Craig Isbel from Torbreck

I had the chance to chat with Craig Isbel, the award-winnning winemaker from Torbreck during his visit to San Francisco. It was great talking to Craig. He has a colorful background and a no-nonsense approach to wine making. I was struck by how humble he was for man with multple 100-point wines. After the interview we went out for a glass and the guy at the wine bar was arguing with Craig about whether a wine was bad. Craig never once said "hey 22 yr old kid, I make wine for living" which I might have been tempted to do. Instead he was totally cool. Awesome guy and I hope you enjoy the interview.

Had a great conversation with Mike Dunn of Dunn Vineyards today. I drove up to the winery on Howell Mountain. It was a great drive and a great conversation. We talk about many things, including the winery, alcohol level, wine critics and of course Howell Mountain. Mike was one of the most passionate and down to earth people you will meet in the wine business. I really enjoyed our talk and I know you will too.

Today I speak with Anani Lawson, sommelier with Lucy restaurant in the Bardessono Hotel in Yountville. Anani has traveled an interesting path. Originally from Togo, Africa, he came to the U.S. to work in a completely different field (I’ll let him tell the story), and has ultimately served as sommelier in several world-class restaurants including the famed French Laundry and its sister restaurant Per Se in New York. Anani talks about his approach to serving guests, and the art of enjoying wine. One of his comments rang true with me and gets to the heart of this podcast: “Having a relationship through a glass of wine— there’s nothing like it. That’s what makes wine so special.”

In this episode, I interview Danielle Cyrot, the winemaker for CADE Estate Winery. CADE, founded by the folks at PlumpJack back in 2005, is one of the few wineries up on Napa's Howell Mountain. It's worth the trip up windy Howell Mountain Road to experiece CADE-- for an amazing view from high up on Howell Mountain out across Napa Valley, and of course, for the wines. Danielle talks about how she fell into wine, her early winemaking experience in France and Australia, and how she manages to make amazing wines that are ready to drink now, even though Howell Mountain wine has a reputation of needing to be cellared.