September 3, 2025 • 37 mins
We are dedicated to living a sustainable lifestyle at Retzlaff to honor Gloria’s vision of a balanced land and community. It’s common to see neighbors and employees picking tomatoes from the garden, or community members working hard with the family during the busy harvest season. We put passion into our wines from start to finish, and value sharing those wines and our organic practices with you. It is part of our duty to educate, conserve, and sustain the future, so please come by, take a tour of our vineyard and gardens, and enjoy our fresh wines. Listen to the honeybees, smell a rose, and relax in the lush, organic paradise of Retzlaff Vineyards.
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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 am at the winery Retsloft Vineyards.
I'm sitting with the Salome Taylor, who is the business
manager and owner of this beautiful organic property, the only
organic certified property in Livermore Valley. Salome, Welcome to Wine Soundtrack.
Tell me a little bit about Retsloft Vineyards.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Hello Alison, and welcome to retslof Vineyards. So Retsloft Vineyards
was founded in nineteen seventy six. It was a sheep ranch.
It is an old Italian eight well Victorian italianate estate
fourteen acres. Originally there were no crops here on this
(00:53):
beautiful property. It was a sheep ranch because we grow rocks,
and sheep are perfectly fine. Ons and crops were not
in nineteen seventy six. So I Law spots property. In
seventy two and seventy six they had the grapes put in.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
And they decided that they were gonna rocks be damned
box dand.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
But remember grapes love a struggle, and this is beautiful
soil for growing grapes, and says there had never been
a grown in this beautiful property. The soil was basically
virgin soil. Now, my father in law was a retired PhD.
Geochemist from the Laurence Livermore lab and he early on
(01:34):
decided that chemicals were harmful. So we have never had
chemical intervention in all this time on this land. So
this is virgin land with beautiful grapes grown from well
now certified organic grapes.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Wow, that's amazing. So it's a fourteen acre property. How
many acres of vines.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Do you have? We have eleven five acres of grapes.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Wow. And you don't buy any fruit. It's a hundred
percent of state.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
One hundred percent of state. It's very unique. This is
one of the few properties in California which is one
hundred percent of state all organically certified fruit.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And what are the great varieties you have planted here?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
So primarily Bordeaux varrietols. We have Caberny savignon merlou semon
which we blend with our savignon blanc and chardonnay, no.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Cap franc, no cap fronc. It was just declared one
of the Livermore Valley varietals.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yes it was. We've never had cap fronc. It's actually
sort of a new varietal for the Livermore Valley, but
it is a vietal for the Livermore Valley now.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And so Bordeaux varieties and anything else, are those the
primary the only varieties you have here?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Those are the only varietals that Chardonnay, of course, is
a Burgundy varietal, and that's we have one acre of chardonnay,
which has coveted our wine club members basically get it all.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So three white grapes and then he said three red grapes,
four red grapes, two.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Red grape varietals. But we do make a beautiful cavity
burlow blend.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
So when you look at the wines like a border
of blood, and what is your total case production.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Right around twenty five hundred It can actually fluctuate between
twenty and twenty five hundred, just depends on the year.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
And are your wines available direct to consumer? Are they
in any markets? Do you distribute or is it just
one hundred percent through the website and.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Winery primarily direct to consumer, although we are at whole Foods,
the local Safeways, Local Vevemo, local Total Wines, some of
the local stores. We are in resort communities. They've sought
us out. So if you go to Park City or
Sun Valley, Idaho, House, New Mexico, Santa Fe, places like that,
you'll find us in some of their higher end maybe
(03:52):
their Michelin Star restaurants, you'll find us there.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Wow, that's great. So we were talking before we got
started on this. We got onto a whole cover station
because we both have this love for travel. And I'm
curious because you've had opportunities and you'll talk to this
a little more about how you've traveled it and such.
But what's your first memory relevant to wine?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Oh? My, so I come from a wine family. My
grandfather was Aurelio Garral. He started in California in the
early nineteen hundreds Delmonico's in San Francisco, the restaurant, the
restaurant which eventually moved to Delmonico's in Los Angeles after
the nineteen oh six earthquake. We had vineyards in Los
(04:37):
Angeles that time, our family did, because there were vineyards
in Los Angeles at that time vineyards, So my family
was in the alcohol industry early on. My father owned
liquor stores later, and we always had wine at our home.
So as far back as you can remember, far back
as I can remember, there was the water and wine,
(04:58):
you know, at dinner boutine.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So since then, you've traveled the world and drunk a
lot of wines all over the world. Is there a
particular wine that stands out as that kind of aha
moment wine? I don't know if it was, you know,
a wine early on that took you on a path
to something, or you know, guided you on a certain
variety or a place, or was just a special occasion
(05:23):
that has stood out in your mind.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Oh my, there's so many of them, because there's so
many gorgeous wine regions in this world, and it's hard
to pinpoint. But I'd have to say my husband and I, Aaron,
had a wonderful year interning in Switzerland. Of all places,
we were in Ouvisen, which is near Chefausen and it
is on its own a rhine valley. It's very southern
(05:47):
Rhine and learning how the Swiss produced wine and what
they use for varietals was really fascinating. Their job is
so much more difficult than our job is in California
growing grapes or on steep slopes. I don't know how
they do it. The frost they have to wrap their
(06:08):
vines that it was fascinating. And it was also amazing
to watch a small family vineyard the size of our
vineyard sell their entire production in three weekends to consumers
that loved that wine. They'd fill up their trunk and
drive away.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So was it a particular wine or variety of your
experience or it was just all overall?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I would say what was really fun for us would
be their shade noises that they were doing. That was wonderful.
They also do wonderful pinots. A blaborough gunder. I think
a bla gunder was very delightful, and also a varietal
that we never produce here, basically a cabernet that's really green.
But it was wonderful.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
And was this when you knew you were going to
eventually be taking over this property from your in laws
and working or was this a wine passion that started before?
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Oh boy, if you're referring to Switzerland, Switzerland happened because
their son came from this particular Weinberg and interned for us,
and then Erin and I had recently gotten married and
we were taking off on our European adventure and ended
up working for their family. So that's sort of how
that's changed. That's how it happened.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
So, as you've traveled around the world, is there a
favorite wine region that you've drunk wine in.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Well, it's a little bit of a conundrum. Country, I
have to say, and that would be South Africa. Absolutely beautiful,
stunnying country, the most stunning landscapes I can imagine. Sorry,
New Zealand. New Zealand is wonderful to know.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
That's a hard because New Zealand sort of stunning, mind
mind mully, mind blowing.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
But I have to say being in the Cape region
of South Africa and tasting their sin and blongs really
is stand out.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
So if we were to come, I'm in your home
right now. We're doing this in your kitchen which is
just across from the tasting room and looking out at
your beautiful gardens. I'm curious. The one thing you didn't
show me was your wine collection. I don't know where
your wines are hidden. If they're just in a little
fridge or in a closet somewhere. But what kind of
wines do you collect, whether for aging or for drinking.
(08:23):
Is a lot of wines from around the world, certain varieties,
a lot of local wines, your own wines.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
We usually always come home with a white wine. We'll
come home with breads as well. Just recently, I came
home with this beautiful, gorgeous bottle of wine from Portugal.
This got back last week, and of course it is
a vienoverde, but we thought it was delightful. They couldn't
even tell us this particular winery which bridles were in it,
because quite often you're in these ancient vineyards where unless
(08:53):
you're doing a genetic test on the varietle itself, you
don't really know what's in it. It's almost like being
in a vineyard where they're picking blacks and blues.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
So your home is sort of a collection of wines
you've collected around the world.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Things that we love art wine.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
And did you just open that veino verde the other day?
Is there another wine you've opened recently that drank really well?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Again, we just returned from Portugal and what we brought
back and we have been enjoying is a white port
and that has been really fun. It's in the fridge
right now. We've been making that wonderful white port and
tonic cocktail. It's delightful and it has absolutely encouraged us
that we are going to make.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
A white port port style port style.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
We're going to do a port style exact. Luckily we
can get away with calling our port here port. I
don't know how that's possible, but at our particular vineyard
we have been able to do that. But we are
going to do a port style white and we'll be
doing it with our the last few rows of Trousseau
Greed that we have the property of forgot.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Dimension truth so Greed. Do you make a still wine
with Trusa Greed?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
We used to so initially when we first started this vineyard,
we were all in True So Green and wen Tea,
the other very well established vineyard here in Littlemore Valley
used to purchase all of our Truth So Green. They
called it gray rising and gray reassing was very popular.
The bottom fell out of that market, and that that
happened in the eighties with the onset of Bottles Barttles
(10:29):
in James, So bye bye Truth so green. Nobody wanted
to buy it anymore. That's why we regrapped it. But
we still have some truth so greed.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Because some people do want that now I.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Know, and we've been really considering regrafting some finds back
to Trusau greed. Luckily we have some that would be
an excellent wine to try, making a part style white
wine run. So we're gonna try it because we get
to strip sugars up on it.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So I'm curious, do you think that there's a such
thing as a perfect variety?
Speaker 3 (11:02):
A perfect variety? Well, I'd have to say, even though
we don't grow a lot of this, charnay is a
very interesting varietal because you can do so much with it.
You can make those buttery oaki shardennais if you like
those and you tend towards that, but you can also
make a shit and blog style right, a shabilee style.
(11:25):
And I love the variation depending on how you make
your wine with shardonnay. I think it's very interesting.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
So perfection is not necessarily achieving one level of perfection,
but it's the ability to be versatile that makes it
such a perfect grate.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
I think so, although here at Redslof. We stick to
what works. So if we have a particular technique of
making wine with a particular varietal, we stick to it.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
So for for somebody who's never had the privilege to
taste Redsloft wines, what do you think there're sing out on?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Oh my, they're missing out on flavors for one, and
the flavors that I mentioned is that we do filter right,
and we do stove stereo filter, and we do cold stabilize,
but we do it in such a way that we
don't overdo it. So the flavors are lingering, they're long,
they're bold, they're lasting, and that's because we are such
(12:23):
a small winery. And we're also able to hand pick,
so we handpick when fruit is ready and not before.
And that means if we start picking and all of
a sudden we find a particular row is not up
to the right sugar, we stop picking. So we are
able to control every aspect of our wine making so
that the bottle and the grape and the wine that
(12:46):
you ultimately drink are just right.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So, you know, tasting wine is obviously a very subjective thing,
and obviously someone who comes here would be able to experience,
a sort of you know, vine to glass type of experience.
But a lot of people do enter their wines in
competitions or they submit for scores. And I'm curious what
(13:09):
your opinion is on wine critics and scores. As a
wine consumer, do you find them valuable? But as a
wine maker do you find them useful?
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Oh? My, so that's a good one. It's a bit
of a business, this whole scoring and competition, right, Someone's
making money off that. And I tell you, by the
time I'm done entering any competition, I've probably spent over
one thousand dollars on the competition's entry fees, and that's
not even including the wine. Do I find them valuable? Well,
(13:38):
we can't have our wines reviewed by many journals or
different or even submit them to different wine clubs or
unless they have these ratings, so we have to do
some of these. We try to be very selective. We
try to only send our wines to the most legitimate competitions,
(14:02):
and there's a number of those that we find that
are legitimate.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
And we'll do that. And does it help your brand
or just something that is more a marker for you personally?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
I think it helps our brand if we can get
in the journal or in the hands of the right
consumer or the right critic. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So, if space aliens were to land on your property
and come knocking on the door right now, which of
your wines would you want to welcome them with, to
say welcome to rest left vineyards.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
I would want to pour them our family Reserve Savenu Blanc.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Well, our family Reserve Savenuel Blanc is made from our
old fine so it's roughly forty five year old fines.
There's a ton of character. We've blended in a small percentage,
maybe four percent of semeon into that wine. So it's flinty.
It's is made very much in the Bordeaux style. It
(15:03):
is stainless steel fermented, and then it's barrel age for
just about six months in a neutral oak as well
as new French oak Nadalia barrels, light toast. It's a
phenomenal savenyel blanc.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
So for you as a wine drinker, then Red Whieter Rose,
Oh my.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
I'm such a woman that enjoys having the wine paired
with my food. Although if I'm not having food and
I'm just having a glass of wine, it is going
to be white, still or sparkly. Oh, and that's so
tricky too, because I love bubbles and I love starting
(15:45):
an occasion with bubbles. Absolutely love starting with bubbles, and
then if I'm going to roll to a white, it's
going to be still.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
So you just mentioned that you prefer to do food
pairings with wine, and that makes you an equal opportunist
to drink all styles of wine. So I'm curious how
do you approach food and wine pairing. Obviously, if you
go to a restaurant and you can put in the
hands of a small a who's going to do it
or the chef, you know, that's one thing. But when
it's left to you to make the decision at home
or in a restaurant, do you have certain rules that
(16:15):
you follow or certain things that you're trying to match
or contrast? How do you look at it?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So I love to cook. I think I'm a foodie,
and that's why I love to travel the world enjoying
food and wine. I do look at certain rules, and
often the rules are, you know, with white wines, you're
looking at poultry, and you're looking at fish, and you're
looking at certain fruits, and you're looking at certain cheeses.
(16:44):
So I do kind of follow that rule with my
white wines with a rose, I often look at dishes
that may have ham in them and melon, even though
you could do that with your white wines. When I
look at red wines, I'm always heading towards my beef
(17:06):
and lamb, pork tenderloin with merlot.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
So those are sort of my rules.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I also look at herbs and spices and what go
really well with different wines. Asian food rose hands down,
love it with Asian food.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
And do you look more so when you're at home,
do you pick the wine you're gonna drink and then
decide what to cook? Or do you decide what you're
cooking and then pick the wine.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
That's what I do. I decide when I'm going to cook,
and I am one of those folks that can create
something out of nothing. It surprises the family all the time.
There's nothing to eat that I might give me a
minute and then they can't believe what's come out, and
I'm like, listen, there were some cheese in there, there
were some eggs, or's pasta. I got it.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
As for wine, let's see, and then I will go.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
And find the wine that's a white, Go get it, honey.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
So you live here on the property and you've lived
on the property for how many years now?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Oh my, we've lived on the property now for fifteen years.
My in laws, of course, developed this gorgeous property from
seriously it was a run down, ramshackled farmhouse with a
there was a bomb that was living in the house
with twelve dogs hosing it out. When my mother in
law and father in law came to see it, Wow,
(18:29):
and they saw the property and said we want it,
and they transformed it into this beautiful, beautiful place where
people can come enjoy. I love to say it's the
ultimate chill out space.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
So you wake up every day in the vineyards are
just outside the door, and you're organically farming, which means
that you're very in touch with nature. So I'm curious.
We know that every vintage tells a different story. In
the years that you've been here, do you find that
Livermore Valley, your vineyard in particular, sees more consistency or
(19:06):
is variation really extreme from year to year?
Speaker 3 (19:10):
In the last I'd have to say it's been the
last six years. There's been a lot of variation in temperature,
and so with temperature that brings variation in when fruit
is going to ripen, and it also brings in variation
on the vintage itself and also on the quantity of
what we're going to bring in. We have seen the
(19:32):
last couple of years some beautiful vintages. We've been lucky
that we've been able to pick early. This is one
of the one property in Livermore that picks well before
others pick. And I think just are how we're situated
in the valley. So I hope that answer that question.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, so you have some variation. And when you're walking
through the vineyard, what kind of relationship have you developed
with your vines? Do you talk to your vines? Do
they talk to you? Do they say good morning every morning?
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (20:02):
My?
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Can I give you a little side story on that
real quick, okay, because we do believe these vines have life.
Our daughter Isabella was born on this property, actually just
about half a mile away, and she came to the
property about three hours after she was born. We were
all living here at the time of my mother and
(20:25):
father in law, and my father in law swaddled up
Isabella expertly. I don't know how he knew how to
swaddle so.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Well, but because he'd had children before, he did well.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
He disappeared with my newborn, who at this point was
about six hours old, and he came back an hour
later and said it's done, and we said what, and
he goes, I've introduced her to the vines. So he
walked her through the vineyard and introduced Isabella to our
great vines. And that's when we have Isabella's.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Blush, our rose. And today how old is she?
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Isabella is now thirty three.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And does she have a relationship with her vines?
Speaker 3 (21:05):
She does.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Does she work here with you? She does.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
She and her sister are both amazing tractor operators and
it's so fun to see them out there during harvest
driving the tractor, unloading those bins and getting right into it.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Well, maybe it was those first few hours of her
life that converted her into a vine whisper. So are
there any sort of signs or predictors that you look
for that are going to tell you what a harvest
is going to be?
Speaker 3 (21:38):
So right now it's pretty early, but as you've noticed
she came in, the growth is incredible. The grape vines
you could watch them grow. I think they're growing eight
inches a day, so this is a really good indication.
We've had good rain early on, so that's really wonderful.
The heat has been very steady. We haven't had anything
(21:58):
too extreme yet, so I'm hoping this is a sign
for something to come, that we may have a slow,
steady increase during the summer, which if that happens, then
we'll have predictable ripening because when things get too hot,
the vines do shut down, they stop ripening, and you
don't like that. You want things to keep on ripening.
(22:19):
So right now I'm feeling that the indications are great breeze,
great temperature, Please keep going.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
As long as mother Nature doesn't change, you can predict
what is coming, but she may change, and that is
always the risk you take. So are there any good
luck rituals that you and your family have established, or
you and your team as a whole have established that
you do at the start of harvest, or to designate
like a new vintage?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
This designate a new vintage, Well, we always have a
Future's release that's for a new vintage. So that's when
we allow our dear futures customers to taste the varietal
that was picked the before, so they tasted in the
barrels in January. So it's kind of a ritual for
us because our Futures customers have been with us for
(23:06):
thirty five years and they have been with us from
the beginning. Some of these club members have never left,
so that is a ritual. I'd say before harvest. What happens,
and it always happens is my brother in law who
is the winemaker, and my husband who is the operations
manager and cellar rat and assistant winemaker. They seriously believe
(23:27):
that you need good beer to make good wine.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
While you're working.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
That would be afterwards. But yes, a good breakfast copy breaks. Yeah,
those are our rituals.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Very typical rituals. They shave. They don't have lucky socks
or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
You know, So.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Tell me something. I mean, you said that you grew
up obviously around food and wine, and that was an
industry that your family was in. You obviously fell in
love with someone who also had a connection to who
family founded it to it. But when you were a
little girl, what did you want to be when you
grew up?
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Oh, my, I wanted to be an ambassador. I really did.
I fell in love with travel early, and somehow or
another in my hands fell a Cosmopolitan while I was
in high school, and it was all about female ambassadors
and that magazine, which was sort of taboo. You weren't
(24:26):
supposed to be reading Cosmopolitan. But I had that sort
of inspired me just to be a woman of the world.
I wanted to know about the world. I wanted to
travel the world. I wanted to understand the world, and
I wanted to make friends with the world. So yeah,
and did.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
You pursue a career in travel or did this? Did
wine start out earlier in your in your life?
Speaker 3 (24:51):
Hmmm? I ended up studying horticulture, which was part of
a love of mine as well, but as a young
person on an exchange program, and I ended up working
for the exchange program for many years because I just
loved working with the youth, and I loved traveling, and
the family I lived with really loved wine, and it
(25:15):
was so wonderful that they would share those experiences with
me in Germany, in Switzerland, in France, and you know,
as an eighteen year old being able to taste beautiful
wines after have had having you know, wines in California,
but very different creative wines. Back in the seventies, right,
it was wonderful to drink wines out of a bottle.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
So when you're not working, I know that you love
to travel, but what else do you like to do
in your free time?
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Well, I loved a garden. I love to hike my
husband and I love to say those are our favorite
things to do. We love to get outside. We are
outside people.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
And when you're planning a romantic evening with your husband,
what sort of wines do you open to set the
mood that differentially it from just a regular night.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
We do always open sparkling. We absolutely love sparkling and
it's it's the way to start any romantic evening. Have
a glass of sparkling.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And you make sparkling wine as well.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Right, So the sparkling wine is the only wine that
we don't make. We sort of custom curate our dosage
and have a lovely sparkling so that we could share
that with our guests that want sparkling.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Made from your sharden Naye Shardenay grapes. Yes, And so
you make the wine, you're just not actually doing the
bubbles because you don't have the facility.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
This is the only wine that we don't make on
the property and it's not from our grapes. So that's
the only wine, right, Yeah, but source from Livermore. It
is not source from Lovemore either. So this is the
only way we go out and we we work with
a vitner and we put together a custom wine so
that we could have that because folks want it and
(26:54):
we do weddings and celebrations, So having some sparkles we
always find extremely important.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Absolutely So when you look back at your career, your life,
the experiences, you've had a lot of things that we do.
You know, people give us advice along the ways. Is
there a piece of advice someone gave you at any point?
It could be a parent, a mentor, a teacher, or
a friend, a colleague, your child. I don't know a
piece of advice that you carry with you that you
(27:22):
try to live or work by.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Hmm. That piece of advice, if it's not broken, don't
break it. And I think it does make sense because
some folks find themselves living wonderfully, maybe it's humbly and
they're very happy, and then they decide to change that
(27:44):
or they've got a wonderful business that's ruling along beautifully,
and they decide it'll be so much better if I
multiply this business. Well, often you break something that has
been doing really well, so you have to really look
at the pros and cons before you decide to move
(28:05):
forward with your next steps.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, and when you if you were to be able,
if you were able to give a piece of advice
to our listeners today about wine or or travel your
other passion, what would you say, I'd say.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Go out on a limb a little bit with your
wine selection, try something new, and same thing with travel,
go to a new destination. Maybe instead of going to roam,
you'll head out into Umbria. Maybe you'll just you'll try
a different food when you're out. Because we all fall
(28:41):
back in the same things that we love over and
over again, you know, try something new.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
So when you look back at your career, what would
you say is one of your proudest achievements.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Probably starting my travel business and incorporating it with food
and wine, my loves and the people I've been able
to travel with. That has been such an honor for
me to be able to show people the world and
enjoy food in a class of wine with them.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
So your business is organizing trips for people, for them
and also leading them.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Yes, yes it is. Yeah, travel with Solomon on the side. Yeah,
it's been wonderful.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Do you ever do you know rest laugh vineyards, wine
tours into other places?
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Yes, we have, we have, and that's been a lot
of fun too. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Yeah, so complete this sentence. For me, a table without wine.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Is like m crossing a desert without water.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
And now we're sitting at your table. We're at your
table with a few bottles of retsoft wines on them.
There's an empty seat next to you who from any
walk of life, living or deceased. Do you wish you
could be sharing a bottle of your wines with?
Speaker 3 (29:58):
This makes me so so sad, But I wish it
was Anthony Bourdain. I would have had the most fun
with Anthony. Whether it was a glass of wine, a beer,
or a cocktail, we would have had a great time together.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
So as someone who farms organically, you're really in touch
with the soil. It's really important to you to know
what's happening in the vineyard at all times and keep
healthy soil. You think we'll be drinking and making wine
in five hundred years.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Oh my well, I would hope so. But there is
an issue with using chemicals in the soil. Chemicals kill microbes.
And if you've killed microbes and you've killed your soil,
and we need soil, healthy soil to be able to
grow things. And so I really hope that future generations
(30:53):
and what's happening right now, folks will start considering natural practices.
Being organic. There are ways around chemicals, and it's just
better for all of us. You don't have to.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Breathe it in, you don't have to eat it. And
happy soil means happy grapes.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Yes, happy grapes exactly.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
So if you were being sent off to a deserted island,
you know, climate change and all in your life now,
but you can only take three wines with you. What
three wines? Any wines you wanted any in the world.
What three wines would you take with you? I'd taste
savignon blanc for sure, from any particular place or producer.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Oh ours, I love ours. It would be our savignon blanc.
I would also take a murleau. I absolutely love murlou.
I find it's so underrated, and we grow a beautiful one,
but it's fabulous. So I would take a burlow and
then I would have to take a big, beautiful bold
(31:55):
bread yeah, and that would play be for me.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
I would take a pen and nor from any particular place.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
M you see the one?
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Yeah? There you go and there you go?
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Gotcha?
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Do what about them? Alow? Where would that come from? Here?
You like your own wines? That's good, that's good. Well,
I want to play a little game. The one thing
you've been anticipating of pairing wine with music. It's just
another way to keep talking about your wines but also
kind of give them the feeling the same way music does.
(32:35):
What is a conjure?
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Up?
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So you've spoken quite a bit about your Sauvignon blanc,
the Reserve one. So I'm wondering if you can tell
me with that wine that you've described already, but what
song or genre or musician represents that?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Oh my? And the reason why I'm saying this right
now is that I I was just so lucky to
be the Hollywood Bowl and see Joni Mitchell and Jonie
loves her white wine. And so there was Jonie on
the stage drinking her white wine. So Savagel Blanc and
Joni Mitchell both sides now, okay?
Speaker 2 (33:12):
And what about your your Cabernet Savignon merlou blend.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
Music right, music genre musicians? Okay, Well that's a blend,
so that kind of seems like it's an inclusive scient
type of wine.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Yeah, it's sixty five percent Cabernet, thirty five percent mer
Low and agent oak for two years.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Okay, I'd say Americana for me, even though it's French.
So you know, you definitely have the Vivian rose, so
that would be lovely. But how about Brandy Carlisle? Okay? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (33:53):
What about your twenty twenty four chardonnay?
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Okay? And now we're getting to a twenty twenty four chardonnay? Hmmm,
what music genre would this one be? Oh well, so
we're looking at Burgundian? How about Puccini? About puccini?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And then, last but not least, your Isabelle's blush, named
after your daughter. It's a rose of Merleau, dry rose
of Merloues. So what about that one?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Oh boy, dry rose of Merlau. What am I going
to pair that with? You know, that is such an
easy going wine. It's such a great picnic wine and
you think about being outside and chilling out. Jack Johnson,
there you go.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Okay, that was easy. Well it's only that's it. I mean,
we did it. I have one more question for you.
I know you travel all the time and you've gone
all over the world. Is there one wine region that's
at the top of your bucket list that you would
love to to really delve into or go for the
first time? But what's really at the top of.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
Your list where I've been? Correct?
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Oh, no, somewhere that maybe you haven't been. I don't
know where do you want to be going next?
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Okay, so yes, I am very interested in going to
Georgia Kiyota. Yeah, I'd like to go back to the
old country and really see some of those absolutely ancient
varietals and taste some of those varietals where wine started.
That would be fantastic. I would love it. I'd love
(35:32):
to drink out of a clay cylinder and you know,
really taste the earth. I think that'd be fabulous. Awesome.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Well, you should start playing that. I know you travel,
so it's probably on your agenda to go at some point,
and for somebody who comes here to the Livermore Valley again.
You know, it could be a day trip from the
Bay Area, but you can also come out here and stay.
But what will you experience if you come here, specifically
to reds Left Vineyard. When do you open, what do
you offer or where are you?
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Okay? So we are truly on the beaten path. We
used to be off the beaten path, but city has
grown up to us. So we're a beautiful fourteen acre
state right on the outskirts of Livermore. I can ride
your bike here if you want. We're open Friday, Saturday,
Sunday and Monday. Late on Friday evenings for wine down Fridays,
you can expect to be able to bring a picnic,
(36:23):
toto retslove vineyards or buy from a food vendor. Get
a beautiful picnic table, bring your friends, bring your family,
bring your pet, and enjoy our beautiful scenery. Relax. We
want people just to realize that you can come here.
Time slows down, enjoy your wine, enjoy those people with you.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Fantastic And then I know when I got here today
you were just ending up. You had live music. Do
you have live music here a lot?
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Yes, we have live music Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
It's a big party, yeah, A relaxing, calming, big party.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Yes. Yes. Supporting local musicians is kind of a an
important thing for us too. We love them wonderful.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Well, I just want to thank you so much for
joining us as all man. I'm going to raise a glass.
I've got some bubbles in my glass, and so I
want to say cheers and thank you for joining us
on Wine Soundtrack.
Speaker 3 (37:13):
Oh you're welcome.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Thanks such a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Thanks for listening to a new episode of Wine Soundtrack USA.
For details and updates, visit our website windsoundtrack 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 am at the winery Retsloft Vineyards.
I'm sitting with the Salome Taylor, who is the business
manager and owner of this beautiful organic property, the only
organic certified property in Livermore Valley. Salome, Welcome to Wine Soundtrack.
Tell me a little bit about Retsloft Vineyards.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Hello Alison, and welcome to retslof Vineyards. So Retsloft Vineyards
was founded in nineteen seventy six. It was a sheep ranch.
It is an old Italian eight well Victorian italianate estate
fourteen acres. Originally there were no crops here on this
(00:53):
beautiful property. It was a sheep ranch because we grow rocks,
and sheep are perfectly fine. Ons and crops were not
in nineteen seventy six. So I Law spots property. In
seventy two and seventy six they had the grapes put in.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
And they decided that they were gonna rocks be damned
box dand.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
But remember grapes love a struggle, and this is beautiful
soil for growing grapes, and says there had never been
a grown in this beautiful property. The soil was basically
virgin soil. Now, my father in law was a retired PhD.
Geochemist from the Laurence Livermore lab and he early on
(01:34):
decided that chemicals were harmful. So we have never had
chemical intervention in all this time on this land. So
this is virgin land with beautiful grapes grown from well
now certified organic grapes.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Wow, that's amazing. So it's a fourteen acre property. How
many acres of vines.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Do you have? We have eleven five acres of grapes.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Wow. And you don't buy any fruit. It's a hundred
percent of state.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
One hundred percent of state. It's very unique. This is
one of the few properties in California which is one
hundred percent of state all organically certified fruit.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And what are the great varieties you have planted here?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
So primarily Bordeaux varrietols. We have Caberny savignon merlou semon
which we blend with our savignon blanc and chardonnay, no.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Cap franc, no cap fronc. It was just declared one
of the Livermore Valley varietals.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yes it was. We've never had cap fronc. It's actually
sort of a new varietal for the Livermore Valley, but
it is a vietal for the Livermore Valley now.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And so Bordeaux varieties and anything else, are those the
primary the only varieties you have here?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Those are the only varietals that Chardonnay, of course, is
a Burgundy varietal, and that's we have one acre of chardonnay,
which has coveted our wine club members basically get it all.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So three white grapes and then he said three red grapes,
four red grapes, two.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Red grape varietals. But we do make a beautiful cavity
burlow blend.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
So when you look at the wines like a border
of blood, and what is your total case production.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Right around twenty five hundred It can actually fluctuate between
twenty and twenty five hundred, just depends on the year.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
And are your wines available direct to consumer? Are they
in any markets? Do you distribute or is it just
one hundred percent through the website and.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Winery primarily direct to consumer, although we are at whole Foods,
the local Safeways, Local Vevemo, local Total Wines, some of
the local stores. We are in resort communities. They've sought
us out. So if you go to Park City or
Sun Valley, Idaho, House, New Mexico, Santa Fe, places like that,
you'll find us in some of their higher end maybe
(03:52):
their Michelin Star restaurants, you'll find us there.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Wow, that's great. So we were talking before we got
started on this. We got onto a whole cover station
because we both have this love for travel. And I'm
curious because you've had opportunities and you'll talk to this
a little more about how you've traveled it and such.
But what's your first memory relevant to wine?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Oh? My, so I come from a wine family. My
grandfather was Aurelio Garral. He started in California in the
early nineteen hundreds Delmonico's in San Francisco, the restaurant, the
restaurant which eventually moved to Delmonico's in Los Angeles after
the nineteen oh six earthquake. We had vineyards in Los
(04:37):
Angeles that time, our family did, because there were vineyards
in Los Angeles at that time vineyards, So my family
was in the alcohol industry early on. My father owned
liquor stores later, and we always had wine at our home.
So as far back as you can remember, far back
as I can remember, there was the water and wine,
(04:58):
you know, at dinner boutine.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So since then, you've traveled the world and drunk a
lot of wines all over the world. Is there a
particular wine that stands out as that kind of aha
moment wine? I don't know if it was, you know,
a wine early on that took you on a path
to something, or you know, guided you on a certain
variety or a place, or was just a special occasion
(05:23):
that has stood out in your mind.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Oh my, there's so many of them, because there's so
many gorgeous wine regions in this world, and it's hard
to pinpoint. But I'd have to say my husband and I, Aaron,
had a wonderful year interning in Switzerland. Of all places,
we were in Ouvisen, which is near Chefausen and it
is on its own a rhine valley. It's very southern
(05:47):
Rhine and learning how the Swiss produced wine and what
they use for varietals was really fascinating. Their job is
so much more difficult than our job is in California
growing grapes or on steep slopes. I don't know how
they do it. The frost they have to wrap their
(06:08):
vines that it was fascinating. And it was also amazing
to watch a small family vineyard the size of our
vineyard sell their entire production in three weekends to consumers
that loved that wine. They'd fill up their trunk and
drive away.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So was it a particular wine or variety of your
experience or it was just all overall?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I would say what was really fun for us would
be their shade noises that they were doing. That was wonderful.
They also do wonderful pinots. A blaborough gunder. I think
a bla gunder was very delightful, and also a varietal
that we never produce here, basically a cabernet that's really green.
But it was wonderful.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
And was this when you knew you were going to
eventually be taking over this property from your in laws
and working or was this a wine passion that started before?
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Oh boy, if you're referring to Switzerland, Switzerland happened because
their son came from this particular Weinberg and interned for us,
and then Erin and I had recently gotten married and
we were taking off on our European adventure and ended
up working for their family. So that's sort of how
that's changed. That's how it happened.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
So, as you've traveled around the world, is there a
favorite wine region that you've drunk wine in.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Well, it's a little bit of a conundrum. Country, I
have to say, and that would be South Africa. Absolutely beautiful,
stunnying country, the most stunning landscapes I can imagine. Sorry,
New Zealand. New Zealand is wonderful to know.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
That's a hard because New Zealand sort of stunning, mind
mind mully, mind blowing.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
But I have to say being in the Cape region
of South Africa and tasting their sin and blongs really
is stand out.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
So if we were to come, I'm in your home
right now. We're doing this in your kitchen which is
just across from the tasting room and looking out at
your beautiful gardens. I'm curious. The one thing you didn't
show me was your wine collection. I don't know where
your wines are hidden. If they're just in a little
fridge or in a closet somewhere. But what kind of
wines do you collect, whether for aging or for drinking.
(08:23):
Is a lot of wines from around the world, certain varieties,
a lot of local wines, your own wines.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
We usually always come home with a white wine. We'll
come home with breads as well. Just recently, I came
home with this beautiful, gorgeous bottle of wine from Portugal.
This got back last week, and of course it is
a vienoverde, but we thought it was delightful. They couldn't
even tell us this particular winery which bridles were in it,
because quite often you're in these ancient vineyards where unless
(08:53):
you're doing a genetic test on the varietle itself, you
don't really know what's in it. It's almost like being
in a vineyard where they're picking blacks and blues.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
So your home is sort of a collection of wines
you've collected around the world.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Things that we love art wine.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
And did you just open that veino verde the other day?
Is there another wine you've opened recently that drank really well?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Again, we just returned from Portugal and what we brought
back and we have been enjoying is a white port
and that has been really fun. It's in the fridge
right now. We've been making that wonderful white port and
tonic cocktail. It's delightful and it has absolutely encouraged us
that we are going to make.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
A white port port style port style.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
We're going to do a port style exact. Luckily we
can get away with calling our port here port. I
don't know how that's possible, but at our particular vineyard
we have been able to do that. But we are
going to do a port style white and we'll be
doing it with our the last few rows of Trousseau
Greed that we have the property of forgot.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Dimension truth so Greed. Do you make a still wine
with Trusa Greed?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
We used to so initially when we first started this vineyard,
we were all in True So Green and wen Tea,
the other very well established vineyard here in Littlemore Valley
used to purchase all of our Truth So Green. They
called it gray rising and gray reassing was very popular.
The bottom fell out of that market, and that that
happened in the eighties with the onset of Bottles Barttles
(10:29):
in James, So bye bye Truth so green. Nobody wanted
to buy it anymore. That's why we regrapped it. But
we still have some truth so greed.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Because some people do want that now I.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Know, and we've been really considering regrafting some finds back
to Trusau greed. Luckily we have some that would be
an excellent wine to try, making a part style white
wine run. So we're gonna try it because we get
to strip sugars up on it.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So I'm curious, do you think that there's a such
thing as a perfect variety?
Speaker 3 (11:02):
A perfect variety? Well, I'd have to say, even though
we don't grow a lot of this, charnay is a
very interesting varietal because you can do so much with it.
You can make those buttery oaki shardennais if you like
those and you tend towards that, but you can also
make a shit and blog style right, a shabilee style.
(11:25):
And I love the variation depending on how you make
your wine with shardonnay. I think it's very interesting.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
So perfection is not necessarily achieving one level of perfection,
but it's the ability to be versatile that makes it
such a perfect grate.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
I think so, although here at Redslof. We stick to
what works. So if we have a particular technique of
making wine with a particular varietal, we stick to it.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
So for for somebody who's never had the privilege to
taste Redsloft wines, what do you think there're sing out on?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Oh my, they're missing out on flavors for one, and
the flavors that I mentioned is that we do filter right,
and we do stove stereo filter, and we do cold stabilize,
but we do it in such a way that we
don't overdo it. So the flavors are lingering, they're long,
they're bold, they're lasting, and that's because we are such
(12:23):
a small winery. And we're also able to hand pick,
so we handpick when fruit is ready and not before.
And that means if we start picking and all of
a sudden we find a particular row is not up
to the right sugar, we stop picking. So we are
able to control every aspect of our wine making so
that the bottle and the grape and the wine that
(12:46):
you ultimately drink are just right.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So, you know, tasting wine is obviously a very subjective thing,
and obviously someone who comes here would be able to experience,
a sort of you know, vine to glass type of experience.
But a lot of people do enter their wines in
competitions or they submit for scores. And I'm curious what
(13:09):
your opinion is on wine critics and scores. As a
wine consumer, do you find them valuable? But as a
wine maker do you find them useful?
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Oh? My, so that's a good one. It's a bit
of a business, this whole scoring and competition, right, Someone's
making money off that. And I tell you, by the
time I'm done entering any competition, I've probably spent over
one thousand dollars on the competition's entry fees, and that's
not even including the wine. Do I find them valuable? Well,
(13:38):
we can't have our wines reviewed by many journals or
different or even submit them to different wine clubs or
unless they have these ratings, so we have to do
some of these. We try to be very selective. We
try to only send our wines to the most legitimate competitions,
(14:02):
and there's a number of those that we find that
are legitimate.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
And we'll do that. And does it help your brand
or just something that is more a marker for you personally?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
I think it helps our brand if we can get
in the journal or in the hands of the right
consumer or the right critic. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So, if space aliens were to land on your property
and come knocking on the door right now, which of
your wines would you want to welcome them with, to
say welcome to rest left vineyards.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
I would want to pour them our family Reserve Savenu Blanc.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Well, our family Reserve Savenuel Blanc is made from our
old fine so it's roughly forty five year old fines.
There's a ton of character. We've blended in a small percentage,
maybe four percent of semeon into that wine. So it's flinty.
It's is made very much in the Bordeaux style. It
(15:03):
is stainless steel fermented, and then it's barrel age for
just about six months in a neutral oak as well
as new French oak Nadalia barrels, light toast. It's a
phenomenal savenyel blanc.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
So for you as a wine drinker, then Red Whieter Rose,
Oh my.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
I'm such a woman that enjoys having the wine paired
with my food. Although if I'm not having food and
I'm just having a glass of wine, it is going
to be white, still or sparkly. Oh, and that's so
tricky too, because I love bubbles and I love starting
(15:45):
an occasion with bubbles. Absolutely love starting with bubbles, and
then if I'm going to roll to a white, it's
going to be still.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
So you just mentioned that you prefer to do food
pairings with wine, and that makes you an equal opportunist
to drink all styles of wine. So I'm curious how
do you approach food and wine pairing. Obviously, if you
go to a restaurant and you can put in the
hands of a small a who's going to do it
or the chef, you know, that's one thing. But when
it's left to you to make the decision at home
or in a restaurant, do you have certain rules that
(16:15):
you follow or certain things that you're trying to match
or contrast? How do you look at it?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So I love to cook. I think I'm a foodie,
and that's why I love to travel the world enjoying
food and wine. I do look at certain rules, and
often the rules are, you know, with white wines, you're
looking at poultry, and you're looking at fish, and you're
looking at certain fruits, and you're looking at certain cheeses.
(16:44):
So I do kind of follow that rule with my
white wines with a rose, I often look at dishes
that may have ham in them and melon, even though
you could do that with your white wines. When I
look at red wines, I'm always heading towards my beef
(17:06):
and lamb, pork tenderloin with merlot.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
So those are sort of my rules.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I also look at herbs and spices and what go
really well with different wines. Asian food rose hands down,
love it with Asian food.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
And do you look more so when you're at home,
do you pick the wine you're gonna drink and then
decide what to cook? Or do you decide what you're
cooking and then pick the wine.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
That's what I do. I decide when I'm going to cook,
and I am one of those folks that can create
something out of nothing. It surprises the family all the time.
There's nothing to eat that I might give me a
minute and then they can't believe what's come out, and
I'm like, listen, there were some cheese in there, there
were some eggs, or's pasta. I got it.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
As for wine, let's see, and then I will go.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
And find the wine that's a white, Go get it, honey.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
So you live here on the property and you've lived
on the property for how many years now?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Oh my, we've lived on the property now for fifteen years.
My in laws, of course, developed this gorgeous property from
seriously it was a run down, ramshackled farmhouse with a
there was a bomb that was living in the house
with twelve dogs hosing it out. When my mother in
law and father in law came to see it, Wow,
(18:29):
and they saw the property and said we want it,
and they transformed it into this beautiful, beautiful place where
people can come enjoy. I love to say it's the
ultimate chill out space.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
So you wake up every day in the vineyards are
just outside the door, and you're organically farming, which means
that you're very in touch with nature. So I'm curious.
We know that every vintage tells a different story. In
the years that you've been here, do you find that
Livermore Valley, your vineyard in particular, sees more consistency or
(19:06):
is variation really extreme from year to year?
Speaker 3 (19:10):
In the last I'd have to say it's been the
last six years. There's been a lot of variation in temperature,
and so with temperature that brings variation in when fruit
is going to ripen, and it also brings in variation
on the vintage itself and also on the quantity of
what we're going to bring in. We have seen the
(19:32):
last couple of years some beautiful vintages. We've been lucky
that we've been able to pick early. This is one
of the one property in Livermore that picks well before
others pick. And I think just are how we're situated
in the valley. So I hope that answer that question.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, so you have some variation. And when you're walking
through the vineyard, what kind of relationship have you developed
with your vines? Do you talk to your vines? Do
they talk to you? Do they say good morning every morning?
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (20:02):
My?
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Can I give you a little side story on that
real quick, okay, because we do believe these vines have life.
Our daughter Isabella was born on this property, actually just
about half a mile away, and she came to the
property about three hours after she was born. We were
all living here at the time of my mother and
(20:25):
father in law, and my father in law swaddled up
Isabella expertly. I don't know how he knew how to
swaddle so.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Well, but because he'd had children before, he did well.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
He disappeared with my newborn, who at this point was
about six hours old, and he came back an hour
later and said it's done, and we said what, and
he goes, I've introduced her to the vines. So he
walked her through the vineyard and introduced Isabella to our
great vines. And that's when we have Isabella's.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Blush, our rose. And today how old is she?
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Isabella is now thirty three.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And does she have a relationship with her vines?
Speaker 3 (21:05):
She does.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Does she work here with you? She does.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
She and her sister are both amazing tractor operators and
it's so fun to see them out there during harvest
driving the tractor, unloading those bins and getting right into it.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Well, maybe it was those first few hours of her
life that converted her into a vine whisper. So are
there any sort of signs or predictors that you look
for that are going to tell you what a harvest
is going to be?
Speaker 3 (21:38):
So right now it's pretty early, but as you've noticed
she came in, the growth is incredible. The grape vines
you could watch them grow. I think they're growing eight
inches a day, so this is a really good indication.
We've had good rain early on, so that's really wonderful.
The heat has been very steady. We haven't had anything
(21:58):
too extreme yet, so I'm hoping this is a sign
for something to come, that we may have a slow,
steady increase during the summer, which if that happens, then
we'll have predictable ripening because when things get too hot,
the vines do shut down, they stop ripening, and you
don't like that. You want things to keep on ripening.
(22:19):
So right now I'm feeling that the indications are great breeze,
great temperature, Please keep going.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
As long as mother Nature doesn't change, you can predict
what is coming, but she may change, and that is
always the risk you take. So are there any good
luck rituals that you and your family have established, or
you and your team as a whole have established that
you do at the start of harvest, or to designate
like a new vintage?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
This designate a new vintage, Well, we always have a
Future's release that's for a new vintage. So that's when
we allow our dear futures customers to taste the varietal
that was picked the before, so they tasted in the
barrels in January. So it's kind of a ritual for
us because our Futures customers have been with us for
(23:06):
thirty five years and they have been with us from
the beginning. Some of these club members have never left,
so that is a ritual. I'd say before harvest. What happens,
and it always happens is my brother in law who
is the winemaker, and my husband who is the operations
manager and cellar rat and assistant winemaker. They seriously believe
(23:27):
that you need good beer to make good wine.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
While you're working.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
That would be afterwards. But yes, a good breakfast copy breaks. Yeah,
those are our rituals.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Very typical rituals. They shave. They don't have lucky socks
or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
You know, So.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Tell me something. I mean, you said that you grew
up obviously around food and wine, and that was an
industry that your family was in. You obviously fell in
love with someone who also had a connection to who
family founded it to it. But when you were a
little girl, what did you want to be when you
grew up?
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Oh, my, I wanted to be an ambassador. I really did.
I fell in love with travel early, and somehow or
another in my hands fell a Cosmopolitan while I was
in high school, and it was all about female ambassadors
and that magazine, which was sort of taboo. You weren't
(24:26):
supposed to be reading Cosmopolitan. But I had that sort
of inspired me just to be a woman of the world.
I wanted to know about the world. I wanted to
travel the world. I wanted to understand the world, and
I wanted to make friends with the world. So yeah,
and did.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
You pursue a career in travel or did this? Did
wine start out earlier in your in your life?
Speaker 3 (24:51):
Hmmm? I ended up studying horticulture, which was part of
a love of mine as well, but as a young
person on an exchange program, and I ended up working
for the exchange program for many years because I just
loved working with the youth, and I loved traveling, and
the family I lived with really loved wine, and it
(25:15):
was so wonderful that they would share those experiences with
me in Germany, in Switzerland, in France, and you know,
as an eighteen year old being able to taste beautiful
wines after have had having you know, wines in California,
but very different creative wines. Back in the seventies, right,
it was wonderful to drink wines out of a bottle.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
So when you're not working, I know that you love
to travel, but what else do you like to do
in your free time?
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Well, I loved a garden. I love to hike my
husband and I love to say those are our favorite
things to do. We love to get outside. We are
outside people.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
And when you're planning a romantic evening with your husband,
what sort of wines do you open to set the
mood that differentially it from just a regular night.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
We do always open sparkling. We absolutely love sparkling and
it's it's the way to start any romantic evening. Have
a glass of sparkling.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And you make sparkling wine as well.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Right, So the sparkling wine is the only wine that
we don't make. We sort of custom curate our dosage
and have a lovely sparkling so that we could share
that with our guests that want sparkling.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Made from your sharden Naye Shardenay grapes. Yes, And so
you make the wine, you're just not actually doing the
bubbles because you don't have the facility.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
This is the only wine that we don't make on
the property and it's not from our grapes. So that's
the only wine, right, Yeah, but source from Livermore. It
is not source from Lovemore either. So this is the
only way we go out and we we work with
a vitner and we put together a custom wine so
that we could have that because folks want it and
(26:54):
we do weddings and celebrations, So having some sparkles we
always find extremely important.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Absolutely So when you look back at your career, your life,
the experiences, you've had a lot of things that we do.
You know, people give us advice along the ways. Is
there a piece of advice someone gave you at any point?
It could be a parent, a mentor, a teacher, or
a friend, a colleague, your child. I don't know a
piece of advice that you carry with you that you
(27:22):
try to live or work by.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Hmm. That piece of advice, if it's not broken, don't
break it. And I think it does make sense because
some folks find themselves living wonderfully, maybe it's humbly and
they're very happy, and then they decide to change that
(27:44):
or they've got a wonderful business that's ruling along beautifully,
and they decide it'll be so much better if I
multiply this business. Well, often you break something that has
been doing really well, so you have to really look
at the pros and cons before you decide to move
(28:05):
forward with your next steps.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, and when you if you were to be able,
if you were able to give a piece of advice
to our listeners today about wine or or travel your
other passion, what would you say, I'd say.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Go out on a limb a little bit with your
wine selection, try something new, and same thing with travel,
go to a new destination. Maybe instead of going to roam,
you'll head out into Umbria. Maybe you'll just you'll try
a different food when you're out. Because we all fall
(28:41):
back in the same things that we love over and
over again, you know, try something new.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
So when you look back at your career, what would
you say is one of your proudest achievements.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Probably starting my travel business and incorporating it with food
and wine, my loves and the people I've been able
to travel with. That has been such an honor for
me to be able to show people the world and
enjoy food in a class of wine with them.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
So your business is organizing trips for people, for them
and also leading them.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Yes, yes it is. Yeah, travel with Solomon on the side. Yeah,
it's been wonderful.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Do you ever do you know rest laugh vineyards, wine
tours into other places?
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Yes, we have, we have, and that's been a lot
of fun too. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Yeah, so complete this sentence. For me, a table without wine.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Is like m crossing a desert without water.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
And now we're sitting at your table. We're at your
table with a few bottles of retsoft wines on them.
There's an empty seat next to you who from any
walk of life, living or deceased. Do you wish you
could be sharing a bottle of your wines with?
Speaker 3 (29:58):
This makes me so so sad, But I wish it
was Anthony Bourdain. I would have had the most fun
with Anthony. Whether it was a glass of wine, a beer,
or a cocktail, we would have had a great time together.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
So as someone who farms organically, you're really in touch
with the soil. It's really important to you to know
what's happening in the vineyard at all times and keep
healthy soil. You think we'll be drinking and making wine
in five hundred years.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Oh my well, I would hope so. But there is
an issue with using chemicals in the soil. Chemicals kill microbes.
And if you've killed microbes and you've killed your soil,
and we need soil, healthy soil to be able to
grow things. And so I really hope that future generations
(30:53):
and what's happening right now, folks will start considering natural practices.
Being organic. There are ways around chemicals, and it's just
better for all of us. You don't have to.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Breathe it in, you don't have to eat it. And
happy soil means happy grapes.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Yes, happy grapes exactly.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
So if you were being sent off to a deserted island,
you know, climate change and all in your life now,
but you can only take three wines with you. What
three wines? Any wines you wanted any in the world.
What three wines would you take with you? I'd taste
savignon blanc for sure, from any particular place or producer.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Oh ours, I love ours. It would be our savignon blanc.
I would also take a murleau. I absolutely love murlou.
I find it's so underrated, and we grow a beautiful one,
but it's fabulous. So I would take a burlow and
then I would have to take a big, beautiful bold
(31:55):
bread yeah, and that would play be for me.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
I would take a pen and nor from any particular place.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
M you see the one?
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Yeah? There you go and there you go?
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Gotcha?
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Do what about them? Alow? Where would that come from? Here?
You like your own wines? That's good, that's good. Well,
I want to play a little game. The one thing
you've been anticipating of pairing wine with music. It's just
another way to keep talking about your wines but also
kind of give them the feeling the same way music does.
(32:35):
What is a conjure?
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Up?
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So you've spoken quite a bit about your Sauvignon blanc,
the Reserve one. So I'm wondering if you can tell
me with that wine that you've described already, but what
song or genre or musician represents that?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Oh my? And the reason why I'm saying this right
now is that I I was just so lucky to
be the Hollywood Bowl and see Joni Mitchell and Jonie
loves her white wine. And so there was Jonie on
the stage drinking her white wine. So Savagel Blanc and
Joni Mitchell both sides now, okay?
Speaker 2 (33:12):
And what about your your Cabernet Savignon merlou blend.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
Music right, music genre musicians? Okay, Well that's a blend,
so that kind of seems like it's an inclusive scient
type of wine.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Yeah, it's sixty five percent Cabernet, thirty five percent mer
Low and agent oak for two years.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Okay, I'd say Americana for me, even though it's French.
So you know, you definitely have the Vivian rose, so
that would be lovely. But how about Brandy Carlisle? Okay? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (33:53):
What about your twenty twenty four chardonnay?
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Okay? And now we're getting to a twenty twenty four chardonnay? Hmmm,
what music genre would this one be? Oh well, so
we're looking at Burgundian? How about Puccini? About puccini?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And then, last but not least, your Isabelle's blush, named
after your daughter. It's a rose of Merleau, dry rose
of Merloues. So what about that one?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Oh boy, dry rose of Merlau. What am I going
to pair that with? You know, that is such an
easy going wine. It's such a great picnic wine and
you think about being outside and chilling out. Jack Johnson,
there you go.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Okay, that was easy. Well it's only that's it. I mean,
we did it. I have one more question for you.
I know you travel all the time and you've gone
all over the world. Is there one wine region that's
at the top of your bucket list that you would
love to to really delve into or go for the
first time? But what's really at the top of.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
Your list where I've been? Correct?
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Oh, no, somewhere that maybe you haven't been. I don't
know where do you want to be going next?
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Okay, so yes, I am very interested in going to
Georgia Kiyota. Yeah, I'd like to go back to the
old country and really see some of those absolutely ancient
varietals and taste some of those varietals where wine started.
That would be fantastic. I would love it. I'd love
(35:32):
to drink out of a clay cylinder and you know,
really taste the earth. I think that'd be fabulous. Awesome.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Well, you should start playing that. I know you travel,
so it's probably on your agenda to go at some point,
and for somebody who comes here to the Livermore Valley again.
You know, it could be a day trip from the
Bay Area, but you can also come out here and stay.
But what will you experience if you come here, specifically
to reds Left Vineyard. When do you open, what do
you offer or where are you?
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Okay? So we are truly on the beaten path. We
used to be off the beaten path, but city has
grown up to us. So we're a beautiful fourteen acre
state right on the outskirts of Livermore. I can ride
your bike here if you want. We're open Friday, Saturday,
Sunday and Monday. Late on Friday evenings for wine down Fridays,
you can expect to be able to bring a picnic,
(36:23):
toto retslove vineyards or buy from a food vendor. Get
a beautiful picnic table, bring your friends, bring your family,
bring your pet, and enjoy our beautiful scenery. Relax. We
want people just to realize that you can come here.
Time slows down, enjoy your wine, enjoy those people with you.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Fantastic And then I know when I got here today
you were just ending up. You had live music. Do
you have live music here a lot?
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Yes, we have live music Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
It's a big party, yeah, A relaxing, calming, big party.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Yes. Yes. Supporting local musicians is kind of a an
important thing for us too. We love them wonderful.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Well, I just want to thank you so much for
joining us as all man. I'm going to raise a glass.
I've got some bubbles in my glass, and so I
want to say cheers and thank you for joining us
on Wine Soundtrack.
Speaker 3 (37:13):
Oh you're welcome.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Thanks such a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Thanks for listening to a new episode of Wine Soundtrack USA.
For details and updates, visit our website windsoundtrack dot com.
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