If you want to learn about Merlot, Chris Carpenter is the guy to talk to. Chris makes wine in Napa Valley for Lokoya as well as Mt. Brave, Cardinale and La Jota as well as a project in Australia, and he knows great Merlot. Well, he know great wine in general. We had a fantastic interview with Chris a few weeks ago and while we talked about his history, Merlot was the name of the game. This is a grape people should get to know. All over again. Believe me, Chris will tell you…

Learn more by visiting www.lokoya.com or www.jacksonfamilywines.com

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In 2017 we attended our first Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Auction and this was a spectacular show. This event is for the trade and media in the wine industry and it was the third time it was held. Willamette Valley Winemakers gather to offer some of their finest Pinot Noir to auction while helping promote their industry in Oregon. Shirley Brooks, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Elk Cove Vineyards and Eugneia Keegan, Oregon General Manager for Jackson Family Wines will be co-chairs for this years auction. We recorded a phone interview just a couple weeks ago to talk about the event as the April 6th auction date grows nearer.

Learn more by visiting www.willamettewines.com

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From our perspective, the smaller the winery the more interesting the wine. Barlow Vineyards is in Calistoga and Zach Smith is the Vineyard Manager as well as National Sales Manager. Barlow makes the kind of wines that they like to drink. And large production is not what they do. They focus on the wine, not huge production. Zach was in town and visited the Life Between the Vines studio a few weeks ago while doing a tasting tour and we were able to sit down with him to chat. A wine family can extend generations, so it is here you get to listen to the future.

Learn more by visiting www.barlowvineyards.com

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Back in October 2011 we interviewed a man who helped bring great change to Napa Valley. Volker Eisele worked to protect the Valley preventing unwanted development in the farming community. That was podcast #43 (October, 2011). It’s worth a listen today as well. But for this podcast we interviewed Molly Lyman who is the Winemaker for Volker Eisele Family Estate. We met with Molly at the Napa Wine Company in Oakville, where they crush. This was harvest and a very busy time for Molly. It was touching to see how great of an impression Volker left on Molly.

Learn more by visiting www.volkereiselefamilyestate.com

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Pinot Noir certainly dominates the landscape in much of Sonoma especially since the movie Sideways was released years ago. Freeman Vineyard and Winery benefitted from the heavy press that Pinot received, but right along side that is Chardonnay. Ken Freeman and his winemaker wife Kiko have manged to create a winery making exceptional wines hidden away in Sebastopol. We caught up with Ken a few weeks ago to learn about Akiko’s special way of making her wines. The wines will more than please when visiting this winery. Just follow the hidden road and you’ll be right there…

Learn more by visiting www.freemanwinery.com

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