Grape Encounters Wine Radio

David talks with Sarahanne Driggs, Event Coordinator & Marketing Director of The Oregon Wine Experience, a multi-day event featuring the full breadth and depth Oregon wines, amazing culinary creations and everything that makes Oregon unique. The 2019 event is August 19-25, 2019, in lovely Jacksonville, Oregon. Last year they had record breaking representation from across the state with more than 1...

Winemaker Adam LaZarre David talks with Winemaker Adam LaZarre, who has a long and storied career in the wine industry. His accomplishments are too many to mention, but in addition to the wines he has made for many large brands (Rex Goliath, Cycles Gladiator, Hahn Estates, he and his wife Angie have been making their own wines for many years under the name LaZarre Wines. The brand was started in 2...

Dr. Laura Catena, Managing Director and Catena Institute of Wine Founder David talks about Dr. Laura Catena, Managing Director and Catena Institute of Wine Founder and Board, about Catena Wines and her family's play... It all began with the label. "For most wineries, labels are just marketing tools designed to quickly catch the eye from a store shelf," says Dr. Laura Catena, Managing Director of A...

David talks barrels with Lucas Brewer and Michael McGloughlin of Quality Wine Barrels in Arroyo Grande, CA. While working at one of California’s largest wineries in the late ‘90s, Quality Wine Barrels founder Roger Burson saw a need for obtaining reasonably priced high quality used wine barrels from trustworthy sources. With few options available apart from calling local wineries to check for cull...

Josh Phelps of the Grounded Wine Company David talks with Josh Phelps of the Grounded Wine Company in Paso Robles, makes of the new wine "Public Radio." Grounded Wine Co. is the personal brand of Napa native Josh Phelps, built to reflect his experience growing up in wine country, and his relationships in the wine community. A grassroots, all-American, wine label, the wines feature grapes from trus...

Kevin Lund, Author David talks with Kevin Lund, author of the book Conversation Marketing, How to Be Relevant and Engage Your Customer by Talking Human, about the language of wine marketing and selling directly to consumers. Each of us sees more than 5,000 marketing messages every day. In such a crowded marketplace, brands are scrambling to find new ways to cut through the clutter to reach consume...

In our second installment of our 4-part Northern CA and Southern Oregon Mighway RV adventure, we stop in Eureka, CA at the Carter House Inns, where their Restaurant 301 has one of the best wine lists in the world, with over 3,800 selections and has been a proud recipient of the Wine Spectator's most prestigious honor, the Grand Award, every year since 1988. Note, proprietor Mark Carter has won ove...

We begin our Northern CA/Oregon RV adventure... picking up our Mighway RV in Oakland, CA, heading up north to Cloverdale in Sonoma and the Thousand Trails Russian River RV Resort! David talks with Mitch Craighead, Regional Manager, about the Thousand Trails camping concept that lets people subscribe to different regions (including many wine countries), a truly great way to experience wine country...

David talks with Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts, an agency that coordinates wineries with RV travelers that can stay onsite at many wineries in the US. "Wineries, farms, breweries, museums, and more – Free overnight stays at over 600 incredible locations across North America" Next, David talks with Lynea Gagliano of Travel Oregon. Finishing off our preparation for the trip, it's Dave Simmons,...

David talks barrels with Lucas Brewer and Michael McGloughlin of Quality Wine Barrels in Arroyo Grande, CA. While working at one of California’s largest wineries in the late ‘90s, Quality Wine Barrels founder Roger Burson saw a need for obtaining reasonably priced high quality used wine barrels from trustworthy sources. With few options available apart from calling local wineries to check for cull...

Tom Wark, Executive Director, National Association of Wine Retailers David talks with Tom Wark, Executive Director of the National Association of Wine Retailers, and author of the Fermentation blog, about the challenges of wine buying and shipping in the U.S., due to states' laws. Tom explains this complicated issue in an easy-to-understand way, but you should also check out his award-winning blog...

David on all things Thanksgiving! Turkey methods, the all-important stuffing issue, and our friend Angel, a regular at the Grape Encounters wine bar! [haiku url="http://media.blubrry.com/grapeencountersradio/grapeencounters.com/podcast/media/ep486.mp3" player=1761] Download this episode

On the anniversary of the devastating Tubbs Fire in Sonoma, David hosts Micheal O'Shea, co-owner of Amaturo Sonoma Media Group, owners of KSRO in Santa Rosa, discussing the documentary Urban Inferno, about the fires that devastated Santa Rosa in 2017. Michael's radio station KSRO was the lifeline for many local folks and they won two Marconi Awards for their news coverage of the fires and the subs...

David talks about California Wine Month, and just about everything else under the sun, with Elaine Chukan Brown. Elaine serves as the American Specialist at JancisRobinson.com, a contributing writer with Wine & Spirits Magazine, and a speaker at events worldwide. Her work has been featured in World of Fine Wine, Decanter, Robb Report, MensHealth.com, GuildSomm.com, Wine Business Monthly, San Franc...

David talks wine, art, baseball and more with artist and winemaker Tom Rodrigues of Artevino wines of Maple Creek Winery. Tom has been an artist for many years, and this year has been chosen as WineSong's Artist of the Year for 2018. Winesong is the premiere annual charity auction & wine + food tasting on the Mendocino Coast & is produced by the Mendocino Coast Hospital Foundation. Proceeds are us...

Winemaker Adam LaZarre David talks with Winemaker Adam LaZarre, who has a long and storied career in the wine industry. His accomplishments are too many to mention, but in addition to the wines he has made for many large brands (Rex Goliath, Cycles Gladiator, Hahn Estates, he and his wife Angie have been making their own wines for many years under the name LaZarre Wines. The brand was started in 2...

David chats with friend Chris Longo of Jensen’s Market about what's new and changing in wine retail, and also with Jamie Peters of WineSong, an annual charity auction and wine + food tasting produced by the Mendocino Coast Hospital Foundation. Proceeds are used to enhance equipment, facilities and services at the Mendocino Coast District Hospital. The Diagnostic Imaging Center, Medical Evacuation...

Sean Taylor, creator of RateMyWinemaker.com David talks with Sean Taylor, creator of a new business, RateMyWinemaker.com, an anonymous forum for wine industry workers to anonymously rate their winemakers and harvest experiences. This is a site that will help any aspiring winemaker or wine worker to check out winery jobs around the world! Listen and learn more, and visit: http://ratemywinemaker.com...

David visits the Wente Vineyard in Livermore, CA, the country’s oldest, continuously operated family-owned winery, founded in 1883. They are celebrating their 135th anniversary, and David talks with the “first family of Chardonnay,” Phil, Niki and Karl Wente about their family history, and the celebrated “Wente clone” that is prevalent in CA Chardonnay. Also, next month is national Chardonnay Mont...

David talks with Winston Tam of Bottleshake, an innovative app that helps bring professionals together at wine bars and cafes to network and exchange ideas. Bottleshake utilizes LinkedIn profiles to link people together and invite others to meet in person. Learn more at http://bottleshake.com/ [haiku url="http://media.blubrry.com/grapeencountersradio/grapeencounters.com/podcast/media/ep467.mp3" pl...

David talks with Francesco Cremonini with Tuttovino Wines, all about Italian Wines. Francesco gives a primer on Italian regions and wine styles. Listen and learn more! [haiku url="http://media.blubrry.com/grapeencountersradio/grapeencounters.com/podcast/media/ep466.mp3" player=1761] Download this episode

David gets a visit from Christopher Sawyer, Sommelier to the Stars, and two Sommeliers attending SommCamp on the Central Coast. Guests include Chris Sawyer; Christopher Berrigan, Sommelier at Fleming's Prime Steak House and part-time at Petitie Trois, a hot French bistro in Los Angeles; and Veronica Rauch, aka Ringo Firely, from the Patio Group of restaurants in the San Diego region. Listen to fin...

Bob Sweeney, Co-founder of the Boutique Wine Box David talks with Bob Sweeney of The Boutique Wine Sampler, a curated collection of six 375 ml bottles, which showcases the best small-production and highly sought after artisan wines from Santa Barbara and Paso Robles, California. Each winery featured in the collection has consistently earned scores of 90+. Boutique Wine Sampler boxes will be at sel...

David talks barrels with Lucas Brewer and Michael McGloughlin of Quality Wine Barrels in Arroyo Grande, CA. While working at one of California’s largest wineries in the late ‘90s, Quality Wine Barrels founder Roger Burson saw a need for obtaining reasonably priced high quality used wine barrels from trustworthy sources. With few options available apart from calling local wineries to check for cull...

David talks about a book written by Laura Catena, a fourth-generation winemaker in the Uco Valley, Argentina. The book is Vino Argentino: An Insider's Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina, and in this book part-wine-primer, part-cultural-exploration, part-introduction-to-the-Argentine-lifestyle, discover where to eat, what to see, and how to travel like a local with Dr. Laura Catena, t...