WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:05.480 Welcome to Wine Soundtrack USA. He was listened to the passion with which producers 2 00:00:05.559 --> 00:00:11.039 narrate their winery and their world. In thirty answers discover their stories, personalities 3 00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:15.279 and passions. Hello, friends and listeners of Wine Soundtrack. This is Alison 4 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:20.160 Levine and today I'm with Britt Richards, the winemaker of head High Wines in 5 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:24.519 Carnarows. Britt, Welcome to Wine Soundtrack and tell us a little bit about 6 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:32.159 head High. So head High is a brand that I started working with in 7 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:37.240 twenty eighteen, and we primarily work with pino and chardonnay, and we're slowly 8 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:43.560 branching into a couple other things, but our main main ideas pino for the 9 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:48.200 people. We really wanted to bring high quality wines at a lower price point 10 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:52.000 and so that was a huge diver for us and bring quality at that price 11 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:55.799 point, and so that's kind of what we're doing. So yeah, And 12 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:59.640 so do you own any vineyards? You sourcing all your fruit? Combination? 13 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:03.400 We are sourcing most of it. We are part of the Price Family group 14 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:07.519 and so we the Price Family obviously owns vineyards, but for the most part, 15 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:11.120 for head High, we are sourcing all of our fruit so from any 16 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:17.519 particular regions all over Sonoma County. We stick to Sonoma County and that gives 17 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:23.079 us a large enough bubble the source out of we're sourcing different vineyards every year, 18 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:27.200 and so we didn't want to kind of construct ourselves to a smaller pool, 19 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:32.319 and so it allows us a little bit more freedom. And what's your 20 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:36.680 total case production? We do about thirteen thousand cases right now, and we're 21 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:41.560 growing, so I think we're set to do thirteen this year and then we're 22 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:45.280 trying to bump up even more next year or so. Pino for the people 23 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:52.480 and your wines are available across the country or in specific markets. We're available 24 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:59.359 across the country in most wholesale channels, so people can find it because it's 25 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:05.120 Pinot for the full exactly the idea. So what is your first memory relevant 26 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:10.280 to wine? Oh? Man, I grew up raised Catholic, and so 27 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:16.360 mine was actually in church. So I mean I remember going and you know, 28 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:20.639 drinking wine and being like the only kid who was interested in that. 29 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.840 But yeah, I mean i'd say that that's really my first memory. But 30 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:31.599 as far as winemaking goes, I grew up and knew this family and the 31 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:38.840 woman who owned the winery was a winemaker proprietor, and I just thought she 32 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:42.599 was the coolest person, and it really is what got me into wanting to 33 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:46.479 be involved in wine. So I had never considered doing anything else, to 34 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:50.319 be honest, that's kind of cool because so many people don't know it's an 35 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:53.000 option in what they can do. And you had a model, a role 36 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:55.960 model at a young age. Yeah. I was always a kid who was 37 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:00.560 really active but also really loved science, and I was never were able to 38 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:05.520 kind of sit still, and so I knew I needed a career that involved 39 00:03:05.639 --> 00:03:08.919 moving around and sort of being able to be outside as well, but also 40 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:15.039 included sciences. And so just seeing her, you know the idea of doing 41 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:19.199 that. And I had always really loved food and beverages and all of those 42 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:23.319 things. And so I did one internship in high school where I thought, 43 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:28.039 for a small stint, I would be a pediatric dentist, and I hated 44 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:30.719 every minute of it, mainly because you were just confined to a small space 45 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:35.919 indoors. And then I knew that's what I had to do as winemaking. 46 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:43.039 So yeah, well, so obviously you've moved way past the communal church wine 47 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:46.680 but I'm curious if there is a wine that stands out as one of those 48 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:51.639 AHA moments for a myriad of reasons. Whether it was the taste of the 49 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:53.840 wine or maybe what it said about wine, but or maybe it was just 50 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:58.599 the occasion. But is there a wine that comes to mind? Yeah, 51 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:04.960 so not any one in particular, but I in college was a wine steward 52 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:11.919 at a restaurant and I remember my madraha moment because I hadn't really liked chardonay 53 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:14.879 prior to that. It wasn't just a woman I was all that interested, 54 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:18.519 but I had had the Peter Michael chardonnay's and I was kind of blown away, 55 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:24.199 and it was sort of my AHA moment of like really where my interests 56 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:28.759 kind of lied, and like I went on to work at Peter Michael specifically 57 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:31.399 because I was like, I need to know the ways of the ways of 58 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:36.759 the God got you there. So I mean, it's it's really I always 59 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:42.199 think it's kind of one of those I really love making chardonay, and I 60 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:46.319 really loved turning people onto chardonay because for me, that's exactly what happened to 61 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:50.439 me, is I wasn't a chardonay lover and then I it is my favorite 62 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:54.959 thing to drink now. So and it just took that one wine that a 63 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:58.519 moment. So if we were to come to your home, what kind of 64 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:01.040 wines would we find in your seller? I mean, you're a wine maker 65 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:04.360 and you mentioned that your husband's wine maker. Is it all wines that you 66 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:09.839 guys make, or wines from around the world or certain grapes. Obviously we 67 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:14.920 have everything that we make, but I would say we both have a really 68 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:19.199 bad habit of buying sparkling wine only. And I would say that there is 69 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:24.199 like many other people who would say the same. And we were definitely white 70 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:29.199 wine drinkers in our house, maybe because we make so much red wine. 71 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:33.360 It's kind of refreshing, but definitely any spark anything that sparkles, we'll be 72 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:39.439 in our house. So and is there anything that you opened up recently that 73 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:43.839 you drink that you enjoyed very much? Oh, that is a great question. 74 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:49.480 I am not gonna be able to pull something to mind of recent, 75 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:55.399 but I would say, I mean, obviously it was it was a champagne 76 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:58.519 and I can't remember exactly which one it was because I wasn't the one who 77 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:01.959 opened it. But you know, those always impress me. I mean they're 78 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:06.720 just the way they age and the way they evolve is always interesting to me. 79 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:14.079 So yeah, So when it comes to wine grapes and being such a 80 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:15.959 fan of chardonnay now that you know it so well, but also working with 81 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:20.360 Pino noir, would you say that either of those are a perfect variety or 82 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:25.600 do you think there's a such thing as a perfect variety? No, absolutely 83 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:29.519 not. I mean they all are finicky in one way or another, And 84 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:33.160 I think it's just really understanding the finickyness of each individual grape and like what 85 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:36.680 they can handle and what they can't. I really I always find that like 86 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:43.519 relating grapes to people and gender, not genders necessarily, but just like but 87 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:47.680 relating them to people in circumstances is always really helpful for people to understand rather 88 00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:51.759 than just like a varietal concept. So like when people are trying to understand 89 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:56.639 Pino, for example, I'm like, Pino is like a man who gets 90 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:00.800 sick, you know, like they just kind of like go role in bed 91 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:04.160 and they can't handle it. And always like chardonnay is like when it hits 92 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:08.560 heat, it can handle. It hacks its way through and then it comes 93 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:11.839 out on the other side. So I mean, I just people can really 94 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:15.360 and understand too a lot more of that than they can to like the actual 95 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:20.199 science behind why each individual grape is functionally able to handle one thing or another 96 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:28.800 better suited. Obviously, I think that the geography of where it's planted has 97 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:31.639 a big impact what rootstock gets on, and I just think that they all 98 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:35.959 have their different nuances. So I don't know that there is necessarily a perfect 99 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:40.199 grape, And it's also what you do with it, so absolutely well, 100 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:44.279 so on that with perfect you know, you were saying that describing a grape 101 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:46.439 and kind of what it's like, it's an interesting way for someone to understand 102 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:51.040 it. So what's your opinion on wine critics and scores? Are they useful 103 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:57.439 in people understanding How do you sort of look at those? I think it 104 00:07:57.480 --> 00:08:00.639 depends on what you're looking at. I think that like wine critic in general, 105 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:03.639 for some people are really useful and they help you give descriptors and like 106 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:07.160 what wines you should be trying. But obviously coming from a background of like 107 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:13.000 wanting people to understand wine or understand it at a more basic level, I 108 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:18.279 always feel like you have to have some more human element to it for people 109 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:22.399 to understand, because I mean, I come from a family that isn't involved 110 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:26.040 in wine or doesn't know a lot about wine, and I meet so many 111 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:30.920 people out there, and I think sometimes they're overwhelmed by the information they get 112 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:35.879 rather than feeling like it is approachable. And so when people always say give 113 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:37.559 me a descript, I'm like, you tell me a descriptor tell me what 114 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:41.639 you think about it. Is it something that's pleasing to you? And everybody's 115 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:48.039 palates different. Everybody's tolerance of bitterness is different, everybody's tolerance of tannin is 116 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:52.320 different, or histamine. And so I think that it's really a person to 117 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:58.320 person dependent and I think that it's great to get like a really broad stroke 118 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:03.279 from like a critic and it's say, okay, so this is pretty good 119 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:07.320 in this range. But it's also good understanding what those numbers come from, 120 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:11.120 you know, and understanding that like at a at a higher price point, 121 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:16.799 you should be getting some of those higher scores obviously, but there you know, 122 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:20.559 what's a price point where what is the score that is considered good for 123 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:24.679 that? So you know, And so I think that some people just don't 124 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:28.720 really understand that. So while it's sort of helpful, I think that sometimes 125 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:33.720 just having more of a human elmment to the wines are better well. So 126 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:37.399 on that note of like a human element and tasting wines and describing what you 127 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:41.600 like. Obviously, one of the things that we love to do is pare 128 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:46.200 food and wine. That's obviously something that people aspire to do good pairings. 129 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:54.840 Do you have any rules that you follow, any tips or do you really 130 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:56.519 just say try it? If it works, it works, it doesn't, 131 00:09:56.519 --> 00:10:01.080 it doesn't. I'm sort of a try it person and like and if you 132 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:05.039 like it, that's what matters. And so I mean personally being a white 133 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:09.080 wine drinker like I and in life I opt for things I really like high 134 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:13.679 acids. That's not to say that like things that I make are necessarily high 135 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:16.720 acid, but just in food, and so I always say, like, 136 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:20.759 okay, so you can usually have sort of a like higher pH wine with 137 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:22.519 something that has a lot of acid because they sort of balance each other out. 138 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:26.080 But I think that that's anything in life, right, because you're just 139 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:28.080 trying to find balance between what you're eating and you're what you're drinking. But 140 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:33.480 if it's something that you like and nothing is overpowering the other, then you 141 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:37.480 know, have at it, like you know, nothing should stop you. 142 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:43.759 So for somebody who hasn't had the pleasure to taste your wines yet, how 143 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:48.799 would you describe them? What would what are they missing out on? So 144 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:54.039 I think a vine is very approachable, and I also think that they're much 145 00:10:54.039 --> 00:11:01.559 more fruit forward. I kind of seek out making wines that are very indicative 146 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:05.279 of kind of the grape itself. Like I'm not trying to overpower it by 147 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:09.759 anything. Particularly. I don't go heavy on oak. I don't try and 148 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:13.679 make it, you know, super acidic or you know, super high pH 149 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:16.360 I'm sort of like right in the middle, and I want people to get 150 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.879 an idea, and I think it is the idea behind people understanding our concept 151 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.919 is what a grape particularly taste. Like if I have too much joke in 152 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:28.360 something, you're gonna be tasting the oak. You're not going to be tasting 153 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:31.200 pino, you know. And same with chardonay. You know, I took 154 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:37.480 an approach with the chardonay. I always well wine was well. Chardonay in 155 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:43.720 particular was fermenting. I always really liked it during fermentation, and I there 156 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:46.120 was a point in that fermentation where I thought, man, if everybody could 157 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:52.159 just taste chardonay right here and you could bottle it, everybody would just love 158 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:54.000 it. And that's kind of where I took our chardonay. There's no mL, 159 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:58.399 there's no oak. It's really kind of a naked it's not naked, 160 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:03.399 but it's but it's still full bodied and there's still a lot of like aromatics 161 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:05.960 in there that aren't coming from like, oh, poor mL. And so 162 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:11.120 that's sort of where I wanted people to taste wine, right, because it's 163 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:13.759 the great expressing itself. Right. So how many different wines do you make? 164 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:22.159 So for Head High I make six now, so we're kind of veering 165 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:24.559 off and making smaller quantities of some other things that we're trying out, and 166 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:28.759 those will be available more in the fall, but right now we just have 167 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:33.240 the piano Chardnay and is in findel out there three wines? Three? Yeah, 168 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:37.559 And if space aliens were to land on your property, which of those 169 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:41.799 wines would you want to say welcome to Head High. I'd do the Chardnay 170 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:48.279 of course. So you know you're sourcing from all over the valley and from 171 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:54.960 different vineyards, and how much how much time are you spending in the vineyards 172 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:58.919 A lot, A lot, A lot, I mean a lot of what 173 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:03.679 we are doing because we are getting different vineyards every year is it's an iron 174 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:07.559 chef process. So I some of these I only see one year at a 175 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:13.120 time, and so it's really important once I have know where we're sourcing some 176 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:18.240 of this fruit, to spend as much time in there to understand it's evolution, 177 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:22.159 because that's maybe the only time I've got I don't have, you know, 178 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.879 past history of what's going on in there, and so I tend to, 179 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.799 especially you know, leading up to picking, kind of really try and 180 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:33.120 eyeball it out and taste a lot of what's out there because a little time 181 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:37.360 talking to the vines. Yeah, I let them sing to me a little 182 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:43.200 bit. Yeah. Sure, in the time that you've been making wine and 183 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:46.720 spending and living in this area, I mean, we know every vintage tells 184 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:50.919 a different story, and obviously the last you know, five or so years 185 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:56.360 have given us some pretty extreme elements. But in general, do you see 186 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:01.080 big variations from vintage to vintage you're more commonality in the region like this. 187 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:07.159 That's a great question. I mean, I would say that for me because 188 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:13.360 I am sourcing kind of all over and differently every year it is different. 189 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:18.759 I'm trying to make a pretty pretty consistent product year to year, and so 190 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:24.240 a lot of that is trying to take the parts out of it that are 191 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:28.600 going to change that and try and keep some consistency within my own winemaking practices. 192 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.399 And so while there is some and so while there is some things I 193 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:37.120 have to like veer off of, I try and make a consistent product. 194 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:41.080 I view wine, at least for head high, I view this much a 195 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:46.960 lot like a puzzle, and so I need to be building like a ton 196 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:52.759 of different puzzle pieces to be able to see what the puzzle picture is creating. 197 00:14:52.279 --> 00:15:00.879 And so year to year those puzzle pieces might be different, but I'm 198 00:15:00.919 --> 00:15:07.679 trying to create some consistency within our own portfolio. So yes, obviously there 199 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:13.080 is differences in variation in every vineyard, you know, and that's just agriculture. 200 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:16.919 I mean that is like if someone said no, I don't see any 201 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:20.440 difference, I would be like what, But I mean, yeah, that's 202 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:26.240 just the nature of our business. And it's actually just more it's more being 203 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:31.159 able to evolve with it rather than against it. So are there any sort 204 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:33.919 of signs or predictors that you look for that will give you a sense of 205 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:39.399 what you're going to get in a given vintage or from a particular vineyard. 206 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:43.879 After the last five years, I'm going to say, no, I don't 207 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:46.759 think we saw a lot of that coming. So no, I think you 208 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:48.879 have to just take it day by day. I mean, at least for 209 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:50.320 me, it's like, Okay, let me see what's out there. If 210 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.480 this happens, what am I going to do? I mean, it's just 211 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:56.840 I feel like it's a very much rolling with the punches an ideal really well 212 00:15:56.919 --> 00:16:02.200 under stress, and so I think it's being able to how how are you 213 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:07.360 handling things that are thrown at you that kind of dictate what's going to happen 214 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:12.240 next. So yeah, So have you established any sort of rituals or protocols 215 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:15.200 that you do at the start of harvest to kind of kick it off one 216 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:21.399 consistent factor? No? Great? What? No? I feel like it's 217 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:25.279 been different and sometimes issues you don't know when it's coming. Is the other 218 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:27.519 side of that, Like, you know, I try and stay calm, 219 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:30.679 but you know, I just like I'm a keep calm person and I like 220 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:34.039 to check everything out. And you know, as long as I can do 221 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:38.200 that, that's I'm usually I Like I said, I'm really good at just 222 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:45.320 being able to be thrown things and deal with them. So yeah, that's 223 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:48.519 good to take things in strife. Yeah. So, I mean when you 224 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:52.279 were little, you've you've known from a young age that you wanted to be 225 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:56.960 a winemaker or was there ever other than your one short moment of wanting to 226 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:03.360 be a pediatric dentist. Was there with any other desires? No? Actually, 227 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:07.799 weirdly no, I never consider doing anything else. So I mean, 228 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:11.920 yeah, that's amazing. It's I mean, what a what a great path 229 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:15.720 that you've been on. Um. So when you're not working, how do 230 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:18.359 you spend your free time? Oh? Well, um, I mean I 231 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:22.000 have three kids, so a lot of it is spent with them. Um, 232 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:26.640 and we I have we have an acre that we garden a lot and 233 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:32.559 spend a lot of time on. But just um, I'm I love running, 234 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:37.519 so I run and cycle and you know, love to spend time outdoors. 235 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:41.160 But that's I mean a lot of it's just spend with family. So 236 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:45.720 yeah, So on the rare occasion that you're able to take a break and 237 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:48.160 have a romantic evening with your husband fit the three kids. I mean, 238 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:52.960 maybe you don't remember these, but what sort of wines would you with the 239 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.119 two of you open that that set a romantic mood for you and not just 240 00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:00.640 an average night. Oh that's a good one, he would laugh if he 241 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:03.599 was listening to this right now, because I'm pretty sure most of the time 242 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:06.480 it's putting ourselves to about at eight o'clock with a cup of tea. But 243 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:15.000 um, I would say that, you know, usually it's involved a sparkling 244 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:18.880 wine and you know, just a glass of it is nice, and honestly, 245 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:22.240 most of it's just being quiet. I would say that the last time 246 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:26.960 we had a date night and he would kill me for telling her who this, 247 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:33.839 but we moved it a bathtub outside and it was we were we able 248 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:37.039 to take a bath outside with some champagne and it was lovely, just looking 249 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:38.480 at the stars and just having a nice night. So that sounds like a 250 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:47.759 perfect romantic evening. Yeah. So when you when you think about what you've 251 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:51.920 accomplished in your career, what would you say is one of your proudest achievements 252 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:56.759 to date? Yeah, I'm gonna say the head of High Wines just because. 253 00:18:57.319 --> 00:19:02.839 And I so for having worked in a lot of high end environments and 254 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:06.880 making a lot of expensive wine, I realized, like making an expensive wine 255 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:11.599 in some facets really using and the challenge is making a really really good wine 256 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:15.240 at a lower price point. You know, there's many more restrictions that you 257 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:21.119 have. And coming from a household who could not afford the wines I used 258 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:25.519 to make, and making wines now that my family can't afford, or like 259 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:30.160 my friends could afford, to me as a bigger is the biggest accomplishment, 260 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.240 you know. And I had another winemaker say to me the other day the 261 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:37.519 proudest wines teammates were the ones where were the cheapest. And I could relate 262 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:41.880 to that because there's something about it when you're really passionate about it that you 263 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:47.920 know you've accomplished. You've accomplished this thing that you came out to do where 264 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:51.920 you know more people could it could be visible for more people. So you 265 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:56.680 know, I love that, you know, for the people. So when 266 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:00.039 you look back at your career, or maybe it wasn't part of your career, 267 00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:03.759 but is there a piece of advice that somebody gave you along the way 268 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:07.599 that you carry with you that is part of how you live, or how 269 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:11.920 you think, or your work ethic or your life ethic. I don't know 270 00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:17.279 that it is anything that anyone has said to me, but probably more how 271 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:22.200 I've ethically lived. I always really wanted to be a mom and be like 272 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:26.160 present as a parent, but I also am a really hard worker and I 273 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:29.480 really like working and I love my job and what I do, and a 274 00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:36.799 lot of when I became a parent, I sort of had a I'm an 275 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:41.359 ass for forgiveness rather than ask for a permission, and it was being able 276 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:45.440 to show my kids what I do. And so they've always sort of tagged 277 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.640 along. As you can see they're here now with me. We have two 278 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:52.680 of the three sitting there quietly listening to mom. Yeah, And so they 279 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:55.039 get to see what I do, and I know that like growing up, 280 00:20:55.119 --> 00:21:00.880 my dad brought me along to work and it actually stamped. I don't think 281 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:03.319 about it as much, but I did think about it the other day about 282 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:10.039 how much of a work ethic I got from seeing him work. And also 283 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:12.960 just you know, understanding what they do all day. I mean, as 284 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:17.160 kids, we forget, but like they don't really understand. So them getting 285 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.680 to see like why you're doing what you do and seeing that you're passionate about 286 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:23.400 it is really important to me. And so I would say that for me 287 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:27.039 that is like my biggest advice is like involving. I mean, it's not 288 00:21:27.079 --> 00:21:30.559 for everybody, I'll be honest. I know that plenty of people aren't interested 289 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:33.359 in that, but I would say that for me it was like a big 290 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:38.480 driver is you know, getting to share my existence with them? So well, 291 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:44.960 speaking of sharing wine or sharing in existence, imagine sitting at a table 292 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.839 with an empty seat next to you, and your wines are on the table. 293 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:51.359 Who, from any walk of life, living or deceased, would you 294 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:55.160 want to share a bottle of head high wines with? Oh? My god, 295 00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:59.359 that is such a tricky question. I haven't I have no idea. 296 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:03.400 Oh I don't know. Are we talking about like important? I don't know 297 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:07.160 if this is a great It could be personal, it could be famous, 298 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:11.759 it could be weird, it could be iconic, it could be whatever comes 299 00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:18.279 to mind. Okay, I'm gonna say my grandfather Bob, because I never 300 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:23.319 got to meet him, but I heard so my mom always talks about him. 301 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:27.440 And also, you know what it always says she would have loved to 302 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:33.000 have him seen what I do and like met us. And I always think 303 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:36.079 about that because it's like somebody that would have been important to me, like 304 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:38.400 somebody celebrity. Wiys. I don't care about it, but like you know, 305 00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:42.400 like yeah, see he came up with someone. I like that. 306 00:22:42.759 --> 00:22:47.279 Now sharing you in showing family, that's that's amazing. So I want you 307 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:51.400 to complete the send this sentence. For me, a table without wine is 308 00:22:51.440 --> 00:23:08.160 like prison. God help us. Okay, So I have you're doing really 309 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:11.079 well. You've been grady answers. But I got a couple of more like 310 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:17.119 tricky ones. These are like tricky, fun little ones. If you if 311 00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:19.039 you were sent to a deserted island, what three wines would you want to 312 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:26.079 take with you? Oh? That is so tricky? Varietals? You mean, 313 00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:27.839 I don't know, you can go specific, Okay, because I was 314 00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:34.000 gonna say I would love to just take some diverts um probably some I don't 315 00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:38.039 know, shardnay and some sparkling, like we're gonna go all whites here, 316 00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:44.960 coverts interesting. Any particular regions or producers come to mind for any of those 317 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:48.559 wines? You know what Germany? Yeah, I just want something refreshing if 318 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:56.680 I'm stuck somewhere. Yeah, I like that. And then um, well 319 00:23:56.440 --> 00:24:00.359 we you know, I want to talk about your wines. I want to 320 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:03.079 play a fun little game as we talk about your wines. And that's pairing 321 00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:07.119 wine with music. I mean it is called wine soundtrack afterwards. So the 322 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:11.400 idea with this is that wine conjures up emotions and music makes us feel certain 323 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:15.559 ways. So based on the three wines that you make, if you can 324 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:21.759 tell me a genre, a producer, a song, an album, whatever 325 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:26.240 comes to mind. But let's start with your beloved Chardonnay. Oh, I'm 326 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:32.519 gonna say like a French music for Chardonay, just like feel good is for 327 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:38.599 sure. Yeah. And then your pinot noir, your pino for the people. 328 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:42.920 Oh, I'm gonna go to Texas the country music. Oh yeah, 329 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:47.400 okay. And then you said you do zinfandel, right, Yes, we 330 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:53.319 do so zinfandel. Let's see. Oh that one's trickier. That's a great 331 00:24:53.359 --> 00:25:00.119 question. I'm gonna throw it back to country music and and I would say 332 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:06.279 that, yeah, we like to keep it easier on here. Accessible wine, 333 00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:10.119 accessible music. There you go. Everybody loves the country music. If 334 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:14.359 anyone said they did, and I would be surprised. Well, Britt, 335 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:18.960 I know that time is very short for you because you've got two anxious little 336 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:22.119 ones that are patiently waiting for you. And it's been really fun chatting with 337 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:27.720 you. But I have one final question for you, and that is if 338 00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:32.359 you could travel when you can travel again when you don't have little ones, 339 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.400 or maybe you'll take them. But what wine region in the world is at 340 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:41.160 the top of your bucket list? Portugal, port Yes, And then the 341 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:44.119 last part of that question is if people want to taste your wines, can 342 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:48.720 they visit you here in Sonoma? Can they Where can they find your wines? 343 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:53.279 How can they find head him? So if you you can email info 344 00:25:53.559 --> 00:26:00.839 at head Highwines dot com um and you can taste with me or we have 345 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:03.759 other people who are pouring at our offices. But we are also happy to 346 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:07.440 take you out in the Veneer. It's too so it's all by appointment only 347 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:11.799 and not something people can just walk in. They plan ahead, correct, 348 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:14.599 yes, but you will get somebody real We are a very small team, 349 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:17.880 so you'll get one of us so to speak. So well, that's great. 350 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:21.559 So if you're heading into Sonoma and you want to taste head High Wines 351 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:25.359 and Wines for the People, Pinot for the People, Affordable delicious wines and 352 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:30.000 meat Britt. Come check out head head High Wines and Britt. Thank you 353 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:33.960 for joining us on Wine Soundtrack and I hope you had fun. Thank you 354 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:37.960 for having me appreciate it. Thanks for listening to a new episode of Wine 355 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:44.720 Soundtrack USA. For details and updates, visit our website Wine soundtrack dot com.