12/30-Encore Broadcast Michael Horn visits with English Knowels and Roger Louer

Michael Horn and English Knowles Talk With Roger Louer, Managing Partner of Calistoga Cellars & Roberts + Rogers Howell Mountain!

WINES: Calistoga Cellars (Chard, Sauv Blanc, Cab) Roberts + Rogers (Howell Mountain Cabernet)

ABOUT ROGER:

Roger Louer has been in the wine business for 40 years, first as a distributor, then as a vineyard owner, and now finally as the founding partner of two Napa wine brands: Calistoga Cellars and Roberts + Rogers Howell Mountain.

THE STORY OF CALISTOGA CELLARS In July 1996, Roger Louer and several of his best friends bought 11 acres of vineyards in Napa Valley, near Calistoga, along with the Blossom Creek Cottage. Originally, there was no plan to create a winery. But after a few years of selling grapes to some of Napa's top wineries, they decided to take the plunge into the winemaking world.

Roger writes: "Friends from around the Country would come visit my wife and me, stay in the Blossom Creek cottage, and begin to become emotionally invested in what we were doing. So I thought, why not invite our friends to become part of the winemaking process, and make them partial owners? Sharing that process with our friends has been the key to our success. With partners all over the country, we have ambassadors in many major US markets."

The wines of Calistoga Cellars are produced from small lots of select varietals from our estate vineyard in Napa. We also purchase fruit from premium Napa growers under long-term vineyard contracts, including the vineyard of managing partner, and our guest Roger Louer. The long-term contracts for premium fruit ensure that the wines consistently represent estate-bottled quality. Calistoga Cellars currently produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

THE STORY OF ROBERTS + ROGERS A few years later, an opportunity to farm a vineyard on Howell Mountain came available. Roger recognized Howell Mountain as one of the most unique and special microclimates in California, and could not pass up the chance.

Howell Mountain sits east of St. Helena, at an elevation ranging from 1400 to 2200 feet, and is considered one of the most prestigious wine growing regions in the world. Comprised of approximately 600-700 planted acres (out of an approximate total of 14,000), this sub-appellation of Napa Valley, California is home to some of the Napa Valley’s premiere brands, producing primarily Medoc varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. One of the central characteristics of this appellation is that Howell Mountain sits above the fog-line. This important climatic fact means the temperature tends to be about 10 degrees cooler during the day than the valley floor and substantially warmer in the evenings, resulting in longer days. Those factors, along with the volcanic soils, allow for longer growing seasons, which in turn produce very intense fruit. The wines have very strong tannic structure that aids the intensity of the fruit allowing for excellent aging possibilities.

IN 2000 Roger Louer planted 17.5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot on Howell Mountain, near Las Posadas Road. The vineyard was planted with tight spacing due to the mountain conditions--about 1244 vines per acre. The soils were volcanic white, powder tuffa soils, perfect for drainage and giving mineral-rich complexities to Cabernet. The vineyard generally receives sunlight for a longer period during the day because it is above the fog layer that typically comes into Napa Valley in the later afternoon. As a result of the vineyard elevation and sun exposure the temperatures are more consistent between day and night, extending the overall ripening period. This consistency aids the ability of our vineyard to produce quality grapes each vintage. The resulting wines are soft and elegant, with finesse reminiscent of wines from the Haut-Medoc.

Roberts and Rogers Howell Mountain 2004

92 pts. Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine

"Kudos to this new effort for finding all the depth of fruit that is possible in this challenging growing area."

Roberts and Rogers Howell Mountain 2005

93 pts. The Wine Spectator - Insider April 2009

"Intense and rustic, with a potent mix of laomy earth, mineral, dried currant, sage and dusty berry flavors that are compact, full-bodied, tight and tannic. Finishes with a burst of blueberry and wild berry fruit. Drink now through 2016."

93 pts Wine Enthusiast - May 2009

"Cellar Selection. Here's one for the cellar. The tannins swamp the mouth, giving a hard, astringent edge. But the wine is beautifully balanced and dry, with a deep core of black currants, blueberries, spicy plums, ceda and minerals. Impressive. Best after 2010.

Roberts and Rogers Howell Mountain 2006

90 pts Wine Enthusiast

12/23-Encore Broadcast Michael Jordan visits with Chef Azmin & Martin Diedrich

Chef Azmin - Sapphire Laguna
Chef Azmin Ghahreman is a citizen of the world. Born in Iran, educated in Switzerland, having lived and worked all over the world. Over the last 20 years, this widely-traveled industry star has immersed himself in the cooking styles and cuisines of: classic and nouvelle French; Mediterranean, Hawaiian Pacific Rim, Asian, Middle Eastern, Modern Australian, American Southwest and American Pacific Coast/California.

He now calls Southern California his home and base for his various culinary projects which have been lauded by guests, customers and media from far and near. In fact, OCMETRO BUSINESS listed Ghahreman as one of the “2007 Hottest 25 People in Orange County” and dubbed him ‘rock star chef’.

He is an actively involved with local school efforts to educate children about healthy and sustainable foods, as well as a supporter for cause-related organizations, including The March of Dimes; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; National Kidney Foundation; Miracles for Kids, and the AIDS Foundation.

This 47-year-old resident of San Juan Capistrano shares his life and culinary passions with his wife and their three young children. His hobbies are very much related to his profession and include gardening, everything about wine, learning more about the worlds of spices and cheese.

Martin Diedrich - Kéan Coffee
Martin Diedrich grew up in Guatemala where his family owned a small coffee farm. In 1983, Martin left behind a blossoming career in Mayan archeology and came to Costa Mesa to help his parents with their small custom coffee roastery. During that year his vision emerged to create community meeting places where folks could gather and enjoy his family's high quality coffee. He founded the first Diedrich Coffee coffeehouse in Costa Mesa in 1984. Under Martin's direction, Diedrich Coffee grew to nearly a dozen locations over the next ten years and earned the reputation as "The Best Coffeehouses in Orange County". These original coffeehouses were exciting, creative hives of activity and the most popular gathering places in their respective neighborhoods.

In September of 1996, Diedrich Coffee went public. Within a few years there were more than 30 Diedrich Coffeehouses in California, Colorado and Texas. Martin Diedrich is now considered one of the pioneers of the coffeehouse phenomenon. Martin has been a Master Roaster for 21 years and is an internationally recognized coffee expert. In 2005 Martin was presented with the Specialty Coffee Association's Lifetime Achievement Award an award only bestowed on a handful of other individuals, including, Alfred Peet the founder of Peet's Coffee, Jerry Baldwin the founder of Starbuck's, George Howell the founder of Coffee Connection in Boston, Dr. Illy the family patriarch of the Illy Coffee.

In June of 2004, Martin resigned his position at Diedrich Coffee, and began to manifest a new vision: a state-of-the-art, cutting edge coffeehouse that would bring back the community feeling, coffee connoisseurship, and cultural atmosphere of his early Diedrich coffeehouses, as well as embrace his ideal that businesses should model community and global responsibility and awareness, both environmental and cultural. In December of 2005, Martin and Karen Varese Diedrich opened the doors of Kéan Coffee in Newport Beach, California. Named for their only son, Kean, Kéan Coffee is just a stones throw from the first location where Martin had originally joined his parents Carl and Inga. Kéan Coffee has already developed a loyal following of customers with its high quality artisan coffees fresh roasted onsite daily by Martin himself, in a world-class roaster built and manufactured by his brother Stephan Diedrich in Sandpoint Idaho. Through Kéan Coffee, Martin Diedrich is taking his community coffeehouse vision to the next level.

12/16-Encore Presentation Michael Jordan visits with Matt Viotto & Stephen Kelly and Mathew Sharp

Matt Viotto - Talbott Vineyards

Talbott Vineyards is an estate winery that grows & produces world-class Chardonnay & Pinot Noir from two of Monterey County’s grand cru sites: our Diamond T Vineyard in Carmel Valley & our legendary Sleepy Hollow Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Guided by founder Robb Talbott & renowned winemaker Dan Karlsen, these all-estate wines have gained a reputation for their lushness, elegance & great aging potential, and have become benchmarks of quality on the Central Coast.

Stephen Kelly & Mathew Sharp - National Portfolio Manager with Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) for Pasternak Wine Imports

Stephen & Mathew will be discussing the properties around the world including Chateau d’Aussieres in the South of France, Los Vascos in Chile and Caro in Argentina.

12/9-Michael Jordan talks to Mitch Cosentino & Michael Rossi and Ray Gonzalez

Mitch Cosentino - Cosentino Winery

December 17 -- Cosentino Winery Holiday Open House
Celebration: Come join us as we celebrate the holiday season with new wines and yummy holiday nibbles. 7415 St. Helena Hwy, Yountville
Fee: $20/Complimentary Wine Club + 3 guests Time: 12-4pm Phone Number: 707.921.2894

In 1980, Mitch Cosentino began making wine from small lots in Modesto, California. Moving his operation to Napa Valley nearly 10 years later, he pursued his dream of becoming a great Napa winemaker. His highly skilled and artistic style of winemaking has enabled him to craft award winning wines with an old world attitude.

Mitch’s winemaking philosophy was to start from the soils of Northern California, so he set out to find the perfect vineyards for his wines. “The greater knowledge I have of local terroir and where my fruit is sourced,” Mitch says, “the greater knowledge I have of the blends, how the fruit will come together in bottle and how consistent my wine will be from vintage to vintage.” Mitch’s sophisticated palate has aided him as a judge for many wine competitions, such as the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition, and others throughout the country.

On the rare occasions that Mitch isn't at the winery, he can be found honing his skills on the golf course.


Michael Rossi & Ray Gonzalez - The Ranch Restaurant and Saloon

A 20,000 square foot restaurant, wine cellar and saloon featuring live country music located on the ground floor of the new Extron Electronics Corporate Headquarters at 1025 East Ball Road in Anaheim, California. THE RANCH is a long time dream and vision of Andrew Edwards, president and owner of Extron Electronics, a leading manufacturer of professional AV system integration products for over 28 years.

THE RANCH RESTAURANT

THE RANCH Restaurant will feature true American regional cuisine. We’re cooking from scratch with the finest ingredients possible to capture the rustic style of wine country and the freshest flavors of the farm. We will honor California’s great ranches, farms and dairies, the artisan bread bakers and cheese and wine makers. Our seasonally driven menu will showcase the freshest produce in season- as nature intended. The emphasis will be on farm to table, fresh organically grown fruits and vegetables from local farms and from our own ranch in the Santa Ana Mountains.

You can look forward to mountain lamb flown in from Colorado; steaks and beef from the highest quality ranches in the U.S. and seafood sourced from those who ensure the sustainability and the bounty of our oceans. The dining experience will be in an atmosphere of comfort and truly old-fashioned genuine hospitality. THE RANCH’s wine program will feature an extensive and complete cellar and a world class selection of wine served in a friendly "non-intimidating" style. The restaurant's bar will feature a large selection of wines by the glass along with selected hand-crafted draft beers and the latest in mixology with fresh ingredients and great flavors. Don’t fret, there will also be plenty of cold longnecks in THE RANCH Saloon to cool down with after dancing the two-step, line dancing, or learning the California state dance, the “west coast swing” to your favorite country artists!

12/02-Michael Jordan talks to Dr. Pierluigi Bolla and Tom Hemenway

Dr. Pierluigi Bolla - Chairman of Valdo Prosecco

Similar to etymology which gives an account of the entire history of a specific word, the Valdobbiadene area is undeniably intertwined with the history of the Valdo winery. The wine estate and its territory complement each other: every wine, every sparkling wine, every bottle contains a subtle aromatic note that evokes the flavor of vineyards growing on the hilly slopes of the Treviso province. A cut of cultivated land of about 18,000 hectars flooded with light which shines on the green slopes of this territory sheltered by the Dolomites to the north and subdued by the Adriatic Sea to the south.

Located right in the heart of the Prosecco D.O.C. production area, the Valdo Winery has been cultivating this unique grapevine for generations.

Tom Hemenway - Thurston Wine

Tom will be joining Michael Jordan to talk about the latest in Premier Australian wines.