7/20-Michael Jordan visits with Kristin Belair & Daniel Bailey

Kristin Belair - Winemaker, Honig Vineyard and Winery
A University of California, Davis graduate, Kristin, joined the Honig Vineyard and Winery team as winemaker in 1998. She brought 16 years of Napa Valley winemaking experience and a passion for creating delicious wines. Overseeing all aspects of production, from the grape to the bottle, she has worked to protect and improve wine quality, helping to build recognition for Honig wines as benchmarks for Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Kristin is active in professional associations, including California Enological Research Association, Napa Valley Vine Technical Group and Napa Valley Vineyard Technical Group. She is also a member of the American Society of Viticulture and Enology and the Trellis Alliance. 

Outside the winery, Kristin has many interests, including equestrian sports, skiing, gardening and travel. She lives with her family in Napa.

Daniel Bailey -  Jones Family Vineyards

In 1992 Sally and Rick Jones found a gorgeous view that came with a few acres of vineyards. A retirement home; a family place was what they had in mind. After selling grapes to Stag’s Leap Winery for a few years Rick tasted the unblended wine made from the vineyard’s fruit and decided it was too good to let it be blended away in someone else’s wine. Jones Family Vineyards was born from this in 1996.

Jones Family Vineyards unique flavor characteristics grow from our special terroir – a combination of soils and micro-climate. Our three estate vineyards are located in the northern Napa Valley at the base of Howell Mountain about 5 miles north St. Helena. The soils are rocky which allows for excellent drainage, but each vine must burrow deep into the soil to find nutrients and water. Water is also a precious commodity in our land; we irrigate just enough to compensate for the drying effect of the sun.

Our vineyard elevations vary from 600 feet at the base of the estate to about 900 feet at our highest point. Throughout each vineyard the slopes undulate from relatively flat, to almost 35% in slope. Each vine has adapted to its unique location, and the variation in elevation and slope allows for a layering of flavors in the fruit we harvest.

Our warm days and cooler evenings work with the full southern sun exposure to ripen our fruit earlier than most. This stressing of the vines and early ripening reduces our berry and cluster size creating a more extracted and concentrated flavor when our wines are pressed.

10 total acres of vineyards in 3 distinct blocks means each lot has a flavor profile of its own. Seven acres of cabernet sauvignon were planted between 1991 and 1993 on 110R rootstock from clone 8. In 1998 David Abreu designed and planted a 3 acre hillside vineyard of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot.  The fruit is used for blending and to create our second label, The Sisters.

We are privileged to work with some of the strongest talents in winemaking today. David Abreu has managed our vineyard since 1996. Heidi Peterson Barrett made our wines in our first decade (1996-2006) and Thomas Rivers Brown now manages all aspects of our winemaking.

7/13-Michael Jordan visits with Gary Burk & Craig Camp

Gary Burk - Winemaker, Costa De Oro Winery

Though born into a farming family, Gary’s first love was music. So after earning his business degree from Cal Poly, SLO, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a musician. During his time in LA, Gary’s father Ron Burk and Bob Espinola planted their 30 acre Gold Coast Vineyard. That is when Gary’s interest in grape growing and wine took off. He began selling Gold Coast grapes to winemakers from his LA base.

In 1993 on a visit home to Santa Maria, Gary was fortunate enough to share a dinner with Au Bon Climat's Jim Clendenen and Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon. After that evening, Gary was hooked ... funny what a great glass of Meursault will do! In 1994 he was invited to work harvest at the Au Bon Climat/Qupe facility and was hired full time in 1995. He worked in production and marketing for ABC/Qupe until August of 2002 when he left to devote all of his time and energy to Costa De Oro. He made one barrel each of Gold Coast Vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 1994 and has increased production of the Costa de Oro label each year to the current level of 4,500 cases annually. He currently produces his wines at the Central Coast Wines Services facility in Santa Maria.

Gary says, "The transition from music to wine making was easy. There are a lot of similarities in the two industries; both rely on a blending of technique, artistry and feel." His goal is to produce wines with balance, elegance and texture, reflecting Old World Style and Terrior of the vineyard.

Gary has received critical acclaim, receiving 90 point scores or higher from Robert Parker, James Laube/Wine Spectator, and Wine and Spirits Magazine. He has also had wines named in the Top 100 Wines of the Year by Wines and Spirits Magazine (2000), the San Francisco Chronicle (2001), Wine Country Living (2003), and most recently Winner of Best in Show at both the Orange and Santa Barbara County Fairs.

Craig Camp - Managing Partner, Cornerstone Cellars

Cornerstone Cellars was born out of a passion for great wines in 1991 when founders Drs. Michael Dragutsky and David Sloas crushed their first five tons of Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Today the founders of Cornerstone Cellars and have been joined by Managing Partner Craig Camp, Winemaker Jeff Keene, in the Napa Valley, and a group of Memphis based partners led by Hal Lewis and John Carrier. All share one goal: to make compelling, exciting wines that speak clearly of the vineyard, variety and vintage from which they are born. All of our wines receive minimal, gentle winemaking relying more on nature than technology as the path to making great wine. All come from organic or sustainably farmed vineyards. As BevX.com noted, “Craig Camp and winemaker Jeff Keene have propelled Cornerstone Cellars to the top tier of California wineries.”

While our Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon remains the cornerstone of our portfolio, this year will see the premiere release of a very special wine. Named simply, "The Cornerstone" this wine represents the pinnacle of our vision of Napa Valley winemaking . Each vintage "The Cornerstone" will be selected from our best barrels of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot. The percentage of each only determined by the gifts Mother Nature gives each vintage. This year we will release the 2009 and it is a very, very special wine indeed. Less than 90 cases were produced.

There is such an exciting range of Cornerstone and Stepping Stone wines that you really need to taste them and there's no better way to do that than visiting our Yountville tasting room, which is located just steps from world famous restaurants like The French Laundry, Bouchon, Bistro Jeanty, Bottega, Hurley's and Redd. Call             707-945-0388       or emailinfo@cornerstonecellars.com for reservations or more information. We are open to the public seven days a week are also pleased to offer a full range of wine clubs offering both exceptional wines and personalized customer service. Visit CornerstoneCellars.com/wineclubs for complete details.

7/6-Michael Jordan visits with Leslie Mead Renaud & Bob Vogel

Leslie Mead Renaud - Director of Winemaking, Foley Family Wines
Foley Family Wines is committed to producing, marketing and distributing handmade, highly individualistic wines from some of the world’s greatest vineyards. Each of our wineries is a distinct, autonomous entity with its own identity, style, vineyard sites, techniques, personnel, varietal mix and category segment. Every wine in our portfolio is honest, unique and delicious.

Bob Vogel - Santa Monica Seafood

Santa Monica Seafood was officially founded in 1939 but the real story began in 1898. That year a young man chose the life of a fisherman in California. John Deluca had only recently left his home in Naples, Italy when he put his roots down in the port city of San Pedro. Needing a way to support his growing family he looked to the sea. His hard work and respect for the ocean rubbed off on his family and before long his oldest son Jack was tagging along. Those days on the dock laid the groundwork for a family tradition that has lasted four generations.

Jack Deluca always had a passion for the sea. From the age of nine he was at the docks pulling lines, scaling and gutting fish, and filleting the fish – all the elements of bringing seafood to market. By the age of 16 he was the proud owner of his own fishing vessel and at the tender age of 21 he was the co-owner of his own wholesale company, State Fish Company. Alongside his close friend and future brother-in-law, Gerald Cigliano, Jack built State Fish Company into a formidable presence in the wholesale seafood business in the Los Angeles area.

Jack eventually grew restless at State Fish Company and left to join L.A. Fish & Oyster. The 10 years he spent at L.A. Fish & Oyster were good to Jack. He made a name for himself at the new company and even started his own family, but he couldn’t shake his entrepreneurial passion. After 10 years as an employee, Jack and his younger brother, Frank, joined together to embark on what would become their life’s work. In 1939, the two brothers set up shop at the end of the Santa Monica Pier selling fresh fish to restaurants and tourists alike under the company banner of Santa Monica Seafood.

For the next 42 years Jack and Frank worked to build Santa Monica Seafood into one of the top distributors of seafood in Southern California. They went from selling the catch of the day to hungry tourists on the Santa Monica Pier to selling fresh and frozen fish to the top restaurants in Los Angeles and Orange County. By 1969 an operation that had been borne on fresh-caught halibut, shark, sea bass, tuna and lobsters had outgrown its original location and had to move twelve blocks east to the corner of 12th Street and Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica. The new location served as the headquarters for an ever-burgeoning wholesale business as well as the seafood market that has come to be known as “the cathedral of seafood” to many residents of L.A. County.

While the Delucas were busy building the framework for Santa Monica Seafood, their cousins, the Ciglianos, were on the docks of San Pedro continuing the business of State Fish Company. Jack Deluca’s brother-in-law, Gerald Cigliano, had passed the business on to his eldest son Anthony who, in turn, was getting help from his own seven children. The precocious youngsters, in between helping their father and going to school, had set up a business of their own on the San Pedro docks. They would get fish from the fishermen to sell to fish peddlers when they weren’t busy unloading boats and sorting fish.

In 1981 the families came together again when Anthony Cigliano and his children purchased the company from Uncles Jack and Frank. Over the next several years each of Anthony’s children joined the daily operations of Santa Monica Seafood as the company continued to expand.

In 1985 a second retail/wholesale facility was opened in Orange County to serve a business that had pushed into Palm Springs, San Diego and Las Vegas. The new location, with its retail space and larger warehouse facilities, served to further extend the reach of Santa Monica Seafood. In 1997 a retail-only store was opened in Costa Mesa to further the company’s exposure to local consumers. More recently, the wholesale operations were streamlined in 2002, when the warehouses in Orange and Santa Monica were combined at the company’s new corporate headquarters in Rancho Dominguez, CA.

After more than 40 years at its location on Colorado Avenue, the first Santa Monica Seafood retail store was relocated to Wilshire Blvd. where it boasts an incredible refrigerated seafood display, grocery products from around the world and a small café featuring the freshest seafood sold in the Southwest. Also, in 2009, the Company opened a new Las Vegas office with docking and storage facilities.

Jack Deluca founded Santa Monica Seafood with the philosophy, “Provide the highest quality product at a fair and reasonable price.” Today his great-nephews are carrying on that tradition with a new purpose. Anthony Cigliano’s second-born son, Anthony, is the President of the company. He directly oversees a purchasing department that is at the cutting edge of seafood sustainability. Recently the company joined with the Monterey Bay Aquarium to promote and develop new and better ways to source seafood that conform to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative. The philosophy of providing the highest quality product now demands ethical and sustainable sourcing of fish and education of both customers and the public at large.

The Cigliano family is at the forefront of preservation and aquaculture efforts to ensure the bounty of our seas for generations to come and their love of the sea remains unabated. Our story is the past, the present, and the future of the seafood industry.

6/29-Michael Jordan talks with John Gorman and Matthew Nugan

John Gorman - VP Sales & Marketing Southern Starz Inc.

As a wholesaler, you need not look any further than the Southern Starz portfolio when entering or expanding your Southern Hemisphere selections. The Southern Hemisphere wine market grew as much as 50% in the United States last year. There has never been a better time as a distributor to build upon this exciting category. 

Consistent amongst each of our wine regions, the Southern Starz portfolio offers some of these advantages over our competitors.

PREMIUM, MID-PRICE and VALUE ITEMS- A Complete RangeWhether it’s a premium restaurant needing unique quality wines by the bottle or by the glass, or a large retailer needing consistent volume items, or a boutique retailer wanting something different to set them apart, our portfolio offers complete varietal representation and at all necessary price points. From highly-rated case stack offerings to small production rarities, our portfolio offers something for every market. In addition, the wineries represent the same good price-to-value relationship they enjoy back in their local markets, ensuring brands of quality and international reputation. 

GLASS POURS- Top Drops By the Glass Translate to Brand SuccessOpportunities abound with the value for money Southern Hemisphere wines offer in the $80-$120/case category. Many opportunities for glass pours exist in premium restaurants, providing you with numerous offerings to build the portfolio’s image in the mind of consumers. A category requires on-premise success in order to boost customer awareness and help drive retail sales. With a myriad of offerings- complementing every cuisine, the Southern Starz portfolio has something to add to even the most comprehensive wine list, and can also provide assistance in building and expanding newer restaurant programs. With the excellent value the Southern Hemisphere offers, a distributor representing the Southern Starz Portfolio will develop this important portion of the business.

THE APPELLATION ADVANTAGE- All the Major RegionsWhen building the Starz portfolio of wines, we looked for the best wineries in each area that showcases each varietal that the region is best known for. In Australia we looked for Coonawarra Cabernet, Barossa and McLaren Vale Shiraz, Hunter Valley Semillon, Margaret River Chardonnay, and Rutherglen Fortified Wines. In New Zealand it was the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Canterbury and Waipara Pinot Noir. South Africa offers the unique Pinotage grape, of which the best is produced in the Devon Valley region of Stellenbosch We also recognized that South Africa boasts wide recognition for top tier Cabernet and Shiraz, such as the extracted from the Franschhoek Valley, in addition to internationally-acclaimed dessert wines from Calitzdorp. By focusing on the quality and diversity of wines by their native regions, the Southern Starz portfolio offers all you need to become a star in this category. 

SUPPORT- Behind You Every Step of the WayIt takes a team to bring a vintage to completion, and the same can be said for our business. Southern Starz carefully chooses its suppliers based on quality, potential for the brands, and our personal seal of approval. We visit the wine regions and wineries at least twice a year to keep current with our wineries’ offerings and new projects. The same can be said for our distributors. As a distributor, you can count on us to provide the personal, hands-on relationship that Southern Starz in known for. From assisting with promotional events, competitive pricing, downloadable shelf-talkers and POS materials, we look to form lasting and successful partnerships with you.

Matthew Nugan - General Manager Nugan Estate

Most family success stories are built on hard work and determination. Nugan Group is no different. 

Matthew Nugan, a third generation family member, began working in the family’s business as a child in the fruit and vegetable packing shed – today he’s the General Manager of Nugan Estate, overseeing the family’s premium wine business. 

Matthew first joined the business at the age of 19. Over the last 20+ years he has worked in most divisions of the family empire starting as an Assistant Accountant, moving on to be trained at the family’s wholesale market stands in Brisbane, before returning to the headquarters in Griffith to manage the family’s fruit and vegetable packing operation where he developed export markets for premium quality citrus. However, since 2001 Matthew’s focus has been launching Nugan Estate in the export wine market. 

In 2001 when the family established Nugan Estate, its new wine company, Matthew took on responsibility for launching the company’s brands in the export market while his sister, Tiffany, took on the Australian market. This duo has been extremely successful in building a global success story.

Matthew’s achievements in the export market have been immense. He was responsible for successfully building Nugan Estate into one Australia’s Top 20 Wine Exporters with strong distribution in Denmark, Ireland, Canada, USA, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Sweden, Belgium, Finland and Asia with other countries to come on line. No mean feat given the industry’s current over supply.

Anyone who meets Matthew would agree Nugan Estate’s success is a direct result of his persistence and determination. He works hard but always enjoys a drink and a laugh. Those around him - be they staff, agents or customers - cannot help but admire and respect his honest, unpretentious determination to make his family’s brand succeed.

When Matthew is not abroad promoting Nugan Estate, he lives in Griffith with his wife and two children. His passions are cars, fishing, red wine and food. Matthew is also a brilliant cook specialising in his grandfather’s paella. 

Matthew’s goal is, together with his sister, to pioneer the Nugan family winery leaving for their children the same legacy and passion to work that they inherited from their parents.

6/22-Michael Jordan visits with Blair Fox & Bryan Babcock

Blair Fox – Winemaker, Owner - Blair Fox Cellars

Blair Fox Cellars is a small, ultra-boutique, 500 case winery which specializes in handcrafted bottlings of Rhone varietal wines. It is also the eponymous label of the 2008 Andre Tchelistcheff Winemaker of the Year, Blair Fox.

Bryan Babcock – Winemaker – Babcock Winery and Vineyards

Since 1984 Bryan Babcock has been producing wines of exceptional quality from his family owned winery located on the far western edge of the Santa Ynez Valley in northern Santa Barbara County. The quality of Bryan's wines speak for themselves, yet it is his personal commitment to excellence that stands out so much.

His relentless experimentation, his willingness to explore the possibilities with so many grape varieties, and his aesthetic, are a world apart from the usual American approach to winemaking
.

6/15-Michael Jordan visits with Todd Wallin & John Skupny

Todd Wallin - Taste of Orange County

Nearly 30 local restaurants and beverage companies will be on hand with samples of their best, and live music will play throughout. Visitors use tickets to purchase food and drink; some entrance packages include food tickets—click here for info. For free entrance (food tickets are additional) use this link, and code TOOC-FOOD.

On Saturday, from noon to 10 p.m., the festival is a 21-and-over trip. On Sunday, families are welcome—everywhere but the designated alcohol-consumption zones—from noon to 8 p.m. On both days, a wine-and-tequila Ultra Lounge (at additional cost) features seminars with O.C. wine superstar and The Ranch food and beverage director Michael Jordan. Look for local chefs demoing, too.

Saturday evening, the “Great OC Farm-to-Table Dinner” ($149 per person) benefits the Culinary Liberation Front, a group of Orange County chefs organized around the lofty goals of minimizing environmental impact from their restaurants, and promoting nutritional awareness among O.C.’s less fortunate.

Starting with a 6 p.m. appetizer reception, the seven-course meal will be prepared by nine O.C. chefs using ingredients from no further than 200 miles away—enough land and sea to provide seared yellowtail, braised leeks, shellfish butter, and crispy shallots from Three Seventy Common’s Ryan Adams, and glazed Santa Barbara County Berkshire pork shoulder with creamed sweet corn and baked beans from chef Greg Daniels of Haven Gastropub and Taco Asylum.

John Skupny - Proprietor, Winemaker Lang and Reed Wine Company

In 1996, John and Tracey Skupny launched Lang & Reed Wine Company combining their more than thirty years of wine industry experience. Having worked in marketing for twenty-five of California’s finest wine producers, John began his direct work in the Napa Valley as the Marketing and Sales Director of Caymus Vineyards, 1984-1989. He later became Vice President of Clos Du Val Wine Company, 1989-1992, and then General Manager of the Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery, 1992-1996. Since 1988, John has also been partner and consultant to Boulevard Brewing Company, a regional craft brewery located in Kansas City, Missouri.

Along with Lang & Reed Wine Company, he also operates a wine marketing consulting practice, Vineyard Avenue Marketing. In this capacity, John has worked with such clients as Pahlmeyer Winery and Cain Vineyards, as well as newer estate properties such as the Ristow Estate and Emilio’s Terrace Vineyards, all located in the Napa Valley.

Skupny is a past President of the Napa Valley Vintners and Auction Napa Valley [1996], the Napa Valley Wine Library Association [2001/2002] and the Stags Leap District Winegrowers [1990/1991]. He is also past-founding Vice President of the Rutherford Dust Society [1993/1994]. He regularly lectures at the University of California Davis for both marketing and winemaking classes, and on occasion for the “Leadership Napa Valley” program. He has contributed a chapter in the book, “Successful Wine Marketing”, by Kirby Moulton and Jim Lapsley, published by Aspen Publishers, 2001, and recently was well covered in “The Far Side of Eden”, the infamous second installment of James Conaway’s history of the Napa Valley.

Skupny and his wife, Tracey, live in St. Helena, in the heart of the Napa Valley. With the founding of Lang & Reed Wine Company, the Skupnys are dedicated to the continued preservation of the agricultural community and the production of distinctive Napa Valley wines.

6/8-Encore Broadcast Michael Jordan visits with Wes Hagen & Mark McWilliams

Wes Hagen - Vineyard Manager/Winemaker Clos Pepe Vineyards and Estate Wines

Wes Hagen: Vineyard Manager, Winemaker. Wes has run the show here at Clos Pepe since 1998. He manages the vineyard and the crew, communicates with our producers and fine-tunes viticulture to suit the stylistic needs of their winemaking. Involving himself in every aspect of the planting, growing, harvest, crush, fermentation, aging, bottling, shipping and marketing (jncluding the photography and text in the website), Wes is passionate about his life's goal -- producing and celebrating world-class Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. From 1997-98, Wes researched and wrote the petition that established the Santa Rita Hills American Viticultural Area with help from Bryan Babcock, Richard Sanford and other local wine personalities. The 'Santa Rita Hills AVA' was approved in 2001, and the name was changed a few years later to 'Sta Rita Hills AVA'. In his quest to promote the wines of Santa Barbara County, and the Santa Rita Hills in particular, Wes created and served as Director of the Santa Barbara County Fair Wine Competition from 2002 until 2004. As a result of his hard work promoting the region and penning the AVA Petition, Wes was awarded the Central Coast Winegrower's Association 'Grower of the Year Award' for the 2001-2002 growing seasons. Wes writes a bi-monthly column for WineMaker Magazine called 'Backyard Vines', and has written content for the L.A. Times Magazine, guest blogged for the Wine Spectator and ZesterDaily.com, articles for the Sommelier Journal,'Burgundy-Report', WestCoastWine.Net, VineSwinger.com and other small publications. In his free time Wes consults on establihsing small vineyards (hillside Pinot Noir only), and has judged the L.A County Fair Wine Competition for eleven years, Riverside International for twelve, and the Long Beach Grand Cru for thirteen years. Wes also lectures on subjects such as the history of wine, backyard winegrowing, and general topics of viticulture and wine education.

Chanda Hagen: Assistant Winemaker, Olive Tree Pruner, Animal Trainer, Shepherdess. Chanda and Wes met in April 1999 over a bottle of Beaujolais at a college-style party in Isla Vista (UCSB). Their first date was the Vintner's Festival the next weekend, and they have been inseparable ever since. The marriage proposal was accepted on New Years 1999-2000, and the couple was married at Clos Pepe on September 9th, 2000. Their Honeymoon was spent picking and crushing the grapes from the 2000 Vintage, which resulted in a Pinot Noir that Robert Parker called 'brilliant', 'complex' and 'promising'; just like their marriage! Chanda's influence as assistant winemaker runs deep. She makes sure Wes' energies are tempered by common sense and an obsessive degree of winery sanitation and organization. Besides Pinot Noir, Chanda's passion is horses: Hunter/Jumpers and Dressage. Chanda is training her horse, Charlemagne (Chase for short), for Dressage. Chanda also takes care of our miniature sheep here at the Clos, which have been bred into a flock for eating winter weeds and fertilizing the vineyard organically and sustainably.

Mark McWilliams - Proprietor, Arista Winery

Mark McWilliams, born and raised in Texarkana, Texas, is the son of Al and Janis McWilliams. He has been involved in Arista winery and vineyard operations of Sonoma County for the past 10 years.

After graduating from the University of Texas - Austin with a degree in Corporate Communications, Mark took his first job out of college working for Kendall Jackson Wine Estates. What started as a temporary summer job developed into a passion as Mark enrolled in UC Davis Wine and Viticulture courses, tasting groups, and annoyed his winemaker friends with endless questions. During his time with Kendall Jackson, Mark held various positions encompassing vineyard operations, harvest logistics, and cellar work. Following his time at Kendall-Jackson, Mark continued his passion for wine and pursuit of industry knowledge by working as a wine consultant for a wine and spirits distributor based in Dallas, Texas.

In the fall of 2003 Mark married Jennifer Habecker, a native of Dallas. Shortly thereafter, Mark and Jennifer returned to Healdsburg, California to be fully involved with Arista. Mark manages the day to day operations at the winery as well as assists with winemaking duties. Mark and Jennifer live in Healdsburg, California with their sons Jake and Pierce and their Maltese "Lucy".