The Wine Makers on Radio Misfits

Morét Brealynn was born in Patterson California at one time the Apricot capital of the world. We know how much all of you listeners love those California agricultural facts… Though her name is French, she’s 100% Mexican, she was working in the nonprofit sector when she moved from Davis to Sonoma County in 2011. From that point the discovery of wine began, it wasn’t long until she got a job working in a tasting room. From there Morét curiosity found her spending time in the cellar, asking questions, helping wherever she could during harvest. But while helping produce a online happy hour during Covid the guest was winemaker Adam Lee EP (#243). Adam was impressed with the professionalism and organization of the show and after further discussions, Morét joined him as his General Manager. Morét’s exposure to the production side of the wine industry grew and her passion for making her own wine could no longer be ignored. It was Adam at encouraged her to make her own mark in the wine business. Enjoy this weeks show and be sure to check out Morét’s wines. [EP258] www.moretbrealynnwines.com www.instagram.com/moretbrealynnwines www.instagram.com/moretbrealynn

This week on the podcast, our friend James Joiner puts us through a blind tasting of “gimmick” and celebrity wines. Those wines that your family brings to a holiday gathering and you subtly groan as you open the bag. Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart, Game of Thrones and Hello Kitty among others are in the lineup. You have never heard such a mixture of glee and disgust in your life. We rate all of the wines separately then compare notes, you won’t believe the results. We hope you enjoy the show and aren’t too offended. Happy Holidays [EP257]

What does it mean to recycle? What do you think happens when you throw something in the recycling container? Would you believe that 75% of all glass that enters the waste system ends up in landfills. That’s 110,000,000 glass bottles going into US landfills every single day. What would you think if your favorite winery asked you to return your bottles to be refilled? We have talked about this on the podcast before. Remember our conversation with Diana Snowden Seysses about her plans for her family’s wine brand Cousins? This week we talked with Caren McNamara from Conscious Containers about the state of wine bottle reuse programs. We are also joined by April Nalle from Nalle Family Winery to hear what they are doing to move towards true sustainability. A glass bottle reuse program is going to happen. The question is can the wine business be leaders in this much needed system. We aren’t reinventing the wheel here, these programs are in place in other parts of the world. [EP256] consciouscontainer.com Instagram nallewinery.com Instagram

This week the guys sit down with Artie Johnson for a wide ranging and deeply philosophical show. Artie’s background is impressive, but we covered that in Episode 157. This show is all about the now and the future. This one goes from great to special when Phil Coturri throws his big diesel truck in reverse to sit down with Artie and gets really fun when Artie turns the tables and starts interviewing Brian, Bart and Sam! Pop open a bottle of syrah and give it a listen. [EP255] instagram.com/winexyz twitter.com/winexyz

This week we sit down with one of our favorite winemakers, and cookbook authors, Jennifer Reichardt. Raised on a duck farm, she has been surrounded by bills and feathers from a young age, her family has supplied delicious ducks to all of the best restaurants in California. Her journey pulled her into wine, working for some epic producers, before starting her own label, Raft. Jennifer followed that up with a new project called Little Trouble Wine Co. with her friend Sara Morgenstern. Now she has released her amazing cookbook, The Whole Duck, available this week. Quack Quack [EP254] instagram.com/raftwines drink.raft.wine instagram.com/liberty_ducks libertyducks.com

Who knew that Instagram could get you a guest for your podcast. Well we do of course we don’t know all of these people and that is exactly how we came to meet these guys. I’m not sure the first time I heard about the Stampede Vineyard but on an educational tour of East Lodi a past guest made a point of showing us the vineyard. Join us on this show to continue our education about the vineyards of the Lodi appellation. You can tell that Jeff & John have a deep love and understanding of Lodi, their family started farming in the 1950’s after immigrating to California from Greece.  Planted in the 1940s, the Stampede Vineyard is an own-rooted Zinfandel planting in the toe-hills of the Sierra Nevada mountains within Lodi’s Clements Hills AVA. With soils composed of decomposed granite, the Stampede Vineyard lies on a parcel that overlooks an old riverbed on one side, and the Clements Stampede rodeo grounds on the other. We welcome them to the podcast this week to help them launch they new winery project. Yes the growers have jumped into the winemaking side of the business with their “Mediterranean inspired, California grown” wines. We thing they are off to a great start. [EP253] perlegoswine.com instagram.com/perlegos_wine instagram.com/zinyard perlegoswine.com/sign-up

This week on the show we went to Haystack Farm in Sonoma to talk with Farmer Jerome Cunnie and Chef Duskie Estes. Farm to Pantry is a gleaning non-profit organization that rescues produce from farms and backyard gardens in Sonoma County that would otherwise go to waste, and delivers it to families in need—one in three people in Sonoma County is facing food insecurity. They glean produce from over 250 properties, with the help of over 350 volunteers, and deliver it to 85 community partners. The food is out there and Farm to Pantry goes and gets it—they are the bridge between abundance and need. In the case of Haystack Farm Jerome Cunnie and his team farm the ranch which was established to raise fruits, vegetables and flowers to be given away to those that are in need. Wait till you hear the numbers of how many people they are feeding. This is an inspiring show, get inspired, get involved in your community and help feed people. It feels really good to be part of a community like this. [EP252] www.farmtopantry.org www.instagram.com/farmtopantry twitter.com/farm_to_pantry www.instagram.com/duskie_estes www.blackpigmeatco.com www.twitter.com/duskieestes www.instagram.com/thegardenkeeper/ www.instagram.com/haystackfarmsonoma/

This week we sit down with famed Washington winemaker Charles Smith. We discuss his humble beginnings in California, his journeys through Europe, and what eventually led him to Washington. His unique ability to discuss wine and wine-making in a straightforward way has helped him become one of the most successful and famous figures in the business, while maintaining his free-spirited identity. The conversation always came back to the wine, farming practices, and the simple approach to making delicious wines for both collectors and everyday wine drinkers.  This is a good one, grab a bottle and enjoy.m[EP 251]  

This week on the podcast we welcome Andriana Duchworth & Laura McGilley from the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers. We touched on a number of subjects from the upcoming Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival and some of the history behind this great event. The newly available Vinous Sonoma Valley Vineyards maps are finally finished and are really beautiful. These maps are must have for any lover of Sonoma Valley and the historic vineyards. The four of us had also been at the Phil Coturri Wine Grower Dinner at the Sonoma Mission Inn the previous night so we rambled about for a while. [EP250] sonomavalleywine.com instagram.com/sonomavalleywine valleyofthemoonvintagefestival.org instagram.com/sonomavintagefestival

From Napa to Burgundy to washable labels. This week’s show was not really about wine but what does “wine” need to do to be truly sustainable. The work sustainable has been used and thrown around so much it really doesn’t mean anything. I mean spraying a herbicide on the ground directly under your grapevines? Ok, that’s not what this show was about. We had a great conversation about a lot of things. Diana makes wine to two of the most coveted growing areas in the world, Burgundy and Napa Valley. She has installed a system in Burgundy to capture the carbon dioxide from the fermenters during harvest. Her newest project focused on a wine called Snowden Cousins, organically grown grapes with reusable bottles, no foils and water soluble labels. This show will have a part 2 and by that time we hope you will have heard more about this. What would you think about collecting bottles to be reused? Recycling is great but why melt down the bottles, why not reuse them? www.instagram.com/dianasnowsey www.snowdenvineyards.com www.dujac.com/en/the-domain www.portoprotocol.com