163 episodes

Inside Winemaking was created to provide direct access to the people in charge of creating world-class wines. Napa Valley winemaker, Jim Duane, hosts interviews with some of the top winemakers in California and beyond. Each episode of Inside Winemaking features a winemaker, grape-grower, or technical wine pro and dives deep into their background and expertise. Wine newbies and expert enophiles will be entertained by winemaking stories and learn more about the growing grapes and making wine.

The Inside Winemaking Podcast with Jim Duane Jim Duane: Winemaker, Grape-grower, and Wine Educator

    • Arts
    • 4.7 • 231 Ratings

Inside Winemaking was created to provide direct access to the people in charge of creating world-class wines. Napa Valley winemaker, Jim Duane, hosts interviews with some of the top winemakers in California and beyond. Each episode of Inside Winemaking features a winemaker, grape-grower, or technical wine pro and dives deep into their background and expertise. Wine newbies and expert enophiles will be entertained by winemaking stories and learn more about the growing grapes and making wine.

    Mike Nuñez - Nuñez Vineyard Management

    Mike Nuñez - Nuñez Vineyard Management

    Mike NuÑez - NuÑez Vineyard Management This episode features Mike Nuñez, who owns and operates Nuñez Vineyard Management, a farm labor contractor and vineyard development specialist based in Napa Valley. Mike and I discuss the barn we made wine together in back in 2004, Mike’s career path, the services that his company manages, and then an in-depth outline of how Mike plans every critical step in planning, designing, planting training, and managing a new vineyard. There’s no way we could have covered every vineyard-specific detail in one podcast, but this episode could be a resource for anyone serious about the most important aspects of vineyard development.
    Nuñez Vineyard Management
    Nuñez Vineyard Management’s YouTube Channel
     
    This podcast is sponsored by Innovint. Has your winery turned into a complete Excel sheet show?
    Say hello to InnoVint, it’s winemaking software to get you off of spreadsheets and into the modern era. InnoVint was founded and built by winemakers, so they know where your pain points are.
    No matter the size of your winery, InnoVint provides you with instant access to your production records in the format you need to make quick, informed decisions. Basically, they take the tedious data management stuff off your plate.
    With a desktop and mobile platform, the insights you need are just a few clicks away (even if you’re offline!). Make the right calls at the right time. InnoVint is an approachable solution focused on exactly what winemaking teams need.
    Automate your TTB compliance. Know the true cost of each wine. Improve your cellar workflow, and be more effective than ever before!
    Join the 4,500 winery professionals saving up to 30 hours per week. Schedule a call today on InnoVint.us and don’t forget to mention the Inside Winemaking Podcast.
    Innovint has a special deal for Inside Winemaking listeners and they are offering to provide lunch when you complete a demo of their software with a team member and mention the podcast.
     
    Check out the Fundamentals of Winemaking Made Easy video course  
    The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes
    Now on Spotify
    And Amazon Music

    • 1 hr 33 min
    Ben Matthews - Terratorium Riesling

    Ben Matthews - Terratorium Riesling

    This episode features the return of Ben Matthews, who was a part of Episode 83 in 2018, and went on to found Terratorium, which is the focal point of conversation for this episode. Ben has been a long-time podcast listener and he and I met when he came out to Napa for the Deep Winemaking (wine camp) in 2017. A year later Ben came back to Napa to work harvest with me at Seavey Vineyard. Upon returning to Cincinnati and founding Terratorium Ben brought me into the business to help with vineyards and winemaking. 2021 was our first year of full production and the complicated path of producing our Riesling felt like a story we could share on the podcast. Our conversation covers Ben’s telling of building Terratorium, the desire to make a Riesling, Tondre Grapefield in Santa Lucia Highlands, and the many obstacles and discussions we had in order to create our desired style of Riesling. We talk through every step of the winemaking, including all of the chemistries, during this discussion.

    • 1 hr 9 min
    Greg Brewer - Brewer-Clifton, Datom, and Ex Post Facto

    Greg Brewer - Brewer-Clifton, Datom, and Ex Post Facto

    Greg Brewer - Brewer-Clifton, Datom, and Ex Post facto This episode features Greg Brewer, founder and winemaker at Brewer-Clifton, which is a winery in Santa Barbara producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Our conversation runs the gamut from Greg’s background, his experience working with grapes from Santa Rita Hills, harvest and processing logistics, my jealousy for Santa Rita’s huge picking window, DIAM corks, Greg’s stainless bin fermentors, his philosophy in sourcing a block for vineyard designated wines before planting vines, how little analytical data plays into his winemaking, the stainless Chardonnay brand Diatom, and Syrah for Ex Post Facto.
    Brewer-Clifton - Santa Rita Hills
    Diatom Chardonnay - Santa Barbara County
    Ex Post Facto - Santa Barbara County
     
    This podcast is sponsored by Flextank For nearly 20 years, winemakers in the United States and Europe have used Flextanks to make world-class wines. Flextanks have many uses in a winery including the maturation of wines. They breathe like a barrel with precise and consistent linear micro-oxygenation to your wines. The Flextank system uses its proprietary Flexstaves line of staves which are sourced from premier French and American cooperages to age both red and white wines.
    Today’s technologies are playing a bigger and bigger role in wineries these days. Flextanks have a long track record of replacing traditional wood oak barrels with a revolutionary breathable polymer that is scientifically engineered to achieve Oxygen Transfer Rates similar to your choice of either a 2-year or neutral barrel. Independent scientific studies and trials have validated this technology. Unlike a barrel, however, the molecules you want to retain- like ethanol and water- do not escape the Flextank wall, which means these tanks do not lose the Angel’s share as with barrels…this means less topping is needed.
    Not only do Flextanks breathe like a barrel, but they are also unbelievably simple to clean- reducing water and labor costs- and are designed in a variety of sizes and profiles to make more efficient space use in any cellar. Flextanks are built here in the United States and come with a free lifetime warranty.
    To learn more about how you can modernize your winery and lower your barreling costs, simply go to Flextank.com. Discover how the Flextank system with Flexstaves is today’s new way to make award-winning wines.
     
    Check out the Fundamentals of Winemaking Made Easy video course  
    The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes
    Now on Spotify
    And Stitcher Radio Too

    • 1 hr 8 min
    Megan Gunderson - Hall Wines

    Megan Gunderson - Hall Wines

    This episode features Megan Gunderson, Vice President of Winemaking for Hall Wines. Megan oversees the production of wines for the Hall, WALT, and BACA brands. Our conversation ranges from Megan’s professional background, the stories Hall wines from Napa, the WALT wines from Oregon to Sta Rita Hills, the BACA Zinfandel wines, production logistics, partnerships with grapegrowers, fermentation tank materials, and Innovint’s winery production software.
    Hall Wines - Napa Valley
    WALT - Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
    BACA - Zinfandel
    This podcast is sponsored by Innovint. Has your winery turned into a complete Excel sheet show?
    Say hello to InnoVint, it’s winemaking software to get you off of spreadsheets and into the modern era. InnoVint was founded and built by winemakers, so they know where your pain points are.
    No matter the size of your winery, InnoVint provides you with instant access to your production records in n the format you need to make quick, informed decisions. Basically, they take the tedious data management stuff off your plate.
    With a desktop and mobile platform, the insights you need are just a few clicks away (even if you’re offline!). Make the right calls at the right time. InnoVint is an approachable solution focused on exactly what winemaking teams need.
    Automate your TTB compliance. Know the true cost of each wine. Improve your cellar workflow, and be more effective than ever before!
    Join the 4,500 winery professionals saving up to 30 hours per week. Schedule a call today on InnoVint.us and don’t forget to mention the Inside Winemaking Podcast.
    Innovint has a special deal for Inside Winemaking listeners and they are offering to provide lunch when you complete a demo of their software with a team member and mention the podcast.
     
    Check out the Fundamentals of Winemaking Made Easy video course  
    The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes
    Now on Spotify
    And Stitcher Radio Too

    • 1 hr 9 min
    Scott McLeod - WineXRay

    Scott McLeod - WineXRay

    This episode features Scott McLeod, winemaker, and one of the founders of WineXRay. Our conversation covers Scott’s background building the Francis Ford Coppola brands, the development of WineXRay with his business partner Gianni Colantuoni, the color and tannin components that the WineXRay technology measures, its practical uses in a winery, the basic traits of anthocyanins and tannins in wine, the effects of temperature on red-grape phenolic development in the vineyard, consequences of the September 2022 heatwave, extraction dynamics during primary fermentation, the pros and cons of shade cloth in the vineyard, and the limits grapevine virus and diseases have on phenolic synthesis.
    Link to this podcast episode (too large to host on this webpage)
    WineXRay
    Vineyard Shade Cloth Study from Kaan Kurtural of UCDavis
     
    This podcast is sponsored by Sentia. The Sentia hand-held wine analyzer is a portable device for rapid measurement of 6 key analytes during wine production - free sulfur dioxide, acetic acid, malic acid, titratable acidity, glucose, and fructose.
    Using existing technology developed by Universal Biosensors and applied in human health for over 10 years, you save time and money with Sentia. Sentia has been developed for winery personnel who don’t want to spend hours testing using traditional techniques or waste time preparing samples, sending them off to a lab, and then waiting for results. In less time, you can test, make adjustments, then move on to the next task.
    Portability and speed of results are just some of the unique attributes of Sentia. No special skill is required, calibration is automatic, there are minimal or no reagents and it’s cost-effective. PLUS, it’s compatible with major winery management software platforms. Sentia is distributed nationally, as well in Canada, Mexico, South America, and Europe.
    For a demonstration, quote, and sales in your area, go to universalbiosensors.com/sentia or look for “Sentia wine analyzer” in your browser. In North America, you can also call Pelle Nilsson at 503 801-1694.
    The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes
    Now on Spotify
    And Stitcher Radio Too
     
    Check out the Fundamentals of Winemaking Made Easy video course

    • 1 hr 19 min
    Clark Smith - Postmodern Winemaking and Video Course

    Clark Smith - Postmodern Winemaking and Video Course

    This episode features Clark Smith, who is a winemaker, author, wine technology innovator, and winemaking instructor. Our conversation in this episode covers Clark’s background in winemaking, the development of Vinovation, alcohol adjustment in wines, micro-oxygenation, the enology courses he used to teach at UC Davis, making wine without SO2, his book Postmodern Winemaking, what modern and postmodern winemaking entail, and his video course: Fundamentals of Winemaking Made Easy.

    • 1 hr 36 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
231 Ratings

231 Ratings

mvelasco07 ,

Highly recommend!

Inside Winemaking has quickly become a favorite in my feed! I’m consistently impressed by the engaging conversations, insightful content, and actionable ideas. Thanks so much Jim for putting out such a superb show - keep up the great work!

Pod Love ,

Cans & String

Jim, your approach to recording these interviews can’t be the same as your wine making. Find a way to make the audio on location sound better than tin cans on a string.

MeInAz ,

Can’t thank you enough, Jim.

As a VEN student and aspiring wine maker not living in the major wine regions , this podcast has provided so much information, inspiration and insight into winemaking and viticulture. I love the technique episodes and the discussions with winemakers who go into detail about their own techniques. It is incredible how many different styles and techniques their are in this field and all of them result in amazing wines. I began listening to certain episodes based on the titles but after a handful, I rolled back and started the series from podcast #1. I spend a lot of time each week in the car driving to the winery 3.5 hours away to work in my internship and this is my go to. In addition to the knowledge, I have discovers some GREAT wines I would have never found prior to listening to these winemakers. Funny thing, when interviewing with winemakers for my assignments and for internships, Jim Duane is a known name. Even for winemakers here in Arizona. Yes, we grow and make wine in Arizona. Please accept my praise and review as a huge thank you for doing this for us, Jim. Can’t thank you enough. Cheers!

Top Podcasts In Arts

NPR
The Moth
Snap Judgment
Roman Mars
Rusty Quill
The New York Times

You Might Also Like

GuildSomm
Levi Dalton
SOMM TV
Wine Enthusiast Magazine
Susie and Peter, Masters of Wine
Elizabeth Schneider