November 20, 2023 • 14 mins
Founded in 1880 as California’s 29th bonded winery, Geyser Peak has been at the forefront of quality wine production. Since 2020, the Kreps family of Quintessential have been stewards of this storied brand, continuing to reach for winemaking peaks. Geyser Peak sources its grapes from some of Northern California’s best vineyards for their AVA-specific and California- appellated wines which are acclaimed for being consistently fresh and over-delivering on quality. www.geyserpeakwinery.com
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The Connected Table is broadcast live Wednesdays at 2PM ET.
The Connected Table Radio Show is broadcast on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com).
The Connected Table Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
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(00:03):
Welcome to the Connected Table SIPs oniHeartRadio. We are your insatiably curious culinary
couple Melanie Young and David Ransom.We bring you the dynamic people who are
front and center and behind the scenesin food, wine, spirits and hospitality.
Ours is a delicious life and wewant to share it with you.
(00:25):
Found in in eighteen eighty is California'stwenty ninth bonded winery. Geyser Peak has
been at the forefront of quality wineproduction since twenty twenty. The Kreps family
of Quintessential have been stewards of thisstoried brand, continuing to reach for wine
making peaks. Geyser Peak sources grapesfrom some of Northern California's best vineyards for
(00:49):
their Ava specific and California appellated wines. Thanks to superior fruit and production methods,
Geyser Peak wines are consistently fresh andover deliver on quality. We're going
to do a deep dive into thesewines with Jessica Sagaffi, who's part of
the wine making team at Geyser Peak. Welcome Jessica, Hi, David and
(01:11):
Melanie, thank you both for havingme on today. Well, we're happy
to have you here, Jessica.Why don't you tell us about your role
at Geyser Peak. So my roleas part of the wine making team is
from point A to Z, Iam a part of the whole process,
from ordering dry goods, tasting theblends at each step, and finally determining
(01:36):
what will be bottled at the end. Also very important with the vineyard checks,
checking our ripening levels, especially withthis very interesting harvest that's been going
on this year, and then assuringthat the wines are moving along in the
style we're working to achieve. SoGeyser Peak was founded in eighteen eighty.
Can you give us an overview ofits significance in California's viticultural history. Geyser
(02:00):
Peak being founded in eighteen eighty,that would make it about one hundred and
forty three years old. So itwas one of the first wineries located in
Sonoma, and it was established bya local family which throughout the years had
switched hands with corporate entities. Sothe Geyser Peak was named after the peak
(02:20):
of Sonoma, one of the highestpeaks, and named after the town it
was located in, Geyserville. Welove Guyserville by the way, it's so
much fun. I know, it'sgreat. It's a very cool place.
So as we reference this twenty twenty, the Krepps family of Quintessential has been
stewards of this brand in Geyser Peak. With this legacy in mine, would
(02:43):
you share what the Crep's vision isfor Geyser Peak? Of course, So
the Kreps family has dedicated themselves torepresenting family owned wineries and most importantly continuing
that long standing history. So nowas the ink behind their brand, their
vision and overall philosophy has been torevive the historic Sonoma brand by attracting new
(03:07):
and former consumers and with the newstyle we have created due to their long
term relationships with growers in the valleyand access to quality grapes. Also with
Geyser Peak being our north star wherewe are able to produce California appllated wines
at inn affordable fifteen dollars, butthat over delivers at a higher price.
(03:30):
Let's talk location. Put a mapin everybody's mind of where Geyserville is and
the Tearwah and elevation of Geyser Peak, as well as where you specifically source
the grapes that make your wines.So Geyserville is located in Sonoma and with
the utilization of the vineyards we haveaccess to, we are able to cultivate
(03:53):
a naturally low residual sugar wine andby utilizing different climates, we are able
to add the fruity tropical stone fruitnotes from the warmer climates while utilizing the
cooler climates for the right acidity andfreshness, and once blended, we can
(04:14):
achieve that bright, accessible and roundedwine without the need to manipulate the grapes.
With our elevated Walking Tree series exclusivelycoming from Alexander Valley over in Sonoma,
so that really gives you some qualityfruit to work with and a good
climate as well. Because of thelocation of the vineyards, definitely we get
(04:38):
to play around with the various microclimates and really pick out what we are
trying to achieve with the wines.So playing with the warmer climates and of
course the marine influence that's over inSonoma really helps with the freshness. You
know, Jessica's seeing as you canpull from different areas and different vineyards to
(05:00):
create your wines and create different characteristicsin your wines. What do you feel
is the unifying geyser Peak style ofwine. Our overall style that we are
trying to achieve is a complex layeredaromatic fruit with balanced dacidity at an affordable
price and for our reds, softerand accessible tannons that still offer great structure.
(05:23):
You've also built a reputation of winesthat drink well above their price tag.
I have to say what drives geyserPeak to push for this level of
accessibility and how do you maintain thisquality to price ratio. So these are
very carefully crafted wines that Eddie onewill appreciate from why Lover to Novice,
which was really our goal, andthey strike the right balance of quality,
(05:46):
brightness and drink ability. Something thatsets us apart is we are also very
transparent as to what goes into eachbottle of wine, such as the blends
of the various varietals. And thisfocus is an important component to what differentiates
geyser Peak and referencing back to howwe source from various climates and specific avas,
(06:09):
we can maintain that price through theproduction of our other designated wines that
are coming from Lake County, Sonomain Naple Valley. So you are part
of a dual wine making team,you and Derek Irwin. How do you
work together and play against your strengthsand complement each other. So we actually
who make up a very great team. Although we do have very different personalities,
(06:34):
we have a similar love for wineand producing something that will make the
consumers happy. Derek is a UCDavis graduate and has been in the industry
for over thirty years, so longerthan I have been alive, which definitely
emphasizes our generational difference. But despitethat, we both just love to produce
(06:57):
something that can be shared with friendsand family. And he truly believes that
wine making starts in the vineyards,and he puts a great amount of focus
into the soils, rootstocks and managingthe varietals throughout the micro climates we have
access to. And then I comein with a new perspective and what the
(07:18):
emerging market is looking for. Sotogether we get to play off each other,
his thirty years of experience in myyounger generational mind and come together and
create beautiful, balanced, fresh ones. I think that's so interesting and he
must be amazing to work with andlearn from. But you also provide such
(07:41):
incredible value to this effort. Becauseyou are of a demographic that is very
desirable to people who make can sellwine, and that is such an important
perspective these days. We have fourguys are Peak wines, well, three
guys are Peak and a walking treehere. We'd like to go through them
and have you discuss them with usand also from you amazing perspective, think
(08:01):
about how you would recommend enjoying themif you were talking to your friends and
fellow wine drinkers. Sounds great.We'll start with our Sabyon blanc. So
our goal with this wine was tohave that nice acidity so pairs amazingly with
food, but has that nice fruitaspect. We were able to produce these
(08:24):
wines with less than a full gramof residual sugar, which is where the
climate use of where we source thegrapes really comes into play. With our
twenty twenty two guyser Peak Sabyon Blanc, we added five percent of yonner,
so you really get that fruity punchwithout the sweetness. So we really utilized
(08:46):
different varietals for their strengths and we'reable to create that balance of acidity while
also the Vionnier adding some weight andstructure. To the salbyon bloc. Would
you recommend pairing it with? Oh, I always go for sushi. Of
course, cheese charcouterie are the firstthing that come to mind, but sushi.
(09:07):
I have made a little toasted christini, cream cheese, cold smoked loocks
on there. Very very nice andwith that acidity, it really goes great
with various amount of foods, littleolives, anything with a nice acidity will
go really really great with this wine. So let's talk about the geyser peak
(09:28):
chardonnay. It's twenty twenty two,so with our chardonnay, we really wanted
to create something that would set itapart from the traditional California rich chardonnay.
Again going back to wanting to offerit for anyone that is a wine novice
to a wine lover, having thatbalance of roundness and oak compared to that
(09:52):
nice, bright acidity. Only fortypercent of the chardonnay is aged in oak.
You still have that nice traditional characteristicof chardonnay, but with a nice
break finish at the end that's comingfrom that cooler climate. But again,
adding a little bit of Yonnier addsthat nice fruit in there and with that
(10:16):
less than one gram of residual sugaras well. You know, I kind
of think that I want to havea roast chicken with this. Yeah,
oh yeah. You know, wetalked about price point and quality to ratio.
What is the average price point ofthese two first two ones. These
wines will range between thirteen to fifteendollars to reto. So we have two
reds that we're going to talk about, both Cabernet sauvignons. It wouldn't be
(10:37):
California without cabernet, right, yeah, exactly. So the first is the
Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon, and that'sa twenty twenty one vintage. Why don't
you tell us about that? Sothis one's a really interesting Cabernet sauvignon in
the sense that making it accessible andhaving nice restrained tannents, but still wanting
that structure. This cabernetgnon does havea bit of petitza ra, so a
(11:03):
nice structure adds beautiful color. It'sa very nice ruby garnet kind of red,
and most of the reds in thisCabernet soupno blend, don't see any
oak, so it really compliments thatnice fruitiness, that punch of flavor,
(11:24):
and the petit cera is the onlyelement that saw oak, so you get
that nice structure, but it's stillvery accessible, great with food anything.
Of course, chocolate is amazing withit, or a nice steaks and chimmy
churi on their nice bright acid complimentsand very nice on its own as well,
(11:48):
which was really our ultimate goal.I'm getting hungry. I know,
me too, I know. Sothe last one we're going to talk about
is the walking Tree twenty Cabernet Saveno, and this is an Alexander Appalachian one,
so why don't you tell us aboutthis one? Correct? So with
our geyser peak line, we didwant to emphasize that Sonoma history, which
(12:09):
is how we came up with thewalking tree. The original property was said
to have that big, beautiful treeon the property and after heavy rainfall,
the tree would slowly move down thesteep grade and it was really a pinnacle
part of that Sonoma history back whenit was first established in eighteen eighty.
(12:31):
So we wanted to highlight Alexander Valley. So this Cabernet Soavignon does have a
bit of petite verde, has thatnice acid compliment, and with these wines,
it's very characteristic of Sonoma light andstill has that beautiful body to it,
but the tannins are restrained and especiallycomparing it to our Geyser Peak Cabernese
(12:54):
soapnone that doesn't seem much oak.Our Walking Tree is that very traditional style
of the Cabernet souvignon French oak,beautiful tannons and a nice silkiness on the
palette. And what would be thesuggestive retail for the two rents for the
Geyser Peak Cabernet sauvignon, that wouldalso be at that thirteen fifteen dollars and
(13:16):
for our Walking Tree Cabernet Sauvignon thatwould be at twenty nine ninety nine and
still really great price points for California. Oh yeah, really really great.
All these wines are available throughout theUnited States as well. Correct, Yes,
we do distribute throughout the country.Well storied name a terrific family to
(13:39):
work with the crops. You canlearn more at Quintessential Wines Orgeyserpeakwinery dot com.
Jessica, it has been such apleasure talking to you. I know
that you are part of a greatwine making team and you've got a great
futurehead making beautiful wines. Thank you, Thank you again Melanie and David for
having me. It's been a pleasure. You've been listening to The Connected Table
(14:05):
SIPs with Melanie Youung and David Ransom. To listen to more in depth features
with the movers and shakers who shapethe wine, food spirits and hospitality industry,
Tune into our companion show, TheConnected Table Live. You can tune
into the live broadcast on Wednesdays attwo pm Eastern Time on W four CY
Radio, easy to find at wwdot W fourcy dot com, or listen
(14:31):
to all our shows anytime at iHeartdot com and on the iheartapp. Connect
with us on Twitter at Connected Table, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram
under the Connected Table. And rememberalways stay insatiably curious.
Welcome to the Connected Table SIPs oniHeartRadio. We are your insatiably curious culinary
couple Melanie Young and David Ransom.We bring you the dynamic people who are
front and center and behind the scenesin food, wine, spirits and hospitality.
Ours is a delicious life and wewant to share it with you.
(00:25):
Found in in eighteen eighty is California'stwenty ninth bonded winery. Geyser Peak has
been at the forefront of quality wineproduction since twenty twenty. The Kreps family
of Quintessential have been stewards of thisstoried brand, continuing to reach for wine
making peaks. Geyser Peak sources grapesfrom some of Northern California's best vineyards for
(00:49):
their Ava specific and California appellated wines. Thanks to superior fruit and production methods,
Geyser Peak wines are consistently fresh andover deliver on quality. We're going
to do a deep dive into thesewines with Jessica Sagaffi, who's part of
the wine making team at Geyser Peak. Welcome Jessica, Hi, David and
(01:11):
Melanie, thank you both for havingme on today. Well, we're happy
to have you here, Jessica.Why don't you tell us about your role
at Geyser Peak. So my roleas part of the wine making team is
from point A to Z, Iam a part of the whole process,
from ordering dry goods, tasting theblends at each step, and finally determining
(01:36):
what will be bottled at the end. Also very important with the vineyard checks,
checking our ripening levels, especially withthis very interesting harvest that's been going
on this year, and then assuringthat the wines are moving along in the
style we're working to achieve. SoGeyser Peak was founded in eighteen eighty.
Can you give us an overview ofits significance in California's viticultural history. Geyser
(02:00):
Peak being founded in eighteen eighty,that would make it about one hundred and
forty three years old. So itwas one of the first wineries located in
Sonoma, and it was established bya local family which throughout the years had
switched hands with corporate entities. Sothe Geyser Peak was named after the peak
(02:20):
of Sonoma, one of the highestpeaks, and named after the town it
was located in, Geyserville. Welove Guyserville by the way, it's so
much fun. I know, it'sgreat. It's a very cool place.
So as we reference this twenty twenty, the Krepps family of Quintessential has been
stewards of this brand in Geyser Peak. With this legacy in mine, would
(02:43):
you share what the Crep's vision isfor Geyser Peak? Of course, So
the Kreps family has dedicated themselves torepresenting family owned wineries and most importantly continuing
that long standing history. So nowas the ink behind their brand, their
vision and overall philosophy has been torevive the historic Sonoma brand by attracting new
(03:07):
and former consumers and with the newstyle we have created due to their long
term relationships with growers in the valleyand access to quality grapes. Also with
Geyser Peak being our north star wherewe are able to produce California appllated wines
at inn affordable fifteen dollars, butthat over delivers at a higher price.
(03:30):
Let's talk location. Put a mapin everybody's mind of where Geyserville is and
the Tearwah and elevation of Geyser Peak, as well as where you specifically source
the grapes that make your wines.So Geyserville is located in Sonoma and with
the utilization of the vineyards we haveaccess to, we are able to cultivate
(03:53):
a naturally low residual sugar wine andby utilizing different climates, we are able
to add the fruity tropical stone fruitnotes from the warmer climates while utilizing the
cooler climates for the right acidity andfreshness, and once blended, we can
(04:14):
achieve that bright, accessible and roundedwine without the need to manipulate the grapes.
With our elevated Walking Tree series exclusivelycoming from Alexander Valley over in Sonoma,
so that really gives you some qualityfruit to work with and a good
climate as well. Because of thelocation of the vineyards, definitely we get
(04:38):
to play around with the various microclimates and really pick out what we are
trying to achieve with the wines.So playing with the warmer climates and of
course the marine influence that's over inSonoma really helps with the freshness. You
know, Jessica's seeing as you canpull from different areas and different vineyards to
(05:00):
create your wines and create different characteristicsin your wines. What do you feel
is the unifying geyser Peak style ofwine. Our overall style that we are
trying to achieve is a complex layeredaromatic fruit with balanced dacidity at an affordable
price and for our reds, softerand accessible tannons that still offer great structure.
(05:23):
You've also built a reputation of winesthat drink well above their price tag.
I have to say what drives geyserPeak to push for this level of
accessibility and how do you maintain thisquality to price ratio. So these are
very carefully crafted wines that Eddie onewill appreciate from why Lover to Novice,
which was really our goal, andthey strike the right balance of quality,
(05:46):
brightness and drink ability. Something thatsets us apart is we are also very
transparent as to what goes into eachbottle of wine, such as the blends
of the various varietals. And thisfocus is an important component to what differentiates
geyser Peak and referencing back to howwe source from various climates and specific avas,
(06:09):
we can maintain that price through theproduction of our other designated wines that
are coming from Lake County, Sonomain Naple Valley. So you are part
of a dual wine making team,you and Derek Irwin. How do you
work together and play against your strengthsand complement each other. So we actually
who make up a very great team. Although we do have very different personalities,
(06:34):
we have a similar love for wineand producing something that will make the
consumers happy. Derek is a UCDavis graduate and has been in the industry
for over thirty years, so longerthan I have been alive, which definitely
emphasizes our generational difference. But despitethat, we both just love to produce
(06:57):
something that can be shared with friendsand family. And he truly believes that
wine making starts in the vineyards,and he puts a great amount of focus
into the soils, rootstocks and managingthe varietals throughout the micro climates we have
access to. And then I comein with a new perspective and what the
(07:18):
emerging market is looking for. Sotogether we get to play off each other,
his thirty years of experience in myyounger generational mind and come together and
create beautiful, balanced, fresh ones. I think that's so interesting and he
must be amazing to work with andlearn from. But you also provide such
(07:41):
incredible value to this effort. Becauseyou are of a demographic that is very
desirable to people who make can sellwine, and that is such an important
perspective these days. We have fourguys are Peak wines, well, three
guys are Peak and a walking treehere. We'd like to go through them
and have you discuss them with usand also from you amazing perspective, think
(08:01):
about how you would recommend enjoying themif you were talking to your friends and
fellow wine drinkers. Sounds great.We'll start with our Sabyon blanc. So
our goal with this wine was tohave that nice acidity so pairs amazingly with
food, but has that nice fruitaspect. We were able to produce these
(08:24):
wines with less than a full gramof residual sugar, which is where the
climate use of where we source thegrapes really comes into play. With our
twenty twenty two guyser Peak Sabyon Blanc, we added five percent of yonner,
so you really get that fruity punchwithout the sweetness. So we really utilized
(08:46):
different varietals for their strengths and we'reable to create that balance of acidity while
also the Vionnier adding some weight andstructure. To the salbyon bloc. Would
you recommend pairing it with? Oh, I always go for sushi. Of
course, cheese charcouterie are the firstthing that come to mind, but sushi.
(09:07):
I have made a little toasted christini, cream cheese, cold smoked loocks
on there. Very very nice andwith that acidity, it really goes great
with various amount of foods, littleolives, anything with a nice acidity will
go really really great with this wine. So let's talk about the geyser peak
(09:28):
chardonnay. It's twenty twenty two,so with our chardonnay, we really wanted
to create something that would set itapart from the traditional California rich chardonnay.
Again going back to wanting to offerit for anyone that is a wine novice
to a wine lover, having thatbalance of roundness and oak compared to that
(09:52):
nice, bright acidity. Only fortypercent of the chardonnay is aged in oak.
You still have that nice traditional characteristicof chardonnay, but with a nice
break finish at the end that's comingfrom that cooler climate. But again,
adding a little bit of Yonnier addsthat nice fruit in there and with that
(10:16):
less than one gram of residual sugaras well. You know, I kind
of think that I want to havea roast chicken with this. Yeah,
oh yeah. You know, wetalked about price point and quality to ratio.
What is the average price point ofthese two first two ones. These
wines will range between thirteen to fifteendollars to reto. So we have two
reds that we're going to talk about, both Cabernet sauvignons. It wouldn't be
(10:37):
California without cabernet, right, yeah, exactly. So the first is the
Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon, and that'sa twenty twenty one vintage. Why don't
you tell us about that? Sothis one's a really interesting Cabernet sauvignon in
the sense that making it accessible andhaving nice restrained tannents, but still wanting
that structure. This cabernetgnon does havea bit of petitza ra, so a
(11:03):
nice structure adds beautiful color. It'sa very nice ruby garnet kind of red,
and most of the reds in thisCabernet soupno blend, don't see any
oak, so it really compliments thatnice fruitiness, that punch of flavor,
(11:24):
and the petit cera is the onlyelement that saw oak, so you get
that nice structure, but it's stillvery accessible, great with food anything.
Of course, chocolate is amazing withit, or a nice steaks and chimmy
churi on their nice bright acid complimentsand very nice on its own as well,
(11:48):
which was really our ultimate goal.I'm getting hungry. I know,
me too, I know. Sothe last one we're going to talk about
is the walking Tree twenty Cabernet Saveno, and this is an Alexander Appalachian one,
so why don't you tell us aboutthis one? Correct? So with
our geyser peak line, we didwant to emphasize that Sonoma history, which
(12:09):
is how we came up with thewalking tree. The original property was said
to have that big, beautiful treeon the property and after heavy rainfall,
the tree would slowly move down thesteep grade and it was really a pinnacle
part of that Sonoma history back whenit was first established in eighteen eighty.
(12:31):
So we wanted to highlight Alexander Valley. So this Cabernet Soavignon does have a
bit of petite verde, has thatnice acid compliment, and with these wines,
it's very characteristic of Sonoma light andstill has that beautiful body to it,
but the tannins are restrained and especiallycomparing it to our Geyser Peak Cabernese
(12:54):
soapnone that doesn't seem much oak.Our Walking Tree is that very traditional style
of the Cabernet souvignon French oak,beautiful tannons and a nice silkiness on the
palette. And what would be thesuggestive retail for the two rents for the
Geyser Peak Cabernet sauvignon, that wouldalso be at that thirteen fifteen dollars and
(13:16):
for our Walking Tree Cabernet Sauvignon thatwould be at twenty nine ninety nine and
still really great price points for California. Oh yeah, really really great.
All these wines are available throughout theUnited States as well. Correct, Yes,
we do distribute throughout the country.Well storied name a terrific family to
(13:39):
work with the crops. You canlearn more at Quintessential Wines Orgeyserpeakwinery dot com.
Jessica, it has been such apleasure talking to you. I know
that you are part of a greatwine making team and you've got a great
futurehead making beautiful wines. Thank you, Thank you again Melanie and David for
having me. It's been a pleasure. You've been listening to The Connected Table
(14:05):
SIPs with Melanie Youung and David Ransom. To listen to more in depth features
with the movers and shakers who shapethe wine, food spirits and hospitality industry,
Tune into our companion show, TheConnected Table Live. You can tune
into the live broadcast on Wednesdays attwo pm Eastern Time on W four CY
Radio, easy to find at wwdot W fourcy dot com, or listen
(14:31):
to all our shows anytime at iHeartdot com and on the iheartapp. Connect
with us on Twitter at Connected Table, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram
under the Connected Table. And rememberalways stay insatiably curious.
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