The Wine Makers on Radio Misfits

Blair Guthrie showed up to an idyllic fundraiser dinner in the middle of a historic vineyard, pulled out a glass sake jar of white wine and said in his disarming Kiwi twang, “Bra, you gotta try this!”

This episode was born out of Blair, friend of the pod, bringing a couple of four-packs of Bronco 1973 California White Wine to the SORBET dinner at Rossi Ranch. Questions abounded. What’s the blend? Where did the fruit come from? Wait, I thought Blair was an El Camino guy, not a Bronco guy? How come he didn’t bring more?

Blair and Bronco Wine Co. CEO Dom Engles sat down with the crew and brought more Bronco 1973 (thank God), along with a bunch of other projects Blair is working on. We dig into the storied history of Bronco Wine Co. and the Franzia family. Record scratch: Yes, that Franzia family, the original owners of the ubiquitous boxed wine brand and purveyors of Charles Shaw.

But there were some real questions to answer. How did Blair find himself working with Bronco? What does a guy like Dom, with a background in beer and food, know about winemaking? And how are these seemingly disparate parts actually a strength?

We answer those questions and more. More importantly, we explore what happens when you combine the winemaking ethos Blair brings to Guthrie Family Wines and Stewart Cellars, Dom’s perspective from outside the wine industry, and Bronco’s production power. Could this unlikely combination actually help drive some of the changes the wine industry desperately needs?

So fire up the El Camino and burn out into episode 424 of The Wine Makers Podcast. [Ep 424]

Hayden Stewart is a wine director, sommelier, and food & beverage consultant based in San Diego, California, with extensive experience across the wine industry — from vineyards and tasting rooms to large-scale events and private club beverage programs. He holds a WSET Level 3 certification and has worked in sales, distribution, fine dining, and education.

Stewart created the @the_angry_somm Instagram account as a satirical, snarky take on the wine world. The persona is designed to highlight what he sees as pretentiousness, hollow buzzwords, and overhyped marketing in the industry. Through humor, irony, and sarcasm, he critiques trends like chasing “rarity, prestige, and heritage” without substance, and argues that popularity doesn’t equal quality.

Hayden and his colleague Joe LoBue have started a new distribution company, Paragon Pacific Imports, to create a better way to communicate with small producers and buyers, reaching younger wine drinkers by meeting them where they are, and speaking to them in a way they understand. paragonpacificimports.com [Ep 423]

Why He’s “Angry”

His “anger” stems from:

Industry pretension — Stewart believes wine culture has become overly elitist and disconnected from everyday enjoyment.

Misuse of expertise — He criticizes sommeliers and marketers who focus on serving the same “five wines” without expanding their horizons.

Disconnect from younger drinkers — He argues the industry’s approach alienates the next generation, and that the true value of a sommelier is in meaningful, educational recommendations.

Pushing authenticity — He turns down most paid partnerships to focus on “subliminal education” that encourages people to care about the why behind a bottle.

@the_angry_somm

thewinemakerspodcast.com

acorkintheroad.com

Stacy Buchanan is the founder of Blood of Gods, the cult biannual publication that explores the unlikely intersection of heavy metal and wine. Based in Walla Walla, Washington, Buchanan is also the force behind The Annual Merrymaking, a festival of wine, art, and music that draws industry professionals and metalheads alike.

We were invited to come join the fun.

Brooke Delmas Robertson from Delmas Wines was the moderator for the event that included Super Somm André Mack, Tyler Balliet from the Rebel School of Wine and Tegan Passalacqua of Turley and Sandlands. Brooke sat down with us and Stacy in her newly opened tasting room in downtown Walla Walla.

We were also hangin out with Kelly Cornett, wine educator from Atlanta, who was in town for the festivities, and is also a writer for the zine’s wine reviews. She has her own podcast, A Cork in the Road, so we decided to join forces and get some interviews. [Ep 422]

delmaswines.com

@delmaswines

@bloodofgodszine

@acorkintheroad

thewinemakerspodcast.com

Tim Milos is a highly respected winemaker and consultant working across Napa and Sonoma, with current winemaking roles at Immortal Estate, Hidden Ridge Vineyard, and RD Winery, and as proprietor of Vino di Milos LLC.

He is a Napa and Sonoma-based winemaker with over 20 years of experience in wine production, vineyard management, and consulting. He is known for crafting terroir-driven wines using traditional winemaking techniques and a minimalist approach to highlight the unique characteristics of each vineyard block.

Tim has had multiple 95+ point ratings from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, was included in the Top 100 Wines of the World by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast and has had 100-point wines from Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck for his Impassable Mountain Cabernet Sauvignons RD Winery.

Milos began his career in the Finger Lakes before moving to Napa Valley, where he has worked with notable wineries such as Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Opus One, S. Anderson, and Cliff Lede RD Winery. He studied cell biology and biochemistry at Sonoma State University, enology and viticulture at UC Davis, and has experience in plant genome mapping at the USDA RD Winery.

His take on the chemistry of wine as it pertains to smoke taint is eye opening. [Ep 421]

@timothymilos

thewinemakerspodcast.com

Our good friend Artie Johnson returned for his third appearance on the show with one request: let’s talk about solutions instead of spending another hour dwelling on everything that’s wrong with the wine industry. As regular listeners know, we’ve always believed one of the best solutions is taking ourselves a little less seriously. So what better episode for that conversation than our milestone 420th episode of The Wine Makers Podcast?

We sat down with Artie and fired up a doobie… er, doozie of a show. Along with an impressive lineup of Le Artishasic wines—including some fascinating new bottlings from the Rocks District on the Oregon side of Walla Walla—Artie brought notes, receipts, and a clear vision for breaking out of the industry’s doom-and-gloom cycle. Better yet, he’s already putting that vision into practice with his own brand. The real question is: will anyone else be bold enough to follow his lead? Especially his neighbors in Napa Valley? You’ll have to listen to find out.

As for reaching 420 episodes, it’s entirely on brand that we somehow blew right past Episode 400 without so much as a mention. So instead, we decided to celebrate a number we know would have made John Myers smile.

More importantly, it’s a chance to say thank you. To the hundreds of guests who’ve subjected themselves to our interrogation. To our spouses, who somehow tolerate our love of hearing ourselves talk. To the entire Sixteen 600 team for everything they do behind the scenes. To Danielle Langlois for bringing a new voice to the show after we lost John. And, of course, to John Myers himself, who made this whole thing possible in the first place.

Most of all, thank you to the thousands of you who keep listening. You put up with the rambling, the occasional technical challenge, and all our nonsense. You buy the wines, visit the wineries, subscribe, leave reviews, and tell your friends (but only the cool ones). Without you, we’d have spent the last nine-plus years just talking to ourselves.

So pour yourself a glass (or roll yourself something)and settle in for Episode 420: The Gospel of Artie Johnson, Part III. [Ep 420]