing the valleys. Here is the quick and dirty on each area:   Sonoma Valley Sonoma Valley AVA: Centers on the Sonoma Valley in the southeastern part of the county. It gets cool air from the San Pablo Bay in the south, and protection from the cool influence of the Pacific in the west from Sonoma Mountain. There are dozens of different soils from very fertile on the valley floor, to well-drained and poor on the hills and mountains   Sonoma Valley has 4 AVAs within it: Moon Mountain, Sonoma Mountain, Bennett Valley, Carneros Moon Mountain District AVA is on the steep western slope of the Mayacamas Mountains. It has the famed Monte Rosso vineyard and specializes in Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Sonoma Mountain AVA is at high altitude, with steep vineyards on eastern exposures. The vineyards rise above the fog line, allowing grapes to ripen more fully in the sunlight. Basalt soils make good Cabernet Sauvignon. Other grapes are: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel   Bennett Valley AVA is Sonoma Valley's smallest AVA. It's a series of small vineyards in the slopes, hills, and ridges between Taylor Mountain, Sonoma Mountain, and Bennett Peak. In the moderately cool climate, with a long hang time, Rhône varieties do well as does Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and grapes like Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier with acidity. Pinot Noir acreage is increasing.   Los Carneros AVA straddles Napa and Sonoma counties. It hugs the San Pablo Bay, and is one of the coolest AVAs in the area, with moderately cool and windy days and early morning fog. The soil is compressed clay and very consistent, this and the weather limits vigor. Chardonnay is 50%, Pinot 43%. Merlot makes excellent wine on the clay soils. Bennett Valley AVA, Sonoma. Credit: Sonoma County Winegrowers  Town to stay in if visiting the area: Sonoma   ** Sonoma Valley is a discrete part of the larger Sonoma County. When producers use a general AVA for grapes from a combined region, it's Sonoma County. _____________________________________________  COASTAL APPELLATIONS (mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir areas)   Sonoma Coast AVA: Goes from the San Pablo Bay to the border of Mendocino County in the north. This appellation is too large to have meaning – it can be cold and rugged near the coast or warm and sheltered inland, producing very different styles of wine. The expectation is that the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that have the “Sonoma Coast” label are actually from coastal vineyards, but that's not true. We tell the story of how this AVA got to be so muddled and then talk about the 3 AVAs that were set up to rectify the issue:   Petaluma Gap AVA: 25 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, the AVA runs from the Pacific Coast at Bodega Bay, southeast to San Pablo Bay, and has a mild Mediterranean climate. The defining feature is the wind gap in the coastal range, which funnels in cool coastal marine air bringing fog and cool afternoon breezes. The cool climate lower yields and help Pinot Noir (75% of plantings), Chardonnay and Syrah the grapes retain acidity. The West Sonoma Coast AVA (got it in 2022): Stretches from the Mendocino County border to the northern coastal border of the Petaluma Gap AVA. The area includes ONLY areas where coastal influence reaches – it is remote with cooler marine temperatures and much fog at elevation. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the main grapes. Fort Ross-Seaview AVA: Located on the outskirts of the Pacific Ocean, with major coastal influence, and high elevation, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have excellent acidity.   Towns to stay in: Petaluma, Jenner, Bodega Bay West Sonoma Coast AVA,  Sonoma. Credit: Sonoma County Winegrowers    _____________________________________  RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY AVA (Pinot Noir, but Rhône and Italian varietals are great too in certain regions)   Russian River Valley AVA is known for Pinot Noir. The constant cooling fog from the Pacific Ocean, coming from the Petaluma Wind Gap creates big diurnal swings, so grapes have a long growing season to develop flavor in the western part of the AVA.   The reality is that the Russian River Valley encompasses warm and cool areas. There are 5 Neighborhoods within Russian River Valley, which are used to discuss the cooler places that are more suited to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (Laguna Ridge, Sebastapol Hills, parts of the Middle Reach) and those that are suited to warmer climate grapes like Rhône varieties, Zinfandel, and Italian varieties (parts of the Middle Reach, Santa Rosa Plains, Eastern Hills)   Green Valley of Russian River Valley SUB AVA of Russian River is in the southwestern part of the Russian River Valley, surrounded by Sebastopol, Forestville and Occidental. It is very cool, foggy, with heavy coastal influences and produces acidic, less extracted Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and sparkling wines on its Goldridge (yellow, sandy) soil     Chalk Hill AVA is in the northeast part of Russian River Valley and has less marine influence and fog. It has rocky, chalk soils so they do grow Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but they also grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.   Town to stay in: Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, or Windsor    _______________________________________ DRY CREEK VALLEY AVA (Zinfandel central)   Dry Creek is the easiest valley to visit (2 roads, 5 stop signs!) and probably the easiest to understand. It is known for exceptional Zinfandel. It's in northern Sonoma County, 20 miles/32 km east of the Pacific Ocean. The Coastal Range blocks a lot of the cooler air from flooding the Dry Creek, giving it hotter days and slimmer diurnal swings at night. The vineyards lie on hillsides, benchlands, and the valley floor at different elevations and on different soils – from loam to clay to gravel. Zinfandel is 30% of plantings and is more elegant, and “old school” (especially from producers like Nalle or Peterson – friends of the pod!). The flavors are less like black fruit and more like raspberry, pomegranate with acidity and moderate alcohol. Other varieties grown are: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay very good Italian and Rhone Varieties, Bordeaux varieties grown too     Rockpile (Dry-Creek Adjacent, great Zin!): On the northern part of Dry Creek Valley, at high elevations beyond the fog, the AVA is great for rich, dense reds – Zin especially is famed (Bruliam does a great job and a friend of the show!)   Town to stay in: Healdsburg or Windsor   Dry Creek AVA, Sonoma. Credit: Sonoma County Winegrowers    _______________________________________   ALEXANDER VALLEY (known for Cabernet Sauvignon) Alexander Valley AVA: In northeastern Sonoma County, north of Healdsburg, the Russian River flows through h the Alexander Valley. It gets some cool marine air from the Pacific Ocean, and wind can cool mornings and evenings. Daytime heat spikes will ripen the grapes, but the cool wind will preserve the acidity in the classic Cabernet Sauvignon, which is so coveted, that many Napa wineries grow Cab here for top cuvees.     Pine Mountain – Cloverdale Peak (Alexander Valley adjacent) AVA: This small area overlaps the northernmost portions of the Alexander Valley AVA. It is steep with high elevations and grows a number of grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon.   Alexander Valley AVA, Sonoma. Credit: Sonoma County Winegrowers    _______________________________________ Less visit-able places (yes, I know that's not a word)…   Knights Valley AVA is right next to Mount St. Helena, and has well-drained soils, but very warm temperatures with no Pacific or San Pablo Bay influence. Elevation is the only cooling factor in this area that has volcanic and alluvial gravel and focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon (2/3 of plantings) and other Bordeaux varietals. Kendall Jackson owns most of Knights Valley.     Northern Sonoma AVA: Too huge for any meaning – most producers use Sonoma County AVA. It includes Chalk Hill, Knights Valley, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, and most of Green Valley.     Fountaingrove AVA (2015) – mostly growers, few wineries. Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varietals, some Rhône varietals – Syrah, Viognier, Petite Sirah plus smatterings of everything. It's too hot for Pinot and Chard except in a few key north-facing sites   So much to explore! Sonoma is a place you can need get enough of, but hopefully this episode gives some form to exactly what you want to do when you finally make it out there!    Some of my favorite people mentioned: @sonomawineguy on Twitter and other Social Media, Nalle Winery, Crux Winery, Bruliam Winery, Keller Estate, Inman Family, Kieran Robinson Wines, Truchard Winery, (and I forgot to mention...Longboard Vineyards in Russian River!).   _______________________________________________________________ Thanks to our sponsors:   I could not be happier to announce my partnership with Wine Access, once again. Wines Access is my go-to source for the best selection of interesting wines you can't find locally. Every box you get from Wine Access is meticulous -- tasting notes with food and wine pairing, serving temperature suggestions, and perfectly stored wine. It's no wonder that Wine Access was rated the best wine club by New York Times Wirecutter and is the official partner and wine provider of The MICHELIN Guide. Check out my favorite wines on the page at www.wineaccess.com/normal, sign up for their daily emails, and join one of their wine clubs...AND get 10% your first order!   If you think our podcast is worth the price of a bottle or two of wine a year, please consider virtually buying us some bottles by becoming a member of Patreon... you'll get even more great content, live interactions and classes!  www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople   To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes   Sources for this show: https://sonomawinegrape.org/scw/sonoma-county-territory/ www.sonomavalleywine.com https://petalumagap.com/ russianrivervalley.org www.wdcv.com www.greenvalley-russianriver.com www.bvgg.org www.carneros.com www.alexandervalley.org  

Here is the audio transcript if you wish to read with a cuppa instead ❤️Dear Ones,I wonder if you find yourself thinking about the different worlds that we seem to inhabit as a self, but largely unconsciously. It's almost like we become aware of worlds as we become adults because we've lost some connection to it somewhere between childhood and adulthood. We stopped seeing and dreaming in the way that we used to when we used to have imaginary friends and imaginary worlds.I can't help but wonder if we wouldn't have a different world at large if children were truly taught to keep their imaginal world front and center as a way of thinking and being. We're not very old, eight to 12 depending on the culture that we're living in, sometimes even younger than that, before we start to create a disconnect, whether that's conscious by adults in our space, I think largely unconscious, or just in a desire to sit into being inside of a structure.If we don't act like we're present and participating in culture, we sometimes are told we're daydreamers. We're told to stop making things up and stop pretending. We're told to grow up and use our adult voice. We're taught not to use our outside voice inside. But while all this is happening and has a relative level of logic to it, something else is being lost. We don't even know enough about it to talk about it.Many people have to become adults and be able to afford education in order to start thinking about the imaginal world they left behind as a child. So many people we work with in our intentional creativity community can remember the moment they put down a crayon. That's how significant that moment is. If I ask them what was happening in that day, or even what they wearing or who was there, they often have this almost supernatural vision of themselves in that moment.We're yet to determine why that image is so absolutely looming and huge in our lives. Why that moment would be so big that we would actually stop creating, sometimes until we're adult. I have different theories about why I think that moment is so significant.One of them is that, until that moment, we are largely connected with our imaginal world, and move freely and easily between imagination and what others around us perceive as a kind of reality. When someone becomes critical of our creativity, which in many cases is an externalized version of our internal world, whether that's drawing, singing, dancing, playing, make-believe, when that in any way gets criticized, when it had been largely encouraged before, but nobody told us when we were going to stop being encouraged to be imaginative. There was no warning. We get surprised.In that moment, something happens, a rupture, that it could take the rest of someone's life to repair, if we even know to do it. It's almost like we're caught in the act of somehow not being connected, somehow not being connected to the reality that the adults around us have been enforcing. It's a moment, it's a flash, it's a rupture, and we start to, in a way for many of us, become concerned about ourselves.It could be a moment where self-trust is lessened and where we recognize a stark reality between what we think of as our imagination and what we are now crashing into as the reality in which everyone else is living and somehow we weren't. My mother, Karen, used to think of this moment as a time when many people would start to think they were just a little bit crazy and had to hide and pretend to behave in order to fit in.Over days, months, or years of trying to fit in and not invite that imaginary friend to the lunch table anymore, because now there's real friends to behave and act normal with, we actually start to lose trust with that internal world. And then later, as we go on in education, we're criticized if we're not connected to our creativity and our imagination. We're criticized if we're too structured, too A type, too left brain. And so this tug of war between imagination and reality is set in place and barely ever do we actually talk about it in a way that can be understood and healed.In the work of intentional creativity, the invitation is to reconnect to the imaginal world while still being connected with the resonant world. I call it resonant world because I don't want it to be an external world from our internal world. External inherent in the vocabulary actually indicates separateness.If we could move from our inner world to our imaginal world and then into a resonant world, we would be able to navigate what we experience as internal and imaginal, and relate it and bring it into harmony with the resonance of those people, places, things, animals, energies, archetypes, creatures, symbols, and stories all around us. We would have a sense of place in the cycle of things and a sense of our own place. It would be resonant and we would seek for contextual resonance by choice, and our imagination would give us contextual relevance.One of the things I have to watch myself with when I'm leading circle is when someone seems out of context. In my family's world, context is queen. It means you are conscious of being appropriate to the context. And when someone isn't appropriate to the context, to me, it interferes with the resonance, and I want to smooth it over and stop it. That's my first response. What my mom would call a knee jerk response. It's the first response.The second response is, how is this important right now? How is this wild moment leading to something else? If someone's breaking out into a dance in the middle of a meditation, should I invite everyone to dance? If someone's making a lot of loud noises or opening a candy wrapper while I'm trying to say a prayer, should I suddenly start to make sounds and invite everybody to do the same? Should I ask the person to stop or should I impatiently wait?When I lead circle, it's this interesting moment to notice all the sharp bits about myself, about how much I desire a level of coherence. But a resonant world wouldn't necessarily be that everything is the same and in harmony. It would actually mean that everything works in tandem and it's time together, and that there is a place for everything.What I think I'm really reacting to is what I perceive as a lack of consciousness or a lack of willingness to participate in what I consider the energy that I'm weaving or that's present. That's where the overworld comes in. Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, who wrote, Women Who Run with the Wolves would say that this is an over culture, a dominant power over kind of energy that exists at the level of paradigm. Pretty much all of us participate in it, even those of us who lead circle.For me, when I notice that overworld coming in or have a desire to control for the sake of myself and everyone in the room, because I think it's best for everyone, for there to be coherence, I have to just stop and ask myself, what is the wild one in the room trying to show us? In almost all indigenous cultures, there's a wild one.There's an emu in the indigenous aboriginal culture. There's the coyote in Native American culture. The trickster exists in so many forms all around the world, and I admit it's one of the places I have trouble. We have quite a few tricksters in our community. You know who you are. And I sometimes am challenged by the context, but that's part of the role of the trickster to shake things up. And what if a resonant field is woven all together with the tricksters?And what if those of us who are pretending toward consciousness could recognize the trickster as part of the resonance? The trickster, FYI, for your information, is usually one of the highest intelligent beings in the circle because they're actually paying attention to everything that's happening. And for there to be a true resonance, there has to be a true diversity, and tricksters act out when they see there's homogeny instead of resonance.As I grow up, I'm learning. And I'm learning how trickster is not my own archetype, but how I value the supreme, hilarious intelligence of those around me. For example, on Sonoma Mountain, the land that we revere here in Sonoma County, which is considered the birthplace of creation for the coast Miwok, the creator of the world is coyote. I sigh when I hear that because I'm like, "Ugh, I do not want an engagement with coyote." But I do want an engagement with coyote's children, two sisters - question women and answer women, and they exist often as two crows cackling on a fence.I think I've seen them. I think I've heard their stories. I think I've heard them laughing at me, with me, beside me, at all of this madness. So I watch my participation in the overworld. The dominant world is something else altogether. An overworld is the way that we try to fit in to structures and circles or insist that other people do. It's largely unconscious, and I'm not saying there's not a place for this overness, but overness unchecked becomes a form of supremacy, and at its worse, domination, and at its very, very worse, a kind of white supremacy which becomes paradigmatic in the consciousness of the individual.I'm coming to you today with an invitation to begin to make some distinctions for yourself, within yourself, or the capital S itself. How do you think of your internal world or your internal self? Sometimes what I call the hidden self, because largely we're not conscious of the power it has and the way it operates, yet it's operating all the time. In fact, it operates how you speak to yourself, whether you hear the critic or the muse or some other cacophony. How do you be with your imaginal world? Have you been hanging out there recently? Have you done some healing?If you create with us the giant paintings that we work on or engage with us in any of our courses, then you've reengaged with your imaginal world because it's absolutely essential to creating a painting and writing a story from the perspective of the painting. We do a lot of healing around the imaginal world in our community.Where do you see yourself in the place of things from an overworld perspective? In what ways are you capturing and dominating yourself from within? And in what ways are you participating in an overworld that's happening out there that many say is reality, but here we question?And what about the resonant world? What would it be like if we could work toward a resonant world, which has a diversity of possibility? It isn't all peace, unicorns, and butterflies. It also includes cactus and iguana and the wild ones who refuse to be in context. When I think of the community leaders here at Musea, the reports I often receive where I am asked to step into work something out, the first thing that I notice about the story is that someone has behaved in a way out of context with "How we are here."And I realize that I too have been a part of creating a culture where there's a certain way that we are, and I want to pay attention to that. Because while I respect that there's a way that we are that includes respect, connection, inclusivity, conscious action toward diversity, and always in efforting toward equity, even though rarely actually achieving it because it's complex and it takes time and people and conversation, I have to question the way that we have created an overworld and to pay attention.Whenever someone says, this isn't how we do it here, I want to ask, "Well, how is it that we do it here?" And so for today, this is how we do it here. We question ourselves. We visit our different worlds. We look at our assumptions and our dominant behaviors, and we seek to find a resonance. Resonance, which is not about harmony per se, but actually about life living itself.Humans are so busy trying to simplify and dominate and collate and categorize and articulate that we tend to trim the wild garden. And I don't know about you, but the wild garden is the place where life is happening. In my relationships, in my creativity, in my truly hidden world self, I want a wild garden. I don't want my hedges trimmed and my palm trees topped and the bugs kept out. I want a wild garden. A wild garden has the sound of resonance, moments of harmony, moments of chaos, moments of out of context wildness, and plenty of peace and quiet woven in.So today, the invitation is to consider your own relationship with your internal world, your imaginal world, your overworld, and with the resonant world. And to ask yourself, is there anything right now that's arising for you? Were you to desire to do a little bit of a deep dive into a territory where you haven't been hanging out? Maybe right now you could close your eyes, enter the realm of imagination and just look and just see, and just ask, what message from what part of my world is arising for me right now?I invite you to sing about it, to write about it, to draw about it, to be all about it.with love,~ Shiloh Sophia Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

Dear OnesI wrote this today. I have so many things I would love to share with you. Big big stories as big as redwoods and small stories as tiny as a baby ant!But for today, just this poem, and an invitation to join me for a complimentary class on the Wheel of the Year on Sunday with my friends Lavender Grace and trish o'malley,The painting below became a kind of fortelling of something I will share with you on Sunday about Wild Water Creek on Sonoma Mountain. We were adopted by a creek and I want to tell you why….Love,Shiloh Sophia The painting is called The Birth of Sonoma Mountain.p.s. You can now make a contribution if you want to Tea with the Muse. People were pledging even though I didn't have the button turned on. It's all still free, I am not going to make exclusive content for the time being. But thank you, those of you who offered even when I didn't ask. The Wheelhouse of the MotherDo you see those planets danglingfrom the hem of her garment?Oh! When she dances, how glorious!The stars sprinkle through her skinShimmering in the black silenceBearing witness to ancient storiesHer face is so radiant, you can'teven see her eyelashes most daysjust a twinkle here or thereThe moon is her beauty markand depending on the dayshe shows us a glimmering crescentShe is like that, just dazzling…our most amazing motherfilled with the beauty of creationHer breathe the airHer love the fireHer dreams the earthHer songs the water Her stories the coreHer family the cosmos All of it is her great bigbeautiful bodyMe? Oh I'm her daughter andI live here at the mouth of a waterwayMoving up and down the mossy rocksin rubber boots and flannelKeeping company with the redwood,the oak and the wild grapeHaving tea with deer and doveand pink cake my lover madeI used to live in caves before housesI used to spend time, instead of timespending me, long long agoI was wild once, you know  and in my soul I am stilland so are youDo you remember how we played?I must remember, and you too,That we are more than we appearto be, we shall seeDid you see that bird fly by?To remember who I am I mustmake parties, feasts and dancesEight times a year, then I rememberWill you come to supper with me?I follow the patterns of her sun,her moon and her feisty eclipsesI watch her face for my actions andI count the days on hands and kneesI am part of creation creating itselfThe milky sky high-way is ourhome and if we really know thatwe can see how this unfoldsThere are stars under my skinThere are rivers flowing in my heartThere are people I have yet to meetThere are stories we, beloved one,are yet to tellI believe, I believeMother will show me the wayWe live here safely in theWheelhouse of the MotherFor A.S.G. Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

Oak Tree Covered in Moss at Wild Water Creek, Sonoma Mountain, CaliforniaIntentional Creativity is mindfulness in Motion Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

Published with permission of Treasure Mountain Podcast. Please visit Treasure Mountain Podcast, Treasure Mountain website and Treasure Mountain facebook page. On this episode of Spirit Stories we have as our guest, Ayya Tathālokā from Aranya Bodhi Awakening Forest Hermitage in California. Ayya Tathālokā was born in Washington, DC in 1968 to environmentally-minded scientist parents. In 1988, at age nineteen, urgently inspired by the sudden death of an associate, she left her Pre-naturopathic Medical studies in university and made her way first to Europe and then on to India, entering monastic life as an white robed anagarika and then two years later undertaking ten-precept nuns ordination. Wishing to connect with the ancient lineage of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, she sought and found her female mentor in Buddhist monastic life in South Korea, the most venerable bhikkhuni elder Myeong Seong Sunim (和法界 明星), who gave her the name "Tatha-alokā", and went on to train under her mentorship for ten years. Returning to the United States in 1996, with her bhikkhuni mentor's blessings, in 1997 in Los Angeles, with an international gathering of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, Dharma teachers and supporters in attendance, she received bhikkhuni higher ordination from the Sri Lankan bhikkhu sangha led by her preceptor, the Venerable Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara Nayaka Mahathero. Since then Venerable Tathālokā has focused on meditation, and on both the study and practice of Dhamma & Vinaya. Her meditation training in Theravada Buddhism has been largely with the masters of the Thai forest traditions stemming from Ajahn Mun Buridatta: Ajahn Maha Bua Nyanasampanno and teachers of the Ajahn Chah tradition, together with the Burmese mindfulness and insight masters of Sayadaw U Pandita's tradition and meditation master Pa-auk Sayadaw. Overall, her practice and teachings are profoundly influenced by the Buddha's own advice and injunctions as contained in the Early Buddhist suttas. Recognizing the growing number of Theravadin bhikkhunis and samaneris in the United States and the true value of coming together in harmony, Ayya Tathālokā proposed and participated in the founding of the North American Bhikkhuni Association (NABA) in 2004. Several months later, she also participated in founding the first residential community for bhikkhunis in the western United States named "Dhammadharini”. Ayya Tathālokā is the first Western woman to be appointed as a Theravada Bhikkhuni Preceptor, and she has contributed to the going forth and full ordination of more than 50 women as nuns in the USA, Australia, India, and Thailand. Ayya Tathālokā's primary role is as the founding abbess and preceptor of both the Dhammadharini Monastery at the western foot of Sonoma Mountain in Penngrove and the Aranya Bodhi Awakening Forest Hermitage on the Sonoma Coast in Northern California, where she provides Dhamma and meditation teaching and guidance, and monastic mentorship. And since 2021, she has been actively invovled in the United Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha International working group together with other international bhikkhuni preceptors and leaders of Theravada traditions. Links from this episode: Dhammadharini Monastery - https://www.dhammadharini.net/ Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon. To find and download more precious Dhamma teachings, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the teaching you want and click on the audio to open it up on Podbean.  

Wild Water Forest, Sonoma Mountain, California Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I wandered the paths of Sonoma's historic plaza to interview several of the artisans that help make the Valley of the Moon Vintage Fest so special. I speak with jewelers, woodworkers, photographers and more about their art and why they do what they do. Later on, I made a stop at the Glen Ellen Valley Fair and spoke with Arthur Dawson, a local historian, about Sonoma Mountain and Glen Ellen's History. This week's guests include: Arthur Dawson from Sonoma Mountain Preservation (1:02) Doreen from West Coast Vibez (4:14) Jessica Jo from Jessica Jo Designs (26:22) Kristen Cheung from We Rock Communities (7:30) Laura from www.LauraLeeFritz.com (14:28) Lin Haley from Silk Winds (22:58) Michael Ecton from Wine Country Photography (1:02.5) Nao Kobayashi from Nuno Zoo (11:48) Rhona Conte from ReClaimed Designs @reclaimed_by_rhona (19:33) ---- Music by Sharing Skies To learn more about Hello Sonoma, visit hellosonoma.org Thank you, as always, for tuning in.

Ayya Tathālokā was born in Washington, DC in 1968 to environmentally-minded scientist parents. In 1988, at age nineteen, urgently inspired by the sudden death of an associate, she left her Pre-naturopathic Medical studies in university and made her way first to Europe and then on to India, entering monastic life as an white robed anagarika and then two years later undertaking ten-precept nuns ordination. Wishing to connect with the ancient lineage of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, she sought and found her female mentor in Buddhist monastic life in South Korea, the most venerable bhikkhuni elder Myeong Seong Sunim (和法界 明星), who gave her the name “Tatha-alokā”, and went on to train under her mentorship for ten years. Returning to the United States in 1996, with her bhikkhuni mentor's blessings, in 1997 in Los Angeles, with an international gathering of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, Dharma teachers and supporters in attendance, she received bhikkhuni higher ordination from the Sri Lankan bhikkhu sangha led by her preceptor, the Venerable Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara Nayaka Mahathero. Since then Venerable Tathālokā has focused on meditation, and on both the study and practice of Dhamma & Vinaya. Her meditation training in Theravada Buddhism has been largely with the masters of the Thai forest traditions stemming from Ajahn Mun Buridatta: Ajahn Maha Bua Nyanasampanno and teachers of the Ajahn Chah tradition, together with the Burmese mindfulness and insight masters of Sayadaw U Pandita's tradition and meditation master Pa-auk Sayadaw. Overall, her practice and teachings are profoundly influenced by the Buddha's own advice and injunctions as contained in the Early Buddhist suttas. Recognizing the growing number of Theravadin bhikkhunis and samaneris in the United States and the true value of coming together in harmony, Ayya Tathālokā proposed and participated in the founding of the North American Bhikkhuni Association (NABA) in 2004. Several months later, she also participated in founding the first residential community for bhikkhunis in the western United States named “Dhammadharini”. Ayya Tathālokā is the first Western woman to be appointed as a Theravada Bhikkhuni Preceptor, and she has contributed to the going forth and full ordination of more than 50 women as nuns in the USA, Australia, India, and Thailand. Ayya Tathālokā's primary role is as the founding abbess and preceptor of both the Dhammadharini Monastery at the western foot of Sonoma Mountain in Penngrove and the Aranya Bodhi Awakening Forest Hermitage on the Sonoma Coast in Northern California, where she provides Dhamma and meditation teaching and guidance, and monastic mentorship. And since 2021, she has been actively involved in the United Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha International working group together with other international bhikkhuni preceptors and leaders of Theravada traditions.

In today's episode, Elisa tells her story of childhood abuse, teen pregnancy, still birth, a near death experience, and more. Elisa talks about how she untangled life to build a sense of safety and security and how she turned her trauma into a wildly successful career. Elisa Stancil Levine spent her childhood in a canyon on the American River, upstream from the site of the California gold rush. She left school at sixteen and as a single mother in Sacramento earned a degree in library science and studied creative writing. Working with partners she remodeled sixteen historic houses and was home and garden editor and feature writer for Sacramento Magazine. At thirty-six she founded Stancil Studios, an award winning, nationwide decorative finishes company in San Francisco.  Levine's memoir shares the story of “the making of a maker” and takes place in Northern California, Manhattan and Paris. When Elisa is not writing, traveling or consulting on color and pattern she and her husband spend hours immersed in nature, running and riding horseback on Sonoma Mountain.  In This Episode  Nature was safe and nature was free  How curiosity saved her  The dark night of the soul moment Getting the rage out  Links  Elisa's Website  Elisa's Facebook & Instagram  SubscribeToDebi.com  PBT Podcasts  Healed or Hardened Quiz  Post Betrayal Syndrome Quiz  PBT Institute Membership Community  Trust Again Book  From Hardened to Healed Book 

On this episode of Spirit Stories we have as our guest, Ayya Tathālokā from Aranya Bodhi Awakening Forest Hermitage in California. Ayya Tathālokā was born in Washington, DC in 1968 to environmentally-minded scientist parents. In 1988, at age nineteen, urgently inspired by the sudden death of an associate, she left her Pre-naturopathic Medical studies in university and made her way first to Europe and then on to India, entering monastic life as an white robed anagarika and then two years later undertaking ten-precept nuns ordination. Wishing to connect with the ancient lineage of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, she sought and found her female mentor in Buddhist monastic life in South Korea, the most venerable bhikkhuni elder Myeong Seong Sunim (和法界 明星), who gave her the name "Tatha-alokā", and went on to train under her mentorship for ten years. Returning to the United States in 1996, with her bhikkhuni mentor's blessings, in 1997 in Los Angeles, with an international gathering of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, Dharma teachers and supporters in attendance, she received bhikkhuni higher ordination from the Sri Lankan bhikkhu sangha led by her preceptor, the Venerable Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara Nayaka Mahathero. Since then Venerable Tathālokā has focused on meditation, and on both the study and practice of Dhamma & Vinaya. Her meditation training in Theravada Buddhism has been largely with the masters of the Thai forest traditions stemming from Ajahn Mun Buridatta: Ajahn Maha Bua Nyanasampanno and teachers of the Ajahn Chah tradition, together with the Burmese mindfulness and insight masters of Sayadaw U Pandita's tradition and meditation master Pa-auk Sayadaw. Overall, her practice and teachings are profoundly influenced by the Buddha's own advice and injunctions as contained in the Early Buddhist suttas. Recognizing the growing number of Theravadin bhikkhunis and samaneris in the United States and the true value of coming together in harmony, Ayya Tathālokā proposed and participated in the founding of the North American Bhikkhuni Association (NABA) in 2004. Several months later, she also participated in founding the first residential community for bhikkhunis in the western United States named "Dhammadharini”. Ayya Tathālokā is the first Western woman to be appointed as a Theravada Bhikkhuni Preceptor, and she has contributed to the going forth and full ordination of more than 50 women as nuns in the USA, Australia, India, and Thailand. Ayya Tathālokā's primary role is as the founding abbess and preceptor of both the Dhammadharini Monastery at the western foot of Sonoma Mountain in Penngrove and the Aranya Bodhi Awakening Forest Hermitage on the Sonoma Coast in Northern California, where she provides Dhamma and meditation teaching and guidance, and monastic mentorship. And since 2021, she has been actively invovled in the United Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha International working group together with other international bhikkhuni preceptors and leaders of Theravada traditions. Links from this episode: Dhammadharini Monastery - https://www.dhammadharini.net/ Treasure Mountain links: Treasure Mountain Podcast - https://www.treasuremountain.stream/ Treasure Mountain website - https://www.treasuremountain.info/ Treasure Mountain facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/TreasureMountainPodcast

What a powerful and beautiful story. Join me as I have a deep conversation with author Elisa Stancil Levine. Elisa is a decorative artist who, as a single mother, built a nationally recognized decorative art company with projects published in every major design magazine in the US. Her new memoir, “This or Something Better” takes an unflinching look at early abuse and its effects. Readers learn how nature guided and empowered her successful career, until devastating fires on her mountain caused her to face lifelong issues with trust. She and her husband live in Northern California, where they hike and ride horses on Sonoma Mountain. In this episode, she helps us see the power of nature and how it helped her to overcome challenges in her life-even as a very young child. In this episode, she helps us see the power of nature and how it helped her to overcome challenges in her life-even as a very young child. Learn how you can also better connect with God's amazing creation and masterpiece so that it can help bring about resilience and a peace that is lasting. Grab your free copy of "31 Proverbial Affirmations and Insight For Women Leaders and Entrepreneurs" https://driveninherpurpose.com/my-gift-to-you/  Join our free Confident Women community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/driveninherpurpose Connect with Me: Instagram: @driveninherpurpose Website: www.driveninherpurpose.com   How to connect with Elisa: Website: http://www.elisastancillevine.com/ Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisa-stancil-levine-author/ https://www.facebook.com/elisastancillevineauthor https://www.instagram.com/elisastancillevine/ or just use @elisastancillevine personal face book https://www.facebook.com/elisa.stancil1/ Sonoma index tribune article https://www.sonomanews.com/article/news/elisa-stancil-levine-is-guided-by-nature/ PUBLICIST: Katie.Schnack@Smithpublicity.com

Episode 87 and Wendi and Dfernando's guest interview is author and decorative artist Elisa Stancil Levine. Elisa Stancil Levine spent her childhood in a canyon on the American River, upstream from the site of the California Gold Rush. She left school at sixteen and as a single mother in Sacramento earned a degree in Library Science and studied Creative Writing. Working with partners she remodeled sixteen historic houses and was Home and Garden Editor and feature writer for SACRAMENTO MAGAZINE. At thirty-six she founded Stancil Studios, an award winning, nationwide decorative finishes company in San Francisco.Elisa's second book, THIS OR SOMETHING BETTER, is a memoir and takes place in Northern California, Manhattan and Paris. In it she shares the story of “the making of a maker” where she explores the combination of surrender and decisive action, trust and wariness, solitude and human connection, intuition and painstaking self-inquiry, grace and sheer hard labor that lie at the heart of the great mystery of human resilience.Her essays have recently appeared in ENTROPY MAGAZINE, STIRRING: A LITERARY COLLECTION, THE PENMEN REVIEW, and THE WRITER'S WORKSHOP REVIEW. A third book is in the works.Elisa's color and pattern design have been featured in every major American design magazine including TOWN AND COUNTRY, CALIFORNIA HOMES, LUXE, ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST, and VOGUE.When Elisa is not writing, traveling or consulting on color and pattern she and her husband spend hours immersed in nature, running and riding horseback on Sonoma Mountain.Also on Episode 87, Dfernando and Wendi have more GORGEOUS LIVING tips: ladies trimming their beards and a TikTok yogurt cake.  Plus, Wendi mentions her new water aerobics with the women in her family.Watch Wendi and Dfernando and their TEAM GENERATION RIPE: Greg Covey, Shelley McLendon and Ponciana Badia on Season 7 Episode 2 of CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD - now on ABC OnDemand and Hulu and on the GENERATION RIPE website.  Follow us on our Instagram:Wendi McLendon-CoveyDfernando ZarembaGENERATION RIPE... and our guest Elisa Stancil Levine, her Facebook page, and her Linkedln.Remember to subscribe to GENERATION RIPEAnd rate & leave us a review by clicking HERE!Visit Dfernando Zaremba's website: dfernandozaremba.com

Patrick Campbell was the owner of Laurel Glen Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain in California, a winery he sold in 2011. He began the Tierra Divina Vineyards company, which encompasses the Terra Rosa, REDS, !ZaZin, and Tierra Divina wine labels, among others. The Tierra Divina Vineyards brands include wine labels from Lodi in California, from Argentina, and previously from Chile.Also in this episode, Erin Scala describes the background to Granholm v. Heald, the US Supreme Court decision which had large ramifications for the direct shipment of wine inside in the United States after it was decided in 2005.This episode features commentary from:Mike Chelini, formerly winemaker at Stony Hill VineyardRay Coursen, founding winemaker at Elyse WineryJoel Peterson, founding winemaker at Ravenswood WineryDavid Rafanelli, A. Rafanelli WinerySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest for today is a self-taught decorative artist who, as a single mother, built her business into a nationally recognized company with projects published in every major design magazine in the US. Her new memoir, “This or Something Better” takes an unflinching look at early abuse and its effects. Readers learn how nature guided and empowered her successful career, until devastating fires on her mountain forced her to face her lifelong issues with trust. She and her husband live in Northern California, where they hike and ride horses on Sonoma Mountain.   Resources: Start building better habits for healthier, long-term results. Sign up for your trial at noom.com/gratitude Elisa's website: https://elisastancillevine.com  Thank you so much for listening to The Gratitude Podcast! Please rate and review us everywhere you listen to podcasts, including Spotify & Apple Podcasts. Stay in touch on social: Insta: https://www.instagram.com/thegratitudepodcast/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/GeorgianBenta Facebook: http://facebook.com/TheGratitudePodcast/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meg Beeler, MA, Shamanic Guide, expertly weaves her Energy Alchemy™ and Shamanic Meditation to guide seekers like you into joyful connection, soul healing, and luminous presence.She is the author of Weaving the Heart of the Universe into Your Life: Align to Cosmic Energy, forthcoming in 2017 from Findhorn Press, as well as Living in the Heart of the Universe. Meg is a mesa carrier, ordained Minister, initiated Priestess, and Ceremonialist. As a bridge to the Andean cosmovision, she offers community despacho ceremonies, transmits the Rites of Munay-Ki, and teaches shamanic ways for bringing Eagle and Condor together in your life. She is the founder of Earth Caretakers, dedicated to bringing to life our collective dream of a more beautiful world. Meg lives and teaches on Sonoma Mountain in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Recently I visited Willi's Seafood and Raw Bar.Tony Lombardi met me at the restaurant,and GM Nick joines us as we paired Tony's Wines with Willi's amazing menu. I visit Willi's often and love the staff and all the great idems on this great menu.We have four new features and at the bottom of this feature are links so you can click on each link and join us as we enjoy the beautiful Lombardi Wines with suggestions from Nick.Nick has been with Stark's Restaurants for many years and has great knowlegde of wines from all over the world. Lombardi Wines include three Pinot Noirs and a great Chardonnay. Founded in 2013, Tony & Christine Lombardi began a passion project that honors a rich family history of wine, food and tradition. Together, with Winemaker Cabell Coursey, they craft Small lots of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from some of the finest vineyards in the Sonoma Coast. The Pinot Noir is crafted with care from a family of growers in Petaluma, where the Lombardi Family has been since 1947. The 2018 Chardonnay shows beautiful aromas of layered green apple, lemon-lime citrus, orange blossom, honeysuckle and just a hint of vanilla. ON THE PALATE This 2018 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is star bright and offers layers of lifted and vibrant peach, pear, and tangerine flavors on the palate. The finish gradually turns crisp with a final wash of mouthwatering natural acidity. This alluring Pinot Noir reveals dark aromas of blackberry, black cherry and ripe currants in the nose with a dust of cocoa. ON THE PALATE The 2018 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir delivers dark black fruits that slowly melt into all areas of the mouth. There is focused acidity and fine dry tannins that carry the rich blackberry, anise, cedar, black licorice and mocha flavors toward the mid-palate, leading to a lingering juicy finish of black cherry and dried currants. Giusti Ranch, once known as “La Colina” (The Hill), was founded by Angelo Giusti Sr. in the 1870s, and has made a significant impact on Sonoma County agriculture for over 140 years. The ranch has contributed their farming and services to different parts of the community with several crops over the last century, including olives, grapes, cherries, prunes, apples, and now back to grapes since 2000. This ranch is truly a Sonoma County treasure and we are fortunate to have access to a little fruit from this incredible vineyard. AROMATICS The 2018 Pinot Noir reveals enticing aromas of cinnamon, rich red and black berries, along with baked cherry pie. ON THE PALATE This fresh California Pinot is typical of the Russian River Valley appellation, and shows layered flavors of raspberry, black cherry and blackberry fruit compote. There is an intensity to this wine and it lingers in the mouth, even to the last sip. The 9-acre Hill Justice Vineyard with it's rocky, red-soil and higher clay content, would blend in perfectly on Napa Valley's Silverado Trail. However, Hill Justice is steeply sloped and sits on the side of Sonoma Mountain at nearly 1100' elevation. Click here and join us as we enjoy great food and wine . Click here and join us as we enjoy great food and wine . Click here and join us as we enjoy great food and wine . Click here and join us as we enjoy great food and wine .

Cameron Hughes Cameron Hughes joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country today. He is a wine merchant, following more or less the business model of a négociant in France. He buys bulk wine for a low price and sells it to retail customers through De Négoce, his label and sales company. (The company name is French for "of the trade.") California produces so much good wine that not all of it finds a buyer. Dan Berger agrees the wine is really high quality wine that simply doesn't have a home. Cameron Hughes has been doing this for about 20 years. He built a concept called the “lot concept.” He sold that company in 2017.  Cinergi was his previous brand. Then in 2019 someone offered him 100,000 gallons of 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon at a really good price and he felt he had to get back into the business. He finds wines that he can sell for 80% below their normal retail price. En Primeur is the French name of the early buying period in French wineries. (This is also done in Italy, la vendemmia. -ed.) Dan Berger says the difference is that Cameron Hughes has a fabulous palette so customers can trust his choices will turn out well. Mondavi used to have the slogan, “We'll sell no wine before its time,” spoken by the great Orson Welles. Cameron Hughes has reversed that and says, “We'll sell a big chunk of the wine before its time, because it's what I do.” They did over 90,000 cases of wine in the last year. The website store has launched. Last year, the wine wasn't even bottled. The earlier you buy in the cycle, the lower the price. They are tasting a Viognier that would sell for about $25 and Cameron Hughes sells it for $8. Since these wines are so young, consumers should cellar them for a while. Cameron agrees and says the need to keep them for a while is the tradeoff for getting a $25 bottle for $8. California Wine Country's sponsor Bottle Barn is where Wine Country buys its wine. Bottle Barn can ship wine to most states. Click the logo to visit Bottle Barn . com Cameron Hughes grew up in Modesto, California and went to high school "with the Gallo kids" and his dad worked for Gallo then for The Wine Group. His first job was to collect and dump old out-of-code wine. He got a sales job in the wine business where he could build up his personal cellar. There used to be a 40% discount given among people in the wine trade, but that's no longer done. Then he put a brand together and made a sale to Costco that started Cameron Hughes Lot 1. He sold that company and went into the high-end steak business, but was tempted by the wine business again and now has also started De Négoce. They taste a Chardonnay that Dan Berger says, “…leans in the direction of Chablis” so if you don't like fancy oak Chardonnay, this will be your taste. It will age for 10-12 years. Now they taste a different Chardonnay, in a different style. It's a richer, more opulent style. It is 14.2% alcohol, from Russian River Valley. It retails for $95, from a world-famous winemaker. But De Négoce is able to sell it for $20. Dan Berger says that is outrageous. There is a character in the fruit, it is less tropical and more citrus. It leans to a lime-flavor and fresh grapefruit component. There is another Chardonnay to taste. It comes from high up the Mayacamas Mountains, in Sonoma County, about 2000 feet of elevation. Part of the De Négoce business is that Cameron Hughes can not disclose exactly where the wine came from or who made it. Next is a Sonoma Mountain Cabernet, made by a husband-and-wife team. The vineyard is called Pickberry Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain. It is very young and needs time in the bottle. Dan says it's hard to tell how long to keep it because it is so young you still get primary fermentation characteristics in it. He would put it away for at least a year. Cameron and Dan agree that the 2018 Vintage of Napa Cabs is a great year. Next they taste a Spring Mountain Cabernet.

Cameron Hughes joins Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger on California Wine Country today. He is a wine merchant, following more or less the business model of a négociant in France. He buys bulk wine for a low price and sells it to retail customers through De Négoce, his label and sales company. (The company name is French for "of the trade.") California produces so much good wine that not all of it finds a buyer. Dan Berger agrees the wine is really high quality wine that simply doesn’t have a home. Cameron Hughes has been doing this for about 20 years. He built a concept called the “lot concept.” He sold that company in 2017.  Cinergi was his previous brand. Then in 2019 someone offered him 100,000 gallons of 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon at a really good price and he felt he had to get back into the business. He finds wines that he can sell for 80% below their normal retail price. En Primeur is the French name of the early buying period in French wineries. (This is also done in Italy, la vendemmia. -ed.) Dan Berger says the difference is that Cameron Hughes has a fabulous palette so customers can trust his choices will turn out well. Mondavi used to have the slogan, “We’ll sell no wine before its time,” spoken by the great Orson Welles. Cameron Hughes has reversed that and says, “We’ll sell a big chunk of the wine before its time, because it’s what I do.” They did over 90,000 cases of wine in the last year. The website store has launched. Last year, the wine wasn’t even bottled. The earlier you buy in the cycle, the lower the price. They are tasting a Viognier that would sell for about $25 and Cameron Hughes sells it for $8. Since these wines are so young, consumers should cellar them for a while. Cameron agrees and says the need to keep them for a while is the tradeoff for getting a $25 bottle for $8. California Wine Country's sponsor Bottle Barn is where Wine Country buys its wine. Bottle Barn can ship wine to most states. Cameron Hughes grew up in Modesto, California and went to high school "with the Gallo kids" and his dad worked for Gallo then for The Wine Group. His first job was to collect and dump old out-of-code wine. He got a sales job in the wine business where he could build up his personal cellar. There used to be a 40% discount given among people in the wine trade, but that’s no longer done. Then he put a brand together and made a sale to Costco that started Cameron Hughes Lot 1. He sold that company and went into the high-end steak business, but was tempted by the wine business again and now has also started De Négoce. They taste a Chardonnay that Dan Berger says, “…leans in the direction of Chablis” so if you don’t like fancy oak Chardonnay, this will be your taste. It will age for 10-12 years. Now they taste a different Chardonnay, in a different style. It’s a richer, more opulent style. It is 14.2% alcohol, from Russian River Valley. It retails for $95, from a world-famous winemaker. But De Négoce is able to sell it for $20. Dan Berger says that is outrageous. There is a character in the fruit, it is less tropical and more citrus. It leans to a lime-flavor and fresh grapefruit component. There is another Chardonnay to taste. It comes from high up the Mayacamas Mountains, in Sonoma County, about 2000 feet of elevation. Part of the De Négoce business is that Cameron Hughes can not disclose exactly where the wine came from or who made it. Next is a Sonoma Mountain Cabernet, made by a husband-and-wife team. The vineyard is called Pickberry Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain. It is very young and needs time in the bottle. Dan says it’s hard to tell how long to keep it because it is so young you still get primary fermentation characteristics in it. He would put it away for at least a year. Cameron and Dan agree that the 2018 Vintage of Napa Cabs is a great year. Next they taste a Spring Mountain Cabernet. It sells for $29 at De Négoce and its normal retail is over $100.

“Perched atop Sonoma Mountain, Belden Barns celebrates the totality of farmstead agriculture with a surprising range of exceptional, cool-climate estate bottlings for such a boutique property.  In addition to delicious, terroir-driven wines, they rely on resident farmers Vince and Jenny Trotter for their … Continue reading → The post Show 415, March 6, 2021: Belden Barns Winery and Farmstead with Nate and Lauren Belden Part Two appeared first on SoCal Restaurant Show.

“Perched atop Sonoma Mountain, Belden Barns celebrates the totality of farmstead agriculture with a surprising range of exceptional, cool-climate estate bottlings for such a boutique property.  In addition to delicious, terroir-driven wines, they rely on resident farmers Vince and Jenny Trotter for their … Continue reading → The post Show 415, March 6, 2021: Belden Barns Winery and Farmstead with Nate and Lauren Belden Part One appeared first on SoCal Restaurant Show.

It's been a life changing journey ever since I decided to move to Sonoma Mountain. I have learned from all of the parts of the mountain, human and otherwise. In this final episode of Season 1, hear about where I've been and where I am heading...   Produced by Avery Hellman Mixing, Mastering & Editing by Ben Montoya Music by Ismay   Here is our website where you can listen to our music and keep posted on the project of Ismay as a whole. Join our email list on the home page.

As mentioned in Episode 6, I wanted to share the song that story was based on, entitled "Song of the Mourning Dove".   Links to the full record on our site: https://www.ismaymusic.com/music Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77sFDwywxshHFqKu6rVXIp?si=xlKBJrMMRFyvU0HYQ_F18Q Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ismay/1340597459 Souncloud: https://soundcloud.com/ismaymusic/sets/songs-of-sonoma-mountain   This song isn't on any digital platforms, just CD and vinyl, and I hope you enjoy it.    A little more about the record: Five years spent working and living on the family ranch informs Ismay’s debut full-length record, Songs of Sonoma Mountain. This album was recorded in a 100-year-old sheep barn at the ranch, seeking to immerse the listener in the world of Sonoma Mountain, and to evoke the sense that we aren’t as separate from nature as we may think. Co-produced by Robert Cheek (Engineer: Band of Horses, Chelsea Wolfe) and Avery Hellman, Songs of Sonoma Mountain features live vulnerable performances that bring out the character of the space. These songs tell stories from the perspective of the mountain, the animals upon it, and Ismay themself to examine gender identity, loss, and a search for belonging. The record interweaves field recordings with intricate songwriting and experimental production.   This episode was produced by Avery Hellman Mixing and mastering by Ben Montoya Music by Ismay   Music track credits: Jan Purat, violin Avery Hellman, guitar, vocals, waterphone, co-producer Robert Cheek, co-producer  

During our last episode we spoke about fires, and the greater context of their presence in California. Nick Tipon has much more to say though beyond that subject about the past, present and future of Sonoma Mountain. In particular, we talked about TEK--Traditional Ecological Knowledge Nick Tipon was born, raised, and lives in Santa Rosa. He is a retired high school teacher and is a current Board member of the Historical Society of Santa Rosa, Fibershed, and is a member of the Point Blue Conservation Science STRAW faculty. Nick is an enrolled member and elder of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo). He has served as Chairman of the Tribal Education Committee and the Tribe’s Sacred Sites Protection Committee. He also served as the Tribe’s National Parks and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Liaison and is a former Tribal archaeological site monitor. Nick lectures on a variety of topics related to changes to Native American cultural resources, archaeology, curation of artifacts, and the treatment of Native American cultural resources. He consulted and lectured at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC and the Field Museum of Chicago.    Produced by Avery Hellman Mixing, Mastering & Editing by Ben Montoya Music by Ismay   Our website: https://www.ismaymusic.com/

Seeds for Our Future: Guided Journey Meg Beeler, MA, Shamanic Guide, expertly weaves her Energy Alchemy™ and Shamanic Meditation to guide seekers like you into joyful connection, soul healing, and luminous presence.She is the author of Weaving the Heart of the Universe into Your Life: Align to Cosmic Energy, forthcoming in 2017 from Findhorn Press, as well as Living in the Heart of the Universe. Meg is a mesa carrier, ordained Minister, initiated Priestess, and Ceremonialist. As a bridge to the Andean cosmovision, she offers community despacho ceremonies, transmits the Rites of Munay-Ki, and teaches shamanic ways for bringing Eagle and Condor together in your life. She is the founder of Earth Caretakers, dedicated to bringing to life our collective dream of a more beautiful world. Meg lives and teaches on Sonoma Mountain in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This first season, 'Songs of Sonoma Mountain' centers around the decision to move to the family ranch as a person in their 20s, hoping to find purpose, peace, and deeper meaning through connection to place. With stories about wildfire, symbols in the American West, gender identity in rural places, and ranching, WTWB takes you on a journey to meet the people, animals, and landscapes of Sonoma Mountain. Produced by Avery Hellman Mixing and Mastering by Selena Seay-Reynolds

Hi, everyone. This week’s “Conversations with Dr. Cowan and Friends” podcast features Mike Benziger. Mike is the founder of the Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen, Calif., where he has farmed his ranch on Sonoma Mountain using the most eco-friendly methods available, including biodynamics, for more than 30 years. In the past several years, Mike has turned his full-time attention to growing vegetables and medicinal plants on his beautiful property. We were thrilled when Mike joined Dr. Cowan’s Garden as one of our key growers; a large portion of his farming activities are now devoted to growing ashitaba, summer savory, and dandelion for our company.In this conversation, you will learn some of the secrets that make Mike, in my opinion, one of the most precise and successful gardeners I have ever met. We talk in detail about gardening tips, compost, and many other gardening issues that will help you in your own gardening projects. In health,TomMy website:https://drtomcowan.com/Conversations with Dr. Cowan & Friends on Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conversations-with-dr-cowan-friends/id1530268266?uo=4Conversations with Dr. Cowan & Friends on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/25hGTOl6fCPpNUWwwWZY4yConversations with Dr. Cowan & Friends on Amazon Music:https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/52f86f77-a3c2-45f4-89a3-380d13bea907/Conversations-With-Dr-Cowan-FriendsDr. Cowan's Garden's website:https://www.drcowansgarden.com/

Meg Beeler, MA, Shamanic Guide, expertly weaves her Energy Alchemy™ and Shamanic Meditation to guide seekers like you into joyful connection, soul healing, and luminous presence.She is the author of Weaving the Heart of the Universe into Your Life: Align to Cosmic Energy, forthcoming in 2017 from Findhorn Press, as well as Living in the Heart of the Universe. Meg is a mesa carrier, ordained Minister, initiated Priestess, and Ceremonialist. As a bridge to the Andean cosmovision, she offers community despacho ceremonies, transmits the Rites of Munay-Ki, and teaches shamanic ways for bringing Eagle and Condor together in your life. She is the founder of Earth Caretakers, dedicated to bringing to life our collective dream of a more beautiful world. Meg lives and teaches on Sonoma Mountain in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bruce Cohn visits with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today on California Wine Country. He used to own the B.R. Cohn label, which he sold in 2015. Now he owns Trestle Glen Vineyards, which is a relatively small operation, having one acre of Zinfandel and seven acres of Cabernet Sauvignon on the 21 acre property. Bruce Cohn was a business manager for several popular bands in the music business. In 1974, he bought a vineyard in southern Sonoma County and had success growing grapes. Later he founded B.R. Cohn to make wine and had great success with that brand. Since he was in the music industry, B.R. Cohn used to have concerts at the winery but the new owners are affiliated with the Bottlerock people so they will continue to produce concerts there. Meanwhile, Bruce still has many friends in music so he will be organizing some music at his own winery, in the future. Dan Berger has brought a Viogner today, which a lot of people are talking about these days. It is floral and rich in the mid-palette but not sweet. It is a 2018 Rustle Viogner from Prayer Rock Vineyards, which is not far from Roseburg, Oregon. Dan thinks this is one of the best Viogners in the US. Trestle Glen is located in a hot region, they ripen about 2 weeks before other local cooler regions. He does not make white wine, but he can’t grow white on his property because it is too hot. He had to pull his Pinot Noir vines out too, because it’s too hot. As they taste the Trestle Glen Creekside Cabernet, Dan describes it as very drinkable and fruit forward with soft tannins. Tom Montgomery was his winemaker for B.R. Cohn and now also for Trestle Glen. Tom was a Fresno State graduate and he’s teaching there now. He was there when he planted Trestle Glen and he’s the only one who has ever made wine from this vineyard. When he bought the property, it had 7 acres of Pinot and 7 acres of Cab planted. He read viticulture books and he saw that he needed help. Charlie Wagner of Caymus became his mentor. He grew grapes and sold to many local wineries. When he sold B.R. Cohn it was producing 85,000 cases a year, selling in 46 states. As they taste this Cabernet, Dan Berger tells about how there are two kinds of Cabernet now, which are Napa Valley and everywhere else. In Napa the Cabernet is made like nowhere else, because of their unique climate and land. Sonoma County has always made good Cab but without such recognition as Napa. Today Sonoma County gets all the Pinot Noir. Alexander Valley is the largest Cab producer in Sonoma Co. Dry Creek is also great but also without recognition. Chalk Hill is also great, as is Sonoma Valley. Sonoma Coast is too cool. It comes down to which style makes the most impact in the market place and that is Alexander Valley. It is a broader, richer, more supple style. Sonoma Valley is more structured. Dan says it is unfortunate that the Sonoma County subregions are not as well known as they deserve to be. Bruce’s vines get heat from the warm aquifer. As for now, he makes these two Cabs, Creekside and Hillside, but with 2019 he will start bottling a Zinfandel as well. Dan Berger restates that the subregions in Sonoma Valley deserve more individual recognition for their subtle differences with various varieties. For example, up on Sonoma Mountain, there are some properties that still grow Pinot Noir there because the cool winds coming in from the Petaluma Gap cool it just enough for Pinot Noir to thrive.

Meet Sophie. Mom to two girls, wine entrepreneur and owner of a spectacular vineyard estate at very the top of Sonoma Mountain. In our conversation, I talk to Sophie about her journey to starting Sophie James Wine, balancing entrepreneurship with motherhood and the beauty of following your passion.

The Petaluma Gap is the subject of today’s California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Our guests are Erica Stancliffe from Trombetta Family Wines and Tom Gendall, Assistant Winemaker at Cline Family Cellars. In 1989 Erica Stancliffe’s parents were home winemakers. In 2010 she and her mother started Trombetta Family Wines. Paul Hobbs was their consulting winemaker until 2014 when Erica stepped in. Cline was started in 1982 with some old vineyards in Contra Costa County. They had Zinfandel, Mourvedre and others there. In 1989 he moved to a vineyard in Sonoma County. Today they make a lot of wines including Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and several other varietals from the Petaluma Gap. They have 650 acres in Petaluma Gap with Chardonnay, Viogner, Pinot Noir, Pinor Gris, and others. The Petaluma Gap is the newest AVA, getting its designation just two years ago. Dan Berger says that Petaluma Gap is a well-defined appellation, designed specifically to define the cooler regions. It is different than Sonoma Coast. It has a series of winds that come from morning to evening, with different temperatures. These form different acid levels for the wines grown there. It’s defined by weather, rather than soil, being traced by the path of the wind. Erica describes the wind readings they took throughout the region The data they had on the consistent 11 miles-an-hour wind had a lot to do with the AVA approval. They are predominately known for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah, which are what the Gap is known for. Tom Gendall describes the other varieties they grow there. Dan says that Cardonnay grows well in colder climates where the sugars don’t get too high. This appellation is yet to be discovered by many people. Erica describes several vineyards that are well known as sources for several major winemakers. The are is getting more and more recognition. The more you leave the fruit on the vines, the better the quality of the fruit will be. They taste a Gap’s Crown Chardonnay, on the southwest facing slope of Sonoma Mountain. She describes the acidity, minerality and concentration. Dan says you don’t get this flavor profile in a warmer climate. The aroma has a Burgundian cast to it, says Dan, with a faint tropical note burried under some squash-like characteristics. Dan “Lay It Down” Berger says this needs about two more years. The acidity it there to protect it in the cellar. The Petaluma Gap AVA is large geographically but there are not a lot of acres planted. There are 6 tasting rooms and more being built. There are 202,000 acres in the area and only 4,000 acres are planted. Tom and Erica describe a wine cruise on the Danube River that they are organizing for next year.

When Tracy Nielsen -- Co-Founder & Assistant Winemaker of La Pitchoune -- came to Sonoma from Colorado and wanted to break into the wine business, she struggled. Despite her fantastic personality, life experiences in sales, marketing, and customer service (plus she kicks butt because she was a river raft guide in her home state of Colorado), there was little offer of help or employment. So she and her husband, Peter Joachim Nielsen decided to start their own winery. They hooked up with the Andrew Berge - Master Winemaker, with a degree in agriculture from UC Davis and experience in making wines that express the vineyard in which they grew. The quartet was rounded out by Brett Van Ernst, marketing powerhouse to form La Pitchoune Winery, and they have been wildly successful, making Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Rosé and Chenin Blanc in small lots from excellent vineyards.  La Pitchoune means “the little one” in French and the name speaks to small production, small lots, and their small size. This crew has not been around that long but already they’ve received major recognition from the wine cognoscenti and you can find their wines at Michelin-starred restaurants, including The French Laundry and Auberge du Soleil in Napa.  They will be at www.undergroundwineevents.com on April 6, 2019 (please visit the site for other upcoming events!) Here are a few notes from the show with Tracy and Andrew:  We discuss the origins of La Pitchoune and how Tracy and Peter decided to form it. We talk about Andrew's journey from Germany to Minnesota, where he grew up, to Sonoma, where he took a degree in agriculture. Andrew tells us how his more practical, mid-western approach to the wine industry has been an asset.  We drill into terroir and the benefits of a more hands-off winemaking style -- natural yeast fermentation, few additives, letting the land speak through the wine.  We discuss Sonoma Mountain, the small, varied appellation from which very few people make wine.  There is a lot of nerding out about the various vineyards and winemaking Finally, we talk business -- how La Pitchoune approaches customers and how its partnership helps them to succeed in the very competitive wine industry.      Thanks to our sponsors this week:  YOU! The podcast supporters on Patreon, who are helping us to make the podcast possible and who we give goodies in return for their help! Check it out today: https://www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople    Last Bottle I love this service!! Last Bottle Wines finds great wines and offers them at a one time discount. Last Bottle Wines: Is a fun way to discover the best wines at the lowest prices Maintains relationships with producers in the most prestigious wine regions around the world and traveling to Europe several times each year to eat with, stay with, drink with, walk the vineyards with the people who make the wines. Offer a range of prices from low end to high end $9 to $99 and the wines range from the lesser known kinds like Albariño and Bläufrankish to Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay. Visit: http://lastbottlewines.com/normal and join to get a $10 instant credit to use toward your first order. Invite your wine drinking pals and they’ll get $10 instantly and you get $30 when they make their first buy.  

With a dream to buy a ranch in order to reconnect with nature, work with their hands, and raise a family, Sophie & James Gray started searching for the perfect piece of land in Northern California. Wine wasn’t even a forethought. They eventually settled on a little slice of heaven perched atop the volcanic ash rich, Sonoma Mountain with 360 views high above the fog line. Spending a decade fixing up the home, grooming the land, getting married, having two girls, they found an opportunity sticking out of the earth. One that combined their passion for the community together with the yearning to share the magic of their mountain-top home—and Sophie James Wine Co. was born. In this episode we mention… Sophie James Wine Co. Sophie James Instagram Sophie James House Joining the Tribe The Vineyard Scribe Winery Phil Coturri, Viticultralist Eric Neil, Viticultralist Dr. Kristen Lowe, Viticultralist Flowers Winery Adam & Andrew Mariani Viticultralist, Jason Ruppert Scott Schulz, winemaker Follow Sophie James Wine Co. on INSTAGRAM WEBSITE

From Trombetta Family Wines, today’s guests are Rickey Trombetta, proprietor and CEO and her daughter Erica Stancliff, their winemaker. Erica grew up in Forrestville while her parents were home wine makers. Her father was a full time engineer. In the 1990s her mother got a call from a friend. They did a lot of charity events for Pace Memorial Hospital and others. There was a new winemaker in town, who turned out to be Paul Hobbs who became a very close friend of the family. He suggested she look at Fresno State and discovered the winery and their wine program run by John Giannini, at the time. Paul Hobbs has become a “rock star” Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producer in Sonoma County but they knew him before he was famous. They still make wine next door to each other on Hwy 116. Erica took over as winemaker in 2014 after working harvests in Argentina and Napa, and with Paul. Carmine Indindoli lived down the street from them. When he planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, they learned all about the vines from him. They started up with one wine, now they have five. He was an engineer at HP as was her husband Roger. When he planted vines, they asked him about it. He invited them over and guided them through the process. They took all the classes they could at Santa Rosa JC and UC Davis. They started Trombetta as a winery in 2010 with the Gaps Crown Pinot Noir. Paul had all the wines by clone and by vineyard. They tasted it all and narrowed it down to three different clones in the Gaps Crown Vineyard. Rickey was instrumental in the local growers association getting the new Petaluma AVA. Their local congressmen Mike Thompson and Jarred Huffman helped a lot as did the Treasury Dept. Next they taste the 2017 Four Brothers Chardonnay. Steve loves this Chard. Four Brothers is a vineyard named by the Sullivan family after their four sons. She started their Chardonnay program with this and the Indindoli. She likes the sense of place that this wine has, of Sonoma Mountain. It’s not typical of Chardonnay. They are either buttery big tropical fruit bomb and oaky or steely and astringent with green apple and lemon peel. This is different. It has white peach skin and stone fruit flavors. The fresh juice smelled like guava juice to her. Tom says that each little vineyard on Sonoma Mountain has unique terroir. Erica’s Chardonnays are all barrel fermented, about 25% new French oak, sur lies 8 months, stirred once a week. Tom thinks it will bear some aging too. They make about 1000 cases per year. They even have two barrels of Trombetta Estate Rosé. Tom Simoneau is impressed that small family wineries like Trombetta can survive and thrive. They taste another Chardonnay, 2017 from Indindoli Vineyard. It’s a Russian River Chardonnay without being too overbearing or soft-spoken. The Indindoli retails for $45 and the Four Brothers is $50. Bottle Barn will have some Trombetta wines after today. The Petaluma Gap winds make the skins thicker on the grapes that you get more phenolics and tannins. They have higher tannins than some Cabs in Napa due to this. Then they were starting to make Chardonnay they wanted something that had good acidity. Paul Hobbs had 3 tons of Chardonnay for them. He gave the harvest to Erica and said, “ok, go make the wine.” Now they taste the Pinot Noirs. They got the fruit from a vineyard near Sebastopol. First there is a 2013 then a series of 2014s. The last Pinot is the 2014 Trombetta Gaps Crown Pinot Noir. On this one you smell the fruit first. Barry says it should be a 95, 96 or 97, instead of the score it got. If you join their wine club you get a free tasting and they also put on a wine camp, where people gather in their home vineyard and learn how to handle the grapes in the vineyard before sharing a big lunch together.

Laurel Glen Vineyard is a 14-acre estate, first planted in 1968, located on the north end of Sonoma Mountain, the peak that sits between Sonoma Valley and the Sonoma coastal plain, just south of Santa Rosa, California. The vineyard blocks face east, but lie above the fog line, allowing diffused sun exposure throughout the day and a long, moderate growing season. The vineyard is farmed organically and planted entirely to the Laurel Glen clone of Cabernet Sauvignon, certified as a unique clone by the University of California at Davis.Debuting with the 1981 vintage, Laurel Glen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon soon made an impression upon trade and consumers alike, with its consistent depth, elegance and focus. The 1980’s saw Sonoma and Napa establish their reputations for quality wine making. Winemakers such as Richard Arrowood, David Ramey, Robert Mondavi, Paul Draper, Zelma Long, among many others, were changing how critics thought of American wines and the drinking preferences of consumers. By the end of the 1980s, Laurel Glen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon joined the ranks of first generation “cult” Cabernets from California.After 30 vintages, founder Patrick Campbell sold the vineyard and winery to a group of wine lovers, led by Bettina Sichel, whose family has been in the wine business for so many generations, she jokes, if you cut her, she bleeds wine.The new era at Laurel Glen Vineyard begins with an ambitious new team. Organic viticultural guru Phil Coturri, who grew up on Sonoma Mountain and spent a formativesummer in his youth working for Patrick Campbell, manages the vineyard. Randall Watkins, who spent many years developing his skills with mountain Cabernet at Moon Mountain Vineyards, manages the cellar. Under their stewardship, Laurel Glen Vineyard is being rebuilt with great care. The new team started immediately farming the vineyard organically, introducing modern trellising practices, berry sorting at harvest, and a host of other quality-¬oriented improvements.The result is already evident in the barrel, promising wines that preserve the nuanced layers of flavor of the past, while adding intensity and texture.

This week we welcome Ian Blessing from the French Laundry and open up some 1970 Margaux and some old non-vintage Champagne. Sam and Bart discuss the recent rain storms and how they’ll affect the vineyards. Recorded at Bart Hansen’s house on Sonoma Mountain over-looking some of the most historic vineyards Read more... The post The Wine Makers – 1970 Margaux appeared first on Radio Misfits.

Gil Mansergh hosts a very special Word By Word: Conversations With Writers broadcast on North Bay Public Media, KRCB-FM. That is because the conversation is with the award-winning professor, novelist, screenwriter, historian and storyteller Greg Sarris and his new collection of Miwok stories entitled How the Mountain Was Made. Greg is also serving his thirteenth term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and explains, “The Miwok people’s most important contribution to Sonoma County is our Creation Myths, yet they are known by very few people. For example, it is said that Coyote was sitting atop Sonoma Mountain when he decided to create the world and people. As a storyteller, my task is to reimagine and share these tales with my neighbors.”

Meg Beeler, Author and Shamanic Guide, weaves ancient wisdom into potent pathways for connecting with the heart of nature and the cosmos. Her passion is inspiring people to liberate their love, vision, and sacred power through mentoring, teaching, and healing. A lifelong explorer of shamanic, animist, and meditative consciousness, Meg is the creator of Energy AlchemyTM and founder of Earth Caretakers. Her new book, Weave the Heart of the Universe into Your Life: Aligning with Cosmic Energy, will be published by Findhorn Press in 2017. She lives on Sonoma Mountain in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.megbeeler.com  ________________________ Awakenings With Michele Meiche is Your place for tips and insight to live a more fulfilling life, and your relationships. Learn how to attract healthy relationships, and how to create a life you really love. Awakenings broadcasts live every Wed. 12pm -1:30 pm PT   Call in for Intuitive Readings #347-539-5122 Michele answers questions about Awakening, Spirituality, Metaphysics and Self/Soul Development. Michele also answers listener questions from email, twitter and facebook On Air. Email awakeningspodcast@gmail.com to have your questions answered or to share your insights On Air.