September 10, 2025 • 49 mins
Founded in the year 2000, Wood Family Vineyards blossomed from a side hobby (Rhonda was initially a commercial airline pilot, while her husband, Michael Wood, was a regional CFO for Pacific Coast Trane) into a thriving winery. Wood Family Vineyards specializes mainly in Bordeaux varietals/blends, but produces other wines as well (such as Zinfandel, Chardonnay, GSM, etc.)Wood Family Vineyards has always been locally loyal to the Livermore soil; sourcing all their wines (whether from their own vineyards or from neighbors) from Livermore Valley.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Wine Soundtrack. Usay 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 I'm in the Livermore Valley today with Harrison Wood,
who is the executive VP of Wood Family Vineyards. I
guess when you work in a family business you get
to take on big titles. But as the executive VP
of your family business, tell me a little bit about
Wood Family Vineyards.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Well before I get to the winery. It's actually even
more about the title itself. So yes, the title was
given to me by my dad. When he first gave
me the title, I was a bit kind of like,
you know, that sounds a bit corporate for a small
family business. So actually on my business card, in addition
to executive vice President, it also says COO and then
elaborates to mean that COO is actually child of owner.
(00:55):
So that's actually my second title today. I like that.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I thought you were going to say, like dishwasher or
bottle washer. But children of owner is good. Yes, child
of owner, yes, but a little bit of it. So Harrison,
as the child of the owner, tell us welcome and
tell us about Wood Family Vineyards.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
So Wood Family Vineyards is a very family oriented winery
located in Livermore, California. Obviously, not only are we located
here in Livermore, but everything about us is locally centric,
meaning that we do grow vineyards even though they're not
here on the property where the winery is, we grow
fourteen acres worth of grapes Caviny, seven Yon, Cabany, Frank Malbeck, tie, Rideaux,
merlou and zen. But we make a lot more than that,
(01:32):
Like I have Savignon blanc and chardonnay here and even
though those aren't on our property, everything we produce all
comes from here. It's all locally sourced. And so that's
kind of a little bit about kind of our idea
behind our branding, if you will.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Okay, so you have fourteen acres and then you purchase
fruit as well. So what's your total case.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Production depends on the vintage. This twenty twenty three vintage
was the largest vintage to date for us. I think
we did upwards of nine thousand cases. That you're we
are scaling to what we It's funny because we grew
without even intending to grow, because the yield on the
harvest that year was just so high that we we
were kind of in a position where it's like, Okay,
(02:11):
we're growing now. Where we're going to next vintage is
kind of where we were planning to grow to, which
I believe is approximately about seven thousand cases total.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And are you one hundred direct to consumer or are
you in distribution? What markets you available in?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
So I am the wholesaler and the distributor and the
delivery driver. Yes, so we are mainly local. Now. Ironically enough,
there is a company, a distribution company called the World
of Wines and they're out of Indiana. Random relationship that
started years ago, even prior to me joining the company
of wine store owner in Indiana come to our winery
back in the day when the winery was actually located
(02:49):
at my parents' house prior to moving to its current location,
and the store owner said, you know, they love the wines.
That had to have it. And we said, you know, yeah,
that's great, but we don't have a tribution out in Indiana.
And they said, well, we'll get it all set up
for us. And I'm like, Okay, cool share in the
back of our mind like there's no way this is
going to happen, and then fast forward and lo and
(03:10):
behold they did set up the relationship. So we technically
do have distribution in Indiana. I think we ship maybe
like fourteen cases a year there, so you can find
us in places in Indiana, So shout out to Indiana.
But other than there, you got to come here, Yes,
you got to come here. We do ship to thirty
six different states using a company called Pino Shipper. It's
(03:32):
a third party that we work with, so they allow
us to ship to thirty six different states. People can
buy our wine online and have it ship directly to them.
But finding the wine outside of the winery, we're in
lots of restaurants here, lots of boutique kind of stores.
We have a very focused set of wines that you
can find retail at like say Safeway or Lucky's. We
(03:54):
even have one wine in Costco. I wanted some branding
and brand awareness there, but I can't bring all my
product to Costco because they'll undersell us and there'd be
no reason to come to the winery anymore.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
You're just in the local Costco Yeah, we're.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
In Livermore, Danville, Pleasanton, and Tracy and then maybe Brentwood.
Brentwood is Brent's on the fence right now.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Okay, so all in sort of the east of San Francisco,
a Bay Area neighborhood. So tell me what is your
first memory relevant to wine.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
My first memory relevant to wine actually is being in
what we called the fish tank. So when my brother
and I were kids and had zero idea of what
was going on in the wine industry, we would whenever.
So I got to rewind a little bit my parents
when they founded the winery. It was in a small
barn like structure in front of my parents' house then
(04:46):
your property, where they still live today and actually where
we still have concerts from time to time. Tomorrow there's
gonna be one. But during that time, I mean when
they first founded the winery, I was nine years old,
I believe, and my brother would have been seven and
so far too young to do any thing wine related.
So we would hang out in the house while my
parents would do the wine events from time to time,
(05:06):
because back then it was opened by appointment only, with
the exception to special occasions where we'd open up the
gates and people would flood in and they'd trial the
wines and stuff, and my brother and I'd be playing
video games, We're watching TV, and there's people like putting
their hands on the windows looking in at us, because
you know, when they were just kind of sitting there
as kids, like Hi. We kind of nicknamed it like
(05:27):
a fish tank because it's like, you know, people looking
into the fish tank at the fish.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You didn't get to taste wine back then.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
No, No, there was no tasting of wine. Forced to work,
Uh no, although when I did get a little older,
I volunteered to work. Essentially, we would just offer to
take wine to people's cars for them and wagons, and
it started off. You know, people would tip us from
time to time when we were cute, and then we
got older and had a demand to know, we need
(05:55):
to get paid because we're not little cute kids anymore,
so people aren't tipping anymore.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah, Oh, that's a fun memory. Relevant to whine how
you made money Your first job was getting tipped?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yes, yes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So as you grew up and obviously you've chosen to
follow in the family business and continue it. I'm curious,
you know, was there a particular wine. You drank one
of those aha moments, and do you remember what it
was and what the wine was.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
You know, it's funny, is I can I'll circle around
and I'll get to the answer to that question. But
at first I had zero desire to be in the
wine industry. When I was younger, you know, it was
my parents' job. Is my mom's gig. I You know,
you take for granted what you have when you're a kid.
It's not till you get older and hopefully wiser that
you realize what it is that you have and an
opportunity that you can take advantage of. I didn't realize
(06:43):
that until later on. At first, I wanted to be
a lawyer actually, and as I was studying for law school,
I realized that I needed a temporary gig somewhere to
make money on the side. While I was studying for
law school. I couldn't just bum it on my parents'
couch for forever, and so I actually applied to work
the harvest at a neighboring winery called Darcy Kent Vineyards.
And I worked there doing the harvest there, and well
(07:06):
that was fun cool. Still haven't taken the lsat yet
so keep going with this the harvest is over, and
then I work in the tasting room, and then in
the tasting room, you know, that was a lot of fun.
And then I did wholesale and they had me covering
actually thirty different states selling wine for them. But that
was when it came to a decision point at that point,
because right when they offered me the job for selling
wine for them is when I took the l SAT
(07:28):
And so I was like, Okay, I either I can
take out a big old loan and hope things work
out in the law world. And you know, financially speaking,
I was looking at possibly working with people who couldn't
financially represent themselves. So it's not a very lucrative business
to be in if you're going to be taking out
a huge loan to go without direct no.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Risk in going into wine, which is ultimately not that
lugot of either.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Yeah. Well so we so, yeah, it was either okay,
take out this big loan, go to law school, represent
people who can't afford it, or get paid to travel
the country and drink wine with people. And at that
point I made the decision to go that direction. I
did that for a couple of years and then decided
in twenty sixteen to come back to my parents' winery.
Now to your question about aha moment, there was a
wine that started it all for me, and somebody asked
(08:12):
me a very strange question one time. And it's not
very often that I get asked these questions where usually
in the wine industry, in the tasting room, you you
get the same questions, same jokes, or some sort of
similarity of between them. Anyway, somebody one time asked me
what wine would you be buried with? And I thought
that was a very interest.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Interesting question cause you don't get to drink kids.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yes. Well, on top of that, so I start off
the question with, well, you know, asking which one is
your favorites like asking your favorite child, and they go,
that's not the question I asked. They asked what wine
would you be buried with? And I said, I thought
about it, and I said, actually it's the Big Woods Infidel.
And the reason I chose the Big Woods Infidel is
because that was the wine that really initially got me
turned onto wine when I first started drinking one.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Of your own family wines, not another wine, but your
family wine.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
It was the Big Woods infidel from Wood Family vineyards.
And even though we make a plethora of wines now
we make over twenty different varieties, we specialize in various
different things. What initially put us on the map? Now,
the first wine we ever made was Murlow and if
people didn't like them Merlow, then we wouldn't have been
able to grow anywhere from there. So people love them Altow.
I love them are Low. But what really gained us
notoriety in the early two thousands, what made people say, hey,
(09:17):
you got to check out this spot was actually the
first z infandel you ever created, and it was old
vine z infandel. At the time the vineyards got replaced,
so it couldn't be old vine anymore. That got turned
into Big Woods infadel. That's when I started coming up
drinking age, and so I started drinking the Big Woods infandel,
and that was kind of our our backbone back then. Nowadays,
if you ask ten different people what their favorite wine
is from our winer, you're gonna get ten different answers.
But initially what put us on the map was in
(09:40):
and then it's initially what turned me on to wine
as well. So what was it? What was it?
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Do you remember that kind of turned you on too.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
This wine well in general, Well, what's funny about our
zifandel is it can cover it's very how you can say,
how do you say widespread in in its fan base?
If you will? You have the people who are the beginners,
and you have the people who are the the a's,
if you will.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
But more for you what stood out as a as
a beginner and wine? Why was it an AHA wine
for you?
Speaker 3 (10:12):
So? What I was getting to with the beginner portion
of it was that it's very jammy, it's very easy,
it's it's fruit forward. You know, a lot of people
when they first get into wine and they don't know
any of the terminology regarding the wines, it could be
kind of an intimidating thing to get into, especially because
you know the stigma with around wine of people. You know,
it's a higher status kind of beverage one. Really it's not.
(10:34):
It's alcoholic grape juice that we make very well, but
the but big with the big wood Zimpindel, it's it's jammy,
it's fruit forward, and it's it doesn't have those like
those strong tannins on the finish of it, which you
know tannins can be kind of interesting. Let's call it
that for a for a beginner and wine because you
never tasted anything like that before except for dark chocolate prefects.
(10:58):
But but yeah, so if somebody's not used to tannins,
if you start them off with a cab there might
be like, oh, this is bitter. No, it's not bitter,
it's got tannins in it. And so but the zinfandel,
the big wood is very jam it's big, it's bold,
but it's very smooth. It's easy, but it's complex enough
that it has those other aspects to it that it
(11:20):
can fulfill the needs and desires for like Assamier as
well at the beginner. But that was kind of how
it started with me. Was that?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
So you were just turning twenty one legal of course?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Taste this wine and you're like, oh, it's drinkable. Okay,
So now that you drink a lot or drink regularly.
Accumulation of years, accumulation of yours, I'm curious if we
were to come to your home, what kind of wines
do we find in there? Do you have a house
pellet where you're drinking mostly your own wines? Do you
drink a lot of local wines, little more, or are
(11:52):
there particular regions or grapes that you find yourself having
a collection of.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
So, first of all, if I have a wine collection,
I keep it at my parents' house in their wine
cellar with a list with a paper that says, do
not touch Harrison's row for the wine, because if I
bring it home, I am going to share it pretty quickly.
At home. Usually it's most of our own stuff. I
do go tasting at other places quite a bit. I
don't have anything that it's specifically kind of lean towards.
(12:20):
I would say that's kind of changed as of late though,
because of the whole direction shift in Livermore with Sauvignon
blanc and Cabernet frank being the designated varietals of the region.
Ever since that has become an actual designation now. Obviously
when I go somewhere, I tried those two from different
as many regions as I can. But prior to the designation,
I never had a specific variety that I'm like, this
is what I want to try, or even different styles.
(12:44):
I mean, I just like trying different things whenever I
like to travel outside the country when I can, and
Whenever I go anywhere, I always try the wine that's
from that country. One of the most interesting countries I'd
been to as far as wine goes, was actually Turkey
that had so many different varietals that not only are
not it's hard to find, you can only find them
into and so I just like to try anything and everything.
(13:04):
What I have at home would be mostly my stuff,
ad stuff, my family stuff. Now when you go to
my parents' house on my row, that's where it gets
more diverse. On the other different wine wine selections.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Yeah, kind of an internationals or more domestic.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Automatic more domestic, just because it's hard to get those
international wines home. I did go to Japan and bring
a Did I bring that Japanese? I can't remember if
I brought it home. But I tried some wine from
Japan that I can't remember if I brought home or not.
But but yeah, I mean, it's mostly domestic when it's and.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Is there anything you opened recently? It doesn't have to
be one of your own wines, but it might be
that drink really.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Well something, oh you know what. Actually, and this is
not only domestic, this is very local to liver More.
The Sekura winery. They do a temporneo that is phenomenal
and I love it because I do believe in the
idea of having designated varietals. I think it gives people
an idea of where they should kind of look when
(13:59):
they're going to a region. So the idea of having
Sauvignon blanc and caberne franc the vrietals of the region,
I think is very great for Livermore, and we do
those varrietals very well. But I think Sakura's temporneo is
a prime example of they're not the only things we
do well. I mean, if you think Caberne frank and
Savignon blanc, you're not thinking tempernello. And that, actually, I
(14:21):
was phenomenal and I just had it the other night.
Actually it was great.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So with all the different varieties that you're working with,
because you mentioned that you have chardeny, Sauvignon blanc, Zimfandel,
Cabernet franc, and you mentioned some other grapes that you're growing,
and then what you're buying. Do you think there's a
such thing as a perfect variety.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
I wouldn't say a perfect varietal or variety. There are
varietal characteristics if you will to wine that are things
that are expected. One of the things that kind of
breaks that norm. For example, though, is like ore Moi
Bueno Zipindel. That one actually is our fastest selling red
wine from the winery. But it's not your standards in
(15:01):
by any means. So it's like, Okay, what makes it perfect?
Is it what people like? Or is it because it
fits the quote unquote standards that have been set upon
it by the wine society at large. So I don't
believe there's a perfect vrietal or vietal characteristics. I think
those are things that are that are more common than others.
But in reality, what people like is what matters most.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
So and so for a winery, for you as a
wine drinker, red whiter or rose red.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yeah, Now, don't get me wrong. I I appreciate all
the different varietals that they're that there are. In fact,
Savignon blanc for example, I love the aromas of it.
But if you ever find me just personally drinking somewhere,
whether it be at a restaurant or an event or
wherever it might be, it's highly likely that it's going
to be a red wine of sorts.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
And then I mean, we know it's red, but it
doesn't I don't mean this question for red, but between
still in sparkling.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Uh well, still, I like, I like Still. We did
just make our first ever sparkling wine, and I do
enjoy that one quite a bit. But buy and large Still.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Yeah, so you guys are up to well, you said
nine thousand cases, seven thousand, You're you're you're making a
fair amount of wine, and to sell that wine, especially
when you're directing consumer obviously word of mouth, getting a
lot of people to taste it. What's your opinion of
wine critics and scores? How important are they to a brand?
Are they? Are they helpful? Are they not helpful? Do
(16:30):
you love them? Do you hate them? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (16:32):
I mean so I understand them. I don't. I don't judge.
So unfortunately, you do kind of gravitate towards the wine
that has the higher score. The only reason I say
unfortunately is because again, you know, these scores can be
dictated upon one palate. Just because it's one person who
(16:52):
really enjoys this wine doesn't mean by and large the
public at large is going to enjoy this wine. I
understand that scores very much help brands. There's a reason
why we submit our wines to various different competitions and
to various different wine publication publications to do scores, and it's
because it helps. I mean, people do take it seriously
and they gravitate towards the ones that get the better scores.
(17:16):
On a personal note, I would say, I, you know,
I'm not going to buy a wine specifically because of
the score. I am going to buy the wine that
I preferred or that or had some other reason to
buy it, but or drink it.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Yeah, there's a story of connection, something that draws you
to it. So for somebody who's never had the pleasure
to taste Wood Family wines on a whole, what do
you think they're missing out on?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
What they're missing out on by not having our wine?
Speaker 2 (17:43):
And yeah, just not never having had any of your wines,
what would they what are they missing? What would they
get if they came for the whole experience?
Speaker 3 (17:51):
So well, for the whole experience. That's kind of something
that sets us apart from other wineries. Like I've said,
been prior to either interviews or or publications or whatever
that you know, we make the wine as good as
we can. We do the best job that we can,
and I would put our one in any competition against
any wine. But that's not what sets us apart. What
sets us apart is the experience you have when you're here,
(18:15):
the people that work here. You know, I joke around
and I say, you know, my mom makes the wine,
my dad writes the checks, and I do the rest,
and that sounds great, but in reality, it's so much
more than just that. You know, we have susanomar In
who's our director of hospitality. We have Michelle Flores who's
our club manager. You know, we have Sarah who does
a lot of our marketing, operational management. We have all
(18:36):
of our tastinger managers, our tasting rom staff. We have
over like thirty five forty part time employees that work here.
We only require three shifts per month for people to work,
and they can choose their own shifts. And most of
them were started as customers or friends of ours who
then you know, joined and so there's a personal connection
there and when people come here. Part of the reason
why the label is the way it is with the
woody wagon on the front, is partly because it does,
(18:58):
you know, have a play on words. Wood Family Vineyards.
What do you wow? Funny and clever, but also it
has to do with the whole chill, hangout vibe kind
of deal. You know, come in, get to know us, hangout,
let's let's have discussions and have a good time. That
is what really sets us apart, along with the events
that we do with that too. But that that's really what.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
The well, it sounds like you have to be really
careful because come in and have fun and you might
be working three shifts a week.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yes, that is uh, it is a possibility. I keep
you know, it's joke. I joke though, because it's funny.
Sometimes we hire some of our US customers and then
they get the uh, the employee discount. It's like, we've
got to stop doing that.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
But that's the angle. That's the angle. So if space
aliens were to land on your property, we're not at
your vineyard, so we're here at your tasting room. We'll
talk about this. If they came knocking on the door
right now, which of your wines would you want to
say to them? Welcome to woods Wood Family Wines.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
That's funny, you know, it would probably be probably that Zipindel.
I know that's you know, I'd like to get more
diverse with my answer with that, but that's probably what
I would what I would give to them, either the
Mui Bueno z Infidela or the Big Woods infidel I
mean I would ask them. I mean, if you have
a gun to my head and ask that question. And
I couldn't ask them any questions. I couldn't communicate and.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
To ask them any questions, this is to say welcome,
and I'm going to give you a wine that represents
us or welcomes you however you want to.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Yeah, well, if you either those or are rose or
solving m boy, have probably the rose because the rose
is I mean the Big Wood and the Moi Bueno
those are fan favorites. The rose is as well too,
but not knowing anything about them, the rose is going
to be like the least controversial, if that makes any sense.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I just love how I ask for one wine and
I got three in the answer, maybe even four. I
heard a mention of another true politicis so with making
a broad variety of wines. But obviously you have, you know,
a lot of red wines. You're a red wine drinker.
As a red wine drinker, how do you pair food
(20:56):
and wine. Do you have rules that you follow? Are
you a big cook or a big dining out person?
I mean, do you just say, look, this is what
I like, I want my zim fidel and I don't
care what I order? Or do you try to pair things?
And if so, what are you looking to pair?
Speaker 3 (21:10):
There's so many answers in that question. So my friends,
if any of my friends are listening right now, they're laughing,
they're as their ass off. I don't know if I
can cuss on this.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
You can say whatever you want here.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Yeah, but the u either are laughing because I'm notorious
amongst my friends for not cooking anything ever. But now
now that I no longer live on my own and
I have a fiance and uh, you know, a grill
and things of that nature, I'm cooking all the time.
You know, I'd love to cook actually, and I'm experimenting,
and but I'll send pictures to my friends and then
(21:40):
of course they'll throw shade at me and joke around me.
Oh you look that looks like do I ever cooked?
Eat of this?
Speaker 2 (21:45):
You did have to work on your plating?
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Yes, yes, well yeah, I mean yeah that too. But
when it comes to pairing ones to that part of
the question. No, I do try to pair certain things
with certain styles of wines. I mean I don't. I
don't like you were saying about, like, oh, I want
my zen and I'm gonna pair something with it, don't.
I don't do that. I do, you know, if I'm
(22:08):
having seafood, I've mentioned earlier that, you know, I usually
stick to red wines and stuff. But if I'm having
like oysters or some sort of fish or some of
that nature, it might be a Salvinion blanc or chardon A,
you know. If I am having a steak, then it
might be the cab or cap fronk even or the Malbeck.
If I'm you know, having spicy food, one of my
favorite pairings is that mubenos infandel because it is a
little bit on the sweeter end of wines, and I
(22:30):
find that the sweetness goes with the spiciness of the
food very well. So really, it just depends on what
I'm eating and where I'm at.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yeah. So for somebody you've grown up on your family
property and you said the fourteen acres are on your homestead,
like where you live.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Where my parents live. Yes, so it's eighteen acres of property.
Excuse me, eighteen acres are property, fourteen of witches vineyards,
and that's.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Where you grew up, yes, and so you grew up
with these vines, seeing them every single day in the years,
I mean since you were a child, and all the
years that you've watched these vines and vintage after vintage,
and we know every vintage shell's a different story. But
what have you sort of seen over the years. Do
you see more commonality from one year to the next
(23:14):
or more variation.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Well, we're learning that quite a bit now. And what
I mean by that is those fourteen acres I was
referring to earlier, that was all more low. When we
first bought the property, that's all we grew.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
So you guys planted or it was planted when you
bought it.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
It was planted. It actually went to developed the property
and then we purchased it from them. They developed several
like twenty ish acre plots of land and then sold
those plots off and we were actually the first house
to move into that area. It's just off Greenville Road,
and the when we first bought the property, it was
all mere low. We sold the majority of the fruit
(23:49):
we'd make a small fraction of it, and then we'd
buy the fruit for all the rest of the wines
that we produced. In an effort to become more self
sustainable in a state driven, we replanted quite a bit
of those acres. Those acres we did. We took out
eleven of the fourteen acres. Wow, so we still have
three acres of the original Merleau there on the property,
but the other eleven we took out. That's where we
replanted with Caberne Sevenyon, Caberny Frank, Mallbeck, Pettifer, Dough and
(24:11):
zen We. Some of them are more consistent than others.
For example, the Malbeck, the twenty twenty two mal Beck
that one just won's what was called best other Bordeaux
at the Livermore Valley and Cork. To have a reason
with the why I'm bringing this up, but it's just
(24:32):
won best other Bordeaux, meaning that you know, the Cabane
seven Yon that had its own category, the Caviny Frank
had its own category, and then they put Merlau, Malbec
and Petiteperdau all into the same category. And this was
a yes. And this is a competition where not only
do you have to be a liver More wine, but
the wine you submit has to be produced only using
liver More fruit. Now why am I bringing this all up?
So that was the twenty twenty two Malbeck, and it
got best other Bordeaux, and that's all entirely from our
(24:53):
own estate, from the vineyards that we replanted. The twenty
twenty three Malbeck I prefer quite a bit more, actually,
and I just think it's a darker, more tannic, Boulder
style structured Malbeck. The twenty twenty two Malbeck I like it,
don't get me wrong, but there's a pretty stark difference
between the two. And so the fact that, you know,
(25:13):
going back to what I've said before about what people
like and all that kind of jazz. Very happy that
the twenty twenty two Malbeck got the award that it got,
But me personally, I prefer the twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
And were the years completely different temperature wise, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
The twenty twenty two was a great year, with the
small exception there was a period where it got hotter
than typical, let's just say that. And so that was
a you know, a variable that got thrown at us.
Twenty twenty three did not have that.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Yeah, so there's variation each year. So as a child
growing up in the vineyard, and I know you don't
live at home with your parents anymore, but I'm sure
you go back there often because the vineyards are there.
Do you spend a lot of time in the and
if so, what kind of a relationship do you have
with the vines? Do you speak with them, do they
speak with you? Do you yell at them? Do you
resent them for all the attention they got from your parents?
Speaker 3 (26:10):
I can't say I've had any sort of relationship in
that nature through the vineyard vines. You know what's funny
is that actually, whenever I look at the vineyard vines
and walk through the vines, I'm always just thrown back
to childhood because that's where I grew up and spent
most of my time in the vineyards. Sometimes for better
or worse. You know, you get older and you get
a little bit more mischievous. But you know, even from
(26:32):
back when I was a kid and just making bike
jumps out in the dirt roads out in the vineyards,
or you know, exploring the vineyards, we used to go
walking around looking for coyotes. Now, maybe that wasn't very smart.
But we used to do that. And we used to
go walking through the vineyard vines too to look for
the big spiders or you know, we'd have picnics in
different areas. We'd even camp out there sometimes. That's really
(26:55):
what I'm more associated with vineyards is just kind of
childhood and the experience of growing up. I do not
talk to the vineyards for better or worse, but and
I'm not jealous of them either, but that's kind of
what I associate with them.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Yeah, and do you have any sort of are you
involved with the picking of the grapes? Do you get
involved with the wine making or do you leave that
all to your mom?
Speaker 3 (27:25):
So for the picking of the grapes, I would just
be getting in the way the people who actually pick
the grapes. They're so efficient at it, it's crazy. I
mean you do sometimes you think, oh, let's try it,
and then you try and you're like, I'm causing more
issues than I'm helping. So I don't help at all
with help with picking of the grapes. I have helped
with harvest in the past. I'm not involved really unless
(27:48):
I'm needed to be. Like if somebody is either sick
or you know, has to take a day off or something,
or if we're you know, a person down in the
actual harvest production side of things, then I'll help out there.
But by and large, it's like I said earlier, you know,
my mom makes the wine, my dad writes the checks,
and I do the rest. So it's like sometimes I'll
make a joke where and I know for the listeners
they can't see this, but the tasting room is on
(28:09):
one side of a big wall, and then the production
facilities on the other side of this big wall. And
I say that side of the wall as my mom's.
This side of the wall is mine, and.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
A mess with your side, and you don't mess with her.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Yes, And I did mention earlier about you know, I
do want to do a quick shout out to both
Sasha and Jordan as well as part of our wine
making team. They do a great job. But and again,
just kind of like picking the grapes. If I tried
to help out in the production with Jordan and Sasha
and my mom, I'd probably just be getting in a way.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Yeah, well, do you guys have any as a family
or as a tight team that you have have any
sort of traditions that you do at the start of
harvest or during harvest. Uh.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
Yeah, I mean we we do a toast, we kind
of a what's it called savoring of a sparkling what
it's called something else anyway, with.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
The sword or a knife and ash champagne.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah, and we'll do that, and we'll do a cheers
thing and then another tradition of ours, you know, back
to your question about the production side of things. So
I don't I don't get involved at all in the
actual production. When it's in the barrel, I don't have
any involvement. But when it's in the bottle, that's where
I get heavily involved. We do sit around as like
say a boardroom, if you will, with my mom, myself,
Sasha and Jordan, whoever our wine making team might be
at that time, and we put together small different like
(29:22):
combinations of different things on a smaller level, if you will,
and just to see what we like and at that
point to decide what is actually in the bottle. That's
where I really get involved. That's where like I do
get involved in the final product. I just don't get
involved once it's in the barrel. And that's also another
tradition of ours though, too, is just you know, when
it's ready to be bottled. We always sit around the
(29:43):
same table. We always, you know, do it the same way.
We vote on things. We argue, we cry, we laugh.
It is funny because at that time, you know, you
do have a lot of great times and it's great
to finally put down the put these products together. But
at the same time you are dealing with a lot
of chefs in the kitchen, and so it's kind of
an interesting dynamic of how things work. Maybe somebody you
(30:06):
love is annoying you one day or whatever, or vice
versa or whatever it is, and it's just kind of
a fun it put it always ends up in a
result that we're happy with, and.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
That's why you have the wines that you have. So
you were saying that you never wanted to work in wine,
You wanted to go to law school. Obviously you found
your way into the wine industry and into the family business.
When you're not working, how do you like to spend
your free time?
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Well, as I mentioned earlier, well, free time, there's a
couple of answers to that.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
You don't have any free time?
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Yeah, Well, it's it's a combination of things like I don't.
I don't get many single days off, like one day here,
one day there, But I do like to vacation, if
you will, My fiance and I and even before when
I was on my own, if you want to call
it that, we always try to set aside at least
two two week periods every year where we go somewhere
and we always liked and it's always somewhere out of
(31:02):
the country and somewhere we haven't been before, you know,
whether we went last year, I believe to like Japan
and the Philippines, and then we've also been to uh
Portugal together and uh Spain and Rome we ran with
the Bulls together, yes, and uh so that's when we
when we when it comes to extended periods of time off,
that's what we love to do. We love to travel
(31:24):
and experience new things. When it comes to you know,
a single day here, single day there, when it occurs,
it could be various different things. I mean, it could
be just you know, going to like Murphy's not that
far away. I don't know if you've ever been to Murphy's,
but it's an awesome town. If you ever have a
chance to get get out there and check it out,
or it can be you know, go hang out with
friends or you know, or even wine tasting the uh
(31:45):
no sports, no, you know, I mean, unfortunately, I'm a
Raiders fan, and so it's uh, yes, I will watch football,
and I'm involved in way too many fantasy leagues. But
you know, the Raiders, unfortunately we haven't been super competitive
for a long time. I say we. I have no
involvement with the team, obviously, but I like to watch football.
But that's that's the only sport I really pay attention to.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
If your Raiders were ever to get their act together
and win a Super Bowl, which of your wines would
you want to present to them to enjoy? I mean,
this is true imagination since your team doesn't do very well.
But but never say never. There's always hope.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Yeah, but you know, a Raider nation. But what I
didn't hear the question.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Which one would you want to give them to celebrate
a win?
Speaker 3 (32:31):
I mean, I know, I keep saying it over and
over again, and I'm sorry, I wish I could be
like more. If we're talking about, like in the locker
room celebrating, I'm giving them the sparkling wine though, what
we call the hot Lips, which is named after the
plane that my mom flies. She's actually a pilot. She's
a pilot. She used to fly in the airline industry,
used FLA one hundred fet pasenger acrafts fors airways. She
still has her pilot's license, just like commercially anymore. The
plane she flies now has a set of has a
(32:52):
pair of red lips painted on the front of it,
so the plane is called hot Lips, and so on
the label for the sparkling wine, it's it's got the
picture of the plane drawing a plan on it, and
so we call it hot Lips. It's a sparkling Alberino.
So of course, if you're in the locker room, that's
what you're You're, yeah, shooting off in the locker room.
You're shaking it up and it's going everywhere. If they're
sitting down and I'm like, and I'm a celebratory dinner,
then I'm probably actually gonna for them. The culmination proprietary red.
(33:15):
It's part of our elevated line. It's a different label.
If anybody ever knows anything about.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Us, they would see it doesn't have the woody on it.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
No, it does not have the woody on it. There's
no way you'd be able to know that it's part
of what part of our brand or one of our products.
In fact, the long term goal of it, possibly you know,
we have we haven't said anything in stone yet, would
be to maybe even separate it entirely into its own
little brand and company. But that the culmination proprietary red
is the wine I would used on like a celebratory dinner.
(33:43):
That's not in the locker room where they're spraying it everywhere.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Well, let's hope that they win one day. So when
you look back at your life, I mean, people give
us advice all the time, and you're in a family business.
I'm sure you know our parents give us advice, our
teachers give it, give us advice mentors along the way.
Is there a piece of advice someone gave you along
the way that you try to that you work by
(34:06):
or live your life by.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
So my mom was a bull in a china shop girl.
She always has been.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
I mean whether I mean she was a female pilot,
so I can only imagine she was one of very
few when she did it.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Yes, it's still you know. I did a study in
twenty fourteen. I don't know what the numbers are anymore.
But in twenty fourteen, I did a little post tribute
to my mom and it was on International Women's Day,
So I was like, you know, I want to look
into this. What are the numbers on these sorts of things?
And even in twenty fourteen, it was only like somewhere
between five to ten percent of all the pilots in
the airline industry and the commercial airline industry were women.
So to think about what it was when she was
(34:40):
doing it in the eighties, you know, who knows. There's
even a story that is probably somewhat controversial, but that
my mom back in the day when she was flying
and she was pregnant with myself, she didn't want to
tell anybody because in those days, as a woman airline pilot,
they didn't allow lie while pregnant. Nowadays they do up
(35:02):
to a certain term and you're pregnancy, But back then
it was like, oh, you're pregnant. No, we can't have
the hormones and all that kind of stuff because men
don't know anything about that, but so we so they
like just get scared and say no, no, we don't
want that on a plane. But they so she was
pregnant with myself, but she didn't to anybody. One of
her best friends, her name was Gail Is. Gail was
(35:22):
also a commercial airline pilot at the same time, and
sometimes they would captain planes together, and she was pregnant,
and they didn't tell anybody, and so they claimed, They're like,
it's possible. I can't you know, you don't quote me
on this. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there's pending somebody before,
but they might be the first two women airline pilots
to ever captain a major airline with no men in
the cockpit while also pregnant. So you know, that's just
(35:43):
kind of the style person that she is. And then
when they finally found out that she was pregnant, she
heard that beer was good for breast milk. Now, she
didn't drin any beer while she was pregnant, but she
started brewing beer and that was her first experience making alcohol.
And then when I was born, she drank the beer
and then and then she had a lot of fun
doing that. But she likes wine more than she does beer,
and that's what inspired her to look into wine making.
(36:04):
That's what kind of started the whole spark of things.
Now it does get a little bit further than that
with the answer though, So being a bowl in a
china shop, how does that translate to like advice? You know,
seeing her kind of will this company to get to
where it's at. You know, she made it might not
be her first whole sale, but if it wasn't her first,
it was definitely one of her first. She made her
(36:24):
first wholesale sale riding her bike from her house with
wine in her backpack to downtown to Zephyr Restaurant in
downtown Livermore, and we were the first local wine that
they put on their wine list. And she did it
just because she didn't know how to sell wine. She
didn't know what she was doing, she didn't know how
to price it. She just knew she wanted the wine there,
(36:45):
and so she just willed it to happen. And in
that regard, you know, just kind of willing things to be.
There's a lot of examples of seeing her do that,
and so that was kind of something that I try
to taken in my own life of you know, creating
your own life and creating your future and your path
(37:05):
is just willing it to be if you will, that's great.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
I mean, it's hard work, but it's believing in yourself.
And yes, it's a good example to have. Your mom
is is a what are you read like? No? But
I mean she's really like a path leader, like a
path you know, a path creator or something.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
She's definitely that she does not care about your opinion,
not you specifically tell her. She can't she she's not
even listening to So.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
So when you look back at your career so far,
so far, what would you say is one of your
proudest achievements today?
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I mean, it's just getting to where we are. I mean,
I it's not like a oh I did this one thing.
It's just where when when I first joined the family business,
we were still in a small, small barn like structure
in front of my parents' house. People sometimes wonder, you know,
why do we move from there. It's because it's in
a gated community, and the neighbors have always been very
supportive of us. They still are. We do concerts from
(38:04):
time to time still at the vineyard property. We're still
bonded to operate there as a winery, but it is
a gated community. And so once we expanded beyond a
certain point, you know, we had becon neighbors. We're not
going to have what's the point of living in a
gated community. It's always open. So we had to find
a new facility. This is how we landed out where
we're at now, which is on Basco Row, not just
off of Vasco Road where there are it's an industrial area,
(38:25):
but there are ten wineries, two breweries, and a distillery
all right here in the same spot. So you could
spend the whole weekend here and have plenty to drink.
I'm kind of surprised somebody I wasn't use a trailer
yet and just put it up on a road and
barbecued for their food or whatever. Anyway, But to just
look back and when we first moved here, I think
we were producing twenty five hundred cases. So we've grown,
(38:48):
you know, exponentially, yeah, three times over. And in order
to do that, we have to expand, not just here,
but you know, on the whole sale side of things.
I handle all the whole sales, so I'm always you know,
I took my mom's you know, bowling a china shop thing,
and I just I walk up and down the street
in different markets, and I just come in and introduce
myself and then repeating over and over again. Now, granted,
(39:09):
I haven't been able to do that as often anymore
because what I've found to be more successful as of
late is the special events that we do. So I've
kind of shifted my focus a little bit. I'm trying
to get back on the road again and do sales again,
but it really hasn't been a major focus of mine recently.
But just seeing the amount of people who show up
at these things. We just had a four hundred and
thirty person concert at the house for a Begee's band,
(39:29):
you know, And it's kind of weird to talk about yourself.
And I couldn't have done it with the rest of
my team. I mean, like I mentioned Susana, she's you know,
huge backbone to this company. You know, we have Alex Patricia,
we have Rob and Julie. We have Mi Shall and Rob,
we have you know, Toby, we have you know, so
many different people that all make.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
Sure shut ups to the Wood Family team.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
Yes exactly, but the and so none of this can
happen without these guys. But if I had to talk
about myself a little bit, you know, these are kind
of like it's like my idea and seeing it come
to fruition is really nice to see sometimes. Yeah, and
so yeah, that's kind of it's seeing where we are
now with the production that we're at now and the
(40:12):
operations that we're doing, things open seven days a week,
and just the continuous growth of a company even during
the current times of the industry kind of struggle. Yes,
and while we do face our own struggles here, but
every year the revenue revenue at least I don't know
about private margins, but revenue is at least growing every
year here.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
So it's a great achievement. You're not finished yet. We're
not finished here either. I have a simple question. Complete
this sentence. For me, A table without wine is like, boy, okay,
now we're at a table. We've got your wines on
the table, a couple chairs, there's an empty seat next
(40:51):
to you. Who, from any walk of life would you
want to share a bottle of your wine with? Living
or deceased.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
That's a lot of a lot of people that at
they're back. I mean, the obvious first answer would have
been Jesus. But that's that's kind of a controversial answer
to say.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Your answer is your answer, no, controversy.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Yeah, which is funny because I'm not even a religiously
particularly particularly religious person. But but yeah, I mean if
I could share wine with him, that'd be pretty cool.
The I mean it could be Julius Caesar. I don't know, uh,
Genghis Gohn, even though he was a terrible person, but
I would still like to pick his brain and see
what the heck man you like?
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Some you like some leaders who.
Speaker 3 (41:32):
Interesting leaders, but from a more modern era, I guess,
more modern era. Who would I choose? I don't know
any one of the US presidents, just to kind of
more talk more conspiracy things, find out do we actually
have alien aircraft and stuff like that, you know.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Yeah, so basically leaders you like former leaders, even if
they were you know, war mongering leaders like so you
told me at the very beginning. Someone once asked you
what wine you would want to be buried with, which
I would just say a good empty bottle because I
(42:11):
would hope I wouldn't drink it. But I'm going to
ask you that if you were going off to a
deserted island and can only take three wines with you,
and they can be your wines, they can be any
wine in the world. What three wines would you want
to take with you?
Speaker 3 (42:24):
And they wouldn't last very long, so it wouldn't really matter.
The three wines that I would take with me, they'd
probably be all ours, just because how I mean, how
long am I on this deserted island for?
Speaker 2 (42:36):
I mean, I mean, it's just a scenario. So it's
any you know, there could be there's refrigerator, there's refrigeration,
there's ice, there's glasses, there's an unlimited amount. I'm just saying,
if you could take only three.
Speaker 3 (42:51):
Wines with you, yeah, I mean, if I can only
take three wines with me, it's probably you know, the
culmination proprietary red than are that we do the first
one and then the big woods in I mean, those
those are the three that I'm taking with me.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
You know, you got to love someone who loves their
own wine.
Speaker 3 (43:06):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
So Harrison, I have one last question for you. But
I'm going to say that because you know, we always
play a little game here on wine soundtrack where we
pair wine with music. Is a way to kind of
showcase our wine. So I know you had a little
warning about this. You have no warning about any other questions,
but this one. This is so I want you to
tell me what you would pair with your Sauvigny and blanc.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
So it was good vibes by beach boys. But I
do want to kind of it's funny because when you
when I first heard a good vibration, sorry, but when
I first heard that you were going to be asking
these questions again. This was another one of those things
for like what why would you be buried with them?
I've never been asked what wine am I going to
pair with? What song? And at first I'm like, I
don't know how to do this? And then finally I
(43:51):
started talking with my team and we started talking and
all of a sudden it became I couldn't stop. I
couldn't arrow it down to just three. While this song
goes with this, I mean this song with that.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
So so I understand because I've been sipping the sauvenu
and blanc why it goes with good vibrations Because it's
kind of light and fun and it makes you feel good.
It's like summer in a glass. But tell me then
about your you know, your big Woods infandel, the wine
that's so that's so significant to your first love?
Speaker 3 (44:21):
Yeah, I mean well, well, I should have picked a
different song, and now they describe it that way.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
But now I don't pick any song that comes to mind.
Speaker 3 (44:27):
I mean, well, the first love I don't even know.
I guess there's gotta be some love. I mean, there's
a song called if You're Gonna Go First Love and
Be Baby by David Man. I can I remember your
last name. I'm sorry, David. But he was actually the
main entertainer on one of our cruises that we did.
He lives out in Europe. It's been featured on some
Netflix songs too, or not Netflix movies. But but the
(44:48):
song that we originally chose was I Feel Good by
James Brown, and that the reason why that was chose
was just because it's like, you know, the whole thing
with what family, venyards and like saying, what's that? So
it's a part is like the experience and you know,
feeling good and being that this is the wine that
kind of initially those two are our most popular red wines.
Like it's like, yeah, come in, I feel good, you know,
(45:08):
like it's a it's a that's really kind of more
of the reason that song was chosen for both of
those wines.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Actually, yeah, for the movie bon as well.
Speaker 3 (45:15):
Yeah, the mo won on the big way. We both
thought just the z Infidels that we do, those are
the only twos that we do, the two z Infidels
that we do, and we've chose. I feel good for
both of those, at least I chose that.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
Actually, Okay, what about your cab Fronk? Since we you
did mention how cap Frank has been declared the red grape,
the primary red wine of livermore, what about your cab Fronk?
Speaker 3 (45:34):
So that was actually chosen by my mom for the
song for that one, and I loved it. I loved it,
So I was like, I fine, we'll do that one.
And that is It's hard to be Humble by Mac Davis. Okay,
And there's a few reasons she chose that song, one
of which is because it is her favorite karaoke songs.
She knows the entire thing by heart. Another reason is
because has she explained, it's the perfect wine. It's the
(45:57):
perfect wine pare with food, with all the different characteristics
that it has and all tasting profiles, it's a perfect
one to have on its own. It's hard to be
humble when you're a cabinet front.
Speaker 2 (46:08):
Let's just be frunk about it, okay. And then last
one is your proprietary red culmination that you would give
to your raiders if they ever win a game.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
Well, it's perfect actually too. It's a segue for that.
I love how you said if they ever win a
game super Bowl. But anyway, yeah, but it is my
way by Frank Sinatra, and actually it goes perfectly for
winning the Super Bowl because they could say they did
it my way, you know exactly. But that one is
really the my way. Thing had to do with kind
of the bowl in the China shop reference, and this
being our most expensive bottle. It's only one hundred dollars
(46:39):
a bottle, which in NAPA would not be considered it expensive,
but for us, it's our most expensive bottle and very
small production. We just do two barrels, which is fifty
cases worth of it. And because I did open that one,
you are gonna have to try that one later. But anyway,
I get to try it. But it is kind of
a tribute to wood Family vineyards and our up and
(47:00):
coming and doing it our way kind of deal.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
Yes, okay, last question two parter, you said you like
to travel. You take a trip every year where what
wine region in the world is at the top of
your bucket list to go to.
Speaker 3 (47:14):
Ironically enough, it's probably not that unique, I mean or whatever.
Like you know, of all the places I've been through,
it's surprising I haven't been here, but Tuscany. I'd really
like to go to Tuscany. I've been Italy twice, but
I've never gone wine tasting and Tuscany.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Well, then you should start planning that. And then for
somebody who wants to come here on the flip side
and they want to come to Livermore Valley, where can
they find you? How can they find you? And what
can they experience here?
Speaker 3 (47:39):
So you can find us on our website, you know
www dot Woodfamilyvineyards dot com. We have Facebook with Familyvineyards.
We have Instagram at Wood Family Vineyards. We even have
a TikTok now which I don't handle, but we have that.
I guess I'm not I'm sure we only have two
followers on it. Well you can I mean phone numbers,
you know, we can look us up on Google.
Speaker 2 (47:58):
And you said you're open seven days a week.
Speaker 3 (48:00):
We are open seven days a week. We're open late.
We have live music every single week as well here
at the tasting room. Yes, we have live music every
Wednesday and Friday evening. Wednesdays, it's acoustic music, is usually
a little intimate, not as many people, but enough to
keep going with it. That's from four to seven pm.
We do that every single Wednesday. It's us just like
one or two people playing Fridays from five to eight pm.
(48:21):
Every single Friday, we have a full on band and
that gets a lot more packed house, So I definitely
recommend making reservations for that. We don't charge a cover,
but we do have a ten dollars hold that that
gets given back to you the second you, you know,
show up. We have a plethora of events. I'm not
gonna go through every single one of them because that
is just gonna get kind of old poring right then.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
And then it's every year, tons of events. So for
every holiday, every Yeah, we have any reason to celebrate.
Speaker 3 (48:47):
Yes, we have six concerts in the vineyards that we
do during the summer. Concert series is what we call it.
We do cheese pairings. If you show up here, you're
gonna see a whole list of things to do. You
can find them on our website as well. And you
can taste through you know, all different times types, not
in one sitting, but you can have canseus do quite
a bit of our wines?
Speaker 2 (49:05):
Yes, and be careful because you might end up working
here three days a month.
Speaker 3 (49:09):
Yes, yes, exactly, so, yeah, you might end up we might.
We got a cat for you in the back.
Speaker 2 (49:13):
And well, Harrison, thank you so much for joining us
today on Wine Soundtrack if it's really fun chatting with you,
and thanks for the wine, for the chat, and let's
go taste some more wine.
Speaker 1 (49:24):
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. Usay 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 I'm in the Livermore Valley today with Harrison Wood,
who is the executive VP of Wood Family Vineyards. I
guess when you work in a family business you get
to take on big titles. But as the executive VP
of your family business, tell me a little bit about
Wood Family Vineyards.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Well before I get to the winery. It's actually even
more about the title itself. So yes, the title was
given to me by my dad. When he first gave
me the title, I was a bit kind of like,
you know, that sounds a bit corporate for a small
family business. So actually on my business card, in addition
to executive vice President, it also says COO and then
elaborates to mean that COO is actually child of owner.
(00:55):
So that's actually my second title today. I like that.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I thought you were going to say, like dishwasher or
bottle washer. But children of owner is good. Yes, child
of owner, yes, but a little bit of it. So Harrison,
as the child of the owner, tell us welcome and
tell us about Wood Family Vineyards.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
So Wood Family Vineyards is a very family oriented winery
located in Livermore, California. Obviously, not only are we located
here in Livermore, but everything about us is locally centric,
meaning that we do grow vineyards even though they're not
here on the property where the winery is, we grow
fourteen acres worth of grapes Caviny, seven Yon, Cabany, Frank Malbeck, tie, Rideaux,
merlou and zen. But we make a lot more than that,
(01:32):
Like I have Savignon blanc and chardonnay here and even
though those aren't on our property, everything we produce all
comes from here. It's all locally sourced. And so that's
kind of a little bit about kind of our idea
behind our branding, if you will.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Okay, so you have fourteen acres and then you purchase
fruit as well. So what's your total case.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Production depends on the vintage. This twenty twenty three vintage
was the largest vintage to date for us. I think
we did upwards of nine thousand cases. That you're we
are scaling to what we It's funny because we grew
without even intending to grow, because the yield on the
harvest that year was just so high that we we
were kind of in a position where it's like, Okay,
(02:11):
we're growing now. Where we're going to next vintage is
kind of where we were planning to grow to, which
I believe is approximately about seven thousand cases total.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And are you one hundred direct to consumer or are
you in distribution? What markets you available in?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
So I am the wholesaler and the distributor and the
delivery driver. Yes, so we are mainly local. Now. Ironically enough,
there is a company, a distribution company called the World
of Wines and they're out of Indiana. Random relationship that
started years ago, even prior to me joining the company
of wine store owner in Indiana come to our winery
back in the day when the winery was actually located
(02:49):
at my parents' house prior to moving to its current location,
and the store owner said, you know, they love the wines.
That had to have it. And we said, you know, yeah,
that's great, but we don't have a tribution out in Indiana.
And they said, well, we'll get it all set up
for us. And I'm like, Okay, cool share in the
back of our mind like there's no way this is
going to happen, and then fast forward and lo and
(03:10):
behold they did set up the relationship. So we technically
do have distribution in Indiana. I think we ship maybe
like fourteen cases a year there, so you can find
us in places in Indiana, So shout out to Indiana.
But other than there, you got to come here, Yes,
you got to come here. We do ship to thirty
six different states using a company called Pino Shipper. It's
(03:32):
a third party that we work with, so they allow
us to ship to thirty six different states. People can
buy our wine online and have it ship directly to them.
But finding the wine outside of the winery, we're in
lots of restaurants here, lots of boutique kind of stores.
We have a very focused set of wines that you
can find retail at like say Safeway or Lucky's. We
(03:54):
even have one wine in Costco. I wanted some branding
and brand awareness there, but I can't bring all my
product to Costco because they'll undersell us and there'd be
no reason to come to the winery anymore.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
You're just in the local Costco Yeah, we're.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
In Livermore, Danville, Pleasanton, and Tracy and then maybe Brentwood.
Brentwood is Brent's on the fence right now.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Okay, so all in sort of the east of San Francisco,
a Bay Area neighborhood. So tell me what is your
first memory relevant to wine.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
My first memory relevant to wine actually is being in
what we called the fish tank. So when my brother
and I were kids and had zero idea of what
was going on in the wine industry, we would whenever.
So I got to rewind a little bit my parents
when they founded the winery. It was in a small
barn like structure in front of my parents' house then
(04:46):
your property, where they still live today and actually where
we still have concerts from time to time. Tomorrow there's
gonna be one. But during that time, I mean when
they first founded the winery, I was nine years old,
I believe, and my brother would have been seven and
so far too young to do any thing wine related.
So we would hang out in the house while my
parents would do the wine events from time to time,
(05:06):
because back then it was opened by appointment only, with
the exception to special occasions where we'd open up the
gates and people would flood in and they'd trial the
wines and stuff, and my brother and I'd be playing
video games, We're watching TV, and there's people like putting
their hands on the windows looking in at us, because
you know, when they were just kind of sitting there
as kids, like Hi. We kind of nicknamed it like
(05:27):
a fish tank because it's like, you know, people looking
into the fish tank at the fish.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You didn't get to taste wine back then.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
No, No, there was no tasting of wine. Forced to work,
Uh no, although when I did get a little older,
I volunteered to work. Essentially, we would just offer to
take wine to people's cars for them and wagons, and
it started off. You know, people would tip us from
time to time when we were cute, and then we
got older and had a demand to know, we need
(05:55):
to get paid because we're not little cute kids anymore,
so people aren't tipping anymore.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah, Oh, that's a fun memory. Relevant to whine how
you made money Your first job was getting tipped?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yes, yes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So as you grew up and obviously you've chosen to
follow in the family business and continue it. I'm curious,
you know, was there a particular wine. You drank one
of those aha moments, and do you remember what it
was and what the wine was.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
You know, it's funny, is I can I'll circle around
and I'll get to the answer to that question. But
at first I had zero desire to be in the
wine industry. When I was younger, you know, it was
my parents' job. Is my mom's gig. I You know,
you take for granted what you have when you're a kid.
It's not till you get older and hopefully wiser that
you realize what it is that you have and an
opportunity that you can take advantage of. I didn't realize
(06:43):
that until later on. At first, I wanted to be
a lawyer actually, and as I was studying for law school,
I realized that I needed a temporary gig somewhere to
make money on the side. While I was studying for
law school. I couldn't just bum it on my parents'
couch for forever, and so I actually applied to work
the harvest at a neighboring winery called Darcy Kent Vineyards.
And I worked there doing the harvest there, and well
(07:06):
that was fun cool. Still haven't taken the lsat yet
so keep going with this the harvest is over, and
then I work in the tasting room, and then in
the tasting room, you know, that was a lot of fun.
And then I did wholesale and they had me covering
actually thirty different states selling wine for them. But that
was when it came to a decision point at that point,
because right when they offered me the job for selling
wine for them is when I took the l SAT
(07:28):
And so I was like, Okay, I either I can
take out a big old loan and hope things work
out in the law world. And you know, financially speaking,
I was looking at possibly working with people who couldn't
financially represent themselves. So it's not a very lucrative business
to be in if you're going to be taking out
a huge loan to go without direct no.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Risk in going into wine, which is ultimately not that
lugot of either.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Yeah. Well so we so, yeah, it was either okay,
take out this big loan, go to law school, represent
people who can't afford it, or get paid to travel
the country and drink wine with people. And at that
point I made the decision to go that direction. I
did that for a couple of years and then decided
in twenty sixteen to come back to my parents' winery.
Now to your question about aha moment, there was a
wine that started it all for me, and somebody asked
(08:12):
me a very strange question one time. And it's not
very often that I get asked these questions where usually
in the wine industry, in the tasting room, you you
get the same questions, same jokes, or some sort of
similarity of between them. Anyway, somebody one time asked me
what wine would you be buried with? And I thought
that was a very interest.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Interesting question cause you don't get to drink kids.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yes. Well, on top of that, so I start off
the question with, well, you know, asking which one is
your favorites like asking your favorite child, and they go,
that's not the question I asked. They asked what wine
would you be buried with? And I said, I thought
about it, and I said, actually it's the Big Woods Infidel.
And the reason I chose the Big Woods Infidel is
because that was the wine that really initially got me
turned onto wine when I first started drinking one.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Of your own family wines, not another wine, but your
family wine.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
It was the Big Woods infidel from Wood Family vineyards.
And even though we make a plethora of wines now
we make over twenty different varieties, we specialize in various
different things. What initially put us on the map? Now,
the first wine we ever made was Murlow and if
people didn't like them Merlow, then we wouldn't have been
able to grow anywhere from there. So people love them Altow.
I love them are Low. But what really gained us
notoriety in the early two thousands, what made people say, hey,
(09:17):
you got to check out this spot was actually the
first z infandel you ever created, and it was old
vine z infandel. At the time the vineyards got replaced,
so it couldn't be old vine anymore. That got turned
into Big Woods infadel. That's when I started coming up
drinking age, and so I started drinking the Big Woods infandel,
and that was kind of our our backbone back then. Nowadays,
if you ask ten different people what their favorite wine
is from our winer, you're gonna get ten different answers.
But initially what put us on the map was in
(09:40):
and then it's initially what turned me on to wine
as well. So what was it? What was it?
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Do you remember that kind of turned you on too.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
This wine well in general, Well, what's funny about our
zifandel is it can cover it's very how you can say,
how do you say widespread in in its fan base?
If you will? You have the people who are the beginners,
and you have the people who are the the a's,
if you will.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
But more for you what stood out as a as
a beginner and wine? Why was it an AHA wine
for you?
Speaker 3 (10:12):
So? What I was getting to with the beginner portion
of it was that it's very jammy, it's very easy,
it's it's fruit forward. You know, a lot of people
when they first get into wine and they don't know
any of the terminology regarding the wines, it could be
kind of an intimidating thing to get into, especially because
you know the stigma with around wine of people. You know,
it's a higher status kind of beverage one. Really it's not.
(10:34):
It's alcoholic grape juice that we make very well, but
the but big with the big wood Zimpindel, it's it's jammy,
it's fruit forward, and it's it doesn't have those like
those strong tannins on the finish of it, which you
know tannins can be kind of interesting. Let's call it
that for a for a beginner and wine because you
never tasted anything like that before except for dark chocolate prefects.
(10:58):
But but yeah, so if somebody's not used to tannins,
if you start them off with a cab there might
be like, oh, this is bitter. No, it's not bitter,
it's got tannins in it. And so but the zinfandel,
the big wood is very jam it's big, it's bold,
but it's very smooth. It's easy, but it's complex enough
that it has those other aspects to it that it
(11:20):
can fulfill the needs and desires for like Assamier as
well at the beginner. But that was kind of how
it started with me. Was that?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
So you were just turning twenty one legal of course?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Taste this wine and you're like, oh, it's drinkable. Okay,
So now that you drink a lot or drink regularly.
Accumulation of years, accumulation of yours, I'm curious if we
were to come to your home, what kind of wines
do we find in there? Do you have a house
pellet where you're drinking mostly your own wines? Do you
drink a lot of local wines, little more, or are
(11:52):
there particular regions or grapes that you find yourself having
a collection of.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
So, first of all, if I have a wine collection,
I keep it at my parents' house in their wine
cellar with a list with a paper that says, do
not touch Harrison's row for the wine, because if I
bring it home, I am going to share it pretty quickly.
At home. Usually it's most of our own stuff. I
do go tasting at other places quite a bit. I
don't have anything that it's specifically kind of lean towards.
(12:20):
I would say that's kind of changed as of late though,
because of the whole direction shift in Livermore with Sauvignon
blanc and Cabernet frank being the designated varietals of the region.
Ever since that has become an actual designation now. Obviously
when I go somewhere, I tried those two from different
as many regions as I can. But prior to the designation,
I never had a specific variety that I'm like, this
is what I want to try, or even different styles.
(12:44):
I mean, I just like trying different things whenever I
like to travel outside the country when I can, and
Whenever I go anywhere, I always try the wine that's
from that country. One of the most interesting countries I'd
been to as far as wine goes, was actually Turkey
that had so many different varietals that not only are
not it's hard to find, you can only find them
into and so I just like to try anything and everything.
(13:04):
What I have at home would be mostly my stuff,
ad stuff, my family stuff. Now when you go to
my parents' house on my row, that's where it gets
more diverse. On the other different wine wine selections.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Yeah, kind of an internationals or more domestic.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Automatic more domestic, just because it's hard to get those
international wines home. I did go to Japan and bring
a Did I bring that Japanese? I can't remember if
I brought it home. But I tried some wine from
Japan that I can't remember if I brought home or not.
But but yeah, I mean, it's mostly domestic when it's and.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Is there anything you opened recently? It doesn't have to
be one of your own wines, but it might be
that drink really.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Well something, oh you know what. Actually, and this is
not only domestic, this is very local to liver More.
The Sekura winery. They do a temporneo that is phenomenal
and I love it because I do believe in the
idea of having designated varietals. I think it gives people
an idea of where they should kind of look when
(13:59):
they're going to a region. So the idea of having
Sauvignon blanc and caberne franc the vrietals of the region,
I think is very great for Livermore, and we do
those varrietals very well. But I think Sakura's temporneo is
a prime example of they're not the only things we
do well. I mean, if you think Caberne frank and
Savignon blanc, you're not thinking tempernello. And that, actually, I
(14:21):
was phenomenal and I just had it the other night.
Actually it was great.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So with all the different varieties that you're working with,
because you mentioned that you have chardeny, Sauvignon blanc, Zimfandel,
Cabernet franc, and you mentioned some other grapes that you're growing,
and then what you're buying. Do you think there's a
such thing as a perfect variety.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
I wouldn't say a perfect varietal or variety. There are
varietal characteristics if you will to wine that are things
that are expected. One of the things that kind of
breaks that norm. For example, though, is like ore Moi
Bueno Zipindel. That one actually is our fastest selling red
wine from the winery. But it's not your standards in
(15:01):
by any means. So it's like, Okay, what makes it perfect?
Is it what people like? Or is it because it
fits the quote unquote standards that have been set upon
it by the wine society at large. So I don't
believe there's a perfect vrietal or vietal characteristics. I think
those are things that are that are more common than others.
But in reality, what people like is what matters most.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
So and so for a winery, for you as a
wine drinker, red whiter or rose red.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yeah, Now, don't get me wrong. I I appreciate all
the different varietals that they're that there are. In fact,
Savignon blanc for example, I love the aromas of it.
But if you ever find me just personally drinking somewhere,
whether it be at a restaurant or an event or
wherever it might be, it's highly likely that it's going
to be a red wine of sorts.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
And then I mean, we know it's red, but it
doesn't I don't mean this question for red, but between
still in sparkling.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Uh well, still, I like, I like Still. We did
just make our first ever sparkling wine, and I do
enjoy that one quite a bit. But buy and large Still.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Yeah, so you guys are up to well, you said
nine thousand cases, seven thousand, You're you're you're making a
fair amount of wine, and to sell that wine, especially
when you're directing consumer obviously word of mouth, getting a
lot of people to taste it. What's your opinion of
wine critics and scores? How important are they to a brand?
Are they? Are they helpful? Are they not helpful? Do
(16:30):
you love them? Do you hate them? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (16:32):
I mean so I understand them. I don't. I don't judge.
So unfortunately, you do kind of gravitate towards the wine
that has the higher score. The only reason I say
unfortunately is because again, you know, these scores can be
dictated upon one palate. Just because it's one person who
(16:52):
really enjoys this wine doesn't mean by and large the
public at large is going to enjoy this wine. I
understand that scores very much help brands. There's a reason
why we submit our wines to various different competitions and
to various different wine publication publications to do scores, and it's
because it helps. I mean, people do take it seriously
and they gravitate towards the ones that get the better scores.
(17:16):
On a personal note, I would say, I, you know,
I'm not going to buy a wine specifically because of
the score. I am going to buy the wine that
I preferred or that or had some other reason to
buy it, but or drink it.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Yeah, there's a story of connection, something that draws you
to it. So for somebody who's never had the pleasure
to taste Wood Family wines on a whole, what do
you think they're missing out on?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
What they're missing out on by not having our wine?
Speaker 2 (17:43):
And yeah, just not never having had any of your wines,
what would they what are they missing? What would they
get if they came for the whole experience?
Speaker 3 (17:51):
So well, for the whole experience. That's kind of something
that sets us apart from other wineries. Like I've said,
been prior to either interviews or or publications or whatever
that you know, we make the wine as good as
we can. We do the best job that we can,
and I would put our one in any competition against
any wine. But that's not what sets us apart. What
sets us apart is the experience you have when you're here,
(18:15):
the people that work here. You know, I joke around
and I say, you know, my mom makes the wine,
my dad writes the checks, and I do the rest,
and that sounds great, but in reality, it's so much
more than just that. You know, we have susanomar In
who's our director of hospitality. We have Michelle Flores who's
our club manager. You know, we have Sarah who does
a lot of our marketing, operational management. We have all
(18:36):
of our tastinger managers, our tasting rom staff. We have
over like thirty five forty part time employees that work here.
We only require three shifts per month for people to work,
and they can choose their own shifts. And most of
them were started as customers or friends of ours who
then you know, joined and so there's a personal connection
there and when people come here. Part of the reason
why the label is the way it is with the
woody wagon on the front, is partly because it does,
(18:58):
you know, have a play on words. Wood Family Vineyards.
What do you wow? Funny and clever, but also it
has to do with the whole chill, hangout vibe kind
of deal. You know, come in, get to know us, hangout,
let's let's have discussions and have a good time. That
is what really sets us apart, along with the events
that we do with that too. But that that's really what.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
The well, it sounds like you have to be really
careful because come in and have fun and you might
be working three shifts a week.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yes, that is uh, it is a possibility. I keep
you know, it's joke. I joke though, because it's funny.
Sometimes we hire some of our US customers and then
they get the uh, the employee discount. It's like, we've
got to stop doing that.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
But that's the angle. That's the angle. So if space
aliens were to land on your property, we're not at
your vineyard, so we're here at your tasting room. We'll
talk about this. If they came knocking on the door
right now, which of your wines would you want to
say to them? Welcome to woods Wood Family Wines.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
That's funny, you know, it would probably be probably that Zipindel.
I know that's you know, I'd like to get more
diverse with my answer with that, but that's probably what
I would what I would give to them, either the
Mui Bueno z Infidela or the Big Woods infidel I
mean I would ask them. I mean, if you have
a gun to my head and ask that question. And
I couldn't ask them any questions. I couldn't communicate and.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
To ask them any questions, this is to say welcome,
and I'm going to give you a wine that represents
us or welcomes you however you want to.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Yeah, well, if you either those or are rose or
solving m boy, have probably the rose because the rose
is I mean the Big Wood and the Moi Bueno
those are fan favorites. The rose is as well too,
but not knowing anything about them, the rose is going
to be like the least controversial, if that makes any sense.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I just love how I ask for one wine and
I got three in the answer, maybe even four. I
heard a mention of another true politicis so with making
a broad variety of wines. But obviously you have, you know,
a lot of red wines. You're a red wine drinker.
As a red wine drinker, how do you pair food
(20:56):
and wine. Do you have rules that you follow? Are
you a big cook or a big dining out person?
I mean, do you just say, look, this is what
I like, I want my zim fidel and I don't
care what I order? Or do you try to pair things?
And if so, what are you looking to pair?
Speaker 3 (21:10):
There's so many answers in that question. So my friends,
if any of my friends are listening right now, they're laughing,
they're as their ass off. I don't know if I
can cuss on this.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
You can say whatever you want here.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Yeah, but the u either are laughing because I'm notorious
amongst my friends for not cooking anything ever. But now
now that I no longer live on my own and
I have a fiance and uh, you know, a grill
and things of that nature, I'm cooking all the time.
You know, I'd love to cook actually, and I'm experimenting,
and but I'll send pictures to my friends and then
(21:40):
of course they'll throw shade at me and joke around me.
Oh you look that looks like do I ever cooked?
Eat of this?
Speaker 2 (21:45):
You did have to work on your plating?
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Yes, yes, well yeah, I mean yeah that too. But
when it comes to pairing ones to that part of
the question. No, I do try to pair certain things
with certain styles of wines. I mean I don't. I
don't like you were saying about, like, oh, I want
my zen and I'm gonna pair something with it, don't.
I don't do that. I do, you know, if I'm
(22:08):
having seafood, I've mentioned earlier that, you know, I usually
stick to red wines and stuff. But if I'm having
like oysters or some sort of fish or some of
that nature, it might be a Salvinion blanc or chardon A,
you know. If I am having a steak, then it
might be the cab or cap fronk even or the Malbeck.
If I'm you know, having spicy food, one of my
favorite pairings is that mubenos infandel because it is a
little bit on the sweeter end of wines, and I
(22:30):
find that the sweetness goes with the spiciness of the
food very well. So really, it just depends on what
I'm eating and where I'm at.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yeah. So for somebody you've grown up on your family
property and you said the fourteen acres are on your homestead,
like where you live.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Where my parents live. Yes, so it's eighteen acres of property.
Excuse me, eighteen acres are property, fourteen of witches vineyards,
and that's.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Where you grew up, yes, and so you grew up
with these vines, seeing them every single day in the years,
I mean since you were a child, and all the
years that you've watched these vines and vintage after vintage,
and we know every vintage shell's a different story. But
what have you sort of seen over the years. Do
you see more commonality from one year to the next
(23:14):
or more variation.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Well, we're learning that quite a bit now. And what
I mean by that is those fourteen acres I was
referring to earlier, that was all more low. When we
first bought the property, that's all we grew.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
So you guys planted or it was planted when you
bought it.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
It was planted. It actually went to developed the property
and then we purchased it from them. They developed several
like twenty ish acre plots of land and then sold
those plots off and we were actually the first house
to move into that area. It's just off Greenville Road,
and the when we first bought the property, it was
all mere low. We sold the majority of the fruit
(23:49):
we'd make a small fraction of it, and then we'd
buy the fruit for all the rest of the wines
that we produced. In an effort to become more self
sustainable in a state driven, we replanted quite a bit
of those acres. Those acres we did. We took out
eleven of the fourteen acres. Wow, so we still have
three acres of the original Merleau there on the property,
but the other eleven we took out. That's where we
replanted with Caberne Sevenyon, Caberny Frank, Mallbeck, Pettifer, Dough and
(24:11):
zen We. Some of them are more consistent than others.
For example, the Malbeck, the twenty twenty two mal Beck
that one just won's what was called best other Bordeaux
at the Livermore Valley and Cork. To have a reason
with the why I'm bringing this up, but it's just
(24:32):
won best other Bordeaux, meaning that you know, the Cabane
seven Yon that had its own category, the Caviny Frank
had its own category, and then they put Merlau, Malbec
and Petiteperdau all into the same category. And this was
a yes. And this is a competition where not only
do you have to be a liver More wine, but
the wine you submit has to be produced only using
liver More fruit. Now why am I bringing this all up?
So that was the twenty twenty two Malbeck, and it
got best other Bordeaux, and that's all entirely from our
(24:53):
own estate, from the vineyards that we replanted. The twenty
twenty three Malbeck I prefer quite a bit more, actually,
and I just think it's a darker, more tannic, Boulder
style structured Malbeck. The twenty twenty two Malbeck I like it,
don't get me wrong, but there's a pretty stark difference
between the two. And so the fact that, you know,
(25:13):
going back to what I've said before about what people
like and all that kind of jazz. Very happy that
the twenty twenty two Malbeck got the award that it got,
But me personally, I prefer the twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
And were the years completely different temperature wise, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
The twenty twenty two was a great year, with the
small exception there was a period where it got hotter
than typical, let's just say that. And so that was
a you know, a variable that got thrown at us.
Twenty twenty three did not have that.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Yeah, so there's variation each year. So as a child
growing up in the vineyard, and I know you don't
live at home with your parents anymore, but I'm sure
you go back there often because the vineyards are there.
Do you spend a lot of time in the and
if so, what kind of a relationship do you have
with the vines? Do you speak with them, do they
speak with you? Do you yell at them? Do you
resent them for all the attention they got from your parents?
Speaker 3 (26:10):
I can't say I've had any sort of relationship in
that nature through the vineyard vines. You know what's funny
is that actually, whenever I look at the vineyard vines
and walk through the vines, I'm always just thrown back
to childhood because that's where I grew up and spent
most of my time in the vineyards. Sometimes for better
or worse. You know, you get older and you get
a little bit more mischievous. But you know, even from
(26:32):
back when I was a kid and just making bike
jumps out in the dirt roads out in the vineyards,
or you know, exploring the vineyards, we used to go
walking around looking for coyotes. Now, maybe that wasn't very smart.
But we used to do that. And we used to
go walking through the vineyard vines too to look for
the big spiders or you know, we'd have picnics in
different areas. We'd even camp out there sometimes. That's really
(26:55):
what I'm more associated with vineyards is just kind of
childhood and the experience of growing up. I do not
talk to the vineyards for better or worse, but and
I'm not jealous of them either, but that's kind of
what I associate with them.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Yeah, and do you have any sort of are you
involved with the picking of the grapes? Do you get
involved with the wine making or do you leave that
all to your mom?
Speaker 3 (27:25):
So for the picking of the grapes, I would just
be getting in the way the people who actually pick
the grapes. They're so efficient at it, it's crazy. I
mean you do sometimes you think, oh, let's try it,
and then you try and you're like, I'm causing more
issues than I'm helping. So I don't help at all
with help with picking of the grapes. I have helped
with harvest in the past. I'm not involved really unless
(27:48):
I'm needed to be. Like if somebody is either sick
or you know, has to take a day off or something,
or if we're you know, a person down in the
actual harvest production side of things, then I'll help out there.
But by and large, it's like I said earlier, you know,
my mom makes the wine, my dad writes the checks,
and I do the rest. So it's like sometimes I'll
make a joke where and I know for the listeners
they can't see this, but the tasting room is on
(28:09):
one side of a big wall, and then the production
facilities on the other side of this big wall. And
I say that side of the wall as my mom's.
This side of the wall is mine, and.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
A mess with your side, and you don't mess with her.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Yes, And I did mention earlier about you know, I
do want to do a quick shout out to both
Sasha and Jordan as well as part of our wine
making team. They do a great job. But and again,
just kind of like picking the grapes. If I tried
to help out in the production with Jordan and Sasha
and my mom, I'd probably just be getting in a way.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Yeah, well, do you guys have any as a family
or as a tight team that you have have any
sort of traditions that you do at the start of
harvest or during harvest. Uh.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
Yeah, I mean we we do a toast, we kind
of a what's it called savoring of a sparkling what
it's called something else anyway, with.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
The sword or a knife and ash champagne.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah, and we'll do that, and we'll do a cheers
thing and then another tradition of ours, you know, back
to your question about the production side of things. So
I don't I don't get involved at all in the
actual production. When it's in the barrel, I don't have
any involvement. But when it's in the bottle, that's where
I get heavily involved. We do sit around as like
say a boardroom, if you will, with my mom, myself,
Sasha and Jordan, whoever our wine making team might be
at that time, and we put together small different like
(29:22):
combinations of different things on a smaller level, if you will,
and just to see what we like and at that
point to decide what is actually in the bottle. That's
where I really get involved. That's where like I do
get involved in the final product. I just don't get
involved once it's in the barrel. And that's also another
tradition of ours though, too, is just you know, when
it's ready to be bottled. We always sit around the
(29:43):
same table. We always, you know, do it the same way.
We vote on things. We argue, we cry, we laugh.
It is funny because at that time, you know, you
do have a lot of great times and it's great
to finally put down the put these products together. But
at the same time you are dealing with a lot
of chefs in the kitchen, and so it's kind of
an interesting dynamic of how things work. Maybe somebody you
(30:06):
love is annoying you one day or whatever, or vice
versa or whatever it is, and it's just kind of
a fun it put it always ends up in a
result that we're happy with, and.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
That's why you have the wines that you have. So
you were saying that you never wanted to work in wine,
You wanted to go to law school. Obviously you found
your way into the wine industry and into the family business.
When you're not working, how do you like to spend
your free time?
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Well, as I mentioned earlier, well, free time, there's a
couple of answers to that.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
You don't have any free time?
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Yeah, Well, it's it's a combination of things like I don't.
I don't get many single days off, like one day here,
one day there, But I do like to vacation, if
you will, My fiance and I and even before when
I was on my own, if you want to call
it that, we always try to set aside at least
two two week periods every year where we go somewhere
and we always liked and it's always somewhere out of
(31:02):
the country and somewhere we haven't been before, you know,
whether we went last year, I believe to like Japan
and the Philippines, and then we've also been to uh
Portugal together and uh Spain and Rome we ran with
the Bulls together, yes, and uh so that's when we
when we when it comes to extended periods of time off,
that's what we love to do. We love to travel
(31:24):
and experience new things. When it comes to you know,
a single day here, single day there, when it occurs,
it could be various different things. I mean, it could
be just you know, going to like Murphy's not that
far away. I don't know if you've ever been to Murphy's,
but it's an awesome town. If you ever have a
chance to get get out there and check it out,
or it can be you know, go hang out with
friends or you know, or even wine tasting the uh
(31:45):
no sports, no, you know, I mean, unfortunately, I'm a
Raiders fan, and so it's uh, yes, I will watch football,
and I'm involved in way too many fantasy leagues. But
you know, the Raiders, unfortunately we haven't been super competitive
for a long time. I say we. I have no
involvement with the team, obviously, but I like to watch football.
But that's that's the only sport I really pay attention to.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
If your Raiders were ever to get their act together
and win a Super Bowl, which of your wines would
you want to present to them to enjoy? I mean,
this is true imagination since your team doesn't do very well.
But but never say never. There's always hope.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Yeah, but you know, a Raider nation. But what I
didn't hear the question.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Which one would you want to give them to celebrate
a win?
Speaker 3 (32:31):
I mean, I know, I keep saying it over and
over again, and I'm sorry, I wish I could be
like more. If we're talking about, like in the locker
room celebrating, I'm giving them the sparkling wine though, what
we call the hot Lips, which is named after the
plane that my mom flies. She's actually a pilot. She's
a pilot. She used to fly in the airline industry,
used FLA one hundred fet pasenger acrafts fors airways. She
still has her pilot's license, just like commercially anymore. The
plane she flies now has a set of has a
(32:52):
pair of red lips painted on the front of it,
so the plane is called hot Lips, and so on
the label for the sparkling wine, it's it's got the
picture of the plane drawing a plan on it, and
so we call it hot Lips. It's a sparkling Alberino.
So of course, if you're in the locker room, that's
what you're You're, yeah, shooting off in the locker room.
You're shaking it up and it's going everywhere. If they're
sitting down and I'm like, and I'm a celebratory dinner,
then I'm probably actually gonna for them. The culmination proprietary red.
(33:15):
It's part of our elevated line. It's a different label.
If anybody ever knows anything about.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Us, they would see it doesn't have the woody on it.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
No, it does not have the woody on it. There's
no way you'd be able to know that it's part
of what part of our brand or one of our products.
In fact, the long term goal of it, possibly you know,
we have we haven't said anything in stone yet, would
be to maybe even separate it entirely into its own
little brand and company. But that the culmination proprietary red
is the wine I would used on like a celebratory dinner.
(33:43):
That's not in the locker room where they're spraying it everywhere.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Well, let's hope that they win one day. So when
you look back at your life, I mean, people give
us advice all the time, and you're in a family business.
I'm sure you know our parents give us advice, our
teachers give it, give us advice mentors along the way.
Is there a piece of advice someone gave you along
the way that you try to that you work by
(34:06):
or live your life by.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
So my mom was a bull in a china shop girl.
She always has been.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
I mean whether I mean she was a female pilot,
so I can only imagine she was one of very
few when she did it.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Yes, it's still you know. I did a study in
twenty fourteen. I don't know what the numbers are anymore.
But in twenty fourteen, I did a little post tribute
to my mom and it was on International Women's Day,
So I was like, you know, I want to look
into this. What are the numbers on these sorts of things?
And even in twenty fourteen, it was only like somewhere
between five to ten percent of all the pilots in
the airline industry and the commercial airline industry were women.
So to think about what it was when she was
(34:40):
doing it in the eighties, you know, who knows. There's
even a story that is probably somewhat controversial, but that
my mom back in the day when she was flying
and she was pregnant with myself, she didn't want to
tell anybody because in those days, as a woman airline pilot,
they didn't allow lie while pregnant. Nowadays they do up
(35:02):
to a certain term and you're pregnancy, But back then
it was like, oh, you're pregnant. No, we can't have
the hormones and all that kind of stuff because men
don't know anything about that, but so we so they
like just get scared and say no, no, we don't
want that on a plane. But they so she was
pregnant with myself, but she didn't to anybody. One of
her best friends, her name was Gail Is. Gail was
(35:22):
also a commercial airline pilot at the same time, and
sometimes they would captain planes together, and she was pregnant,
and they didn't tell anybody, and so they claimed, They're like,
it's possible. I can't you know, you don't quote me
on this. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there's pending somebody before,
but they might be the first two women airline pilots
to ever captain a major airline with no men in
the cockpit while also pregnant. So you know, that's just
(35:43):
kind of the style person that she is. And then
when they finally found out that she was pregnant, she
heard that beer was good for breast milk. Now, she
didn't drin any beer while she was pregnant, but she
started brewing beer and that was her first experience making alcohol.
And then when I was born, she drank the beer
and then and then she had a lot of fun
doing that. But she likes wine more than she does beer,
and that's what inspired her to look into wine making.
(36:04):
That's what kind of started the whole spark of things.
Now it does get a little bit further than that
with the answer though, So being a bowl in a
china shop, how does that translate to like advice? You know,
seeing her kind of will this company to get to
where it's at. You know, she made it might not
be her first whole sale, but if it wasn't her first,
it was definitely one of her first. She made her
(36:24):
first wholesale sale riding her bike from her house with
wine in her backpack to downtown to Zephyr Restaurant in
downtown Livermore, and we were the first local wine that
they put on their wine list. And she did it
just because she didn't know how to sell wine. She
didn't know what she was doing, she didn't know how
to price it. She just knew she wanted the wine there,
(36:45):
and so she just willed it to happen. And in
that regard, you know, just kind of willing things to be.
There's a lot of examples of seeing her do that,
and so that was kind of something that I try
to taken in my own life of you know, creating
your own life and creating your future and your path
(37:05):
is just willing it to be if you will, that's great.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
I mean, it's hard work, but it's believing in yourself.
And yes, it's a good example to have. Your mom
is is a what are you read like? No? But
I mean she's really like a path leader, like a
path you know, a path creator or something.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
She's definitely that she does not care about your opinion,
not you specifically tell her. She can't she she's not
even listening to So.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
So when you look back at your career so far,
so far, what would you say is one of your
proudest achievements today?
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I mean, it's just getting to where we are. I mean,
I it's not like a oh I did this one thing.
It's just where when when I first joined the family business,
we were still in a small, small barn like structure
in front of my parents' house. People sometimes wonder, you know,
why do we move from there. It's because it's in
a gated community, and the neighbors have always been very
supportive of us. They still are. We do concerts from
(38:04):
time to time still at the vineyard property. We're still
bonded to operate there as a winery, but it is
a gated community. And so once we expanded beyond a
certain point, you know, we had becon neighbors. We're not
going to have what's the point of living in a
gated community. It's always open. So we had to find
a new facility. This is how we landed out where
we're at now, which is on Basco Row, not just
off of Vasco Road where there are it's an industrial area,
(38:25):
but there are ten wineries, two breweries, and a distillery
all right here in the same spot. So you could
spend the whole weekend here and have plenty to drink.
I'm kind of surprised somebody I wasn't use a trailer
yet and just put it up on a road and
barbecued for their food or whatever. Anyway, But to just
look back and when we first moved here, I think
we were producing twenty five hundred cases. So we've grown,
(38:48):
you know, exponentially, yeah, three times over. And in order
to do that, we have to expand, not just here,
but you know, on the whole sale side of things.
I handle all the whole sales, so I'm always you know,
I took my mom's you know, bowling a china shop thing,
and I just I walk up and down the street
in different markets, and I just come in and introduce
myself and then repeating over and over again. Now, granted,
(39:09):
I haven't been able to do that as often anymore
because what I've found to be more successful as of
late is the special events that we do. So I've
kind of shifted my focus a little bit. I'm trying
to get back on the road again and do sales again,
but it really hasn't been a major focus of mine recently.
But just seeing the amount of people who show up
at these things. We just had a four hundred and
thirty person concert at the house for a Begee's band,
(39:29):
you know, And it's kind of weird to talk about yourself.
And I couldn't have done it with the rest of
my team. I mean, like I mentioned Susana, she's you know,
huge backbone to this company. You know, we have Alex Patricia,
we have Rob and Julie. We have Mi Shall and Rob,
we have you know, Toby, we have you know, so
many different people that all make.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
Sure shut ups to the Wood Family team.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
Yes exactly, but the and so none of this can
happen without these guys. But if I had to talk
about myself a little bit, you know, these are kind
of like it's like my idea and seeing it come
to fruition is really nice to see sometimes. Yeah, and
so yeah, that's kind of it's seeing where we are
now with the production that we're at now and the
(40:12):
operations that we're doing, things open seven days a week,
and just the continuous growth of a company even during
the current times of the industry kind of struggle. Yes,
and while we do face our own struggles here, but
every year the revenue revenue at least I don't know
about private margins, but revenue is at least growing every
year here.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
So it's a great achievement. You're not finished yet. We're
not finished here either. I have a simple question. Complete
this sentence. For me, A table without wine is like, boy, okay,
now we're at a table. We've got your wines on
the table, a couple chairs, there's an empty seat next
(40:51):
to you. Who, from any walk of life would you
want to share a bottle of your wine with? Living
or deceased.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
That's a lot of a lot of people that at
they're back. I mean, the obvious first answer would have
been Jesus. But that's that's kind of a controversial answer
to say.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Your answer is your answer, no, controversy.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Yeah, which is funny because I'm not even a religiously
particularly particularly religious person. But but yeah, I mean if
I could share wine with him, that'd be pretty cool.
The I mean it could be Julius Caesar. I don't know, uh,
Genghis Gohn, even though he was a terrible person, but
I would still like to pick his brain and see
what the heck man you like?
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Some you like some leaders who.
Speaker 3 (41:32):
Interesting leaders, but from a more modern era, I guess,
more modern era. Who would I choose? I don't know
any one of the US presidents, just to kind of
more talk more conspiracy things, find out do we actually
have alien aircraft and stuff like that, you know.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Yeah, so basically leaders you like former leaders, even if
they were you know, war mongering leaders like so you
told me at the very beginning. Someone once asked you
what wine you would want to be buried with, which
I would just say a good empty bottle because I
(42:11):
would hope I wouldn't drink it. But I'm going to
ask you that if you were going off to a
deserted island and can only take three wines with you,
and they can be your wines, they can be any
wine in the world. What three wines would you want
to take with you?
Speaker 3 (42:24):
And they wouldn't last very long, so it wouldn't really matter.
The three wines that I would take with me, they'd
probably be all ours, just because how I mean, how
long am I on this deserted island for?
Speaker 2 (42:36):
I mean, I mean, it's just a scenario. So it's
any you know, there could be there's refrigerator, there's refrigeration,
there's ice, there's glasses, there's an unlimited amount. I'm just saying,
if you could take only three.
Speaker 3 (42:51):
Wines with you, yeah, I mean, if I can only
take three wines with me, it's probably you know, the
culmination proprietary red than are that we do the first
one and then the big woods in I mean, those
those are the three that I'm taking with me.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
You know, you got to love someone who loves their
own wine.
Speaker 3 (43:06):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
So Harrison, I have one last question for you. But
I'm going to say that because you know, we always
play a little game here on wine soundtrack where we
pair wine with music. Is a way to kind of
showcase our wine. So I know you had a little
warning about this. You have no warning about any other questions,
but this one. This is so I want you to
tell me what you would pair with your Sauvigny and blanc.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
So it was good vibes by beach boys. But I
do want to kind of it's funny because when you
when I first heard a good vibration, sorry, but when
I first heard that you were going to be asking
these questions again. This was another one of those things
for like what why would you be buried with them?
I've never been asked what wine am I going to
pair with? What song? And at first I'm like, I
don't know how to do this? And then finally I
(43:51):
started talking with my team and we started talking and
all of a sudden it became I couldn't stop. I
couldn't arrow it down to just three. While this song
goes with this, I mean this song with that.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
So so I understand because I've been sipping the sauvenu
and blanc why it goes with good vibrations Because it's
kind of light and fun and it makes you feel good.
It's like summer in a glass. But tell me then
about your you know, your big Woods infandel, the wine
that's so that's so significant to your first love?
Speaker 3 (44:21):
Yeah, I mean well, well, I should have picked a
different song, and now they describe it that way.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
But now I don't pick any song that comes to mind.
Speaker 3 (44:27):
I mean, well, the first love I don't even know.
I guess there's gotta be some love. I mean, there's
a song called if You're Gonna Go First Love and
Be Baby by David Man. I can I remember your
last name. I'm sorry, David. But he was actually the
main entertainer on one of our cruises that we did.
He lives out in Europe. It's been featured on some
Netflix songs too, or not Netflix movies. But but the
(44:48):
song that we originally chose was I Feel Good by
James Brown, and that the reason why that was chose
was just because it's like, you know, the whole thing
with what family, venyards and like saying, what's that? So
it's a part is like the experience and you know,
feeling good and being that this is the wine that
kind of initially those two are our most popular red wines.
Like it's like, yeah, come in, I feel good, you know,
(45:08):
like it's a it's a that's really kind of more
of the reason that song was chosen for both of
those wines.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Actually, yeah, for the movie bon as well.
Speaker 3 (45:15):
Yeah, the mo won on the big way. We both
thought just the z Infidels that we do, those are
the only twos that we do, the two z Infidels
that we do, and we've chose. I feel good for
both of those, at least I chose that.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
Actually, Okay, what about your cab Fronk? Since we you
did mention how cap Frank has been declared the red grape,
the primary red wine of livermore, what about your cab Fronk?
Speaker 3 (45:34):
So that was actually chosen by my mom for the
song for that one, and I loved it. I loved it,
So I was like, I fine, we'll do that one.
And that is It's hard to be Humble by Mac Davis. Okay,
And there's a few reasons she chose that song, one
of which is because it is her favorite karaoke songs.
She knows the entire thing by heart. Another reason is
because has she explained, it's the perfect wine. It's the
(45:57):
perfect wine pare with food, with all the different characteristics
that it has and all tasting profiles, it's a perfect
one to have on its own. It's hard to be
humble when you're a cabinet front.
Speaker 2 (46:08):
Let's just be frunk about it, okay. And then last
one is your proprietary red culmination that you would give
to your raiders if they ever win a game.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
Well, it's perfect actually too. It's a segue for that.
I love how you said if they ever win a
game super Bowl. But anyway, yeah, but it is my
way by Frank Sinatra, and actually it goes perfectly for
winning the Super Bowl because they could say they did
it my way, you know exactly. But that one is
really the my way. Thing had to do with kind
of the bowl in the China shop reference, and this
being our most expensive bottle. It's only one hundred dollars
(46:39):
a bottle, which in NAPA would not be considered it expensive,
but for us, it's our most expensive bottle and very
small production. We just do two barrels, which is fifty
cases worth of it. And because I did open that one,
you are gonna have to try that one later. But anyway,
I get to try it. But it is kind of
a tribute to wood Family vineyards and our up and
(47:00):
coming and doing it our way kind of deal.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
Yes, okay, last question two parter, you said you like
to travel. You take a trip every year where what
wine region in the world is at the top of
your bucket list to go to.
Speaker 3 (47:14):
Ironically enough, it's probably not that unique, I mean or whatever.
Like you know, of all the places I've been through,
it's surprising I haven't been here, but Tuscany. I'd really
like to go to Tuscany. I've been Italy twice, but
I've never gone wine tasting and Tuscany.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Well, then you should start planning that. And then for
somebody who wants to come here on the flip side
and they want to come to Livermore Valley, where can
they find you? How can they find you? And what
can they experience here?
Speaker 3 (47:39):
So you can find us on our website, you know
www dot Woodfamilyvineyards dot com. We have Facebook with Familyvineyards.
We have Instagram at Wood Family Vineyards. We even have
a TikTok now which I don't handle, but we have that.
I guess I'm not I'm sure we only have two
followers on it. Well you can I mean phone numbers,
you know, we can look us up on Google.
Speaker 2 (47:58):
And you said you're open seven days a week.
Speaker 3 (48:00):
We are open seven days a week. We're open late.
We have live music every single week as well here
at the tasting room. Yes, we have live music every
Wednesday and Friday evening. Wednesdays, it's acoustic music, is usually
a little intimate, not as many people, but enough to
keep going with it. That's from four to seven pm.
We do that every single Wednesday. It's us just like
one or two people playing Fridays from five to eight pm.
(48:21):
Every single Friday, we have a full on band and
that gets a lot more packed house, So I definitely
recommend making reservations for that. We don't charge a cover,
but we do have a ten dollars hold that that
gets given back to you the second you, you know,
show up. We have a plethora of events. I'm not
gonna go through every single one of them because that
is just gonna get kind of old poring right then.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
And then it's every year, tons of events. So for
every holiday, every Yeah, we have any reason to celebrate.
Speaker 3 (48:47):
Yes, we have six concerts in the vineyards that we
do during the summer. Concert series is what we call it.
We do cheese pairings. If you show up here, you're
gonna see a whole list of things to do. You
can find them on our website as well. And you
can taste through you know, all different times types, not
in one sitting, but you can have canseus do quite
a bit of our wines?
Speaker 2 (49:05):
Yes, and be careful because you might end up working
here three days a month.
Speaker 3 (49:09):
Yes, yes, exactly, so, yeah, you might end up we might.
We got a cat for you in the back.
Speaker 2 (49:13):
And well, Harrison, thank you so much for joining us
today on Wine Soundtrack if it's really fun chatting with you,
and thanks for the wine, for the chat, and let's
go taste some more wine.
Speaker 1 (49:24):
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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