California Wine Country

Dan Berger & Daedalus Howell
  • 4.5 (12)
  • Food
  • Updated Biweekly

Live Radio Show & Podcast

  1. Aug 7

    Brooks Note Winery in the Petaluma Gap

    Garry Brooks, from Brooks Note Winery in the Petaluma Gap, joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. This is Garry’s third time on the show, after being on twice in 2025, first in February and then in December. In his two previous appearances, Garry and Dan discuss the characteristics of the Petaluma Gap in great detail. They also tell the story of how it became an official AVA. Brooks Note Winery is in the Petaluma Gap, where the Wine to Wine Festival is coming soon. It is a great public tasting to help raise awareness of this sub-region of the Sonoma Coast. The united winemakers of the Petaluma Gap have i it an official AVA. Brooks Note makes cold climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but also Riesling and Albariño. The Brooks Note vineyard is near the Sonoma Raceway. Garry has brought an Albariño. The varietal grows in Portugal and Spain. It has has a lemon peel, honey and spice components, and a trace of muscat. It also has good acidity. The vines get blasted from the wind coming off the Pacific Ocean. As the air inland heats up, it pulls wind in that crosses Hwy 1 and blows toward Petaluma. The wind slows down photosynthesis so the vines take longer to ripen. Azaya Ranch Garry has also brought a Pinot Noir from Azaya Ranch. It is just across the Marin – Sonoma border, on the Marin side. It gets cold fog. Another vineyard is southwest of Sebastopol, which also gets a little bit of fog. Brooks Note also makes a GSM – Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre – from the Sebastopol Hills. Then they taste some Pinot Noir. First is a 2024 Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir. It comes from three vineyards. Taylor’s Crown, in the northeast corner of the Petaluma Gap, has compressed volcanic ash. Panther Ridge is a biodynamic vineyard at about 1000 feet of elevation. It has big red chunks of pumice and basalt throughout the vineyard. The third is Sweet Family Vineyard, at about 750 feet elevation. It also has volcanic soil. The vines struggle and the soil is well drained. Garry used about 20% new oak, and about 15% whole cluster. Dan and Garry agree that this is what Petaluma Gap is supposed to taste like.

  2. Jul 31

    Winesong 2026 Director Jonathan Darrow

    Jonathan Darrow, director of the 2026 edition of Winesong, joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on Calfornia Wine Country. This is his first time on the show, but his predecessor Jamie Peters was here last year before Winesong, on this episode. KSXY15 is the Winesong discount code for listeners to California Wine Country and The Drive, to recieve a 15% discount on tickets here at the Winesong site.  Jonathan Darrow is the coordinator of the event, auction and tasting for Winesong. It takes place the weekend of September 11 and 12. It’s a beautiful drive past the redwoods and through Anderson Valley. The event is at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, right off Hwy 20. Winesong is the primary fundraiser for the Mendocino Coast Healthcare Foundation. It was founded in 1985 to benefit Mendocino Hospital and evolved into its present status in 2019. Now their contributions can benefit the entire district. Whatever equipment they donate, belongs to the community. They provide benefits to the hospital and also to the Mendocino Coast Clinics.  Jon has brought four different wines which pertain to Winesong. First is Husch, which started in 1979 in Anderson Valley. This is the Husch 2024 Mendocino Sauvignon Blanc. Winesong Live Music As the name Winesong implies, there is live music at the event. There are six stages with performances of all kinds. You wander through a 20-acre park, where there are little hubs or stations here and there along the way. There is a Harvest Market with food, and the Dahlia Market. There will be 20,000 blooming Dahlias. Friday is dedicated to Pinot Noir. Saturday is the Grand Tasting at the Botanical Gardens. They have deflated the admission price to the 2016 cost.  Dan says the Pinot Noir tasting is not to be missed. There is an unbelievable number of great Pinot Noirs. They taste a Fathers and Daughters Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley. Anderson Valley is also becoming a hub for sparkling wines. There are wineries at Winesong from not only Mendocino County but also Napa, Sonoma and Lake as well as importers from Europe. Mendocino Ridge AVA The Mendocino Ridge AVA is the only one with non-contiguous borders. It includes any wineries in the area that are above 1200 feet above sea level. The next tasting is a 2016 Chardonnay from Napa. Someone will win a case of this wine at Winesong. They will celebrate their Legacy Vintners of the Year, including Golden Eye and Duckhorn. Winemaker Greg Graziano will also be represented with the St. Gregory Sparkling Wine at the beginning of the auction. Jonathan has covered lots of different roles at Winesong and this year he has stepped into the director’s role. He started college as a theater major, then got a degree in Beverage Management at UNLV. His first job was working for a bar with 3300 beers and 1800 whiskies. He likes to see “the lightbulb go off” when people start to understand something. The more you know about things, the more you can appreciate it. Dan points out that in the US we start our wine education after age 21 which is late.

  3. Jul 24

    Keller Estate plus Trombetta Wines

    Ana Keller of Keller Estate and Ricky Stancliffe of Trombetta Wines are our in-studio guests on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. As Petaluma Gap wineries, they are participating in the Wind to Wine festival on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at Gambonini Family Ranch in Petaluma. If you want to get to know the wines of the Petaluma Gap, this is the place to go. There is a discount code KRSH for listeners at the Wind to Wine festival site. Ana Keller has brought their 2025 Pétillant Naturel of Pinot Noir, which has a crown cap on the bottle. This is a rare wine. It has a silvery-pinkish color. Known by the French abbreviation “pet nat” they have light bubbles. They are less effervescent than champagne and stronger fruit flavors. Ana explains they did an early pick and cold fermentation. This is clone 667 which is fruit forward. It is a dry Rosé with a little bit of effervescence. It ls like a vin gris which is usually bone dry, although this has a little bit of residual sugar. Dan says the cool night time temperatures in the Petaluma Gap help maintain good acidity. It has a crisp aftertaste and comes in at 11% Abv. Everyone agrees that this would go well with oysters. Ricky tells about a cruise they took down the Rhone River in 2017 on Ama. They are planning another one next May from the 14th to the 21st, on the Duoro River in Portugal. These are all-included on a boat that holds only 150 passengers. Anyone interested can look on the Petaluma Gap website. The Douro River is in the north near the city of Porto. It is home of many long standing port producers. Trombetta Chardonnay & Pinot Noir They are tasting a 2021 Trombetta Wines Chardonnay and Dan reminds us of his adage that Chardonnay is like a red wine with no color, while Pinot Noir is a white wine with color. A zen koan for your tasting. Dan calls this a concentrated version of California Chardonnay. If you like Chard you’ll like this. It has “all the bells and whistles…” the character, citrus fruit, acidity, richness in the mid palette and a strong finish. It is rich without being heavy. At this temperature, which is cool, it would work with a lot of food. They used about 33% French oak and sur-lies battonage which enhances the flavors and also acts as a natural clarifying agent. Trombetta winemaker Erica Stancliffe is also making wines at Deodora Estate Vineyards. They also taste a 2021 Trombetta Pinot Noir from the Gap’s Crown Vineyard. The clones are 667 and 115. Ricky calls it the nosebleed section because it’s at the top of the vineyard. All of the grapes are picked at night to keep them cold when they come into the winery. Erica likes to sneak some whole cluster into the maceration. Her wines are delicious when they are young, but they age well. They are a small winery, making less than 1000 cases per year. With Gaps Crown Vineyard wines, the longer you hold them, the more the aromatics and flavors will develop. Dan detects a trace of nutmeg which is not a spice normally associated with Pinot Noir. But in this case, it comes through in the aroma and the aftertaste. That indicates the wine is going to get better and better.

  4. Jul 17

    Solo Nostro winemaker Ted Seghesio

    Winemaker Ted Seghesio from Solo Nostro Wines is our guest today on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. Ted used to work for the winery that bears his family name. In what he refers to now as his “previous post,” he made Zinfandel for 40 years. He still makes it under the new label, among many other varietals. Solo Nostro is Italian for “ours alone.” Ted started as as winemaker in 1979 when the Seghesio family had been making wine already for many decades. The winery used open top concrete fermenters and redwood storage tanks. They had 400 acres of vineyards including French Colombard, Chenin Blanc, Carignane and Zinfandel. He remembers the advent of White Zin in the 1980s that saved a lot of Zinfandel vineyards. Ted and his wife honeymooned in the Rhone region when they got married in 2015. When they created Solo Nostro in 2019, they chose to feature Rhone varietals, Grenache Blanc and Syrah, as well as a Rhone white blend. In addition to that, also make Dolcetto. They plan to expand their portfolio to other Mediterranean grapes. The Dolcetto is from their estate, and they get others from other local growers. Viognier and Dolcetto Rosato They planted Viognier because it was harder to find locally and they wanted it. Viognier can be tricky from year to year, the crop sizes are not as consistent as other varieties. So that is a risk for a winery or a grower. Now they taste a Viognier that Dan says has the flower basket aroma typical of Viognier. It should smell like flowers. They picked at 3am, and went straight to the press at 50 degrees F, then straight to the concrete amphora. After 2 months fermentation, they left it on the lees until 6 months then bottled it. It has flavors of ripe peaches and apricots and floral flavors that put Viognier “in a different class.” Dan says to put this in oak barrels would be a misdemeanor. Dan estimates its alcohol is around 13.8. It’s 13.9. This would not be for aging. In France they do not age this wine. The floral aromatics are there to be enjoyed now. It should be served below 65 degrees. Solo Nostro Wines are available at Bacchus’ Landing, which has various events. The owners are the former owners of the lucrative Low-Rider Magazine so they also hold an annual car show too. Dan says the place is “just stunning.” Next is a Syrah, which is another variety that Ted did not work with in his previous post. It has thick skins. In 2022 it was 116 degrees on Labor Day. Fortunately they had picked the day before. It came out with blueberry essence with a trace of pepper. Dan says it needs two years to get to its ideal place. The Consumer Is In the Driver’s Seat With the downturn in sales in the wine industry right now, consumers have opportunities to try wines at prices they wouldn’t find. Some wines that already have an extra year of aging are now reaching the market which is good for buyers. Slow sales mean the wines for sale may be longer aged. One reason why California wines have become so popular is that they deliver fruit. On the east coast where they grew up with European wine, they are missing the California fruit flavors. Daedalus asks if there is something about the California palette. Are we spoiled? Well, we are just different. Ted says they have done comparative tastings forever, France, Italy, California, lots of them. “Our fruit always stood out.” The Pivot Daedalus asks Ted how he made the pivot in his career. He quit Seghesio in 2018 and his wife Dana was studying in the Sonoma State University Executive Business program. They were going to start a winery but the wildfires wiped them out. They were going to call it Atto Due, Act Two. He rode Seattle to Portland and passing back into California, they found themselves before a breathtaking scene with nobody else around. Dana remarked, Solo Nostro which in Italian means “Ours Alone.” They only make 500 cases per year so far. He even makes a little Pinot Noir. They will also make Sangiovese. He will get some grapes from a vineyard that started with vines that his grandfather planted in 1910. Nobody else has century-old Sangiovese vineyard in California.

  5. Jul 10

    Kim Stare Wallace, Dry Creek Vineyard

    Kim Stare Wallace from Dry Creek Vineyards joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. She has been on the show before, the last time was this episode in September of 2025. Kim has brought four bottles of two varieties, for tasting. One is their dry Chenin Blanc. They have made the same style for 54 years. Dan Berger remembers the first vintage of this wine and it is still as good as ever. Chenin Blanc is having a comeback right now.  Her father, David Stare, founded Dry Creek Vineyards. He loved the Loire Valley wines of France which is why he planted these vines. Charles Krug made Chenin Blanc since the late 1960s but it was sweet. David Stare at Dry Creek Vineyard made it in an authentic dry Loire Valley style. Dan says this one is as good as any vintage they have ever made. Despite the ups and downs of sales over the years, they continue to produce it the same way, low alcohol and high acidity. It is a single vineyard wine, coming from the Wilson Vineyard nearby in Clarksburg. Dan knows the vineyard and says it has very fertile soil. It is close to Stockton. Their style is “hands-off winemaking.” It is 100% Chenin Blanc, fermented in stainless steel, there is no oak and no blending of other varietals. Melon Flavors in Chenin Blanc Dan mentions that the textbooks say to look for melon flavors, but not cantaloupe, he means white melon. He also notices that this wine is dryer than most of the Loire Valley Chenins.  Dry Creek Vineyards also makes about 500 cases of a Chenin Blanc crémant style. Kim remembers a tasting that their friend Jean Baumard organized. He has a winery, Domaine des Baumards, in the Loire Valley. Dan remembers that event, when Jean Baumard brought some very rare dry Chenins called Savennières. One was from 1937. They had hidden some bottles during World War Two and this was a survivor. It was excellent. When Kim was 13 years old, her parents did a house exchange with the Baumards, whose home is in the Loire Valley village of Rochefort sur Loire. This Chenin Blanc sells for $16-$19, and it is a great value at that price. Dan advises storing some in a cool place for any occasion. 2025 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc Next is a 2025 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc. It is a new release. David Stare was the first to plant SV in the region, in the 1970s. People laughed. He was told it was a dumb variety. He turned out to be right about it. It’s 100% Dry Creek Valley, so it reflects the warmer climate. They planted unusual clones of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Musqué and Sauvignon Gris. Dan says you can taste the subtle differences between these clones and their signature Fumé Blanc. Sauvignon Gris is very rare. Dan compares the flavors to an heirloom grapefruit. He thinks it will improve with ten years in the cellar. The New Zealand SVs are softer and sweeter. Kim reads the tasting notes, “Floral notes of jasmine, geranium and hibiscus; fresh herbal hints of cilantro stem; tomato leaf and white pepper mingle with wet gravel minerality.” The herbal notes won’t come out for this wine until about ten more years, says Dan. In this case, the fruit is right up front. Daedalus detects a whiff of dried tarragon. 2026 Best Winery in the 2026 SF Gate Dry Creek Vineyard won the title Best Winery in the SF Gate’s 2026 Best of the Bay issue. Dan remembers they showed Field of Dreams on a portable screen in the vineyard. They have a concert this Saturday afternoon, from 12-4 pm, two days from the day the show is recorded live. Visit the Dry Creek Vineyard website Events page for their full schedule.

  6. Jun 26

    Fred Peterson, Peterson Winery

    Fred Peterson, owner of Peterson Winery, joins Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country today. This is Fred’s first time on the show, but Peterson wines were a big part of this episode with Darryl Miller, on March 27 this year. Daedalus mentions the birds on the labels of the Peterson wines that Fred has brought. There are other labels with a mountain lion, a bear, a fox and a deer. They find old prints that are in public domain that they can use with no royalties. Fred Peterson calls his winemaking style “zero manipulation” which they have trademarked. He uses the jackalope on the label, but he can’t trademark that mythical animal which is in the public domain. They begin by tasting a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon from Dry Creek Valley. This is what happens when you have the proper fruit, the proper region and the proper technique of making the wine, says Dan. It is a great example of what it can do when it is properly aged. A Cab needs about 12 years to reach its fully mature complexity. This one is 23 years old now and has flavors of dry herbs and bay leaf. This is a mountain cabernet from Bradford Mountain where Fred lives, at about 1100 feet elevation. If a Cabernet is just big, oaky, alcoholic and tannic, it can’t also carry terroir. Mountain Cabs have an edginess that other Cabs just don’t have. -•• • --- -•• ••• •-• •-California Wine Country is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that are producing exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference! -•• • --- -•• ••• •-• •- Bitterness is a good thing. Dan reminds us that bitterness is a good thing. We like it in dark chocolate and in coffee. For example, bitters are appropriate in a mixed drink. They are part of the overall complexity and diversity of flavors. This wine is a perfect example. It delivers all its high-altitude character. Fred says, “If we don’t make wines that taste of the vineyard, there’s no reason for a small winery to exist, in my opinion.” He calls his winemaking process “zero manipulation” so that his wines taste like the vineyard. Their current release Cab is the 2022. So, it is young, for a Cabernet. The 2022 is also a very good wine, and Dan thinks that Fred harvested it at the right time. Both Cabs are blends. The 2003 is 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Merlot. The 2022 has the same 83% Cab, 11% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. After time in the Navy, Fred enrolled at UC Santa Cruz. He took time off for a road trip, to bring a motorcycle to a friend’s farm in Iowa. He took an interest in agriculture when he was there. He took some Agriculture classes at the JC then finished at UC Davis. His mom’s side of the family is Sicilian and Calabrese, so he grew up around wine. Dan sees this as a typical pattern for winemakers, to start in another field before settling on winemaking. Gravity Flow Block He calls the vineyard Gravity Flow block. It is an acre and a half of vineyard with over a mile of deer fencing. When he planted this block, he planted about 7% Viogner which he co-ferments with the Syrah. He and his son don’t like very tannic wines and the Viogner helps temper the Syrah. Co-fermentation is also called co-pigmentation.  The grapes ferment together. If you put 5% Viognier you get darker wine, aromatic improvement and a lighter texture. It has a paradoxical flavor. It has personality and maturity, but it feels young. The 2005 just needs ten more years in the bottle. The Syrah from 2018 is “stunning” says Dan, and was just released. It is available at the winery. Peterson Winery has a mailing list that we can all join. His son does blending seminars occasionally and he does vineyard tours.

  7. Jun 19

    Shane Finley, winemaker, Thirty-Seven Wines

    Shane Finley, winemaker and Lisa Brayton co-owner of Thirty-Seven Wines join Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell on California Wine Country. This episode of August 10, 2022 featured Lisa along with her husband Al, who is holding down the fort today. This is Shane’s first time on the show. Thirty-Seven Wines is named after the highway. Dan describes the Thirty-Seven Wines vineyard. There are varieties there that don’t grow in warmer areas. One example of that is Albariño. They have cooler days and warmer nights, near San Pablo Bay, across the street from the Sonoma Raceway. It is at a high enough elevation to have a 180-degree view of the bay. On a clear day they can see Coit Tower in San Francisco. The vineyard lies within the Petaluma Gap AVA. They get winds from both the Petaluma Gap and from the south, off the bay. This keeps the temperatures down and controls the acid levels in all the varietals. -.. . --- -.. --- .. .-DEODORA ESTATE VINEYARDSCalifornia Wine Country is brought to you by Deodora Estate Vineyards. Visit Deodora to discover 72 acres in the Petaluma Gap that produce exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Sip the difference! -.. . --- -.. --- .. .- Russian River vs. Petaluma Gap Russian River wines have more of a bright juicy red character, while this vineyard produces darker blue fruit, “kind of plummy,” with tangerine skin and spicy flavors. They have a very long growing season, and their harvest goes from late August sometimes into November. Some grapes need more time on the vines. Shane names Albariño, Blau Frankisch, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Merlot, which they have all on the same property. He credits Al and Lisa for being crazy enough and intuitive enough to put so many varieties together like that. Thirty-Seven Wines produces all their wine from their own estate grown grapes. Shane describes their approach to making wine. To keep it fresh and vibrant, they don’t do any lees stirring, they only do partial ML, mainly fermented in concrete. They use their oldest barrels, from 2010 and 2011. These barrels are “really neutral.” Dan detects a faint tropical note in the Albariño they are tasting. It gets intense morning sun but long cool afternoons. Lisa is in charge of managing the canopy to keep space between the clusters and maintain acidity.

  8. Jun 12

    Scott Lindstrom-Dake, Thumbprint Cellars

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

See All (106)

4.5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Live Radio Show & Podcast

Information

  • Creator
    Dan Berger & Daedalus Howell
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    106
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    California Wine Country