WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:04.639 Welcome to Wine Soundtrack USA. Listen to the passion with 2 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:08.199 which producers narrate their winery and their world. Team thirty 3 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:12.279 answers discover their stories, personalities and passions. 4 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.480 Hello, friends and listeners of Wine Soundtrack. This is Alson 5 00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:18.359 Levine and today I am in the Livermore Valley with 6 00:00:18.519 --> 00:00:22.519 Dane Stark, the owner and ymaker at Page Mill Winery. Dane, 7 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:25.600 welcome to Wine Soundtrack and tell us about Livermore Valley. 8 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:29.839 Thanks so much for coming to visit. So, Livermore Valley 9 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:33.640 is a transverse valley, meaning it runs east to west. 10 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:35.880 It's just on the east side of the Bay Area 11 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:39.960 San Francisco Bay Area, and it's home to fifty to 12 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:42.560 sixty small wineries and a couple big ones. 13 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:45.960 And we found our way here twenty years ago and 14 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:48.960 have absolutely loved being here. Wow. 15 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:51.200 So you are one of the smaller wineries. And tell 16 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.679 us a little bit about Page Mill Winery, the history 17 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.200 of it, and where we are exactly today because today 18 00:00:57.200 --> 00:00:59.759 we're surrounded by vines. So clearly you own some vineyards. 19 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:04.159 Yeah, we sure do so. Pagemat Winery started in nineteen 20 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:08.599 seventy six. At the time my father was selling lasers 21 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:12.840 around the world, and he saw these little family run 22 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:16.680 wineries that were in the rhine Gow in Germany. On 23 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:18.560 his day off, he would walk down through the rhine 24 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:21.480 Gow and visit these small wineries that had ten or 25 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:25.319 twelve barrels underneath that family house, right, and he thought, 26 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:27.599 you know, he was kind of missing his kids growing 27 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:29.920 up and he wanted to do something home based. And 28 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.439 so before it was fashionable to quit high tech and 29 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:37.000 start a winery, he did. At that time, there were 30 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:40.879 under three hundred wineries in California, so it was a 31 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:46.640 really different landscape. And the family home was on Pagemill 32 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:49.599 Road in Los Altas Hills, which is by Stanford University 33 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:54.120 in the Santa Cruz Mountains. And so he literally quit 34 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:57.319 his job. He rented a little Bobcat tractor, took the 35 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:00.359 Osceha cage off, don't tell anyone, and he dug a 36 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:02.719 ramp off the driveway, knocked a hole in the foundation, 37 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:05.760 and dug it all out. And it took him twenty 38 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:08.840 eight days. He and my oldest brother, they dug it 39 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:11.199 all out. They propped up the house, they cemented it, 40 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:13.159 put drains in, and he started making wine. 41 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:14.439 He put barrels below the house. 42 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:15.639 That's exactly right. 43 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:19.080 Yeah, he started making wine and in nineteen seventy five 44 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:23.719 he made fifteen gallons of Shennon blanc that was completely undrinkable. 45 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:28.159 My uncle called it urina blanca. And with that experience 46 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:29.240 under his belt, he. 47 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:30.240 Just wanted to pursue it. 48 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:34.000 Yeah, And I asked him. I was like, were you crazy? 49 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:35.120 What were you thinking? 50 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:37.680 You know, you made one terrible batch and then you 51 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:41.759 just completely change And he was like, you know, it 52 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:44.199 was it was so early in the wine industry that 53 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:50.879 commercial back malalactic bacteria weren't available. Everyone would get gather 54 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:53.400 together at Davis after the harvest and they would talk 55 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:56.319 about how they got the wine to finish mL, you know, 56 00:02:56.400 --> 00:03:00.360 the secondary fermentation, and so later on you could then 57 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:04.800 purchase a commercially available on mL bacteria. But it was really, 58 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:07.280 you know, at such a young time in the wine 59 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:11.120 industry that you know, he was he was hopeful, and 60 00:03:11.159 --> 00:03:13.159 he was he was smart, and he was you know, 61 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.919 dedicated and so and so. And some of those wines, 62 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:19.280 some of those early wines of seventy six seventy seven 63 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:21.319 are still drinking pretty darn well. 64 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:22.159 They're under your house. 65 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:22.400 Right. 66 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:28.919 Well, So the winery operated there on Pagemo Road for 67 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:29.800 twenty eight years. 68 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:31.719 So what brought you to the Livermore Valley of I 69 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:34.280 mean based on where you were located, because you said 70 00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:36.439 you were in the south, just like Stamford. I mean 71 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:39.919 you had no more known areas of nap and Sonoma 72 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:43.759 right near you, I mean Santa Cruz Mountains. What brought 73 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:45.199 you to the Livermore Valley? 74 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:46.240 Great question. 75 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:52.680 So so we operated there for twenty eight years, and 76 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:56.400 my parents retired in ninety six. My wife and I 77 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:59.560 were living at the winery at the family home and 78 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:03.199 running the winery until two thousand and four, at which 79 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:07.800 point we realized, I mean we were so full that 80 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:12.439 the barrels were stacked pyramid stacked, which if you've seen it, 81 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:15.960 you know, barrel on barrel right, and and and we 82 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:18.680 had four layers. And the first layer I had to 83 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:22.560 mark the racks on the floor because it had to 84 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:26.879 be centered just perfectly, because the fourth layer crested between 85 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:29.399 the floor joists, and if you got it off by 86 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:33.199 six inches, that fourth layer wouldn't go on, it would hit. 87 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:33.839 The floor dice. 88 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:37.279 So so we were really full right to the to 89 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:41.000 the gills. And and so we said, okay, we need 90 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:43.519 to expand, we need to find a new place. And 91 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:46.639 we also it was underneath family home in a residential area. 92 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:49.519 We couldn't have a dedicated tasting room. So in order 93 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:51.360 to take it to the next step, we need to 94 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:52.079 look for a new place. 95 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:52.720 Now. 96 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:57.199 The unique aspect to page Mill was early on, my 97 00:04:57.279 --> 00:04:59.959 dad planted a couple of acres of grapes and immediately 98 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:02.040 lost them to the deer and the birds and the gophers. 99 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:04.360 And he said, Okay, that's really hard. I'm gonna buy 100 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:07.639 my grapes. So so in two thousand and four, I 101 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:11.240 was buying Santa Cruz Mountain wines. I was buying grapes 102 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:15.319 from Healsburg. I was buying grapes from Napa, from the 103 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:19.959 Chiles Valley in Napa, from Santa Barbara, Santa Maria Valley. 104 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:21.439 I was buying passer Robles fruit. 105 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:23.399 You're driving all over the state, that's right. 106 00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:23.720 Yeah. 107 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:26.000 In harvest, I was really more of a trucker than 108 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:29.079 anything else. And so I was going to those those 109 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:32.959 places and bringing the fruit back to the winery. In 110 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:36.759 that regard, it was a totally mobile business, right it was. 111 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:39.639 It was that business model was I could move it anywhere. 112 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:43.120 And so when I moved to Livermore Valley, in many 113 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:45.720 ways it was closer to my to my vineyards because 114 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:47.600 I could hop right on the five and go down 115 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:49.279 to Passer Roboles, right. 116 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:51.879 But what was the draw to this valley to Livermore. 117 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:56.680 So what happened was we spent about a year trying 118 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:59.279 to figure out if I could I could own that place. Well, 119 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:01.920 I have three sibling so I couldn't afford to inherit it, right, 120 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:06.000 So we said, okay, we need to move, and we 121 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:10.160 looked in Healdsburg, we looked in Santa Cruz mountin all 122 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:11.959 of the Santa Cruze Mountains, and then up in the 123 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:16.160 Sierra Foothills and Livermore. What drew me to Livermore was 124 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:21.680 the affordability. It was kind of an unknown hidden gem, 125 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:25.360 if you will, and the ability for us to stay 126 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.839 closer to Silicon Valley. So much of my client base 127 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:32.680 was in the Bay Bay area, and so we wanted 128 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:37.000 to stay close to that, and so we really came 129 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:39.079 here for the tasting room and the expansion. 130 00:06:39.319 --> 00:06:39.560 Right. 131 00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:43.560 So today, clearly we're in a tasting room. You make 132 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:46.680 your wine here as well, but we're surrounded by vineyards. 133 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:48.680 So how many acres of vineyards do you own today? 134 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:50.319 I wish that was mine. 135 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:54.279 That's a fence. That fence is where my property stops. 136 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:57.560 You park next to the petitserraw vineyard. That's our estate 137 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:01.680 vineyard and it's two acres. I also farm a half 138 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:03.839 acre a sera next door, as well as four and 139 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:06.480 a half acres of white varietals in the southwest corner. 140 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:08.120 Those are sort of. 141 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:11.279 In French they call it fermage, where you where you're 142 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:13.560 sort of leasing the property and then and then doing 143 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:16.120 the farming and then taking the fruits of your labor. 144 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:18.879 So I have seven and a half acres that I 145 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:22.519 manage and operate on and the rest I still purchase. 146 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:24.120 That's about seventy five percent. 147 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:27.480 And what is your total case production today? And of 148 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:30.000 that what is it made up of? Obviously you said 149 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:31.759 petit serra and what else. 150 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:37.120 So we make a wide range of wines. We make whites, reds, rosees, 151 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:42.800 sparkling port a white dessert, sort of saw turn style everything. Yeah, 152 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:45.399 so I got my hands in a lot of pies 153 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:51.759 and it really keeps it interesting. It's fun, it's it's 154 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:54.439 really a way to express myself in so many different ways. 155 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:57.079 And yeah, so we make a. 156 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:00.360 Ton of different wines and total case production six thousand. 157 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:02.839 And are your wines available just here at the winery 158 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:08.959 direct consumer? Are you across the market in some states. 159 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:11.079 Or out of the country, So you can buy our 160 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:14.759 pagement wine in South Carolina and the Bay area, San 161 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:15.879 Francisco Bay Area, and. 162 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:17.360 Then right here in the winery and. 163 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:19.279 Here at the tacon here in the winery. Yeah, I've 164 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:21.759 still got a distributor who sells the wine around the 165 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:23.160 around the bay and so you can find it in 166 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:25.199 San Francis, going up and down the peninsula. 167 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:29.839 And I'm curious. You said your dad started making wine 168 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:32.399 in your home. Was that your first memory relevant to 169 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:35.360 wine or is there another memory? What's when your very 170 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:37.279 first memories of wine? 171 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:42.080 So let's see, So my dad when he started to 172 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:44.519 dig that hole, I was eight years old, okay, right, 173 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.639 and so that really is my first you know, is 174 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:48.679 what's going on here? 175 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:49.080 Right? 176 00:08:49.559 --> 00:08:54.480 And actually they dug they added onto the house and 177 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:56.840 in a direction that went towards the pool. And I 178 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:58.759 came back from camp and they were digging this hole 179 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:01.360 and I was like, man, we're spanning the pool. But 180 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:03.759 which would have been super cool, was it went under 181 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:06.600 the house. That's not what was happening. And so then 182 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:08.399 they then they built a room over that and so 183 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:11.440 they had the seller and so it was really cool 184 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:15.919 growing up around that. My siblings were pretty involved in harvest, 185 00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:19.360 and you know, all of September and October, the whole 186 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:21.960 harvest happened on the driveway right in the front yard. 187 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.279 Literally. So that's that was my first yet. 188 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:28.000 And since then, you've been drinking wine. You make a 189 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.519 lot of different wines. I'm curious if there's a particular 190 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:32.799 wine along the course. It's been one of those aha 191 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:33.799 moment wines for you. 192 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:38.919 Well, when I lived in I spent my junior year 193 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:42.080 in college in Bordeaux, France, and that's what really turned 194 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:46.600 me onto wine. That's what opened my eyes to sort 195 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:50.120 of the lifestyle and the way that the Europeans look 196 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.720 at wine as part of the table and part of 197 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:57.279 the meal really sort of opened my eyes and made 198 00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:00.000 me re evaluate my relationship with wine. And then I 199 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:02.519 I said, I came back and I said, hey, Dad, 200 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:04.480 you know you said if I ever wanted to take 201 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:06.639 a semester off and work for you, I could, And 202 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:11.360 he said absolutely so I did, and that was nineteen 203 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:13.440 eighty nine. That was my first professional harvest. 204 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:15.600 But was there a particular wine that went a haf 205 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:15.799 for you? 206 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:16.679 Yeah? 207 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:22.159 Sorry, So the wines in Bordeaux were the ones that 208 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:28.519 really expanded my understanding the way that the French approach 209 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:34.000 a dry rose was something that was completely different at 210 00:10:34.039 --> 00:10:36.320 the time. In eighty nine, you could get sweet you 211 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:39.840 know rosees, white zin's here, but there wasn't that all 212 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:43.240 that much dry rose and it was completely different. 213 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:46.919 So not a specific wine, but a specific but it 214 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:49.559 was more of a category that kind of was ah 215 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:50.039 to you. 216 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:51.879 That's exactly right. Yeah. 217 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:53.840 And so now if we were to come to your 218 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:58.759 home and in your cellar refrigerator under your house, what 219 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:00.399 would we find? What do you d what do you 220 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:01.919 and your wife drink? Do you drink a lot of 221 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:04.559 local wines, a lot of Bordeaux wines? Is there a 222 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:07.240 mix and match? What would we find. 223 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:08.440 In my cellar? 224 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:11.639 You'll find a bunch of page Moll wines, lots of vintages. 225 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:15.399 I love to go back vintages and you know, revisit 226 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:20.600 what has been made. The Angelo's Qva is my dry rose. 227 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:23.360 That's that's the one it's the only wine you have 228 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:26.679 to like because it's named after my wife, Angela, which 229 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:30.120 is a whole other story. But that's what you'll find 230 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:32.720 mostly on our table. But then I also really enjoy 231 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:35.360 the local wines, and I've got a couple of favorite 232 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:38.360 wineries that are out of state and we and we 233 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:40.840 dabble in in the European wines. But man, there's so 234 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:42.360 many great wines here and little more of that. 235 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:46.200 So is there a wine you opened up recently on 236 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:48.399 your dinner table that tasted really great or maybe picked 237 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:49.120 up at a restaurant. 238 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:53.240 So I like to, like I said, revisit older vintages 239 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:59.879 and wines can really evolve over time and reach this 240 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:02.080 state that you didn't think they were going to get to. 241 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:08.000 And my twenty one San Francisco Bay Chardonnay reached a 242 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:12.039 state in the last six months that is just exquisite. 243 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:15.080 And so I've gone through my last case of that 244 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:19.000 just in the last couple of months because because that. 245 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:21.159 One, oh my god, it's off the charts great. 246 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.120 I love that. So you work with a lot of 247 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:26.120 different great varieties. You've been making wine for a couple 248 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:27.840 of decades, and I'm curious do you think there's a 249 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:29.360 such thing as a perfect variety. 250 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:32.440 No. 251 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:39.639 I think that each variety has their own attributes, the 252 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:42.799 things that they bring to the wine. I love to 253 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:46.480 do blends, and when you're blending, you know, you can 254 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:49.799 really sort of dial in things by, you know, pulling 255 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:53.519 out the great things in each varietl So I don't. 256 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:55.320 Think there's a perfect one. I think they're all perfect. 257 00:12:55.559 --> 00:13:00.360 They're all perfect. Well, speaking of perfection, I mean oviously, 258 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:03.879 there are people who like to put scores to wines, 259 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:06.720 and I'm curious how what the role of wine critics 260 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:10.240 and scores play in your mind to the wine industry 261 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:11.320 or to a brand like yours. 262 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:17.440 I detest them sincerely. I you see metals on the 263 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:21.000 wall and scores and all that stuff, But I send 264 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:24.600 that out because the public. It gives the public sort 265 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:28.200 of some buying information and and and they and they 266 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:31.600 like that. Every time I ship it off, I hate 267 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:37.000 it because we won best mer Low in the Valley 268 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.360 maybe four five years ago or something like that, and 269 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:43.039 we were at the at the banquet and they said, okay, Dane, 270 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:45.399 tell us why yours is the best? Marlew And I'm 271 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:47.360 in front of you know, three hundred people or whatever 272 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:50.440 they're having dinner, and I said it's not and there 273 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:52.720 was silence in the room and everyone went and you know, 274 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:56.440 the winemaker next to me was like shocked, right, And 275 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:59.279 I said, I said, it's not the best mar Low. 276 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:03.360 It's the best Marlaw if you're having duck Alrange, but 277 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:05.759 if you're having just a glass of Merlew And I 278 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:08.120 turned to Ronda Wood at Wood Family, I said, you 279 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:10.879 want a glass of Wood Family Merlew. And if you're 280 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:14.440 having you know, maybe Asian food, you definitely want them 281 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:18.679 a grail Merrilew right. And so putting all these merlaus 282 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:22.600 side by side and saying one is the best, I 283 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:23.000 think is. 284 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:28.080 You know, it's subjective and it's personal, and so on 285 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.559 a personal level, red white or rose. 286 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:34.080 Rose for sure, still or sparkling still. 287 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:41.000 Very quick. That was easy. So I'm curious. You just 288 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:45.200 mentioned like your Merleau with duck Alrange and another wine 289 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:46.879 on its own and something like that. So how do 290 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:49.639 you approach food and wine pairing? Obviously, you know, if 291 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:51.919 that merleau goes so great with a dish, why is 292 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:54.039 it that it goes so great with that dish? And 293 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:56.279 maybe wouldn't work with something else. And when you're at 294 00:14:56.279 --> 00:14:59.200 home or going out to eat, how do you approach it? 295 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:01.879 Do you do you pick the wine first, pick the food? 296 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:03.759 Do you not care how to pair? Or do you 297 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:06.159 have a do you have certain rules you follow? 298 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:10.000 So I've done a lot of food and wine pairings 299 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:14.440 over the decades, and the best ones are ones where 300 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:17.480 we spend a lot of time and go back to 301 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.399 each pairing, we come up with sort of the menu 302 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:22.960 right and decide, Okay, this is what we're pouring, this 303 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:24.720 is what we're gonna try and pair with it, and 304 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.600 then we go We create the food, create the wine, 305 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:30.200 you know, bring the wine in, taste them together. Because 306 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:33.720 what's going on in your mind may not necessarily go 307 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:34.639 on in your palette. 308 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:36.320 You know, But what are you looking for? Are you 309 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:40.399 looking to match acids? Are you looking to contrast? Do 310 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:42.639 you think there are rules of white wine and fish, 311 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:44.879 red wine and meat? I mean, do you follow those 312 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:48.480 basic rules or is it really just what your imagination 313 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:49.279 takes you to? 314 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:52.799 Absolutely, no rules, No, throw all the rules out the window. 315 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:59.080 For me, a great pairing is one where the bite 316 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:01.759 of food cleanses the palette for the wine and the 317 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:06.039 wine cleanses the palate for the food. And so there's 318 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:09.879 this interplay and going back and forth where they perfectly 319 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:13.600 marry with each other so that someone doesn't, you know, 320 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:14.559 outweigh the other. 321 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:19.000 So for somebody who hasn't had the pleasure of tasting 322 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:22.039 page Mill wines, yet, what do you think they're missing 323 00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:22.399 out on? 324 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:28.240 Let's see if I can be accused of having a style, 325 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:30.639 I suppose it would be old World. 326 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:32.320 And what I mean by that is. 327 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:38.360 These wines are a little bit more restrained than your 328 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:43.240 typical California wines, which I love, you know, the over 329 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:47.919 the top jammy fruit bombs. But coming from France and 330 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:53.360 learning about wine in France, I like a more restrained wine. 331 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:57.559 As a good example, we do a saft turn style 332 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:01.519 late harvest soovinium blanc that is about half the sugar 333 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:04.599 of a regular saw turn and it's also lower in alcohol. 334 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:07.559 And that's because I don't want it to be dessert 335 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:08.319 in a glass. 336 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:09.920 I want it to go with dessert. 337 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:13.240 And so I find that if it's you know, a 338 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:16.519 full saw turn, it really is dessert in a glass, 339 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:20.599 whereas you know, if it's a little more restrained, then 340 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.039 it goes with the fruit and cheese, and that pairing 341 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:23.519 is it. 342 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:24.200 Can be beautiful. 343 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:27.599 So you have how many different wines do you make? 344 00:17:27.799 --> 00:17:29.839 I know all the categories you mentioned, but are we 345 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:33.680 talking you know about twelve different skews? Twenty different skews. 346 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:35.079 It's twenty, it's twenty plus. 347 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:37.519 Okay. So if all those wines, if space aliens were 348 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:39.400 to land on your property right now, knock on the 349 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:41.839 door and say, you know, give me one of your wines. 350 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:44.079 Which of your wines would you want to welcome them with? 351 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.799 Well, it would have to be the GPS because they 352 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:52.640 were lost, right, So I make a Roane style blend. 353 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:57.759 When I landed in Livermore, I said, you know, it's 354 00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:03.599 a great location for the rhone vrve Sarrah grenache, and 355 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:06.400 I want to do a GSM style wine. But I 356 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:08.680 wanted to say page my winer. I wanted to say 357 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:11.960 Livermore Valley. I wanted to be my location wine, and 358 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:15.799 so I took out the m the Morvedra in a GSM, 359 00:18:16.200 --> 00:18:18.240 and I put in Petit serra because that's what I grow, 360 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:21.680 and so then it really should be called GSPS. 361 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:23.519 But I was going to say, is it. 362 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.279 Or Grenachetitasra it's grenash Petit. 363 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:30.559 But I took liberty with the letters, and I put 364 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:32.319 my marketing hat on and I said, well, if this 365 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:35.200 is my location wine, it should be called GPS. 366 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:38.119 That's perfect. Perfect for the lost aliens, although they may 367 00:18:38.119 --> 00:18:42.000 have intentionally come come here, I don't know. So you know, 368 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:44.160 you've been making wine now for how many years, like 369 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:45.119 thirty years. 370 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:47.160 Thirty five? This would be my thirty fifth ventures. 371 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:51.200 And you used to drive all over the state picking 372 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:54.960 up grapes, so you've seen a lot of different vintages. 373 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:56.880 And then now, of course you've been here in the 374 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:01.799 Livermore Valley for what twenty years? Twenty years? So you 375 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.720 know between the two, we know every vintage tells a 376 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:08.079 different story in your experience, what have you seen both? 377 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:11.400 You know, when you were visiting all these vineyards across California, 378 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:14.160 did you see commonality or big variation? And now that 379 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:18.440 you're really working with your particular vineyards, do you see 380 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:22.359 grand change every year? Do you see common you know, 381 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:25.440 threads that kind of take you through vintage to vintage. 382 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:27.559 Let's see. 383 00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:32.119 I answer that the I think having the perspective of 384 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:36.000 seeing all those vineyards in those appellations has has made 385 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:40.359 me the wine maker I am today, and uh and 386 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:44.279 given me appreciation for you know, for the growing aspect. 387 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:48.880 It's when I left Santa Cruz Mountains, I was farming 388 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:52.119 ten small vineyards and now I have a lot more acreage. 389 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:58.720 But in you know, three vineyards and seasonal variations. The 390 00:19:58.839 --> 00:20:02.079 vintage really play is such a part. It's almost like, 391 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:04.839 you know, give me another thirty five years and then 392 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:06.920 I'll have some threads for you. 393 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:09.599 But each vintage can be so unique and. 394 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:15.240 So interesting that it's almost like no two are the same. 395 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:19.039 So are there any sort of signs or predictors that 396 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:20.880 you look for that are going to tell you what 397 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:22.119 a vintage is going to give you? 398 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.960 Well, yeah, I mean I pay attention to a lot 399 00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:28.720 of stuff, the butt break and when it happens and 400 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:33.680 how fast it happens, the heat during the spring, things 401 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:39.039