July 30, 2025 • 45 mins
Nestled in the picturesque Livermore Valley, Charles R Vineyards offers a serene escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. For over four decades, the Bartlett family has called this enchanting valley home. Their journey into the world of wine began in 2002 as a humble wine storage cellar, eventually blossoming into a full-fledged winery. This deep-rooted connection to the land imbues every visit with the warmth and familiarity of seeing an old friend. Our tasting room is a hidden treasure, nestled between the rolling hills at the end of Greenville Road. It’s a place where the road less traveled leads to unforgettable experiences. The winery exudes a relaxed country charm, inviting you to unwind and savor the moment. Picture yourself sitting on our beautiful garden patio, a glass of our hand-crafted, award-winning wine in hand, as you soak in the tranquil surroundings. At Charles R Vineyards, we take pride in showcasing the Livermore Valley’s rich terroir. Our grapes are sourced from this very land, allowing us to offer a range of classic varietals alongside some lesser-known gems. Each bottle is a testament to the valley's unique climate and soil, crafted with passion and precision to ensure the highest quality. Whether you're a seasoned wine enthusiast or a curious newcomer, our winery offers a welcoming atmosphere for all. We invite you to explore our selection, each sip revealing the dedication and love that goes into every bottle. Come, sit a spell, and let us share our passion for wine with you at Charles R Vineyards—where every visit feels like coming home. The Caires estate offers spectacular views of rolling hills stretched out among painted skies, creating the perfect setting for growing the most delectable yet unpretentious wines California has to offer. Three microclimates and a diverse terroir, ranging from a low, cold creek bed to a rocky hillside slope — replete with an interesting clay and static soil makeup — contribute layers of complexity and depth to BoaVentura wines. BoaVentura wines are truly handmade. The grapes are hand-picked by family and friends, and Brett and Monique take pride in crafting wines that BoaVentura Baptiste de Caires would be proud of. After all, his spirit is manifested in the name of the winery, Boa Ventura, or “Good Venture.”
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Wine Soundtrack USA. Listen to the passion with
which producers narrate their winery and their world team thirty
answers discover their stories, personalities, and passions.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hello, friends and listeners of Wine Soundtrack. This is Alison
Levine and today I'm in the Livermore Valley at Charles R.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Vineyards.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I'm joined by Bonnie Bartlett, the owner, but also with
Bruce Parship, who is the general manager, who's going to
jump in with some fun facts when Bonnie kind of
backs out here. But Bonnie and Bruce welcome to Wine Soundtrack,
and tell us about where we are, because when I
got here, I thought the road ended, but.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
The road didn't end, and I just kept going.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Down a dirt gravel road and came upon your winery.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Tell me about Charles Art.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Do you want to know about the location or how
I started? Both found out out here. Okay. We were
looking for a piece of property for my husband to
partage equipment, and we were driving around Sunday after noon,
have bottle of wine, you know all that suffer and
driving around and stopped that was a close gate. I
got out and walked over here, and there was a
(01:09):
sign that had fallen down in the dirt, weeds whatever,
real estate. So I called them. And the pieces that
we had been looking at were around twenty acres on
vasco and whatever. So I called them and they said
it was one hundred acres and it was the same
purchase price as twenty acres or twelve acres or whatever.
(01:31):
And I said, well, you know this made sense, Okay,
we'll try this.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
What year was this?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
That was in nineteen probably seventy seven when we saw it.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
So was there a vineyard here or this was just
land for equipment to be dumped?
Speaker 4 (01:49):
It was bare land. There were no utilities. We lived
out here probably a good part of a year with
no water off to tristy phones. Yeah, back then you
didn't have cell phones, right, And we had to get
a service in town to take the business calls, my
(02:11):
husband's business, and then he'd have to call and chat.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
So basically we're not that far out of town. I
mean it was only probably less than ten when I
turned down the road and passed to other wineries. I mean,
we're only like three minutes past the last winery, and
it was only like five minutes off the main road.
But it does feel like you're in a completely different world,
isolated out here.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Yes, yes, it's wonderful and we have lots of wildlife.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
So the name Charles R. Vineyards comes from Charles is.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
My husband's first name, and the R was for Richard
his middle name, and we called him Death. And my
son who was a winemaker, Randy, so the R was
for dad An's son. I love it.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
And so you bought this feral land to park equipment.
At what point did you get possessed to plant vineyards?
Speaker 4 (03:08):
We didn't plant vineyards. Well I shouldn't say that. Randy
did up top, but we did not have the egg
water and so, and you have to buy in and
it's acreage acre foot or but hugely expensive. And I
not being a farmer, but coming from farm families, I
(03:28):
knew how I knew the woes of that. Yeah, and
I didn't want to do it. So it turned out
it was a good choice that we did not do it.
So we contract with our friends that are right here
in the area, and they say kind of like a
five mile radius is what we buy. We did have
one ensnol and we did have we were buying Portuguese
(03:51):
and Italian grapes from a friend of ours and Tracy,
But that's as far as we've ever ventured out.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Well, so you really are a local winery but purchasing
fruit even though you're out. We're in a property with
a lovely garden and a tasting room and everything.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
So what how many cases a year do you produce?
Speaker 4 (04:07):
It varies, It depends upon what's going on. It's different
every year. If we've had slower years, we had COVID
come in, so COVID we quit buying my first year,
and then we had some well actually right now because
we got into a buying so now like we're buying
more and more greats trying to catch up. I guess
(04:29):
we've been so short. So I would say between one
thousand and fifteen hundred.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
And are you one hundred percent direct to consumer?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Like people can find your lines here in the tasting
room and online, or are you in any local restaurants
or in any other markets outside of Livermore.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Right now, we are not in any restaurants. And no,
I haven't quit. We're so small, our small lot philosophy
and what we do. It's just we don't have enough wine.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Absolutely, And plus I understand you're a drinker, which means
you probably a lot of it.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
I take care of the wine.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
Yes, it's quality control.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Come on, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
So ye are we're over at got We've got some
chigo over at the Cheese.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Partment, which is a little a little cheese shop in town.
So tell me something. You mentioned that when you first
came here with your husband, you guys were you'd been
drinking some wine.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
You were driving around looking for property.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So wine has obviously been a part of your life,
going back to the seventies when you bought this property.
I'm sure before, but what is your first memory relevant
to wine? How old were you when you first actually
tasted wine or knew about wine or tried wine.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Wine was not part of my growing up back then.
What I remembered, everybody was drinking mixed cocktails, so it
was martini time. Yeah, yeah, so wine started. I would
think that would be when I got married and we
would stay at home back then and play cards, and
we bought the jug of wine that was a checkerboard.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
You bought it and you played games on the on
the jug.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
So then you moved past your jug wine and into
making wine. And I'm curious along the way is there
a particular wine at any point. It could be long
ago or recent. That was one of those aha moment wines,
like a wine that just stood out that that stuck
with you. And what what was that wine in the occasion, Oh,
(06:38):
so we sa wine we don't have anymore, but it
was one of your own wines.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Yes, yes, and what was it? I'm trying to think
if there was any time before that. We had a
friend that was very much into fine wine and food,
and that's what got us to transition and start paying
attention to that. And lucky to live so close to
San Francisco too, so a lot of good chefs and
(07:05):
this now moved into the valley. We've got some great ones.
But yeah, the wine that I always remember it was
a Pina nois and my son made that off of
grapes that are right here at.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
The gates here in Livermore Valley.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Yes, yes, but it's very temperamental. So he made this one.
It was just amazing. It was absolutely amazing, and it
was he started to make it the second year and
he started having problems with it. We sent it to Davis.
(07:40):
Nobody could tell us, but apparently it's very delicate and
this is not an ideal growing climate, and so that
makes it a little bit more delicate.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
But he made one you loved.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Yeah, that was like and people for years come back
and say, wow, yeah, wow, damn, we get it.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
So if we were to come to your home, inside
your home, what kind of wines would we find in there?
Is it a lot of your own Charles R.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Wines?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Is it a lot of Livermore wines or other things?
Or is there nothing left because you drink it?
Speaker 4 (08:14):
All?
Speaker 5 (08:17):
Right?
Speaker 4 (08:17):
Now, I have Barbera because I think the Barbera is
just great, and it's I hit it with a ham
and cheese sandwich.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Oh you just drank a Barbera, a Livermore one or
an Italian one.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
It's well, it's Livermore, it's ours. Yeah, but it was
perfect and barbarian. It goes Yeah, it's food. It's food
center anyway. So I have two bottles of that.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
And you had it with a ham and cheese sandwich.
Pardon you said you had it with a ham and
cheese sandwich.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Yes, it was wonderful. It was like a perfect beerring. Right. Yeah.
Can I have Shardenny. I always have Sharny and and
I in the in my back and it's not mine.
It was my husband's stash. In the laundry room. There's
a bunch of bottles in there from all like local wineries,
(09:12):
because people when you get together we have different things
sell a lot of times I'll bring their own wind
as a gift, and so we've got quite a bit
of local wines in there. And I was trained not
to touch it.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah, so it's still he's pasted and you don't touch it.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Yeah. I still haven't touched it.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
So you probably have a real history of Livermore wines
in your in your in the back of your house there.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Do you You mentioned that you really liked your barbera
with ham and cheese, which sounds great. I don't see
why it wouldn't work. But I'm curious. How do you
feel about wine and food pairing. Do you take that
pretty seriously or or do you just have fun with it?
Are there any rules you follow?
Speaker 4 (10:00):
I don't. I want to say yes, I take it seriously,
but do I do other things that are very casual?
I guess yeah. So I just kind of play around
with it and taste it. We taste a lot. I think,
you know. I have a daughter that has a champagne
bar up in the foothills, And so when we get together,
(10:21):
it's part that's part of it. So food and like
when we go out to restaurants. There's some great restaurants
in town with good wine lists.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
And how do you sort of look at it if
you're taking it seriously, like you know, a special meal
and you want to really pair it, you know appropriately?
Are you looking for do you follow rules like white
wine and fish, red wine and meter are you looking
for other things to complement or contrast?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
I'm looking for other things, yes, and we do. If
I'm doing it seriously, I will be trying the food
with different wines.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
You got to pretaste it. Yeah, So how many different
grapes do you work with?
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Oh? Here, Oh golly, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
We've got Chardonnay, Blanc, Petite Straw, Cabernet, sauvignon, mall Beck.
I'm missing something.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I know him, Barbara Cane, some new bar.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
Oh, we do. Blends are amazing.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
We do every year. Every year our winemaker does a blend,
which is always popular.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Well, so if blends are popular and you're talking about
all these different varieties, I'm curious do you think there's
a such thing as a perfect variety?
Speaker 4 (11:51):
No, no, because it's it's like, we have something here
this weekend and because of the the heat, it was
so warm, people were going to the whites. So there's
certain times of the year there certain things you're having
that you want to go. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
No, there's a time and a place for everything. So
is a wine drink?
Speaker 5 (12:14):
Oh yeah, I know. We always get people would use
your favorite wine and I'm going I don't want to
make the other grapes jealous. Yes, sorry, I got something
that was my favorite. Kid.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Well, every day there's a different one.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
But that's true. It depends on the day, it depends
the week. Right now, I think our Barbara is pouring amazing.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Is that what you just gave me in a glass?
Speaker 5 (12:32):
App so you can try the Barbara is amazing. But
if you'd ask me last a couple of months ago,
I would say, oh no, it's the cap. So it changes. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
So as a wine drinker, red whiter or rose.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
As a wine drinker, I drink wines. If I could
do what I wanted to do, it would be the reds.
I think there's a lot more flavor, Okay, and goes
with a lot of I think it any answers a
lot of brighter, broader about different types of foods and that, Yeah,
(13:11):
what about.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Stiller sparkling?
Speaker 4 (13:16):
Interesting stiller sparkling that I love sparkly, Yeah, and that
that could be my go to. Yes, but I tell myself, no,
stick with the shirt day.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
Yes, I was wondering if she was gonna go with that.
We're just gonna go with that.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
So as a small brand, and you've been doing this,
I mean you've been making wine since the late seventies
maybe early eighties.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
We started, oh gosh, Bonded two thousand and two. Oh
oh okay, yeah, so we go way back and the
first wine that we made was just kind of a fluke.
And so then you have this wine, you know what
you do with it?
Speaker 2 (14:04):
But and Dell in the rabbit hole, You go, yeah,
isn't that this angel tris Well?
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Two thousand and six the tasting room opened. Yeah, and
actually we didn't make the wife that we had here.
We had some there was I don't remember where we
got it, but it was up around Heilsburg or somewhere
in there, and it was a winery that was selling
off all of their white wines. Their bookkeeper told them
(14:36):
that you make a lot more money on rants than
you do wis why are you doing wines? So they so, yeah,
so we bought this tanker not knowing what we were
doing or how many bottles were in a tanker.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
And hence that's why they have a tasting room today.
This is the rabbit hole people go down.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
It's like it would be fun to make a barrel,
and then four years later you're making four hundred cases
and trying to sell it, and then you have a
tasty room when you've got to pay more wine, and
it's it's quite a thing.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
So I'm curious.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
It's a small brand that that grows, Like what's your opinion?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Online critics and scores? Have they?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Are they something that help you? Are they something you
pay attention to? Are they a thorn in your side?
How have you seen them over the years with a
brand like yours? Or do you not even pay attention
to the scores, scores and awards and critics?
Speaker 4 (15:28):
I think I think it's important, but we do not
enter a lot of them. I think again because we're
so small and a lot of times you have to
have so many cases when you're entering, and yeah, so
i'd limit the once that we do enter and like
(15:52):
I like the San Francisco Chronicle. Yeah, yeah, we always
do that one, and then we try and do local.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
So we just recently did.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Yeah, we just did.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
That's a Livermore Valley centric one.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Yes.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
Yeah, So normally all the awards are up there, but
we took them down.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
I was like, it's a blank wall.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
We had it quick for Christmas.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
It's okay, all right, and we just haven't put it
back yet.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
But do you find that they are useful or just
I mean, are they something that's important or just sort
of an added plus?
Speaker 5 (16:25):
I think I think it gives us some validation knowing
that we're doing something right. But to be honest with you,
I really don't like the fact that we're being pitted
up all the with other wines that are our friends
and because we've all made great wine and to say, oh,
yours is better than that one, I don't to The
wards are ice, then, yes, and it does give you
some validation, But am I thinking everything Okay, we gotta
(16:49):
get sorted out.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Well, speaking of that, for somebody who's never had the
privilege of tasting Charles A vineyard wines.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
What do you think they're missing out on?
Speaker 4 (16:58):
I don't think I got that black.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
How would you describe your brand overall those the style
of wines and what people would experience if they've never
tried your wines and you had to give them a sentence.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Or two about what the experience is.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
That's a hard one. O. Yeah, I don't know. I would.
I would hope, And I think her goal is to
have wines that everybody can enjoy, and we try, we
(17:34):
try and present them in a way that's relaxed because
everybody's different palettes are all different. You may like this,
not whatever. In fact, I had a guy in this
is years ago, but he came in and one of
my questions always was what was your favorite wine? And
hoping that I'm going to talk to him about what
(17:57):
he really liked, and he said, oh wait a minute,
let me go to the carts and the drunk.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
You would drive around with it?
Speaker 4 (18:09):
That looks yeah, yeah, but I don't. I don't know.
I've never.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Working in the tasting room as the general manager. Harry,
and you said you work in production. Other things like,
how would you how would you say to someone who's
never been here, what they would experience here.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
So what I would tell them is that because now
I work in production, we're small, family owned winery, there
is such a story behind every glass of wine. Every glass.
Now that I've worked in production, I've seen and when
I say working, I mean from the field to the
press to putting in the bottle, there is such a
(18:49):
story there. I look at people's eyes. I've been out
on the field when they're picking grapes, so they're doing
shutini and all that, And I look at these people
and they all have a story, and I hope that
story comes into here. So I presented to them what
that glass of wine means that they have. There's a
lot of work that went into it.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Well, one of the stories I think you mentioned here
this this was this the first.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Tasting room in Livermore Valley.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Did Jesus No, we're the oldest taste oldest tasting room, right?
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Are we the oldest green the oldest wine green? Bilt
are pretty close to the oldest one.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
I think I think Bent Creek was first.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Okay, okay, but still.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
We've been here. What we'll be here nineteen years? What
am I saying we'll be here in nineteen years.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yeah, so backing up a little, you may not be
the oldest, but you're one of the oldest.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Well, listen, I have a question for you.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
If space aliens were to land on your property right
now and come knocking on the door, which of your wines,
of all your wines, would you want to welcome them with,
and say, this is Charles R.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Vineyards right now, seekin. It is going to be the Barbera.
But that's okay, yeah, it changed. So that was the
one thing I was going to say, because they're continuing
to age in the bottle, and a lot of times
we do not know that it's changed because we're not
we haven't tasted that for a few weeks or whatever.
(20:14):
And so it's the people on the other side of
the bar and they'll go ooh, this is really good,
and so we think, okay, it tastes this. And that's
what happened with the Barbera. It just yet that perfect spot.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
And so right now, if the aliens come, that's the
wine they get. And what is the vintage of the Barbera.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
It is the.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Twenty twenty twenty two. Okay, perfect, Well, I got is
a petite survive.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Uh yeah, the petit start. And why I think Lisa's
done a great jo. Lisa Li's our winemaker. She's done
a great job. I think it's fruit forward. I think
for me it's one of our more beefear wines.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Yes, and I mean you welcome me with the Barbara, so.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
I'm not an alien.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
But so you're sourcing from different vineyards. Do you spend
a lot of time in the vineyards.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
No, I don't. Lisa does all of that, and she's
just a lot to adore her. And so she's made
friends with the vineyard owners and that, and she goes
out and they work with her. And yeah, no, she
tells me, this is what we're doing.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
And how long did your son make wine for you?
Speaker 4 (21:34):
He was He was here with us on this planet
until twenty and eleven. Yes, and he was wonderful. He
made beautiful wine.
Speaker 5 (21:46):
We still wine a lot. In fact, we have some wine.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
But after he passed we had help from it. And
that's another thing about the valley, about Livermore Valley, is
that we all help each other. And it's been out
absolutely amazing. And so we were without a wine maker
and local wineries. I got calls from people asking do
you need help? What can I do for you? Can
(22:12):
I do this or that. They came over, they'd break
off from what they were doing. They would come over
and do stuff and that's wonderful. Yeah, it was amazing.
So they kept us going through quite a long time.
And then Ronda Wood at Wood Family. She came in
here one day and she said, you know, I hear
you you're looking for a wine maker. And I said yes,
(22:32):
And she started to lise and she said, well you
should talk to her. And I said, are you serious?
And I said, you know so, Yeah, she started starting Dennis.
She's been here ever since.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Well, that's what I love about this industry. I come
from a commercial real estate background and very cutthrow here.
I was amazed when I found out that three Steams
came here, Wendy came here, and I came a dang
start from Page came and helped get the winery back
on his feet.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
That is really the beauty I've I've heard stories like
that in other regions too, and it's really nice to
see a community come together. And speaking of kind of
coming together as a winery as a family owned business,
are there any sort of good luck rituals that you
guys do at the start of harvest as a team
or in the winery. Any celebrations or special bottles you open,
or or funny things like you don't change your socks
(23:25):
for a month or anything for harvest.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
No, we don't.
Speaker 5 (23:30):
We celebrate afterward. We usually have a big party afterwards.
So that's this last harvest. We had a big party
and then we take a big group picture at the
beginning and do you.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Know who survived?
Speaker 5 (23:41):
And we see the same number of people survive at
the end.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Well, those are those are rituals, Yes, yeah, photos and meals.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Although I don't get involved a whole bunch, actually, Bruce says,
I don't get up really early in the morning, and
they're they're out real early.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
I think you've earned that. I think that you have
reached a point in your life. You have been on
this planet long enough that you have earned the right
to sleep in. And yes, I agree, I don't think
getting up at four in the morning is necessary. When
when you were in your octagar oct experience yours, I
(24:23):
like that follow yourself.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
So when you were a little girl, what did you
want to be when you grew up?
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Did what what did you what were your dreams in
pursuits before you ended up owning land?
Speaker 4 (24:40):
And yeah, and I had two things. Two things have
always interested me in that salat and traveling. I loved
both of those. But when I was growing up and
in school, those fields were not open to females. They
would not even talk to you about it. And so
(25:03):
I was really really fortunate. Then in my life I
ended up one working for an airline for quite a while,
so I got to travel around the world. That's when
I started doing some of this traveling and love that.
Still love it. We're still traveling. Gruce is putting together
our trip to down the Danube. Oh yeah, so I
(25:27):
just love love traveling. You can always see my swow.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
And then I eventually ended up working at the City
of liver Mars believe the secretary. So I got if
I could have had my brothers, I would have been
an attorney. That would that would have been my goal.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Yeah, I mean a different time and place right. It's
it's interesting when I get to talk.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
To younger winemakers and I say, you know, what did
you want to be when you grew up?
Speaker 3 (25:56):
I mean, the dreams are more realistic.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
They obviously either had first careers before where they came
to wine or they went straight to wine. But you know,
it's a different thing of what you dreamed when it
wasn't possible, and yet here you are the owner of
a winery.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
Yes, although I say it owns me. You know, it's
just it's like having a child, really, because it tells you,
it has its time frame and.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
You have to do that.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
You don't have a choice, you know, So it's yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
It dictates your life for you. Yes, So when you
have free time, obviously you said you like to travel.
Do you have any other hobbies or things you like
to do in free time? Yes, other than sleeping in
and traveling and sleeping.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Yeah. I do water color, yes, which is really it's
been wonderful for me because our teachers put together our
trips in Europe. So I got you to travel and
water color.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
Yeah, and she understates what a prolific artist she is.
So some of the pains you see here here thou not.
But it's the pain. There's some paintings in here that
those are labeled. All our blends are. Maybe you have
beautiful here.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
On the property and those are watercolors you did so
those they're really vibrant, they're they're very detailed.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
They're beautiful, beautiful released. But she did that a bird
on the label. Those are beautiful, I think, I don't.
I don't think it's an understatement. So you're an artist
as well, but she won't show her art.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Well, instead of putting your rewards up on that blank
while you should put all her art.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
Did you hear what she said? I've been saying that,
and then.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
You should put a little price tech next to it
so when people want to buy it they know how
much like an art gallery.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
But so tell me something when you when you.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Think back, I mean, you've been able to live a
lot of decades. Is there a piece of advice someone
gave you along the way when you were a child,
an adult, a teacher, a mentor, a friend. That's something
that you carried with you, a piece of advice that
you try to.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Live or work by. I'm sure you're filled with advice.
Speaker 4 (28:07):
But I am, Yeah, Sarah, there are so many things
that I grew up with and I and I think
I was thinking about that because I think years back
there was more of that. So I have all these
funny sayings. Actually I have these sayings and I say
them to someone else and they'll look at me blank
because they can't they've never heard it before.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Tell me, do you have any can you share any?
Speaker 4 (28:33):
Well, this is just it's not a saying or any
anything wise. But I was talking to somebody and I said,
they proof pod me and the what you know? And yeah,
I don't know, I know, And I went, oh, they
don't know that, And so I thought, I think a
lot of times I'm talking and I say these different things,
(28:54):
nobody knows if they're they're younger than me, nobody knows
what out.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
What is poof pod.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
It's just kind of go away, don't bother me. You know,
you're not important. Yeah, what you're saying is not important.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
But is there someone who gave you a piece of
advice at some point? Maybe it was something your parents
instilled in you, or your husband, your mentors, your your
friends of maybe even how you approach life or how
you approach work.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
I don't know where this came from, and it's not
really a piece of advice, but it's basically not allowed.
So when things in life get really really hard to
deal with and you want to just go in a
closet and close the door. It's not allowed. So in
(29:46):
our family, it's not allowed. You have to keep pushing
through straps, you know, and yeah, get up and get going.
You have to keep going.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Just sleep in a little later.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
Sample was that when Did passed away two and a
half years ago. We had several people coming in thinking
you were going to close, and Finie had no intention.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
She put on her bootstraps and went to work.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
Yeah that's great and we've had fun. Yes, oh it is.
It's just it's such a good business to be in
and I don't even want to call it. It is
a business, but I mean, I don't look at it
that way. I feel so fortunate and the people, the
wine people that you get to meet, and we have
(30:31):
members that go way back to coming in so you
get to know all of them, and they're all so nice.
I've said, I think wine drinkers are some of the
nicest people I've ever met in my life. It's just amazing.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Well who was it?
Speaker 4 (30:46):
Was it?
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Dean Martin said, don't trust anyone who doesn't drink.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Oh, that's a good one. So when you.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Look back at your career, having been a legal secretary
and worked in the travel industry and owning a winery.
Because not allowed to say family, What would you say,
is one of your proudest achievements?
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Oh in my career? Oh my, so I always feel
like I'm kind of not answering me. So, but right
now last night, see I'll get cheery right now to
you thinking about it. But we've just had three brand
(31:29):
new great grandbabies. So three of my grandchildren have had children,
two of them born in May and the other ones
now four months old. But I was sitting and I
just I.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Feel that's why I said not family, because of course
family is a private, proud achievement.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
You're a great grandma three times over.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
I just that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
But is there anything when you look back at at
I mean, I think maybe you touched on some things
about how the community came to get and it's a
really I would say that's an achievement to show how
community came together and helped you when your son passed
and when your husband passed, you know, to keep a
business going. But when you look back, is there's something
that in the business that makes you really proud?
Speaker 4 (32:14):
Oh? I can't think of because I don't I don't
really think about what I'm doing daily.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Yeah, I just get up and whatever radio needs to be.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Done, pull up your bootstraps and go to work, and
I do it.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Yeah, so I don't, Okay, I.
Speaker 5 (32:33):
Think Bonnie is really modest. I think she's very modest,
and I don't think she really under really realizes what
she's done here. And I've told her, I said, this
is pretty amazing that this winery is here. Her son passes,
her husband passes, and she still wanted to do it.
I mean, she's still I cannot tell you. I can
(32:55):
remember a month after Dick passed away, I had a
real estate agent in here giving me his card, and
he literally said, this, what does an old lady want
to do with make only a winery? I looked at
him and I went, are you kidding? I said, we
have no intention. Thanks bye.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
So, since wine is such an important part of your life,
I'd like you to complete this sentence for me. A
table without wine is like.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
Not a meal. But I think I read that somewhere. Yeah,
maybe breakfast.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
What do I mean? It's morning while I'm doing this
interview and I've got wine in front of me.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
You're right, Yeah, I forget about the and the merma.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I'm al must drink at breakfast.
Speaker 4 (33:44):
Yeah, it kind of takes the sunshine out of it.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Yeah that's a good Yeah, a day without sun.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Okay, Or you could say a piece of art without
watercolors or watercolors without color. Yeah, it's not my interview,
but I was inspired by your art that's sitting next
to me.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
So now I have another question.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
We're sitting at a table here, We've got your wines
on the table. Let's pretend your bottles were over here
with us, and your beautiful artwork on there, and there
is an empty seat right next to you. Who from
any walk of life, living or deceased do you wish
could be sitting here drinking wine with you to share?
Speaker 3 (34:26):
You know, Charles R.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Vineyards wines today.
Speaker 4 (34:31):
So I don't think it would be anybody famous, So
I'm thinking it's got to be family. Yeah. I would
have loved for my son to be able to see
what's happened here, and I do ask him, Yeah, if
you know I'm doing okay?
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Yeah, you're still here, so you're doing okay?
Speaker 4 (34:55):
Yeah, okay, Yeah, that would probably be who?
Speaker 2 (35:01):
And also to see that another winemaker can do an
equally good job as he was doing.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
Yeah, I know.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
So tell me something.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
If you were being sent off to a deserted island
and could only take three wines with you, any three
wines at all, do you know what three wines you'd
want to take?
Speaker 4 (35:25):
No, I'm thinking I'd like to take the grape vice
so I could plant the plant business. Okay, I can
take vineyards.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
But what what what grapes or what styles of wine
would you want to have?
Speaker 4 (35:40):
Oh? If it would be the only thing that I
could be drinking. Oh my gosh, because I think to me,
some of my white wines I call them coffee. So
it's just like, I mean, this is water and yeah,
(36:00):
so it would have to be a white I guess
I don't know, but it seems like, wow, not not
to have a regeneo.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
No, no, you get three wines.
Speaker 4 (36:10):
Oh okay, all right. So I'm a real chardonnay fan.
I like sweeter wines. What and this is? I don't
even know anybody that makes it, but Moscato I love it.
In fact, I bought I went to a restaurant and
had a glass, and I bought the bottle and they
came to the table and they said, you really want
to all a bottle of this because it's so sweet?
Speaker 2 (36:34):
Yeah, you made no one should have ever apologize for
what they like and there's nothing better than a delicious
bottle of moscato.
Speaker 4 (36:41):
Yeah, I agree. Yeah, you know what three would do?
Speaker 5 (36:44):
So three would be our current Barbara huh, the cab
fron Block from Stephen camp All yeah, and the Gregolino
from jam c Oh.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
The green Alina that's it. Yeah, Greenlina is my favorite. Great,
I have to try her. She just told me she
released itself.
Speaker 5 (37:06):
It's one of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
Yeah, that she has. Well, go try some Italian wines.
Green a Leno is yeah, heaven.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
So we are almost finished, and then we've come to
the part where we play a little game to have
some fun with your wine of pairing wine with music,
just a way to kind of talk about some of
the wines you have and that you've talked about. So
and if you can tell me kind of a genre
song a musician that makes you think of the wine.
So when you first welcomed me, we were sipping on
(37:34):
the rose. This is a rose of grenache. So what
would you say for the Rose of Grenache.
Speaker 5 (37:40):
So what's funny is when Lisa does our wine notes
for the staff and everything, she always brings in music.
Speaker 3 (37:46):
Okay, so this is going to be super easy.
Speaker 5 (37:48):
I know. That's when I saw, oh this is great.
So for the Rose, her suggestions was Miley Cyrus, Flowers
Man after Midnight, I have a pink pony club by
Chaparrose and old Town run my little mass nas x Okay,
and I and I get it. I totally get on this.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
What do you get? Tell me what you say this?
Speaker 5 (38:10):
So they're all they're all kind of more downbeat songs.
You're gonna be relaxed. This is a thinking wine. It's
a thinker wine. You're sitting there, you're contemplating. You know,
that's what I get out of this. You know, I
love her song selections. She does it every time.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
I mean, it's a rose that it still has the
acidity in the brightness, but you're right, it's got texture
and a little more.
Speaker 5 (38:32):
It's texture exactly.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
So next is the Barbera that you keep talking about
that everyone gets when they're welcomed here.
Speaker 5 (38:40):
So Barbera, so that one she has save me my
Nina Simone, The Lea Taliano by Toto Kutubno and the
Girl from a Banina Again, I get it. So you're
sitting on a sidewalk cafe, it's late afternoon, it relaxed
(39:01):
and it's just easy music.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
Well, Telliano makes me dance.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
So that was yes, I thought that too, but it's.
Speaker 5 (39:12):
Yeah, but you get you get a little bit of
a h you know, Italian feel the whole, you know,
you get that feeling. Okay, So that's that's what I see.
I see.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Okay, So then I want to know. You mentioned your
petite surah. That's what you would welcome the aliens with.
So tell me about the petite sarra.
Speaker 5 (39:31):
So the pit straw to me, boulder wine ah, heavy metal, Okay,
it's it's not. It's not the type that's met just
you know, shock your mouth. But her suggestion was great
white once once, but once bitten twice. Shy Metallica entered
The Sandman and Joan chip I hate myself for loving it,
and I got and I get it. It's a boulder
(39:52):
wine headbanging.
Speaker 4 (39:54):
I get it.
Speaker 5 (39:54):
I get. I see where she was going with that one.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Okay, well great, there you go.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
See and Bonnie got to stay sis I let it
just laugh along with us.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
She's like, this is music not from my generation.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
No, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (40:13):
Well listen.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
It has been an utter pleasure chatting with both of
you today, and I have a question for you before
we head off. One last question, which is you love
to travel. Is there one wine region in the world
that you would love to go explore next?
Speaker 4 (40:30):
I would really just I would like to try France
when usually when I'm traveling it's with our groups and
so it's not wine. And yeah, I would like to
have the time just to go through and try wines
all over. But I think even in Europe. Their beautiful
wines come out of Europe too. Yeah, so I would
(40:51):
like to.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
Experience that anywhere you go.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
And I'm sure having a glass of wine while you
watercolor is a perfect setting as you're looking out at
a vineyards are very pretty to paint.
Speaker 4 (41:00):
Yes, I know the colors, Oh, I know. I keep
taking photographs because it's so hard to get those on
a photograph. It's never quite what I want. Yeah, I
was thinking. The other area I would love to travel
through and try their wins is Italy. Yeah, I've had
some wonderful wines in Italy and food.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
Yeah, so go drink Barbera.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
But if people want to come drink Barbera here in
Livermore Valley at Charles R. Just really quickly, where will
they find you and what will they experience? I mean,
when is your tasting room open? Do you offer any
anything here? What can they find here or where can
they find you?
Speaker 4 (41:43):
Oh? Well, lots of wine? Yeah, yes, we have Italian
and Portuguese. Italian and Portuguese wines here, but all day
and I try also be I like the what I
call them the standards, but like the Cabernet and the Zifidel,
And yes, I think that's that's I think that we
(42:04):
all know them. They're great wines, you know. I think
the reason we all know them is that they do well.
They grow well here. They produce a really beautiful wine. Yeah,
and we do. On the weekends usually we'll have something
we have yesterday we had the ukulele jam, so I'm
(42:25):
thinking we had maybe thirty to forty ukuleles here. How
fun and random, I know, it's so fine. And he
does open mic so other people can get up. In fact,
he had a keyboard. There was another guy doing a keyboard.
That the first time I saw that. But yeah, that's
really fun. The karaoke will have us safe here. Occasionally
(42:50):
there's there's always something going on, if not that day,
within that that weekend.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
Yeah, well, now are you open? What days of the week
you open?
Speaker 5 (42:58):
We're open Friday Sunday twelve to four point thirty. We're
at the very end of Greenville Road, all right. Our
our address is eighty one ninety five Crane Ridge Road.
But if you go to the end of Greenville Greenville
Road where the asphalt ends, keep going.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
There is there is a sign in like a right,
there's a big sign and like an entry that you
drive through, so you know you're in the right place.
Speaker 5 (43:22):
Big archway. Yeah, it always cracks me. I couldn't find you.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
The archway wasn't Charles Vineyards.
Speaker 5 (43:29):
Yeah, so there's a big archway there. We have a
little windy dirt road that gets here. It's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
Keep going because at the very end of the road
there is a building.
Speaker 5 (43:37):
There is a building where well, there's a gym at
the end of the road. That's what I always say. Yes,
so I want to do I wanted to make a
T shirt that Charles are on the back ball of
the damn road.
Speaker 3 (43:45):
But she won't let me. But yeah. So you have
the tasting room and then you have an outdoor area.
Speaker 5 (43:51):
We have a large outdoor area, have a patio that
it's covered, and then it opens up. And then in
the very back we have an arbor. So if people
want to do private partied and they don't want to
close the winery, they can they can have that back carboncy.
It's about what thirty people, thirty two something like that.
And then we do hikes every month. We have one
hundred acres here. We have some trails cut. We do
(44:13):
a hike here the fourth Saturday of every month and
we do bagels and sparkling or mimosas up on top
of the hill three hundred six should you give you
the valley so it's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
You can get a little exercise before you start drinking
or while you drink.
Speaker 3 (44:30):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
Well, Bonnie and Bruce, thank you guys so much for
joining us on wine soundtrack. I really enjoyed chatting with you.
I hope you had fun. I hope it wasn't too painful.
Speaker 4 (44:40):
No, it was.
Speaker 5 (44:43):
Thank you so much for coming on visiting.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
Absolutely, and I know Bonnie was a little hesitant. Your
voice sounded great.
Speaker 4 (44:49):
Oh yeah, we'll have to see what I hear my bories.
I always somebody played a trick on me, was and
got me angry, which was my husband, because you want
to to record me when I was being angry. And
when he played it back, I heard this little soft
voice saying, now you stopping there? Something that I got?
(45:10):
Oh and no wonder the dog ignores me.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
Well, you were not too soft and I didn't ignore you,
so thank you.
Speaker 3 (45:21):
Well I will raise a glass to you, to both
of you, and say cheerious.
Speaker 4 (45:25):
Yeah do you I could cheer cheers.
Speaker 1 (45:29):
Thanks for listening to a new episode of Wine Soundtrack USA.
For details and updates, visit our website windsoundtracks dot com.
Welcome to Wine Soundtrack USA. Listen to the passion with
which producers narrate their winery and their world team thirty
answers discover their stories, personalities, and passions.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hello, friends and listeners of Wine Soundtrack. This is Alison
Levine and today I'm in the Livermore Valley at Charles R.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Vineyards.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I'm joined by Bonnie Bartlett, the owner, but also with
Bruce Parship, who is the general manager, who's going to
jump in with some fun facts when Bonnie kind of
backs out here. But Bonnie and Bruce welcome to Wine Soundtrack,
and tell us about where we are, because when I
got here, I thought the road ended, but.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
The road didn't end, and I just kept going.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Down a dirt gravel road and came upon your winery.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Tell me about Charles Art.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Do you want to know about the location or how
I started? Both found out out here. Okay. We were
looking for a piece of property for my husband to
partage equipment, and we were driving around Sunday after noon,
have bottle of wine, you know all that suffer and
driving around and stopped that was a close gate. I
got out and walked over here, and there was a
(01:09):
sign that had fallen down in the dirt, weeds whatever,
real estate. So I called them. And the pieces that
we had been looking at were around twenty acres on
vasco and whatever. So I called them and they said
it was one hundred acres and it was the same
purchase price as twenty acres or twelve acres or whatever.
(01:31):
And I said, well, you know this made sense, Okay,
we'll try this.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
What year was this?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
That was in nineteen probably seventy seven when we saw it.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
So was there a vineyard here or this was just
land for equipment to be dumped?
Speaker 4 (01:49):
It was bare land. There were no utilities. We lived
out here probably a good part of a year with
no water off to tristy phones. Yeah, back then you
didn't have cell phones, right, And we had to get
a service in town to take the business calls, my
(02:11):
husband's business, and then he'd have to call and chat.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
So basically we're not that far out of town. I
mean it was only probably less than ten when I
turned down the road and passed to other wineries. I mean,
we're only like three minutes past the last winery, and
it was only like five minutes off the main road.
But it does feel like you're in a completely different world,
isolated out here.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Yes, yes, it's wonderful and we have lots of wildlife.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
So the name Charles R. Vineyards comes from Charles is.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
My husband's first name, and the R was for Richard
his middle name, and we called him Death. And my
son who was a winemaker, Randy, so the R was
for dad An's son. I love it.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
And so you bought this feral land to park equipment.
At what point did you get possessed to plant vineyards?
Speaker 4 (03:08):
We didn't plant vineyards. Well I shouldn't say that. Randy
did up top, but we did not have the egg
water and so, and you have to buy in and
it's acreage acre foot or but hugely expensive. And I
not being a farmer, but coming from farm families, I
(03:28):
knew how I knew the woes of that. Yeah, and
I didn't want to do it. So it turned out
it was a good choice that we did not do it.
So we contract with our friends that are right here
in the area, and they say kind of like a
five mile radius is what we buy. We did have
one ensnol and we did have we were buying Portuguese
(03:51):
and Italian grapes from a friend of ours and Tracy,
But that's as far as we've ever ventured out.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Well, so you really are a local winery but purchasing
fruit even though you're out. We're in a property with
a lovely garden and a tasting room and everything.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
So what how many cases a year do you produce?
Speaker 4 (04:07):
It varies, It depends upon what's going on. It's different
every year. If we've had slower years, we had COVID
come in, so COVID we quit buying my first year,
and then we had some well actually right now because
we got into a buying so now like we're buying
more and more greats trying to catch up. I guess
(04:29):
we've been so short. So I would say between one
thousand and fifteen hundred.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
And are you one hundred percent direct to consumer?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Like people can find your lines here in the tasting
room and online, or are you in any local restaurants
or in any other markets outside of Livermore.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Right now, we are not in any restaurants. And no,
I haven't quit. We're so small, our small lot philosophy
and what we do. It's just we don't have enough wine.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Absolutely, And plus I understand you're a drinker, which means
you probably a lot of it.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
I take care of the wine.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
Yes, it's quality control.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Come on, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
So ye are we're over at got We've got some
chigo over at the Cheese.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Partment, which is a little a little cheese shop in town.
So tell me something. You mentioned that when you first
came here with your husband, you guys were you'd been
drinking some wine.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
You were driving around looking for property.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So wine has obviously been a part of your life,
going back to the seventies when you bought this property.
I'm sure before, but what is your first memory relevant
to wine? How old were you when you first actually
tasted wine or knew about wine or tried wine.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Wine was not part of my growing up back then.
What I remembered, everybody was drinking mixed cocktails, so it
was martini time. Yeah, yeah, so wine started. I would
think that would be when I got married and we
would stay at home back then and play cards, and
we bought the jug of wine that was a checkerboard.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
You bought it and you played games on the on
the jug.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
So then you moved past your jug wine and into
making wine. And I'm curious along the way is there
a particular wine at any point. It could be long
ago or recent. That was one of those aha moment wines,
like a wine that just stood out that that stuck
with you. And what what was that wine in the occasion, Oh,
(06:38):
so we sa wine we don't have anymore, but it
was one of your own wines.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Yes, yes, and what was it? I'm trying to think
if there was any time before that. We had a
friend that was very much into fine wine and food,
and that's what got us to transition and start paying
attention to that. And lucky to live so close to
San Francisco too, so a lot of good chefs and
(07:05):
this now moved into the valley. We've got some great ones.
But yeah, the wine that I always remember it was
a Pina nois and my son made that off of
grapes that are right here at.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
The gates here in Livermore Valley.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Yes, yes, but it's very temperamental. So he made this one.
It was just amazing. It was absolutely amazing, and it
was he started to make it the second year and
he started having problems with it. We sent it to Davis.
(07:40):
Nobody could tell us, but apparently it's very delicate and
this is not an ideal growing climate, and so that
makes it a little bit more delicate.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
But he made one you loved.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Yeah, that was like and people for years come back
and say, wow, yeah, wow, damn, we get it.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
So if we were to come to your home, inside
your home, what kind of wines would we find in there?
Is it a lot of your own Charles R.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Wines?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Is it a lot of Livermore wines or other things?
Or is there nothing left because you drink it?
Speaker 4 (08:14):
All?
Speaker 5 (08:17):
Right?
Speaker 4 (08:17):
Now, I have Barbera because I think the Barbera is
just great, and it's I hit it with a ham
and cheese sandwich.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Oh you just drank a Barbera, a Livermore one or
an Italian one.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
It's well, it's Livermore, it's ours. Yeah, but it was
perfect and barbarian. It goes Yeah, it's food. It's food
center anyway. So I have two bottles of that.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
And you had it with a ham and cheese sandwich.
Pardon you said you had it with a ham and
cheese sandwich.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Yes, it was wonderful. It was like a perfect beerring. Right. Yeah.
Can I have Shardenny. I always have Sharny and and
I in the in my back and it's not mine.
It was my husband's stash. In the laundry room. There's
a bunch of bottles in there from all like local wineries,
(09:12):
because people when you get together we have different things
sell a lot of times I'll bring their own wind
as a gift, and so we've got quite a bit
of local wines in there. And I was trained not
to touch it.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah, so it's still he's pasted and you don't touch it.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Yeah. I still haven't touched it.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
So you probably have a real history of Livermore wines
in your in your in the back of your house there.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Do you You mentioned that you really liked your barbera
with ham and cheese, which sounds great. I don't see
why it wouldn't work. But I'm curious. How do you
feel about wine and food pairing. Do you take that
pretty seriously or or do you just have fun with it?
Are there any rules you follow?
Speaker 4 (10:00):
I don't. I want to say yes, I take it seriously,
but do I do other things that are very casual?
I guess yeah. So I just kind of play around
with it and taste it. We taste a lot. I think,
you know. I have a daughter that has a champagne
bar up in the foothills, And so when we get together,
(10:21):
it's part that's part of it. So food and like
when we go out to restaurants. There's some great restaurants
in town with good wine lists.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
And how do you sort of look at it if
you're taking it seriously, like you know, a special meal
and you want to really pair it, you know appropriately?
Are you looking for do you follow rules like white
wine and fish, red wine and meter are you looking
for other things to complement or contrast?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
I'm looking for other things, yes, and we do. If
I'm doing it seriously, I will be trying the food
with different wines.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
You got to pretaste it. Yeah, So how many different
grapes do you work with?
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Oh? Here, Oh golly, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
We've got Chardonnay, Blanc, Petite Straw, Cabernet, sauvignon, mall Beck.
I'm missing something.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I know him, Barbara Cane, some new bar.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
Oh, we do. Blends are amazing.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
We do every year. Every year our winemaker does a blend,
which is always popular.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Well, so if blends are popular and you're talking about
all these different varieties, I'm curious do you think there's
a such thing as a perfect variety?
Speaker 4 (11:51):
No, no, because it's it's like, we have something here
this weekend and because of the the heat, it was
so warm, people were going to the whites. So there's
certain times of the year there certain things you're having
that you want to go. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
No, there's a time and a place for everything. So
is a wine drink?
Speaker 5 (12:14):
Oh yeah, I know. We always get people would use
your favorite wine and I'm going I don't want to
make the other grapes jealous. Yes, sorry, I got something
that was my favorite. Kid.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Well, every day there's a different one.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
But that's true. It depends on the day, it depends
the week. Right now, I think our Barbara is pouring amazing.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Is that what you just gave me in a glass?
Speaker 5 (12:32):
App so you can try the Barbara is amazing. But
if you'd ask me last a couple of months ago,
I would say, oh no, it's the cap. So it changes. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
So as a wine drinker, red whiter or rose.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
As a wine drinker, I drink wines. If I could
do what I wanted to do, it would be the reds.
I think there's a lot more flavor, Okay, and goes
with a lot of I think it any answers a
lot of brighter, broader about different types of foods and that, Yeah,
(13:11):
what about.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Stiller sparkling?
Speaker 4 (13:16):
Interesting stiller sparkling that I love sparkly, Yeah, and that
that could be my go to. Yes, but I tell myself, no,
stick with the shirt day.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
Yes, I was wondering if she was gonna go with that.
We're just gonna go with that.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
So as a small brand, and you've been doing this,
I mean you've been making wine since the late seventies
maybe early eighties.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
We started, oh gosh, Bonded two thousand and two. Oh
oh okay, yeah, so we go way back and the
first wine that we made was just kind of a fluke.
And so then you have this wine, you know what
you do with it?
Speaker 2 (14:04):
But and Dell in the rabbit hole, You go, yeah,
isn't that this angel tris Well?
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Two thousand and six the tasting room opened. Yeah, and
actually we didn't make the wife that we had here.
We had some there was I don't remember where we
got it, but it was up around Heilsburg or somewhere
in there, and it was a winery that was selling
off all of their white wines. Their bookkeeper told them
(14:36):
that you make a lot more money on rants than
you do wis why are you doing wines? So they so, yeah,
so we bought this tanker not knowing what we were
doing or how many bottles were in a tanker.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
And hence that's why they have a tasting room today.
This is the rabbit hole people go down.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
It's like it would be fun to make a barrel,
and then four years later you're making four hundred cases
and trying to sell it, and then you have a
tasty room when you've got to pay more wine, and
it's it's quite a thing.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
So I'm curious.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
It's a small brand that that grows, Like what's your opinion?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Online critics and scores? Have they?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Are they something that help you? Are they something you
pay attention to? Are they a thorn in your side?
How have you seen them over the years with a
brand like yours? Or do you not even pay attention
to the scores, scores and awards and critics?
Speaker 4 (15:28):
I think I think it's important, but we do not
enter a lot of them. I think again because we're
so small and a lot of times you have to
have so many cases when you're entering, and yeah, so
i'd limit the once that we do enter and like
(15:52):
I like the San Francisco Chronicle. Yeah, yeah, we always
do that one, and then we try and do local.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
So we just recently did.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Yeah, we just did.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
That's a Livermore Valley centric one.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Yes.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
Yeah, So normally all the awards are up there, but
we took them down.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
I was like, it's a blank wall.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
We had it quick for Christmas.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
It's okay, all right, and we just haven't put it
back yet.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
But do you find that they are useful or just
I mean, are they something that's important or just sort
of an added plus?
Speaker 5 (16:25):
I think I think it gives us some validation knowing
that we're doing something right. But to be honest with you,
I really don't like the fact that we're being pitted
up all the with other wines that are our friends
and because we've all made great wine and to say, oh,
yours is better than that one, I don't to The
wards are ice, then, yes, and it does give you
some validation, But am I thinking everything Okay, we gotta
(16:49):
get sorted out.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Well, speaking of that, for somebody who's never had the
privilege of tasting Charles A vineyard wines.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
What do you think they're missing out on?
Speaker 4 (16:58):
I don't think I got that black.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
How would you describe your brand overall those the style
of wines and what people would experience if they've never
tried your wines and you had to give them a sentence.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Or two about what the experience is.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
That's a hard one. O. Yeah, I don't know. I would.
I would hope, And I think her goal is to
have wines that everybody can enjoy, and we try, we
(17:34):
try and present them in a way that's relaxed because
everybody's different palettes are all different. You may like this,
not whatever. In fact, I had a guy in this
is years ago, but he came in and one of
my questions always was what was your favorite wine? And
hoping that I'm going to talk to him about what
(17:57):
he really liked, and he said, oh wait a minute,
let me go to the carts and the drunk.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
You would drive around with it?
Speaker 4 (18:09):
That looks yeah, yeah, but I don't. I don't know.
I've never.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Working in the tasting room as the general manager. Harry,
and you said you work in production. Other things like,
how would you how would you say to someone who's
never been here, what they would experience here.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
So what I would tell them is that because now
I work in production, we're small, family owned winery, there
is such a story behind every glass of wine. Every glass.
Now that I've worked in production, I've seen and when
I say working, I mean from the field to the
press to putting in the bottle, there is such a
(18:49):
story there. I look at people's eyes. I've been out
on the field when they're picking grapes, so they're doing
shutini and all that, And I look at these people
and they all have a story, and I hope that
story comes into here. So I presented to them what
that glass of wine means that they have. There's a
lot of work that went into it.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Well, one of the stories I think you mentioned here
this this was this the first.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Tasting room in Livermore Valley.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Did Jesus No, we're the oldest taste oldest tasting room, right?
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Are we the oldest green the oldest wine green? Bilt
are pretty close to the oldest one.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
I think I think Bent Creek was first.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Okay, okay, but still.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
We've been here. What we'll be here nineteen years? What
am I saying we'll be here in nineteen years.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yeah, so backing up a little, you may not be
the oldest, but you're one of the oldest.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Well, listen, I have a question for you.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
If space aliens were to land on your property right
now and come knocking on the door, which of your wines,
of all your wines, would you want to welcome them with,
and say, this is Charles R.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Vineyards right now, seekin. It is going to be the Barbera.
But that's okay, yeah, it changed. So that was the
one thing I was going to say, because they're continuing
to age in the bottle, and a lot of times
we do not know that it's changed because we're not
we haven't tasted that for a few weeks or whatever.
(20:14):
And so it's the people on the other side of
the bar and they'll go ooh, this is really good,
and so we think, okay, it tastes this. And that's
what happened with the Barbera. It just yet that perfect spot.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
And so right now, if the aliens come, that's the
wine they get. And what is the vintage of the Barbera.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
It is the.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Twenty twenty twenty two. Okay, perfect, Well, I got is
a petite survive.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Uh yeah, the petit start. And why I think Lisa's
done a great jo. Lisa Li's our winemaker. She's done
a great job. I think it's fruit forward. I think
for me it's one of our more beefear wines.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Yes, and I mean you welcome me with the Barbara, so.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
I'm not an alien.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
But so you're sourcing from different vineyards. Do you spend
a lot of time in the vineyards.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
No, I don't. Lisa does all of that, and she's
just a lot to adore her. And so she's made
friends with the vineyard owners and that, and she goes
out and they work with her. And yeah, no, she
tells me, this is what we're doing.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
And how long did your son make wine for you?
Speaker 4 (21:34):
He was He was here with us on this planet
until twenty and eleven. Yes, and he was wonderful. He
made beautiful wine.
Speaker 5 (21:46):
We still wine a lot. In fact, we have some wine.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
But after he passed we had help from it. And
that's another thing about the valley, about Livermore Valley, is
that we all help each other. And it's been out
absolutely amazing. And so we were without a wine maker
and local wineries. I got calls from people asking do
you need help? What can I do for you? Can
(22:12):
I do this or that. They came over, they'd break
off from what they were doing. They would come over
and do stuff and that's wonderful. Yeah, it was amazing.
So they kept us going through quite a long time.
And then Ronda Wood at Wood Family. She came in
here one day and she said, you know, I hear
you you're looking for a wine maker. And I said yes,
(22:32):
And she started to lise and she said, well you
should talk to her. And I said, are you serious?
And I said, you know so, Yeah, she started starting Dennis.
She's been here ever since.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Well, that's what I love about this industry. I come
from a commercial real estate background and very cutthrow here.
I was amazed when I found out that three Steams
came here, Wendy came here, and I came a dang
start from Page came and helped get the winery back
on his feet.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
That is really the beauty I've I've heard stories like
that in other regions too, and it's really nice to
see a community come together. And speaking of kind of
coming together as a winery as a family owned business,
are there any sort of good luck rituals that you
guys do at the start of harvest as a team
or in the winery. Any celebrations or special bottles you open,
or or funny things like you don't change your socks
(23:25):
for a month or anything for harvest.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
No, we don't.
Speaker 5 (23:30):
We celebrate afterward. We usually have a big party afterwards.
So that's this last harvest. We had a big party
and then we take a big group picture at the
beginning and do you.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Know who survived?
Speaker 5 (23:41):
And we see the same number of people survive at
the end.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Well, those are those are rituals, Yes, yeah, photos and meals.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Although I don't get involved a whole bunch, actually, Bruce says,
I don't get up really early in the morning, and
they're they're out real early.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
I think you've earned that. I think that you have
reached a point in your life. You have been on
this planet long enough that you have earned the right
to sleep in. And yes, I agree, I don't think
getting up at four in the morning is necessary. When
when you were in your octagar oct experience yours, I
(24:23):
like that follow yourself.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
So when you were a little girl, what did you
want to be when you grew up?
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Did what what did you what were your dreams in
pursuits before you ended up owning land?
Speaker 4 (24:40):
And yeah, and I had two things. Two things have
always interested me in that salat and traveling. I loved
both of those. But when I was growing up and
in school, those fields were not open to females. They
would not even talk to you about it. And so
(25:03):
I was really really fortunate. Then in my life I
ended up one working for an airline for quite a while,
so I got to travel around the world. That's when
I started doing some of this traveling and love that.
Still love it. We're still traveling. Gruce is putting together
our trip to down the Danube. Oh yeah, so I
(25:27):
just love love traveling. You can always see my swow.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
And then I eventually ended up working at the City
of liver Mars believe the secretary. So I got if
I could have had my brothers, I would have been
an attorney. That would that would have been my goal.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Yeah, I mean a different time and place right. It's
it's interesting when I get to talk.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
To younger winemakers and I say, you know, what did
you want to be when you grew up?
Speaker 3 (25:56):
I mean, the dreams are more realistic.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
They obviously either had first careers before where they came
to wine or they went straight to wine. But you know,
it's a different thing of what you dreamed when it
wasn't possible, and yet here you are the owner of
a winery.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
Yes, although I say it owns me. You know, it's
just it's like having a child, really, because it tells you,
it has its time frame and.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
You have to do that.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
You don't have a choice, you know, So it's yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
It dictates your life for you. Yes, So when you
have free time, obviously you said you like to travel.
Do you have any other hobbies or things you like
to do in free time? Yes, other than sleeping in
and traveling and sleeping.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Yeah. I do water color, yes, which is really it's
been wonderful for me because our teachers put together our
trips in Europe. So I got you to travel and
water color.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
Yeah, and she understates what a prolific artist she is.
So some of the pains you see here here thou not.
But it's the pain. There's some paintings in here that
those are labeled. All our blends are. Maybe you have
beautiful here.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
On the property and those are watercolors you did so
those they're really vibrant, they're they're very detailed.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
They're beautiful, beautiful released. But she did that a bird
on the label. Those are beautiful, I think, I don't.
I don't think it's an understatement. So you're an artist
as well, but she won't show her art.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Well, instead of putting your rewards up on that blank
while you should put all her art.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
Did you hear what she said? I've been saying that,
and then.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
You should put a little price tech next to it
so when people want to buy it they know how
much like an art gallery.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
But so tell me something when you when you.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Think back, I mean, you've been able to live a
lot of decades. Is there a piece of advice someone
gave you along the way when you were a child,
an adult, a teacher, a mentor, a friend. That's something
that you carried with you, a piece of advice that
you try to.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Live or work by. I'm sure you're filled with advice.
Speaker 4 (28:07):
But I am, Yeah, Sarah, there are so many things
that I grew up with and I and I think
I was thinking about that because I think years back
there was more of that. So I have all these
funny sayings. Actually I have these sayings and I say
them to someone else and they'll look at me blank
because they can't they've never heard it before.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Tell me, do you have any can you share any?
Speaker 4 (28:33):
Well, this is just it's not a saying or any
anything wise. But I was talking to somebody and I said,
they proof pod me and the what you know? And yeah,
I don't know, I know, And I went, oh, they
don't know that, And so I thought, I think a
lot of times I'm talking and I say these different things,
(28:54):
nobody knows if they're they're younger than me, nobody knows
what out.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
What is poof pod.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
It's just kind of go away, don't bother me. You know,
you're not important. Yeah, what you're saying is not important.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
But is there someone who gave you a piece of
advice at some point? Maybe it was something your parents
instilled in you, or your husband, your mentors, your your
friends of maybe even how you approach life or how
you approach work.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
I don't know where this came from, and it's not
really a piece of advice, but it's basically not allowed.
So when things in life get really really hard to
deal with and you want to just go in a
closet and close the door. It's not allowed. So in
(29:46):
our family, it's not allowed. You have to keep pushing
through straps, you know, and yeah, get up and get going.
You have to keep going.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Just sleep in a little later.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
Sample was that when Did passed away two and a
half years ago. We had several people coming in thinking
you were going to close, and Finie had no intention.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
She put on her bootstraps and went to work.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
Yeah that's great and we've had fun. Yes, oh it is.
It's just it's such a good business to be in
and I don't even want to call it. It is
a business, but I mean, I don't look at it
that way. I feel so fortunate and the people, the
wine people that you get to meet, and we have
(30:31):
members that go way back to coming in so you
get to know all of them, and they're all so nice.
I've said, I think wine drinkers are some of the
nicest people I've ever met in my life. It's just amazing.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Well who was it?
Speaker 4 (30:46):
Was it?
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Dean Martin said, don't trust anyone who doesn't drink.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Oh, that's a good one. So when you.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Look back at your career, having been a legal secretary
and worked in the travel industry and owning a winery.
Because not allowed to say family, What would you say,
is one of your proudest achievements?
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Oh in my career? Oh my, so I always feel
like I'm kind of not answering me. So, but right
now last night, see I'll get cheery right now to
you thinking about it. But we've just had three brand
(31:29):
new great grandbabies. So three of my grandchildren have had children,
two of them born in May and the other ones
now four months old. But I was sitting and I
just I.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Feel that's why I said not family, because of course
family is a private, proud achievement.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
You're a great grandma three times over.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
I just that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
But is there anything when you look back at at
I mean, I think maybe you touched on some things
about how the community came to get and it's a
really I would say that's an achievement to show how
community came together and helped you when your son passed
and when your husband passed, you know, to keep a
business going. But when you look back, is there's something
that in the business that makes you really proud?
Speaker 4 (32:14):
Oh? I can't think of because I don't I don't
really think about what I'm doing daily.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Yeah, I just get up and whatever radio needs to be.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Done, pull up your bootstraps and go to work, and
I do it.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Yeah, so I don't, Okay, I.
Speaker 5 (32:33):
Think Bonnie is really modest. I think she's very modest,
and I don't think she really under really realizes what
she's done here. And I've told her, I said, this
is pretty amazing that this winery is here. Her son passes,
her husband passes, and she still wanted to do it.
I mean, she's still I cannot tell you. I can
(32:55):
remember a month after Dick passed away, I had a
real estate agent in here giving me his card, and
he literally said, this, what does an old lady want
to do with make only a winery? I looked at
him and I went, are you kidding? I said, we
have no intention. Thanks bye.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
So, since wine is such an important part of your life,
I'd like you to complete this sentence for me. A
table without wine is like.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
Not a meal. But I think I read that somewhere. Yeah,
maybe breakfast.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
What do I mean? It's morning while I'm doing this
interview and I've got wine in front of me.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
You're right, Yeah, I forget about the and the merma.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I'm al must drink at breakfast.
Speaker 4 (33:44):
Yeah, it kind of takes the sunshine out of it.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Yeah that's a good Yeah, a day without sun.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Okay, Or you could say a piece of art without
watercolors or watercolors without color. Yeah, it's not my interview,
but I was inspired by your art that's sitting next
to me.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
So now I have another question.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
We're sitting at a table here, We've got your wines
on the table. Let's pretend your bottles were over here
with us, and your beautiful artwork on there, and there
is an empty seat right next to you. Who from
any walk of life, living or deceased do you wish
could be sitting here drinking wine with you to share?
Speaker 3 (34:26):
You know, Charles R.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Vineyards wines today.
Speaker 4 (34:31):
So I don't think it would be anybody famous, So
I'm thinking it's got to be family. Yeah. I would
have loved for my son to be able to see
what's happened here, and I do ask him, Yeah, if
you know I'm doing okay?
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Yeah, you're still here, so you're doing okay?
Speaker 4 (34:55):
Yeah, okay, Yeah, that would probably be who?
Speaker 2 (35:01):
And also to see that another winemaker can do an
equally good job as he was doing.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
Yeah, I know.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
So tell me something.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
If you were being sent off to a deserted island
and could only take three wines with you, any three
wines at all, do you know what three wines you'd
want to take?
Speaker 4 (35:25):
No, I'm thinking I'd like to take the grape vice
so I could plant the plant business. Okay, I can
take vineyards.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
But what what what grapes or what styles of wine
would you want to have?
Speaker 4 (35:40):
Oh? If it would be the only thing that I
could be drinking. Oh my gosh, because I think to me,
some of my white wines I call them coffee. So
it's just like, I mean, this is water and yeah,
(36:00):
so it would have to be a white I guess
I don't know, but it seems like, wow, not not
to have a regeneo.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
No, no, you get three wines.
Speaker 4 (36:10):
Oh okay, all right. So I'm a real chardonnay fan.
I like sweeter wines. What and this is? I don't
even know anybody that makes it, but Moscato I love it.
In fact, I bought I went to a restaurant and
had a glass, and I bought the bottle and they
came to the table and they said, you really want
to all a bottle of this because it's so sweet?
Speaker 2 (36:34):
Yeah, you made no one should have ever apologize for
what they like and there's nothing better than a delicious
bottle of moscato.
Speaker 4 (36:41):
Yeah, I agree. Yeah, you know what three would do?
Speaker 5 (36:44):
So three would be our current Barbara huh, the cab
fron Block from Stephen camp All yeah, and the Gregolino
from jam c Oh.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
The green Alina that's it. Yeah, Greenlina is my favorite. Great,
I have to try her. She just told me she
released itself.
Speaker 5 (37:06):
It's one of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
Yeah, that she has. Well, go try some Italian wines.
Green a Leno is yeah, heaven.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
So we are almost finished, and then we've come to
the part where we play a little game to have
some fun with your wine of pairing wine with music,
just a way to kind of talk about some of
the wines you have and that you've talked about. So
and if you can tell me kind of a genre
song a musician that makes you think of the wine.
So when you first welcomed me, we were sipping on
(37:34):
the rose. This is a rose of grenache. So what
would you say for the Rose of Grenache.
Speaker 5 (37:40):
So what's funny is when Lisa does our wine notes
for the staff and everything, she always brings in music.
Speaker 3 (37:46):
Okay, so this is going to be super easy.
Speaker 5 (37:48):
I know. That's when I saw, oh this is great.
So for the Rose, her suggestions was Miley Cyrus, Flowers
Man after Midnight, I have a pink pony club by
Chaparrose and old Town run my little mass nas x Okay,
and I and I get it. I totally get on this.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
What do you get? Tell me what you say this?
Speaker 5 (38:10):
So they're all they're all kind of more downbeat songs.
You're gonna be relaxed. This is a thinking wine. It's
a thinker wine. You're sitting there, you're contemplating. You know,
that's what I get out of this. You know, I
love her song selections. She does it every time.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
I mean, it's a rose that it still has the
acidity in the brightness, but you're right, it's got texture
and a little more.
Speaker 5 (38:32):
It's texture exactly.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
So next is the Barbera that you keep talking about
that everyone gets when they're welcomed here.
Speaker 5 (38:40):
So Barbera, so that one she has save me my
Nina Simone, The Lea Taliano by Toto Kutubno and the
Girl from a Banina Again, I get it. So you're
sitting on a sidewalk cafe, it's late afternoon, it relaxed
(39:01):
and it's just easy music.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
Well, Telliano makes me dance.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
So that was yes, I thought that too, but it's.
Speaker 5 (39:12):
Yeah, but you get you get a little bit of
a h you know, Italian feel the whole, you know,
you get that feeling. Okay, So that's that's what I see.
I see.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Okay, So then I want to know. You mentioned your
petite surah. That's what you would welcome the aliens with.
So tell me about the petite sarra.
Speaker 5 (39:31):
So the pit straw to me, boulder wine ah, heavy metal, Okay,
it's it's not. It's not the type that's met just
you know, shock your mouth. But her suggestion was great
white once once, but once bitten twice. Shy Metallica entered
The Sandman and Joan chip I hate myself for loving it,
and I got and I get it. It's a boulder
(39:52):
wine headbanging.
Speaker 4 (39:54):
I get it.
Speaker 5 (39:54):
I get. I see where she was going with that one.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Okay, well great, there you go.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
See and Bonnie got to stay sis I let it
just laugh along with us.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
She's like, this is music not from my generation.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
No, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (40:13):
Well listen.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
It has been an utter pleasure chatting with both of
you today, and I have a question for you before
we head off. One last question, which is you love
to travel. Is there one wine region in the world
that you would love to go explore next?
Speaker 4 (40:30):
I would really just I would like to try France
when usually when I'm traveling it's with our groups and
so it's not wine. And yeah, I would like to
have the time just to go through and try wines
all over. But I think even in Europe. Their beautiful
wines come out of Europe too. Yeah, so I would
(40:51):
like to.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
Experience that anywhere you go.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
And I'm sure having a glass of wine while you
watercolor is a perfect setting as you're looking out at
a vineyards are very pretty to paint.
Speaker 4 (41:00):
Yes, I know the colors, Oh, I know. I keep
taking photographs because it's so hard to get those on
a photograph. It's never quite what I want. Yeah, I
was thinking. The other area I would love to travel
through and try their wins is Italy. Yeah, I've had
some wonderful wines in Italy and food.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
Yeah, so go drink Barbera.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
But if people want to come drink Barbera here in
Livermore Valley at Charles R. Just really quickly, where will
they find you and what will they experience? I mean,
when is your tasting room open? Do you offer any
anything here? What can they find here or where can
they find you?
Speaker 4 (41:43):
Oh? Well, lots of wine? Yeah, yes, we have Italian
and Portuguese. Italian and Portuguese wines here, but all day
and I try also be I like the what I
call them the standards, but like the Cabernet and the Zifidel,
And yes, I think that's that's I think that we
(42:04):
all know them. They're great wines, you know. I think
the reason we all know them is that they do well.
They grow well here. They produce a really beautiful wine. Yeah,
and we do. On the weekends usually we'll have something
we have yesterday we had the ukulele jam, so I'm
(42:25):
thinking we had maybe thirty to forty ukuleles here. How
fun and random, I know, it's so fine. And he
does open mic so other people can get up. In fact,
he had a keyboard. There was another guy doing a keyboard.
That the first time I saw that. But yeah, that's
really fun. The karaoke will have us safe here. Occasionally
(42:50):
there's there's always something going on, if not that day,
within that that weekend.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
Yeah, well, now are you open? What days of the week
you open?
Speaker 5 (42:58):
We're open Friday Sunday twelve to four point thirty. We're
at the very end of Greenville Road, all right. Our
our address is eighty one ninety five Crane Ridge Road.
But if you go to the end of Greenville Greenville
Road where the asphalt ends, keep going.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
There is there is a sign in like a right,
there's a big sign and like an entry that you
drive through, so you know you're in the right place.
Speaker 5 (43:22):
Big archway. Yeah, it always cracks me. I couldn't find you.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
The archway wasn't Charles Vineyards.
Speaker 5 (43:29):
Yeah, so there's a big archway there. We have a
little windy dirt road that gets here. It's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
Keep going because at the very end of the road
there is a building.
Speaker 5 (43:37):
There is a building where well, there's a gym at
the end of the road. That's what I always say. Yes,
so I want to do I wanted to make a
T shirt that Charles are on the back ball of
the damn road.
Speaker 3 (43:45):
But she won't let me. But yeah. So you have
the tasting room and then you have an outdoor area.
Speaker 5 (43:51):
We have a large outdoor area, have a patio that
it's covered, and then it opens up. And then in
the very back we have an arbor. So if people
want to do private partied and they don't want to
close the winery, they can they can have that back carboncy.
It's about what thirty people, thirty two something like that.
And then we do hikes every month. We have one
hundred acres here. We have some trails cut. We do
(44:13):
a hike here the fourth Saturday of every month and
we do bagels and sparkling or mimosas up on top
of the hill three hundred six should you give you
the valley so it's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
You can get a little exercise before you start drinking
or while you drink.
Speaker 3 (44:30):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
Well, Bonnie and Bruce, thank you guys so much for
joining us on wine soundtrack. I really enjoyed chatting with you.
I hope you had fun. I hope it wasn't too painful.
Speaker 4 (44:40):
No, it was.
Speaker 5 (44:43):
Thank you so much for coming on visiting.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
Absolutely, and I know Bonnie was a little hesitant. Your
voice sounded great.
Speaker 4 (44:49):
Oh yeah, we'll have to see what I hear my bories.
I always somebody played a trick on me, was and
got me angry, which was my husband, because you want
to to record me when I was being angry. And
when he played it back, I heard this little soft
voice saying, now you stopping there? Something that I got?
(45:10):
Oh and no wonder the dog ignores me.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
Well, you were not too soft and I didn't ignore you,
so thank you.
Speaker 3 (45:21):
Well I will raise a glass to you, to both
of you, and say cheerious.
Speaker 4 (45:25):
Yeah do you I could cheer cheers.
Speaker 1 (45:29):
Thanks for listening to a new episode of Wine Soundtrack USA.
For details and updates, visit our website windsoundtracks dot com.
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