Last week I shared part one of my interview with Richie Allen, the talented VP of Winemaking and Viticulture at Rombauer Vineyards.  We discussed the story of how Koerner and Joan Rombauer came to Napa Valley and established Rombauer Vineyards, made wine in their garage before the winery was built, and about what makes Rombauer such a special place for Richie.  This week I am sharing part 2 of my interview with Richie.  In this part of the interview we focus on Rombauer’s winemaking philosophy, why their wines are always sold out, and we talk in detail about some of their most p ..read more

On this episode of Obsessed with Wine, we explore the fascinating world of winemaking through the lens of Rombauer Vineyards. Our guest, a seasoned winemaker, shares how his love for wine led him from studying winemaking in Australia to his current role at Rombauer. We hear about the iconic Penfolds winery in Australia and how it influenced his winemaking career, along with his experiences working at Rombauer. The speaker tells us about the philosophy behind Rombauer Vineyards and how their focus on making the best wine for their customers sets them apart from their competitors. We dive into t ..read more

Working in a winery is one of the most fulfilling jobs for people who are passionate about wine.  It's not just the beauty of the vineyards or the satisfaction of working with your hands to make something that people love.  One of my favorite aspects of working in a winery is all the great people you get to meet and all the great stories you hear.  This reminds me of Mary Ann Turrentine, the Director of Sales and Hospitality at the great Paradigm Winery in Oakville.  I interviewed Mary Ann for episode #3 of the Obsessed with Wine Podcast and she told her story of pursuing a ..read more

Finding safe transportation is one of the most important aspects of planning a trip to your favorite wine country.  Recently I interviewed Kim Myers, owner of NW Wine Shuttle and I asked her what the advantages are of using a shuttle service like hers when visiting your favorite wine country.  Here is what she had to say:   Kim Myers interview clip here: I don't think you can put a price on having safe transportation when wine tasting, and it really helps to have someone as passionate as Kim and NW Wine Shuttle to help you organize your itinerary because selecting a few winerie ..read more

I have heard a lot of wine enthusiasts lately talk about how they no longer go to Napa because they believe its overpriced and can be too snobbish.  Some people don’t like the fact that the tasting fees can be $75 to $100 per person or more and once you buy a few bottles of wine, you have spent a small fortune at only one place.  I presented this question last week to the Brianna Pickins, Assistant Tasting Room Manager at Frog’s Leap Winery and here is what she said about visiting Napa and the cost involved with tasting there:   Brianna's interview clip........ Thank you, Brian ..read more

This week I’ve decided to take you through the process of making wine start to finish.  This will give you an in depth look at what commercial wineries do to produce the beautiful wines we get to drink every day.    When you visit your favorite winery during harvest time you likely see large white plastic bins stacked up all over the winery.   These square white bins are known as Macro Bins.  They get their name from the company who produces them, Macro Plastics.  Each bin is made of a special food grade plastic with smooth porous-free surfaces and fruit-friendly ..read more

Hello wine enthusiasts, welcome to The Daily Taste for Thursday May 19th, 2022.    I saw an interesting article the other day that talked about the increased popularity of boxed wine, so I decided to do this segment on boxed wine. I was surprised when the article said boxed wine is increasing in popularity especially among the environmentally conscious and the young consumer.  Experts say that there has been tremendous growth in boxed wine, and I honestly couldn’t believe it!  If you’ve read the section on the show website called about the host, you know that my first exper ..read more

Hello Wine Enthusiasts Welcome to the Daily Taste for Monday May 16th 2022 Before I started to get serious about wine, I could drink wine out of anything.  A paper cup, a red solo cup, a water glass, only on special occasions would I get out the wine glasses. It was like the occasion called for the wine glasses and not the wine itself.  Now that I take my wine more seriously, I like to be able to get the best that the wine has to offer so I found myself wondering if the wine glass really matters.  Not only the wine glass but the shapes of the wine glass.  Does the shape of ..read more

Hello Wine Enthusiasts Welcome to the Daily Taste for Friday May 13th, 2022 Follow us on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/obsessedwithwine/ https://www.facebook.com/obsessedwithwine https://twitter.com/obsessedwine For more wine content go to obsessedwithwine.com Listen to past episodes of the podcast here: Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1610813329https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1610813329 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6GUNTZsivMlyTySnSbDwfT?si=3c1df2968aba4338 Email the show @ obsessedwithwine@yahoo.com #obsessedwithwine #w ..read more

Hello Wine Enthusiasts Welcome to the Daily Taste for Tuesday May 10th, 2022 If you listen to this podcast, you know that I am passionate about wine that’s made all over the world.  I have spent the past two weeks talking about the great wines being made in Texas so I thought I would shift gears and talk about the emerging wine county in the state of AZ.  Living here in CA, I always picture AZ as a dessert with extremely hot temperatures and a lot of cacti.  What I didn’t realize is that Arizona is home to more than 110 wineries, vineyards, and cellars. Arizona is home to three ..read more