September 17, 2025 • 49 mins
Nancy and Garry Rodrigue started Rodrigue Molyneaux Winery in 2004 with a passion for making the best wine possible in the Livermore Valley – a cornerstone of California wine. Today, Nancy and Garry aim to share that message and their Italian and Bordeaux-style wines with visitors near and far. Twenty-five years ago, we reclaimed land from 120-year-old dormant vineyards because we knew Italian and French Bordeaux-style grapes would thrive in this acclaimed terroir. We started with a block of Cabernet Sauvignon, and soon expanded into more Italian and French-style wines. Barbera was our first Italian single varietal, and we believe what put us on the map for cultivating unique and hard-to-find varietals. We created an environment for our wine lovers to bask in nature with a California drought-resistant garden that continually receives accolades from local designers and horticulture specialists. When we first started, we sold RM wine mostly to friends. Now, we are proud of our loyal guests and Club Members who allow us to thrive and improve our winery at every opportunity we can. Our Tasting Room and our Clubhouse, where we hold staff and release events for our Club Members, both pay homage to the evolving Livermore wine story. Today, we still harvest and lovingly craft Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera, along with Petit Verdot and Nebbiolo. For non-estate grapes, we buy only Livermore fruit, usually within a few miles of our winery, to support the hard-working farmers in our region. With the input of our winemaker and Tasting Room staff, we are excited to have planted more interesting varietals – Teroldego, Dolcetto, Fiano, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec.Raised among Livermore’s vineyards and wineries, Rodrigue Molyneaux’s winemaker Meredith Sarboraria knows what makes the wines of Livermore Valley special. Meredith’s years of experience in the Livermore wine industry allow Rodrigue Molyneaux guests and club members to savor balanced, aromatic, and surprisingly unique varietals.
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Episode Transcript
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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, which is
about thirty miles east of the Pacific Ocean, and I
am in the tasting room of Rodrigue Mullino with consulting
wymaker Meredith Sarburarria. And I know it's a big mouthful,
(00:33):
but Meredith, welcome to Wine Soundtrack and tell us for
easier purposes about r M Winery.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Yeah. So, Gary Nancy Rodrigue started the winery in the
late nineties and there wasn't anything here at the time
other than a small house that was built in the forties,
like in the back of the property, and a few
other outbuildings, including this tasting room that we're in right
(00:59):
now now and the cellar which used to be a garage.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
But what is the total acreage of the whole property.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
It's five acres total. And they lived in that house
while their house was being built they live in now,
So that is right on the property as well. I
mean their tasting areas basically in their backyard.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Literally, and in the center between their house and the
tasting room where we are right now, is this beautiful garden.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah. So Nancy is a master gardener, and she worked
really hard every week, you know, maintaining everything. She's constantly
replanting things, and she really it was really important to
her to put in a native garden. So you know,
as you walk around, you might see like little rocks
(01:48):
that are painted to be plant markers, so you know
what you're looking at and you know that that's a
native plant. But that is where most of our tasting
tables are. So people love to come here. It's nice
and quiet and serene. We allow picnics so you can
bring a picnic with you, and we don't really do
(02:12):
a lot of, you know, events that are noisy, Like
we don't hardly ever have live music. I mean, we
have neighbors here. We're in the country, but we have
people that live right next door. So we try to
just keep things really peaceful and serene here.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
And in addition, when you're sitting in the garden, you
can kind of see out there's a vineyard on the
property as well.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
How many acres is the property? Yeah? Or is the
vineyard the vineyard?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, it's three acres and it's planted in nine different varietals.
And those three acres a.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Lot of varieties for a little space.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah. Yeah, each block is about three to four rows.
So we like to focus on Bordeaux brietles and Italian brietals.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Okay, so can you name the nine varieties?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yeah? Questionable, but yes. So we got Cabernet, Sauvignon, Cabernet
franc mal Beck, Petia Verdeaux for the Bordeaux, and then
we have to Raldego Fiano. So we have one white
(03:19):
wine in there, Barbera Nebiolo and dolcetto.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Wow, quite astounding, and just one white variety. And then
you're also purchasing fruit and are you purchasing exclusive we
from Livermore Valley Vineyards.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Yeah, we need to support Livermore Valley. So Gary and
Nancy were very adamant about only buying Livermore Valley grapes.
So right now, some of those varietals that I mentioned
are still not quite online. Yeah, they're pretty young plants,
so we still buy Cabernet franc Malbec. We buy a
(03:57):
Pinot Griggio and Pinot Blanc and Sancho Vesi and with.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
All those varieties, because that gets you up to something
like eleven or twelve and total that you're working with.
How many wines do you how many cases do you
make per year?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, it's about ten varietals. And then we make two
blends and it's about a thousand cases per year, you know,
on average.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So small production and small production within each each bottling.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
So if people wanted to.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Find your wines, are they available in different markets or
is it just direct to consumer?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Pretty much, just direct to consumer. And we do have
a website so people can order off the website as well.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So you either come and sit in the garden or
you order online. So for you as a wine maker,
when you think back to your first introduction to wine,
you know, or knowing that wine even existed, what is
your first memory relevant to wine?
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Yeah, so I was raised Mormon actually, so I was
not supposed to know about wine.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
But where you were not supposed to know about wine?
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Yeah? Wine is bad, but no, I'm I am fairly
ninety ninety percent certain that my mom used to drink
socially when you know, before she decided to start going
to church. So you know, growing up, we if they
went to a party or something, they brought us with them.
(05:28):
My mom might give us like a little sip of
champagne here and there or something like that. So yeah,
I knew growing up I was not supposed to have it,
which only made me want it more. Of course, that's
how it always grows personality.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
And you grew up here in the Livermore Valley, Yes,
in Livermore yet Okay, so you were surrounded by vineyards
and obviously probably went to school with kids whose families
were involved with wine.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, actually you'd be surprised, no, I mean, yeah, Carl went.
He's a year had of me in school, so I
went to the same high school as him for only
a couple of years. He moved high schools. But my husband,
his mom and Carl's mom knew each other and they
(06:15):
I guess we're in the same like babysitting co op
together or something. But that's as close as as we
got to wine families.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So as you've drunk more wine over the years and
become a lover of wine, a drinker.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Of wine, which I'm assuming because you make wine that
you like wine.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Is there a particular wine, and maybe it was later
in your career, maybe it was more recent, but is
there a particular wine that stands out as one of
those memorable wines where you just say, you know, I
want to pursue this grape, or I want to pursue
this style or why making, or I want to explore
this or it just was a celebratory moment that it
lasts in your mind as an AHA moment wine.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Yeah, I would say when I first started working in
an actual tasting room, I was probably just barely twenty
one and I worked at Stony Ridge, which doesn't exist anymore, unfortunately.
But back then they used to make a wine called
(07:19):
Malvasia bianca. I mean that's the varietal. They didn't call
it that, the Italians call it that, but she would
make it. The wine maker would make it in two
different styles, a kind of like off dry, sparkling dessert
wine and a sweet table wine. And people loved that stuff.
(07:42):
I mean, it was delicious. They would come from everywhere,
you know, asking specifically for the wine and the blue
bottle because it was in a cobalt blue, like tall,
skinny bottle. Some people just wanted the bottle, but the
wine inside was so delicious, and I think I just
(08:02):
I hadn't really had a lot of wine seriously before that,
but I loved it. I knew I liked it, you know.
But I think I just would sit and have a
glass or two after work with my coworkers and just
get this kind of like giddy, giggly feeling from wine,
and that kind of hooked me even more, like I
(08:25):
want more of this experience, you know, the sensation.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
So if we were to come to your home, now,
do you collect wine? Do you have a lot of
wines at home? And if so, is it win? Do
you make winds other people make in the area or
from any particular regions of the world.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, So I don't collect a whole lot because I
don't really have a place to put My husband and
I live in a very small house right now, so
I have a what is it like, a thirty six
bottle wine fridge and a six bottle wine fridge, so
I can I'm kind of limited. So, like like just
(09:04):
last night, I was telling my husband, we need to
drink some wine this weekend. Because more is coming, we
don't have anywhere to put it.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
I feel your pain. I have a few wine morphadgers
and still have my elders filled.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Yeah yeah, yeah. So but I'm very, very lucky that
I have a lot of winemaker friends, not just in
the valley but in all areas of the West coast.
So I've got a friend that makes wine in Portland
from Washington and Oregon grapes. I've got a friend in Murphy's.
(09:39):
I've got a friend in Lodie in Grass Valley. It's
Eldorado County, and you know, we liked And then I've
got a couple of somlier friends too, and so we
like to trade wine with each other a lot. And
I get like introduced to new stuff by my som
friends because you know, I I thought I was going
(10:01):
to go down the song path originally. So I'm I'm
I keep one foot in that in that world, but
I don't have a lot of time to discover on
my own. So it's great having those people to sort
of like educate me and send me stuff that they
think I would like, absolutely, and.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Some of that would be international wines.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
In addition to all the domestics. So because you're telling
your husband you got to drink through your wines. Is
there anything you opened up recently that tasted really good?
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Yeah? What did we? Oh? Yeah, so last night we
opened my friend's Scott Clan he has, he owns Newsome
Harlow Winery and Murphy's. We opened up his drama Queen
White Wine Blend last night and it was it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Do you do you know what the varieties are?
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Oh my gosh, it's like I looked. I was looking
at the label last night and it's a bunch of
interesting stuff like Vermentino and Shannon Blanc and Pino Grigio,
and there are a couple of others I can't think
of right now, but yeah, it's he's really talented, but
he does.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
So you're working with a lot of different varieties. I mean,
you've got nine planted here and you're working with others.
Do you think, as a winemaker or as a wine drinker,
that there's a such thing as a perfect variety?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I don't think so. I mean, gosh, I just love
so many of them. I used to have my favorites
when I first started, but my taste change over time.
So I mean, I really do love Nebiolo. That's almost perfect,
in my opinion, almost.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Perfect, almost perfect.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
It's really perfect, right, nothing's truly perfect, so.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Not when you have to deal with vintage very and
other issues.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
I guess yeah, yeah, I don't know. Perfect seems so
like final to me. I live in a very gray
area world, like I don't like to live in a
black and white world like, and nothing is like right
or wrong or you know, you're.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
On a path of evolution, so you know, I'm sitting
here at a table and next to me are two
plaques for double gold awards that you've gotten for your wine.
So clearly you've won some awards. I don't know where
they conveniently places there, but congratulations, And I'm curious, like,
I mean, obviously that's a great honor, and you know,
it feels good when someone recognizes your wines.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
But overall, what's your.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Opinion online critics and scores? I mean, are they a
really important thing to you?
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Do they not matter? Are they sort of thorn in
your side? How do you look at them?
Speaker 3 (12:52):
I think it's sort of a necessary you. I don't
know if I want to say evil exactly, but yeah,
I think a lot of people feel this way about it.
Is that for marketing purposes, it's it can be very good,
and also for ego purposes, like just you know, like
(13:14):
you have to like try and not let it bother
you so much when you don't get a great score
or a great award on something. I'm I'm. I also
do a lot of competition judging, so I understand right
when you know, so you get a super high award
in one competition and a really low award in the
(13:34):
next with the same wine, So I understand why that happens.
But it does feel really good when you do get
like a best of class or a best of show
or something like that, and you just want to like
shout it from the rooftops, you know. So I know
a lot of people like will not submit their wines
(13:57):
because they think it's a lot of bull and you know,
I don't know if it's because they've never had great
experiences with it or if they just kind of go
think to themselves, like, I have a budget, I can't
you know, I'd rather cut the budget for this and
use the money elsewhere. Yeah, Because it is, they do
(14:19):
feel like a lot of times people don't look at
awards and scores.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, I mean, I guess in some cases some people
will say they've seen an increase in sales based on
a score. But a lot of times you're right, it's
a little more ego and sort of pride, but it
doesn't have a direct effect.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
It may or may not. I mean a lot of people,
do you know, because they're so overwhelmed by choices and intimidated,
so they will by just based on a score or
a label or something like that. So for those people
it works. So yeah, it is. Yeah. Again, it's like
gray area. It's like you can choose to do it
(15:01):
or not do it, and will is it going to
hurt your business?
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Probably not, I mean necessary evil As you said.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Yeah, I mean me as a as an independent consultant,
I feel like it kind of helps me market myself.
So I do have my awards on my website for
that reason.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Well, so for you as a wine drinker, when it
comes down to choice, redwater, rose, Oh.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I've been on a rose kick for a.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
While now, still are sparkling.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Gosh. I really love sparkling wine, so obviously I love both.
But if I had a to choose, I would choose sparkling.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
And then you know, I think you we were talking
before this and you mentioned that your husband also works
in wine.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Is that is he did? Yeah, not anymore, not anymore.
He kind of he actually worked for Stony Ridge as
well for a number of years and our shadow down
in Monterey and you know went he in the catering
department when he was young, but I'd say since like
the mid two thousands he's been out of it because
(16:13):
you know, back then it was really small here and
it was hard to make a good living working in
a tasting room and you know, working in a cellar.
So he then became a graphic artist and worked for
an architecture firm for fifteen years. And so he actually
designed these.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Labels and they're very pretty labels. They're they're artistic. There's
like paintings, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Like this this, Yeah, this was actually sorry, I'll say
for the people who can't see, it's a Pinot Blanc label.
This is the label that we have been using for
white wines and resets. We just kind of changed the
color scheme. But it's based off of a water color
that he did for his mom a year and then
(17:03):
Nancy really wanted to do a series with the Italians
for a while that was based off of California native flowers,
so he you know, every vintage was a different flower.
So we did that for about five years.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I mean, you know, so it's all in the family
business here. But I mean clearly your husband also enjoys wine,
and I mean that's something the two of you share.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Are you big cooks or do you eat.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Out a lot or yeah? I love to cook, especially
when I have the time for it, and I'm not
just like I I've had a long day. Let's just
get something in our mouths, you know.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
So when you're preparing a meal, how do you approach
food and wine pairing? Do you make the dish and
then open whatever you want? Do you pick the wine
and then make the dish based on it? And are
there certain things you look for? There are rules you
follow or guidance that you can share.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Honestly, when I'm at home, I don't think about it
a whole lot. I just I probably just pick the
wine that I want to drink, and I just you know,
I'll sip off of it while I'm cooking, and then
maybe there's some left by the time the meal is ready,
you know, and then so we might you know, grab
another bottle to open as well. But yeah, it's I
(18:25):
don't put a ton of effort into pairing with my
dinner unless I'm at a restaurant, and I don't think
about it more.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
And are there any rules you follow, like white wine
and fish, red wine and meat or more. Is it
based on acidity or texture?
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah? I would say a lot all of that and
then some I mean, it depends on how your protein
is cooked. So you know, if it's poached, you might
want something a little bit more gentle, but if it's grilled,
then you can, you know, maybe tie in a red there.
(19:05):
And then the sauce and the seasonings also make a
difference as well.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Okay, so.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
The wines here at RM are diverse, again Bordeaux and
Italian varieties. For somebody who has never been here before,
what are they missing out on by not tasting these wines.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I I feel like my wines are a little more
restrained and elegant. So I hate this term, but they're
food friendly. I you know, everybody says this, but I
really do strive for balance and when it comes to
(19:47):
texture and body and all that and I really try
hard to preserve freshness and fruitiness, and you know, we do.
Some of these wines are have a decent amount bottle
age on them, so they're kind of like almost pre
aged for you. I don't really make wines that need
to be laid down before you drink them. I make
(20:09):
them with the intention that people can pop them open
right when they get the home from buying them. But
I also think people are going to miss out on
this lovely garden setting because I feel like a lot
of wineries they're really pushing events, like we have to
have something going on every weekend to get people to come. Experiences. Yeah, experiences,
(20:34):
but you know sometimes that can result in crowded and
maybe not so peaceful. But here we try to keep
it very you know, serene and peaceful. And we don't
allow limos or buses. Our biggest tables it seats six people,
(20:56):
so we don't have you know, we don't allow kids
and animals. So we just try to keep things like
really relaxing. So it's a good place to come and
just relax.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Well, if space aliens were to land on your property
right now and come walking up to the door, which
of your wines that you produce.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Would you want to welcome them with to say welcome?
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Ooh, gosh, probably ooh. It's such a tough choice between
these two wines, can I say to sure? Gosh? So
I would say Nebiolo. Personally, I had never made Nebiola
before I came here. But it's I don't know, I
(21:40):
just it's fail proof. I think it's such a crowd pleaser.
But people, I'm really really surprised at how much people
love Barbara here. It's very high on acid. I mean,
I try to keep it tamed and keep it balanced,
but I was just blown away by how much people
(22:03):
love the Barbara.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
So there you go, two wines.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
They'd have to choose where they get their two glasses.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
You know, I know of them. They would not you know,
shoot me with their laser gun or whatever.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
So do you spend do you manage the vineyard here?
Do you spend a lot of time in the vineyard?
Speaker 3 (22:22):
I try to, but viticulture isn't my strong suit. I'm
constantly learning all the time about more about viticulture. But
I am a control freak like a lot of winemakers.
So that's why I wanted to go into the cellar
instead of into the vineyard.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
I can't deal with vintage variation.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I yeah, I just I can hardly keep a plant
alive at my house. So yeah, I do try to
get out there, especially this time of you know, starting
now when fruit said is happening, just to see how
the plants are doing and grapes are ripening and all that.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Do you see in a place like this in Livermore
for the years that you've been making wine and even
living here a lot of variation from her to year.
Do you see some good consistency in a place like Livermore.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I'd say it's mostly consistent. There are definitely years that
have been surprises, like twenty twenty three. I think everybody
was taken off guard by the tonnage that a lot
of the vineyards got. I mean, it's like you are
or you're not if you're kind of paying I don't
(23:39):
want to sound like a no at all or something,
but if you're out there and you're paying attention, you
might notice that, oh, there's a lot of fruit here
and it's being crowded. Maybe we should drop some of it.
And probably people were doing that in twenty twenty three,
I'm sure they were, but there's just so much that
came in and then the next year everyone got shortened.
(24:04):
So you know, it's and when I look at my
harvest states too from your years, sometimes there can be
pretty decent variation and when I brought the grapes in too.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
So are there any sort of signs or predictors that
you look for that's going to tell you what a
vintage is going to be?
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Like, yeah, definitely. People start asking me that pretty early
on usually, and I don't like to say anything until
fruit set happens, because you know, you can have shatter
with the flowers, can be knocked off by wind or
(24:43):
rain or something like that. But yeah, this year, it's
kind of looking like we're going to have a decent yield.
I would say, quote unquote normal because nothing's.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Really normal, and hopefully nothing happens between now and then.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean we usually around here
don't really get rain until i'd say, you know, end
of October, beginning of November, so it's very rare that
we get a downpour like during harvest time, so we're
pretty safe. Once fruit set happens.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
You just have to worry, not you have to worry
about having heat spikes.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Yes, yeah, we do. Usually that happens around Labor Day
around here, but we are not. Everybody feels like Livermore
for one thing, they think we're part of Central Valley.
We're not. We're part of the Bay Area or in
Almata County on the west side of the Altamont.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
And that means you get the marine layer like.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
We did this morning, and that happens like pretty much
all through summer, and it just makes it so that
the grapes get a chance to cool down at night.
But we can get some hundred degree days. I'm not
gonna lie, but it doesn't get as hot as it
does in certain other growing regions.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
And with that breeze and that cool down at night,
you retain acidity.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
So yep, yeah, it's a great, great region for growing grapes.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Really, So you spend a little time in the vineyard
and maybe you don't have as intimate a relationship with
the vines as the viticulturalist does. But then when the
grapes come in and they're in the winery in Beryl,
that's when they're in your hands. And I'm curious if
you have any sort of communication that you do with
the grapes. Do you talk to the grapes? Do you
(26:35):
talk to the wine when it's in beryl? Do you
encourage it or yell at it? Do you play music?
I mean, do you feel that communication is something that
actually has an effect on the wine?
Speaker 3 (26:48):
May probably not. I you know, I'm just happy when
all the equipment is working at this point. But no,
I mean I love I totally love music, and I'm
lucky to be married to a music nerd, like a
(27:09):
music a vile person who has like introduced me to, like,
you know, so much music that I didn't even know
was out there. But you would think I would listen
to it while I'm working in the cellar more, but
I mostly listen to podcasts.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Well, there you go, So you're educating the wine as well.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
Yeah, I guess. I mean, yeah, I like to learn
things all the time, so that's why I love podcasts.
And I also listen to a lot of comedy podcasts
because I love to laugh.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
So you have happy wine?
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Yeah, maybe there you go. Like I'm interspersing laughing with
like swearing because something isn't working right or something I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Well, speaking of music, do you have a favorite band
or musician or style of music.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
So for most of my teenage to adult life, I
would say my favorite bands were used to be you two.
That was my very first concert when I was fourteen,
and it was like, it's funny because I've since found
out that that was that tour was considered one of
the top like five tours in history, and I got
(28:21):
that was my first concert, so the bar was very high.
But now I love Grateful Dead and I got to
see them right before Jerry died and Baci Boys.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Wow, three very different bands. So if you could meet
each of those bands, which of your whites would you
want to share with them?
Speaker 4 (28:49):
If it was you two?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Oh let's see. Oh gosh, I wasn't prepared for this one.
Ye hmmm maybe like maybe, uh maybe the il Cigretto
because I feel like Bono is somebody who would appreciate
(29:15):
something a little unusual and unique, and that is a
blend of Barbera, Cabernet, Sauvignon and Sanga vasing.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
That is an interesting blend.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Yeah, I didn't come up with it. That was Gary,
but I've continued it, and yeah, I love that blend.
It's such a great blend.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
And what about Grateful Dead?
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Uh hmm, maybe maybe the Barbera, just because it's such
a it's so bright and you know, kind of fun
and fruity and there's a lot of acid and.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
The eyebrows go up. I what about the Beastie Boys?
Speaker 3 (30:04):
Wow? Is that all three of them or just the
remaining too? That's a poor MCA. Maybe my I'd give
them my nebuola because that's my favorite, and they're my favorite,
and I would want them to have my favorite.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
A little funky monkey and nebuola.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
You said that you like to.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Cook when you have free time, so free time may
not be something you have a lot of. What else
do you like to do when when you have free time?
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Well? I love to act. If I mean, if I
felt like I could have made a career of it,
I would have done. I've probably done that the acting
wine Maker, you know.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
But do you do local theater or anything like that?
Speaker 3 (30:53):
A local theater. I actually got to co direct this
year for the first time, so I got to see
what that was like. I still prefer being on stage
and I love to I love to knit. I love
to be outdoors, so you know, hiking, maybe kayaking, camping, stuff,
(31:16):
like that music, going to see live music, going to
see stand up.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
Yeah, lots of things, Yeah, lots of things.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
And if you're planning a romantic evening for you and
your husband, what kind of wines get open for a
romantic evening?
Speaker 4 (31:30):
What sets the tone that says this is a different night.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Than just a Tuesday night, although Tuesday nights can be
romantic too.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
While my husband's half Italian, so and I just I
feel like I was an Italian lady in a former life.
I've always felt that way, like I should be living
in an Italian countryside, just like making pasta do all
day long or something. So Italian wines are just some
(31:59):
of my favorite. So yeah, maybe some nice arollo or
a Franchi corda or something like that.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
And that sets the night off a little bit different,
a little bit different.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
I's gotta have a sparkling in there.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
So when you were a little girl, was there anything
else you wanted to be when you grew up? I mean,
obviously one wasn't something being a white maker maybe not
was something you started early right out of high school
working in this.
Speaker 4 (32:27):
But when you were little, what did you think you
wanted to be?
Speaker 3 (32:31):
Gosh, I think I'm just one of those people who
can't like settle on one thing, as you could probably tell.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
So you want to be an actress, you wanted to be.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Now I kind of switched around. I think at one
point I wanted to be a psychologist. Then I wanted
to be a house painter. Then I wanted to be
a forester, like a forest ranger or in forestry in
some capacity. I actually, like my first semester of college,
(33:03):
I was going down the environmental sciences path because I
was told they need women in this industry. I took
one semester of it and decided it was too tedious,
like how to deal with toxic waste and stuff like that.
I didn't like it. So, yeah, I've switched a lot.
(33:26):
I mean I got a degree in geology, and then
I got a degree in enology, so you know.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
A lot of ologies.
Speaker 3 (33:36):
Science. I love science, science and art. So this is
I guess this is like a really great way to
go if you love science and art.
Speaker 4 (33:43):
It combines the two.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
So when you look back at your life, you know,
people give us advice, Parents give us advice, teachers, mentors, friends.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Is there a piece of advice someone gave you along
the way.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
That is how you try to live or work by.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Well. One thing I try to keep in mind is
you can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself.
I do try the whole, you know, never seeing the
world is black and white, because I think that helps
with relations with other people too. Just trying to remind
(34:21):
myself all the time that nobody thinks the same way
I do, or not everyone thinks the same way I do.
So just you know, trying to respect other ways of
looking at things.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Yeah, I don't know, yes, And when you look back
at your career so far, what would you say is
one of your proudest achievements?
Speaker 3 (34:47):
Wow? I think just becoming a wine maker, maybe because
I really didn't see that as an attainable goal in
the beginning. And you know, even though I did have somebody,
you know, people encouraging me and saying like you can
do this, like you should try, you can do this,
(35:11):
and then i'd have I remember like asking somebody years
ago who was a wine maker around here, like what's
the pay? Like how much can I expect to make?
Oh like forty thousand dollars a year? And I was like,
oh my gosh. Even back then that was not very much,
but you know, I kind of fell into it. I started,
(35:32):
you know, taking classes at last Pasida's College here when
the program very first started, I had just gotten a degree,
you know, just an associate's degree like the year before,
and thought I was done for a while, and so
taking those classes sort of led me into going into production.
(35:55):
I was actually working in telecom where I worked for
Sprint at the time, and they I got laid off
after seven years. Wow, And my boss kind of already
knew I wanted I was planning on going into the industry,
so they kind of said like, you know, well we
can keep you if you want, you know, don't worry,
(36:17):
you won't be one of the ones cut, or you
can take this severance package and can not work for
six months. I was like I'll take that and that.
So then I you know, had to get a job
after six months, and I found a job working in
the cellar at Fenestra and I got to study under
(36:38):
a brilliant winemaker who maybe you've already interviewed, Brett Amos,
and he was he left and he was like, you
got this, like you're ready, and I'm I'm thinking, like
I am not ready. I need you, and here.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
You are an independent consultant. Yeah, and making wines. That's amazing.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
Yeah. That was always kind of the goal was to
get into consulting, and that happened due to another winemaker
friend of mine, Chris Sorenson, and he was had been
doing that for Stony Ridge, so it came full circle.
I started my career at Stony Ridge and then I
(37:24):
got to be the winemaker there. So he kind of said,
I'm leaving. I know you want to, you know, consulting gig.
Why don't you take over for me? So that's how
I got it started, really think.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Yeah, so I'm gonna jump over play a few little
fun word games. One is complete this sentence. For me,
a table without wine is like.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
A week night.
Speaker 4 (37:55):
Drink during the week.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
Say that because my husband and I try to not
drink during the week.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
Try, yeah, try to make the operative word.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
As soon as Friday comes around. It's all, you know,
fair game.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
But so I don't know if maybe you've answered this already,
but we were talking.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
You have a few favorite bands.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
And I know some of them are no longer living,
and so I'm curious. We're sitting at a table, your
wine's are on the table and there's an empty seat
next to you. I who, from any walk of life,
living or deceased, do you wish you could share a
bottle of wine that you made with?
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Probably Dale von Bowen, who used to own and be
the winemaker at Stoney Ridge. And you know, she was
my boss, and she was the first person to ever
say you should be a wine maker too. You got this.
She was just I mean, I can't even express how
(38:55):
wonderful she was and everyone loved her. Unfortunately away in
twenty ten from cancer, but you know it would be
so fantastic to have her here with me and you know,
show her Look I did you know? I took your
advice and you know this is my wine now, Like,
(39:19):
what do you think?
Speaker 4 (39:21):
It's beautiful? That's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
I miss her so much.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
If trying to move on and think of something uplifting,
If you were going off to a deserted island and
could only take three wines with you, any wines in
your whole imagination, what three wines would you take?
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Well? I guess to make it easy, I would have
to stick with Italians, Okay, the best and from Piamonte
that's arguably like one of the best region wine regions
in the world. So yeah, definitely a Wolo, Definitely a
(40:02):
fran Chacorta, and.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Oh maybe a fretch Korta from the neighboring Lombardy region
but very close.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't don't hold don't hold me, don't
hold me to just be amante. But yeah, okay, so
if we're gonna we're going around Italy. When we were
in Shinko Terra, we we would kind of like ask
all the waiters, like, what's the local wine around here,
and they said, we don't really have anything, but chaquetra.
(40:35):
Don't ask me to spell it for you. I just
know it starts with an S. But it's, uh, you know,
a white wine that can kind of be made like
a sweet wine, like a dessert wine. And that was
really tasty. So and I love saying I just loved
saying Shaquetra.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
So we've come to that part where the one thing
you're warned about when we start is that we played
the little game of pairing wine with music. And I
know you've been waiting, maited breath for this, but just
because of the connection that wine and music have where
they both conjure up emotions and feelings. Just a few
of the wines that you've spoken about, I'd love you
(41:16):
to tell me what kind of song genre musician they
pair with. So, since I've been sipping on the pino
blanc here, the twenty twenty four pino Blanc, which I
think you said has a little fiano in it, what
would you pair this with?
Speaker 3 (41:32):
So the reason why this is so hard for me
is because I love so many different types of music.
So I was kind of going through my tasting because
I write all the tasting notes for the wine, so
I was kind of going through them and kind of going, okay,
based on what I wrote at the time, what would
(41:54):
go well? And I think the Shins. I really really
love the Shins. I have for a long time, and
they're just kind of like they're jangly indie rock and
so you know, they have some ballads too, but a
lot of their music is just like really kind of
uplifting and when you hear it, it just kind of
makes you go like, yeah, let's go, you know, like
(42:16):
there's an emotional response. So you know, this wine is
very crisp and I fruity, fruit forward and clean and
you know, bright and so I feel like it needs
to be paired with something also bright and fun and uplifting.
Speaker 4 (42:35):
Okay, you did it. Okay.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
So then you said your favorite is Nebuolo, So you're Nebuolo?
Speaker 3 (42:41):
Yeah, so the Nebiolo. When I was looking at my descriptors,
there was a lot of earthy descriptors that I put,
so I was kind of thinking, well earthy, Okay, what
about like some nineties angsty female old rock singers, you know,
(43:02):
like some earth girls, you know, like kind of hippie.
So I something like Fiona Apple or Annie DeFranco. Okay,
something like that. Okay.
Speaker 2 (43:13):
And what about your Barbera that you said everyone loves
lots of acidity?
Speaker 3 (43:18):
Oh wow, that one I didn't think of.
Speaker 4 (43:24):
You always try and prepare, but I catch.
Speaker 3 (43:27):
Thanks, unless you like it's a lot of dead air,
just kidding, how you do it? Yeah? Oh, I did
write down a lot of music, some of my favorite musics.
But how about something like like Arcade Fire. Okay, again,
(43:49):
it's there's a lot of brightness too to the Barbera,
And there's a lot of red descriptors to it. Like
when I think of Barbera, think of red and Arcade Fire, Fire,
is red okay, and they they are also their music
is also very kind of energetic and gets you going inside,
(44:11):
you know.
Speaker 4 (44:13):
Okay, let's do one more.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
And how about the the the blend is that this
one that I'm looking at, the red one blend that
has that's the kind of the weird blend that has
Barbara Sancho BESI, Oh.
Speaker 3 (44:29):
That's not that one, that's a meritage.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
Oh what about the blend that you mentioned that Gary made,
that is this interesting blend of Caeperne, Savignon, Sandovese, Barbara
like things you wouldn't put together.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
Yeah, il segretto, Yeah, which means the secret in Italian,
but you know it's it's never a secret. We always
tell everybody the secret is Yeah. So that one, to me,
the reason why it's such a great blend is that
you have the high acid and high tone, you know,
(45:03):
red fruit from the Barbera, and then you have the
more like sort of dark black you know, earth and
tar and smoke and tannin from the cab And there's
when I when I since I've been making it, I've
really been putting a lot more Barbara in it than Sanchovese.
(45:23):
I think before me it was more flip flopped, and
so the Sanchavese just kind of I think it's there
to sort of mediate between the two, you know, make
sure they know so wow, you need something like really
well rounded for that. Hm hmm. What's something that a
(45:52):
lot of people like I don't know? Well, let me
let me just put I want to get some Pixies
in there, because I feel like the Pixies not only
are they such an amazing band, but they have like
a range. They have some range. You know. They have
(46:17):
a lot of songs that are kind of I would say,
like punk, you know, genre where you can like really
do some thrashing and you listen to it. And then
they have stuff that is like kind of fun and
a little bit more melodic.
Speaker 4 (46:37):
Nice and well rounded.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, there you go.
Speaker 4 (46:43):
We can move on. It's fine. You did well for wines.
Not bad.
Speaker 2 (46:47):
No, well it's a Meredith. It has been great talking
to you. But I have my final question for you
because you've made it to the very end and you
do well. So the question is where in the world,
what wine region and world is on your bucket list
to go to.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
I mean, obviously I could say Italy, but you know
I've been to Italy, so maybe I would say something
more like Croatia, something like a little more unusual where
you don't really get to taste the wines from that
(47:26):
region very often.
Speaker 4 (47:27):
Okay, Croatia.
Speaker 2 (47:29):
And on the flip side, if our listeners want to
come and find.
Speaker 4 (47:33):
You where, what will they find? When do you open?
Speaker 2 (47:39):
What you mentioned tasting in the garden? But when can
they come here? And how can they find you.
Speaker 3 (47:45):
Me personally or the wine? Okay, hiding the seller, you
can't find me. So we're open every Saturday and Sunday
twelve thirty to five, and we're on Marina Avenue in Livermore,
which is kind of set back a little bit, not
(48:07):
too too far from downtown. But it's actually a county
road in the middle of the city. Okay, so that's
why there's a lot of ranches and horse farms and
stuff like that around.
Speaker 4 (48:20):
Great.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
Well, if you want a nice, serene, relaxing, calm, beautiful
place to taste wine, head on out to Rodrigue Mulino.
Speaker 4 (48:31):
Did you do right?
Speaker 2 (48:32):
I pronounced it correctly or RM Vineyards if it's easier
to say. Meredith, thank you so much for joining us
today and I hope you had fun and it wasn't
too painful.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
No. I always have fun talking about this stuff, so no,
it was not painful at all.
Speaker 4 (48:49):
Well.
Speaker 2 (48:49):
Great, I'm glad you had fun, and I'll say cheers
and we can go taste some more wine.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
All right, Thanks for listening to a new episode of
Wine Soundtrack USA. For details and updates, visit our website
windstoundtracks 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, which is
about thirty miles east of the Pacific Ocean, and I
am in the tasting room of Rodrigue Mullino with consulting
wymaker Meredith Sarburarria. And I know it's a big mouthful,
(00:33):
but Meredith, welcome to Wine Soundtrack and tell us for
easier purposes about r M Winery.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Yeah. So, Gary Nancy Rodrigue started the winery in the
late nineties and there wasn't anything here at the time
other than a small house that was built in the forties,
like in the back of the property, and a few
other outbuildings, including this tasting room that we're in right
(00:59):
now now and the cellar which used to be a garage.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
But what is the total acreage of the whole property.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
It's five acres total. And they lived in that house
while their house was being built they live in now,
So that is right on the property as well. I
mean their tasting areas basically in their backyard.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Literally, and in the center between their house and the
tasting room where we are right now, is this beautiful garden.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah. So Nancy is a master gardener, and she worked
really hard every week, you know, maintaining everything. She's constantly
replanting things, and she really it was really important to
her to put in a native garden. So you know,
as you walk around, you might see like little rocks
(01:48):
that are painted to be plant markers, so you know
what you're looking at and you know that that's a
native plant. But that is where most of our tasting
tables are. So people love to come here. It's nice
and quiet and serene. We allow picnics so you can
bring a picnic with you, and we don't really do
(02:12):
a lot of, you know, events that are noisy, Like
we don't hardly ever have live music. I mean, we
have neighbors here. We're in the country, but we have
people that live right next door. So we try to
just keep things really peaceful and serene here.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
And in addition, when you're sitting in the garden, you
can kind of see out there's a vineyard on the
property as well.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
How many acres is the property? Yeah? Or is the
vineyard the vineyard?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, it's three acres and it's planted in nine different varietals.
And those three acres a.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Lot of varieties for a little space.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah. Yeah, each block is about three to four rows.
So we like to focus on Bordeaux brietles and Italian brietals.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Okay, so can you name the nine varieties?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yeah? Questionable, but yes. So we got Cabernet, Sauvignon, Cabernet
franc mal Beck, Petia Verdeaux for the Bordeaux, and then
we have to Raldego Fiano. So we have one white
(03:19):
wine in there, Barbera Nebiolo and dolcetto.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Wow, quite astounding, and just one white variety. And then
you're also purchasing fruit and are you purchasing exclusive we
from Livermore Valley Vineyards.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Yeah, we need to support Livermore Valley. So Gary and
Nancy were very adamant about only buying Livermore Valley grapes.
So right now, some of those varietals that I mentioned
are still not quite online. Yeah, they're pretty young plants,
so we still buy Cabernet franc Malbec. We buy a
(03:57):
Pinot Griggio and Pinot Blanc and Sancho Vesi and with.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
All those varieties, because that gets you up to something
like eleven or twelve and total that you're working with.
How many wines do you how many cases do you
make per year?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, it's about ten varietals. And then we make two
blends and it's about a thousand cases per year, you know,
on average.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So small production and small production within each each bottling.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
So if people wanted to.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Find your wines, are they available in different markets or
is it just direct to consumer?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Pretty much, just direct to consumer. And we do have
a website so people can order off the website as well.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So you either come and sit in the garden or
you order online. So for you as a wine maker,
when you think back to your first introduction to wine,
you know, or knowing that wine even existed, what is
your first memory relevant to wine?
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Yeah, so I was raised Mormon actually, so I was
not supposed to know about wine.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
But where you were not supposed to know about wine?
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Yeah? Wine is bad, but no, I'm I am fairly
ninety ninety percent certain that my mom used to drink
socially when you know, before she decided to start going
to church. So you know, growing up, we if they
went to a party or something, they brought us with them.
(05:28):
My mom might give us like a little sip of
champagne here and there or something like that. So yeah,
I knew growing up I was not supposed to have it,
which only made me want it more. Of course, that's
how it always grows personality.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
And you grew up here in the Livermore Valley, Yes,
in Livermore yet Okay, so you were surrounded by vineyards
and obviously probably went to school with kids whose families
were involved with wine.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, actually you'd be surprised, no, I mean, yeah, Carl went.
He's a year had of me in school, so I
went to the same high school as him for only
a couple of years. He moved high schools. But my husband,
his mom and Carl's mom knew each other and they
(06:15):
I guess we're in the same like babysitting co op
together or something. But that's as close as as we
got to wine families.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So as you've drunk more wine over the years and
become a lover of wine, a drinker.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Of wine, which I'm assuming because you make wine that
you like wine.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Is there a particular wine, and maybe it was later
in your career, maybe it was more recent, but is
there a particular wine that stands out as one of
those memorable wines where you just say, you know, I
want to pursue this grape, or I want to pursue
this style or why making, or I want to explore
this or it just was a celebratory moment that it
lasts in your mind as an AHA moment wine.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Yeah, I would say when I first started working in
an actual tasting room, I was probably just barely twenty
one and I worked at Stony Ridge, which doesn't exist anymore, unfortunately.
But back then they used to make a wine called
(07:19):
Malvasia bianca. I mean that's the varietal. They didn't call
it that, the Italians call it that, but she would
make it. The wine maker would make it in two
different styles, a kind of like off dry, sparkling dessert
wine and a sweet table wine. And people loved that stuff.
(07:42):
I mean, it was delicious. They would come from everywhere,
you know, asking specifically for the wine and the blue
bottle because it was in a cobalt blue, like tall,
skinny bottle. Some people just wanted the bottle, but the
wine inside was so delicious, and I think I just
(08:02):
I hadn't really had a lot of wine seriously before that,
but I loved it. I knew I liked it, you know.
But I think I just would sit and have a
glass or two after work with my coworkers and just
get this kind of like giddy, giggly feeling from wine,
and that kind of hooked me even more, like I
(08:25):
want more of this experience, you know, the sensation.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
So if we were to come to your home, now,
do you collect wine? Do you have a lot of
wines at home? And if so, is it win? Do
you make winds other people make in the area or
from any particular regions of the world.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, So I don't collect a whole lot because I
don't really have a place to put My husband and
I live in a very small house right now, so
I have a what is it like, a thirty six
bottle wine fridge and a six bottle wine fridge, so
I can I'm kind of limited. So, like like just
(09:04):
last night, I was telling my husband, we need to
drink some wine this weekend. Because more is coming, we
don't have anywhere to put it.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
I feel your pain. I have a few wine morphadgers
and still have my elders filled.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Yeah yeah, yeah. So but I'm very, very lucky that
I have a lot of winemaker friends, not just in
the valley but in all areas of the West coast.
So I've got a friend that makes wine in Portland
from Washington and Oregon grapes. I've got a friend in Murphy's.
(09:39):
I've got a friend in Lodie in Grass Valley. It's
Eldorado County, and you know, we liked And then I've
got a couple of somlier friends too, and so we
like to trade wine with each other a lot. And
I get like introduced to new stuff by my som
friends because you know, I I thought I was going
(10:01):
to go down the song path originally. So I'm I'm
I keep one foot in that in that world, but
I don't have a lot of time to discover on
my own. So it's great having those people to sort
of like educate me and send me stuff that they
think I would like, absolutely, and.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Some of that would be international wines.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
In addition to all the domestics. So because you're telling
your husband you got to drink through your wines. Is
there anything you opened up recently that tasted really good?
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Yeah? What did we? Oh? Yeah, so last night we
opened my friend's Scott Clan he has, he owns Newsome
Harlow Winery and Murphy's. We opened up his drama Queen
White Wine Blend last night and it was it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Do you do you know what the varieties are?
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Oh my gosh, it's like I looked. I was looking
at the label last night and it's a bunch of
interesting stuff like Vermentino and Shannon Blanc and Pino Grigio,
and there are a couple of others I can't think
of right now, but yeah, it's he's really talented, but
he does.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
So you're working with a lot of different varieties. I mean,
you've got nine planted here and you're working with others.
Do you think, as a winemaker or as a wine drinker,
that there's a such thing as a perfect variety?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I don't think so. I mean, gosh, I just love
so many of them. I used to have my favorites
when I first started, but my taste change over time.
So I mean, I really do love Nebiolo. That's almost perfect,
in my opinion, almost.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Perfect, almost perfect.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
It's really perfect, right, nothing's truly perfect, so.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Not when you have to deal with vintage very and
other issues.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
I guess yeah, yeah, I don't know. Perfect seems so
like final to me. I live in a very gray
area world, like I don't like to live in a
black and white world like, and nothing is like right
or wrong or you know, you're.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
On a path of evolution, so you know, I'm sitting
here at a table and next to me are two
plaques for double gold awards that you've gotten for your wine.
So clearly you've won some awards. I don't know where
they conveniently places there, but congratulations, And I'm curious, like,
I mean, obviously that's a great honor, and you know,
it feels good when someone recognizes your wines.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
But overall, what's your.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Opinion online critics and scores? I mean, are they a
really important thing to you?
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Do they not matter? Are they sort of thorn in
your side? How do you look at them?
Speaker 3 (12:52):
I think it's sort of a necessary you. I don't
know if I want to say evil exactly, but yeah,
I think a lot of people feel this way about it.
Is that for marketing purposes, it's it can be very good,
and also for ego purposes, like just you know, like
(13:14):
you have to like try and not let it bother
you so much when you don't get a great score
or a great award on something. I'm I'm. I also
do a lot of competition judging, so I understand right
when you know, so you get a super high award
in one competition and a really low award in the
(13:34):
next with the same wine, So I understand why that happens.
But it does feel really good when you do get
like a best of class or a best of show
or something like that, and you just want to like
shout it from the rooftops, you know. So I know
a lot of people like will not submit their wines
(13:57):
because they think it's a lot of bull and you know,
I don't know if it's because they've never had great
experiences with it or if they just kind of go
think to themselves, like, I have a budget, I can't
you know, I'd rather cut the budget for this and
use the money elsewhere. Yeah, Because it is, they do
(14:19):
feel like a lot of times people don't look at
awards and scores.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, I mean, I guess in some cases some people
will say they've seen an increase in sales based on
a score. But a lot of times you're right, it's
a little more ego and sort of pride, but it
doesn't have a direct effect.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
It may or may not. I mean a lot of people,
do you know, because they're so overwhelmed by choices and intimidated,
so they will by just based on a score or
a label or something like that. So for those people
it works. So yeah, it is. Yeah. Again, it's like
gray area. It's like you can choose to do it
(15:01):
or not do it, and will is it going to
hurt your business?
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Probably not, I mean necessary evil As you said.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Yeah, I mean me as a as an independent consultant,
I feel like it kind of helps me market myself.
So I do have my awards on my website for
that reason.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Well, so for you as a wine drinker, when it
comes down to choice, redwater, rose, Oh.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I've been on a rose kick for a.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
While now, still are sparkling.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Gosh. I really love sparkling wine, so obviously I love both.
But if I had a to choose, I would choose sparkling.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
And then you know, I think you we were talking
before this and you mentioned that your husband also works
in wine.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Is that is he did? Yeah, not anymore, not anymore.
He kind of he actually worked for Stony Ridge as
well for a number of years and our shadow down
in Monterey and you know went he in the catering
department when he was young, but I'd say since like
the mid two thousands he's been out of it because
(16:13):
you know, back then it was really small here and
it was hard to make a good living working in
a tasting room and you know, working in a cellar.
So he then became a graphic artist and worked for
an architecture firm for fifteen years. And so he actually
designed these.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Labels and they're very pretty labels. They're they're artistic. There's
like paintings, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Like this this, Yeah, this was actually sorry, I'll say
for the people who can't see, it's a Pinot Blanc label.
This is the label that we have been using for
white wines and resets. We just kind of changed the
color scheme. But it's based off of a water color
that he did for his mom a year and then
(17:03):
Nancy really wanted to do a series with the Italians
for a while that was based off of California native flowers,
so he you know, every vintage was a different flower.
So we did that for about five years.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I mean, you know, so it's all in the family
business here. But I mean clearly your husband also enjoys wine,
and I mean that's something the two of you share.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Are you big cooks or do you eat.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Out a lot or yeah? I love to cook, especially
when I have the time for it, and I'm not
just like I I've had a long day. Let's just
get something in our mouths, you know.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
So when you're preparing a meal, how do you approach
food and wine pairing? Do you make the dish and
then open whatever you want? Do you pick the wine
and then make the dish based on it? And are
there certain things you look for? There are rules you
follow or guidance that you can share.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Honestly, when I'm at home, I don't think about it
a whole lot. I just I probably just pick the
wine that I want to drink, and I just you know,
I'll sip off of it while I'm cooking, and then
maybe there's some left by the time the meal is ready,
you know, and then so we might you know, grab
another bottle to open as well. But yeah, it's I
(18:25):
don't put a ton of effort into pairing with my
dinner unless I'm at a restaurant, and I don't think
about it more.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
And are there any rules you follow, like white wine
and fish, red wine and meat or more. Is it
based on acidity or texture?
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah? I would say a lot all of that and
then some I mean, it depends on how your protein
is cooked. So you know, if it's poached, you might
want something a little bit more gentle, but if it's grilled,
then you can, you know, maybe tie in a red there.
(19:05):
And then the sauce and the seasonings also make a
difference as well.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Okay, so.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
The wines here at RM are diverse, again Bordeaux and
Italian varieties. For somebody who has never been here before,
what are they missing out on by not tasting these wines.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I I feel like my wines are a little more
restrained and elegant. So I hate this term, but they're
food friendly. I you know, everybody says this, but I
really do strive for balance and when it comes to
(19:47):
texture and body and all that and I really try
hard to preserve freshness and fruitiness, and you know, we do.
Some of these wines are have a decent amount bottle
age on them, so they're kind of like almost pre
aged for you. I don't really make wines that need
to be laid down before you drink them. I make
(20:09):
them with the intention that people can pop them open
right when they get the home from buying them. But
I also think people are going to miss out on
this lovely garden setting because I feel like a lot
of wineries they're really pushing events, like we have to
have something going on every weekend to get people to come. Experiences. Yeah, experiences,
(20:34):
but you know sometimes that can result in crowded and
maybe not so peaceful. But here we try to keep
it very you know, serene and peaceful. And we don't
allow limos or buses. Our biggest tables it seats six people,
(20:56):
so we don't have you know, we don't allow kids
and animals. So we just try to keep things like
really relaxing. So it's a good place to come and
just relax.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Well, if space aliens were to land on your property
right now and come walking up to the door, which
of your wines that you produce.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Would you want to welcome them with to say welcome?
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Ooh, gosh, probably ooh. It's such a tough choice between
these two wines, can I say to sure? Gosh? So
I would say Nebiolo. Personally, I had never made Nebiola
before I came here. But it's I don't know, I
(21:40):
just it's fail proof. I think it's such a crowd pleaser.
But people, I'm really really surprised at how much people
love Barbara here. It's very high on acid. I mean,
I try to keep it tamed and keep it balanced,
but I was just blown away by how much people
(22:03):
love the Barbara.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
So there you go, two wines.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
They'd have to choose where they get their two glasses.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
You know, I know of them. They would not you know,
shoot me with their laser gun or whatever.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
So do you spend do you manage the vineyard here?
Do you spend a lot of time in the vineyard?
Speaker 3 (22:22):
I try to, but viticulture isn't my strong suit. I'm
constantly learning all the time about more about viticulture. But
I am a control freak like a lot of winemakers.
So that's why I wanted to go into the cellar
instead of into the vineyard.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
I can't deal with vintage variation.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I yeah, I just I can hardly keep a plant
alive at my house. So yeah, I do try to
get out there, especially this time of you know, starting
now when fruit said is happening, just to see how
the plants are doing and grapes are ripening and all that.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Do you see in a place like this in Livermore
for the years that you've been making wine and even
living here a lot of variation from her to year.
Do you see some good consistency in a place like Livermore.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I'd say it's mostly consistent. There are definitely years that
have been surprises, like twenty twenty three. I think everybody
was taken off guard by the tonnage that a lot
of the vineyards got. I mean, it's like you are
or you're not if you're kind of paying I don't
(23:39):
want to sound like a no at all or something,
but if you're out there and you're paying attention, you
might notice that, oh, there's a lot of fruit here
and it's being crowded. Maybe we should drop some of it.
And probably people were doing that in twenty twenty three,
I'm sure they were, but there's just so much that
came in and then the next year everyone got shortened.
(24:04):
So you know, it's and when I look at my
harvest states too from your years, sometimes there can be
pretty decent variation and when I brought the grapes in too.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
So are there any sort of signs or predictors that
you look for that's going to tell you what a
vintage is going to be?
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Like, yeah, definitely. People start asking me that pretty early
on usually, and I don't like to say anything until
fruit set happens, because you know, you can have shatter
with the flowers, can be knocked off by wind or
(24:43):
rain or something like that. But yeah, this year, it's
kind of looking like we're going to have a decent yield.
I would say, quote unquote normal because nothing's.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Really normal, and hopefully nothing happens between now and then.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean we usually around here
don't really get rain until i'd say, you know, end
of October, beginning of November, so it's very rare that
we get a downpour like during harvest time, so we're
pretty safe. Once fruit set happens.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
You just have to worry, not you have to worry
about having heat spikes.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Yes, yeah, we do. Usually that happens around Labor Day
around here, but we are not. Everybody feels like Livermore
for one thing, they think we're part of Central Valley.
We're not. We're part of the Bay Area or in
Almata County on the west side of the Altamont.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
And that means you get the marine layer like.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
We did this morning, and that happens like pretty much
all through summer, and it just makes it so that
the grapes get a chance to cool down at night.
But we can get some hundred degree days. I'm not
gonna lie, but it doesn't get as hot as it
does in certain other growing regions.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
And with that breeze and that cool down at night,
you retain acidity.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
So yep, yeah, it's a great, great region for growing grapes.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Really, So you spend a little time in the vineyard
and maybe you don't have as intimate a relationship with
the vines as the viticulturalist does. But then when the
grapes come in and they're in the winery in Beryl,
that's when they're in your hands. And I'm curious if
you have any sort of communication that you do with
the grapes. Do you talk to the grapes? Do you
(26:35):
talk to the wine when it's in beryl? Do you
encourage it or yell at it? Do you play music?
I mean, do you feel that communication is something that
actually has an effect on the wine?
Speaker 3 (26:48):
May probably not. I you know, I'm just happy when
all the equipment is working at this point. But no,
I mean I love I totally love music, and I'm
lucky to be married to a music nerd, like a
(27:09):
music a vile person who has like introduced me to, like,
you know, so much music that I didn't even know
was out there. But you would think I would listen
to it while I'm working in the cellar more, but
I mostly listen to podcasts.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Well, there you go, So you're educating the wine as well.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
Yeah, I guess. I mean, yeah, I like to learn
things all the time, so that's why I love podcasts.
And I also listen to a lot of comedy podcasts
because I love to laugh.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
So you have happy wine?
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Yeah, maybe there you go. Like I'm interspersing laughing with
like swearing because something isn't working right or something I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Well, speaking of music, do you have a favorite band
or musician or style of music.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
So for most of my teenage to adult life, I
would say my favorite bands were used to be you two.
That was my very first concert when I was fourteen,
and it was like, it's funny because I've since found
out that that was that tour was considered one of
the top like five tours in history, and I got
(28:21):
that was my first concert, so the bar was very high.
But now I love Grateful Dead and I got to
see them right before Jerry died and Baci Boys.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Wow, three very different bands. So if you could meet
each of those bands, which of your whites would you
want to share with them?
Speaker 4 (28:49):
If it was you two?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Oh let's see. Oh gosh, I wasn't prepared for this one.
Ye hmmm maybe like maybe, uh maybe the il Cigretto
because I feel like Bono is somebody who would appreciate
(29:15):
something a little unusual and unique, and that is a
blend of Barbera, Cabernet, Sauvignon and Sanga vasing.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
That is an interesting blend.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Yeah, I didn't come up with it. That was Gary,
but I've continued it, and yeah, I love that blend.
It's such a great blend.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
And what about Grateful Dead?
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Uh hmm, maybe maybe the Barbera, just because it's such
a it's so bright and you know, kind of fun
and fruity and there's a lot of acid and.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
The eyebrows go up. I what about the Beastie Boys?
Speaker 3 (30:04):
Wow? Is that all three of them or just the
remaining too? That's a poor MCA. Maybe my I'd give
them my nebuola because that's my favorite, and they're my favorite,
and I would want them to have my favorite.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
A little funky monkey and nebuola.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
You said that you like to.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Cook when you have free time, so free time may
not be something you have a lot of. What else
do you like to do when when you have free time?
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Well? I love to act. If I mean, if I
felt like I could have made a career of it,
I would have done. I've probably done that the acting
wine Maker, you know.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
But do you do local theater or anything like that?
Speaker 3 (30:53):
A local theater. I actually got to co direct this
year for the first time, so I got to see
what that was like. I still prefer being on stage
and I love to I love to knit. I love
to be outdoors, so you know, hiking, maybe kayaking, camping, stuff,
(31:16):
like that music, going to see live music, going to
see stand up.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
Yeah, lots of things, Yeah, lots of things.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
And if you're planning a romantic evening for you and
your husband, what kind of wines get open for a
romantic evening?
Speaker 4 (31:30):
What sets the tone that says this is a different night.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Than just a Tuesday night, although Tuesday nights can be
romantic too.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
While my husband's half Italian, so and I just I
feel like I was an Italian lady in a former life.
I've always felt that way, like I should be living
in an Italian countryside, just like making pasta do all
day long or something. So Italian wines are just some
(31:59):
of my favorite. So yeah, maybe some nice arollo or
a Franchi corda or something like that.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
And that sets the night off a little bit different,
a little bit different.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
I's gotta have a sparkling in there.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
So when you were a little girl, was there anything
else you wanted to be when you grew up? I mean,
obviously one wasn't something being a white maker maybe not
was something you started early right out of high school
working in this.
Speaker 4 (32:27):
But when you were little, what did you think you
wanted to be?
Speaker 3 (32:31):
Gosh, I think I'm just one of those people who
can't like settle on one thing, as you could probably tell.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
So you want to be an actress, you wanted to be.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Now I kind of switched around. I think at one
point I wanted to be a psychologist. Then I wanted
to be a house painter. Then I wanted to be
a forester, like a forest ranger or in forestry in
some capacity. I actually, like my first semester of college,
(33:03):
I was going down the environmental sciences path because I
was told they need women in this industry. I took
one semester of it and decided it was too tedious,
like how to deal with toxic waste and stuff like that.
I didn't like it. So, yeah, I've switched a lot.
(33:26):
I mean I got a degree in geology, and then
I got a degree in enology, so you know.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
A lot of ologies.
Speaker 3 (33:36):
Science. I love science, science and art. So this is
I guess this is like a really great way to
go if you love science and art.
Speaker 4 (33:43):
It combines the two.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
So when you look back at your life, you know,
people give us advice, Parents give us advice, teachers, mentors, friends.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Is there a piece of advice someone gave you along
the way.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
That is how you try to live or work by.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Well. One thing I try to keep in mind is
you can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself.
I do try the whole, you know, never seeing the
world is black and white, because I think that helps
with relations with other people too. Just trying to remind
(34:21):
myself all the time that nobody thinks the same way
I do, or not everyone thinks the same way I do.
So just you know, trying to respect other ways of
looking at things.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Yeah, I don't know, yes, And when you look back
at your career so far, what would you say is
one of your proudest achievements?
Speaker 3 (34:47):
Wow? I think just becoming a wine maker, maybe because
I really didn't see that as an attainable goal in
the beginning. And you know, even though I did have somebody,
you know, people encouraging me and saying like you can
do this, like you should try, you can do this,
(35:11):
and then i'd have I remember like asking somebody years
ago who was a wine maker around here, like what's
the pay? Like how much can I expect to make?
Oh like forty thousand dollars a year? And I was like,
oh my gosh. Even back then that was not very much,
but you know, I kind of fell into it. I started,
(35:32):
you know, taking classes at last Pasida's College here when
the program very first started, I had just gotten a degree,
you know, just an associate's degree like the year before,
and thought I was done for a while, and so
taking those classes sort of led me into going into production.
(35:55):
I was actually working in telecom where I worked for
Sprint at the time, and they I got laid off
after seven years. Wow, And my boss kind of already
knew I wanted I was planning on going into the industry,
so they kind of said like, you know, well we
can keep you if you want, you know, don't worry,
(36:17):
you won't be one of the ones cut, or you
can take this severance package and can not work for
six months. I was like I'll take that and that.
So then I you know, had to get a job
after six months, and I found a job working in
the cellar at Fenestra and I got to study under
(36:38):
a brilliant winemaker who maybe you've already interviewed, Brett Amos,
and he was he left and he was like, you
got this, like you're ready, and I'm I'm thinking, like
I am not ready. I need you, and here.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
You are an independent consultant. Yeah, and making wines. That's amazing.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
Yeah. That was always kind of the goal was to
get into consulting, and that happened due to another winemaker
friend of mine, Chris Sorenson, and he was had been
doing that for Stony Ridge, so it came full circle.
I started my career at Stony Ridge and then I
(37:24):
got to be the winemaker there. So he kind of said,
I'm leaving. I know you want to, you know, consulting gig.
Why don't you take over for me? So that's how
I got it started, really think.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Yeah, so I'm gonna jump over play a few little
fun word games. One is complete this sentence. For me,
a table without wine is like.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
A week night.
Speaker 4 (37:55):
Drink during the week.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
Say that because my husband and I try to not
drink during the week.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
Try, yeah, try to make the operative word.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
As soon as Friday comes around. It's all, you know,
fair game.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
But so I don't know if maybe you've answered this already,
but we were talking.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
You have a few favorite bands.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
And I know some of them are no longer living,
and so I'm curious. We're sitting at a table, your
wine's are on the table and there's an empty seat
next to you. I who, from any walk of life,
living or deceased, do you wish you could share a
bottle of wine that you made with?
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Probably Dale von Bowen, who used to own and be
the winemaker at Stoney Ridge. And you know, she was
my boss, and she was the first person to ever
say you should be a wine maker too. You got this.
She was just I mean, I can't even express how
(38:55):
wonderful she was and everyone loved her. Unfortunately away in
twenty ten from cancer, but you know it would be
so fantastic to have her here with me and you know,
show her Look I did you know? I took your
advice and you know this is my wine now, Like,
(39:19):
what do you think?
Speaker 4 (39:21):
It's beautiful? That's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
I miss her so much.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
If trying to move on and think of something uplifting,
If you were going off to a deserted island and
could only take three wines with you, any wines in
your whole imagination, what three wines would you take?
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Well? I guess to make it easy, I would have
to stick with Italians, Okay, the best and from Piamonte
that's arguably like one of the best region wine regions
in the world. So yeah, definitely a Wolo, Definitely a
(40:02):
fran Chacorta, and.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Oh maybe a fretch Korta from the neighboring Lombardy region
but very close.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't don't hold don't hold me, don't
hold me to just be amante. But yeah, okay, so
if we're gonna we're going around Italy. When we were
in Shinko Terra, we we would kind of like ask
all the waiters, like, what's the local wine around here,
and they said, we don't really have anything, but chaquetra.
(40:35):
Don't ask me to spell it for you. I just
know it starts with an S. But it's, uh, you know,
a white wine that can kind of be made like
a sweet wine, like a dessert wine. And that was
really tasty. So and I love saying I just loved
saying Shaquetra.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
So we've come to that part where the one thing
you're warned about when we start is that we played
the little game of pairing wine with music. And I
know you've been waiting, maited breath for this, but just
because of the connection that wine and music have where
they both conjure up emotions and feelings. Just a few
of the wines that you've spoken about, I'd love you
(41:16):
to tell me what kind of song genre musician they
pair with. So, since I've been sipping on the pino
blanc here, the twenty twenty four pino Blanc, which I
think you said has a little fiano in it, what
would you pair this with?
Speaker 3 (41:32):
So the reason why this is so hard for me
is because I love so many different types of music.
So I was kind of going through my tasting because
I write all the tasting notes for the wine, so
I was kind of going through them and kind of going, okay,
based on what I wrote at the time, what would
(41:54):
go well? And I think the Shins. I really really
love the Shins. I have for a long time, and
they're just kind of like they're jangly indie rock and
so you know, they have some ballads too, but a
lot of their music is just like really kind of
uplifting and when you hear it, it just kind of
makes you go like, yeah, let's go, you know, like
(42:16):
there's an emotional response. So you know, this wine is
very crisp and I fruity, fruit forward and clean and
you know, bright and so I feel like it needs
to be paired with something also bright and fun and uplifting.
Speaker 4 (42:35):
Okay, you did it. Okay.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
So then you said your favorite is Nebuolo, So you're Nebuolo?
Speaker 3 (42:41):
Yeah, so the Nebiolo. When I was looking at my descriptors,
there was a lot of earthy descriptors that I put,
so I was kind of thinking, well earthy, Okay, what
about like some nineties angsty female old rock singers, you know,
(43:02):
like some earth girls, you know, like kind of hippie.
So I something like Fiona Apple or Annie DeFranco. Okay,
something like that. Okay.
Speaker 2 (43:13):
And what about your Barbera that you said everyone loves
lots of acidity?
Speaker 3 (43:18):
Oh wow, that one I didn't think of.
Speaker 4 (43:24):
You always try and prepare, but I catch.
Speaker 3 (43:27):
Thanks, unless you like it's a lot of dead air,
just kidding, how you do it? Yeah? Oh, I did
write down a lot of music, some of my favorite musics.
But how about something like like Arcade Fire. Okay, again,
(43:49):
it's there's a lot of brightness too to the Barbera,
And there's a lot of red descriptors to it. Like
when I think of Barbera, think of red and Arcade Fire, Fire,
is red okay, and they they are also their music
is also very kind of energetic and gets you going inside,
(44:11):
you know.
Speaker 4 (44:13):
Okay, let's do one more.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
And how about the the the blend is that this
one that I'm looking at, the red one blend that
has that's the kind of the weird blend that has
Barbara Sancho BESI, Oh.
Speaker 3 (44:29):
That's not that one, that's a meritage.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
Oh what about the blend that you mentioned that Gary made,
that is this interesting blend of Caeperne, Savignon, Sandovese, Barbara
like things you wouldn't put together.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
Yeah, il segretto, Yeah, which means the secret in Italian,
but you know it's it's never a secret. We always
tell everybody the secret is Yeah. So that one, to me,
the reason why it's such a great blend is that
you have the high acid and high tone, you know,
(45:03):
red fruit from the Barbera, and then you have the
more like sort of dark black you know, earth and
tar and smoke and tannin from the cab And there's
when I when I since I've been making it, I've
really been putting a lot more Barbara in it than Sanchovese.
(45:23):
I think before me it was more flip flopped, and
so the Sanchavese just kind of I think it's there
to sort of mediate between the two, you know, make
sure they know so wow, you need something like really
well rounded for that. Hm hmm. What's something that a
(45:52):
lot of people like I don't know? Well, let me
let me just put I want to get some Pixies
in there, because I feel like the Pixies not only
are they such an amazing band, but they have like
a range. They have some range. You know. They have
(46:17):
a lot of songs that are kind of I would say,
like punk, you know, genre where you can like really
do some thrashing and you listen to it. And then
they have stuff that is like kind of fun and
a little bit more melodic.
Speaker 4 (46:37):
Nice and well rounded.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, there you go.
Speaker 4 (46:43):
We can move on. It's fine. You did well for wines.
Not bad.
Speaker 2 (46:47):
No, well it's a Meredith. It has been great talking
to you. But I have my final question for you
because you've made it to the very end and you
do well. So the question is where in the world,
what wine region and world is on your bucket list
to go to.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
I mean, obviously I could say Italy, but you know
I've been to Italy, so maybe I would say something
more like Croatia, something like a little more unusual where
you don't really get to taste the wines from that
(47:26):
region very often.
Speaker 4 (47:27):
Okay, Croatia.
Speaker 2 (47:29):
And on the flip side, if our listeners want to
come and find.
Speaker 4 (47:33):
You where, what will they find? When do you open?
Speaker 2 (47:39):
What you mentioned tasting in the garden? But when can
they come here? And how can they find you.
Speaker 3 (47:45):
Me personally or the wine? Okay, hiding the seller, you
can't find me. So we're open every Saturday and Sunday
twelve thirty to five, and we're on Marina Avenue in Livermore,
which is kind of set back a little bit, not
(48:07):
too too far from downtown. But it's actually a county
road in the middle of the city. Okay, so that's
why there's a lot of ranches and horse farms and
stuff like that around.
Speaker 4 (48:20):
Great.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
Well, if you want a nice, serene, relaxing, calm, beautiful
place to taste wine, head on out to Rodrigue Mulino.
Speaker 4 (48:31):
Did you do right?
Speaker 2 (48:32):
I pronounced it correctly or RM Vineyards if it's easier
to say. Meredith, thank you so much for joining us
today and I hope you had fun and it wasn't
too painful.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
No. I always have fun talking about this stuff, so no,
it was not painful at all.
Speaker 4 (48:49):
Well.
Speaker 2 (48:49):
Great, I'm glad you had fun, and I'll say cheers
and we can go taste some more wine.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
All right, Thanks for listening to a new episode of
Wine Soundtrack USA. For details and updates, visit our website
windstoundtracks dot com.
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