Full Transcript for Absolution Cellars - Dirk Neumann

different. They're never repeats, except 72 00:04:13.629 --> 00:04:16.870 for prior vintages. So it's 10... different wines in the 73 00:04:16.899 --> 00:04:19.649 spring and 10 different wines in the fall. And sometimes 74 00:04:19.689 --> 00:04:22.009 there's an 11th or 12th one that sneaks in there. 75 00:04:22.310 --> 00:04:25.089 Lots of handshakes. I'm sure since you're sourcing from all 76 00:04:25.129 --> 00:04:30.269 different places. So your wines are available exclusively direct to consumer? 77 00:04:31.370 --> 00:04:33.879 Pretty much everything we do is direct to consumer. We've 78 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:39.279 just started doing some really, really small scale distribution to 79 00:04:39.339 --> 00:04:43.620 some local restaurants. Our rosés in the movie theater in 80 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:48.620 Paso Robles, which is kind of cool. I just started 81 00:04:49.430 --> 00:04:53.310 with a really small distributor out of Charlotte, North Carolina. 82 00:04:54.110 --> 00:04:59.029 And they saw us at your event in San Jose. 83 00:04:59.810 --> 00:05:03.370 And so we've been talking and we finally got around 84 00:05:03.470 --> 00:05:08.870 to finalizing. So they've got eight different wines that they're 85 00:05:08.889 --> 00:05:12.699 putting into distribution in and around Charlotte. Fantastic. 86 00:05:13.189 --> 00:05:17.490 Well, that's exciting. So what is your memory, your first 87 00:05:17.589 --> 00:05:20.569 memory relevant to wine? Like how old were you and 88 00:05:20.589 --> 00:05:23.290 where were you? I know you were born in Germany. 89 00:05:24.329 --> 00:05:25.379 How old were you when you came. 90 00:05:25.269 --> 00:05:28.620 Over to the U.S.? I was seven when we came 91 00:05:28.660 --> 00:05:33.040 to the U.S. I knew that like on the weekends, 92 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:36.699 sometimes my father would go help out in the neighbor's 93 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:39.870 vineyard kind of thing. I'm not sure if I remember 94 00:05:39.889 --> 00:05:43.480 that or that's just something that I'm more focused on now. Um, 95 00:05:45.939 --> 00:05:48.319 in Germany where they have a thing called glue vine, 96 00:05:48.860 --> 00:05:52.220 which we have at Christmas where you basically light things 97 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:54.379 on fire and put it in wine and stuff. It's 98 00:05:54.399 --> 00:06:03.389 pretty cool. Um, but like personally, my first real experience 99 00:06:03.430 --> 00:06:06.850 with real wine was I was living in Florida, but 100 00:06:06.870 --> 00:06:09.920 working for a California based company and, And they would 101 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:13.800 have us out like every quarter for meetings. And I 102 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:16.500 would back then, if you stayed over a Saturday night, 103 00:06:16.540 --> 00:06:20.089 your flight was like way cheaper. Yep. Which doesn't exist 104 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:23.509 anymore today. So I convinced the company accountant like, well, 105 00:06:23.550 --> 00:06:26.870 if

I stay over in California over Saturday night, like 106 00:06:26.910 --> 00:06:29.089 that could pay for my hotel for the weekend and 107 00:06:29.230 --> 00:06:32.319 I can go exploring. And one of the guys set 108 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:35.420 up a little group tour there. into wine country. I 109 00:06:35.459 --> 00:06:39.240 think I was in my early 30s or so, and 110 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:45.279 really enjoyed the experience. I didn't have much connection to 111 00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:48.139 that when I was back in Florida, but every time 112 00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:51.259 I came to California, I continued to explore that. 113 00:06:51.730 --> 00:06:53.529 Was that in the Central Coast, or what region were 114 00:06:53.550 --> 00:06:54.449 you exploring mostly? 115 00:06:54.750 --> 00:06:58.589 That was originally Sonoma, Napa, but when I started exploring 116 00:06:58.649 --> 00:07:01.519 on my own, I focused more on the Central Coast. 117 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:03.589 I was starting to come to Monterey County quite a bit. 118 00:07:03.629 --> 00:07:06.790 I loved Carmel. You know, started to build kind of 119 00:07:06.829 --> 00:07:09.509 this picture of, oh, well, one day I might retire 120 00:07:09.629 --> 00:07:12.389 out here. Turns out I just got here 20 years 121 00:07:12.430 --> 00:07:16.300 ahead of schedule, and winemaking was in my future unbeknownst 122 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:16.620 to me. 123 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:18.019 And retirement is not. 124 00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:19.029 No. Oh, no. No. 125 00:07:21.449 --> 00:07:25.189 So once you got into wine and in your career 126 00:07:25.370 --> 00:07:29.430 that you've been making wine, drinking wine, enjoying wine in 127 00:07:29.449 --> 00:07:31.939 a different perspective from your first time, is there a 128 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:34.519 particular wine that stands out as one of those aha 129 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:38.000 moment wines? And if so, what was the occasion and 130 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:39.500 what was the wine, if you can remember? 131 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:44.800 So it's actually a wine I ordered through the internet. 132 00:07:46.579 --> 00:07:54.519 It was a late aughts, so like 2007, 2008, Arcadian 133 00:07:54.939 --> 00:07:59.899 Stoltman Syrah. And just based on what I had been 134 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:03.879 learning about wine during my visits and everything, and when 135 00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:07.110 I read about this wine, and it was a special 136 00:08:07.209 --> 00:08:10.089 offer online, I'm like, I gotta give this a try. 137 00:08:10.790 --> 00:08:14.490 And it came, and it just, it really cemented my 138 00:08:14.529 --> 00:08:17.870 love for the Central Coast. I ended up meeting Joe Davis, 139 00:08:17.889 --> 00:08:22.300 who created Arcadian Wines and I remember going to the 140 00:08:22.339 --> 00:08:24.100 tasting room and he was there and he spent like 141 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:26.759 an hour and a half talking to me about you 142 00:08:26.779 --> 00:08:29.740 know the vineyards and everything that he does and everything 143 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:31.560 and I remember that experience and that kind of to 144 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:38.720 me in looking back that's why I chose to do 145 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:42.059 our tastings the way we do them here they're very 146 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:45.970 educational but casual but you get to learn a lot 147 00:08:46.950 --> 00:08:51.330 We don't regurgitate tasting notes. We talk about the grape. 148 00:08:51.610 --> 00:08:53.909 What's the history? Where did it come from? Why is 149 00:08:53.970 --> 00:08:57.500 it grown there? What's the vineyard? Who owns the vineyard? 150 00:08:57.509 --> 00:08:59.720 A few interesting facts here and there. 151 00:08:59.740 --> 00:09:00.899 Put context into the whole thing. 152 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:03.559 Context. And then we have our art, which always ties 153 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:05.779 into the wine. It's easy to put a pretty picture 154 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:07.720 on a bottle. It's another thing to have that picture 155 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:11.000 actually have a connection to the wines. 156 00:09:11.350 --> 00:09:12.750 You're going to have to tell me a little bit 157 00:09:12.789 --> 00:09:14.580 more about that. But I do want to know, when 158 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:18.080 you say about place and going different places, as you've 159 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:20.600 traveled around, do you have a particular region in the 160 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:22.840 world that is one of your favorites or a grape 161 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:24.120 variety that's one of your favorites? 162 00:09:25.490 --> 00:09:28.769 Cabernet Franc is kind of the grape that I ended 163 00:09:28.850 --> 00:09:34.769 up gravitating towards. I'm not 100% sure why, but I 164 00:09:34.809 --> 00:09:39.100 just always thought there was something unique about a hundred 165 00:09:39.139 --> 00:09:42.500 percent Cabernet Franc that you couldn't find in any other 166 00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:48.940 wine um sometimes they call it cab funk because there's 167 00:09:48.980 --> 00:09:52.009 a funky a good it's like a James Brown get 168 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:56.090 down get funky good funk prince funk um you know 169 00:09:56.289 --> 00:10:00.059 to it that that I really uh enjoy and so I, 170 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:03.639 in fact, I get this asked, I literally have just 171 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:07.159 gotten off a tour of mostly local, but a little 172 00:10:07.179 --> 00:10:13.820 bit other parts of California of six events in nine days. And, um, people, 173 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:16.179 you know, always ask me, you know, cause they can't 174 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:19.159 taste every wine at an event. What's your favorite? And 175 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:21.149 I'm like, I point to my t-shirt and I said, 176 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:24.000 only one wine has its own shirt. It says, let 177 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:26.899 me be

perfectly fronk with you. So if you want 178 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:30.059 to know, I technically have like 20 favorite children. 179 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.139 Because I mean, I always say like, don't ask a 180 00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:35.039 winemaker their favorite wine. That's like asking your favorite child. 181 00:10:35.779 --> 00:10:38.460 I just say only one has a t-shirt. 182 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:42.000 Well, if we were to come to your home, what 183 00:10:42.019 --> 00:10:44.370 would we find in your home? Like, are you drinking 184 00:10:44.409 --> 00:10:47.429 a lot of local wines? Do you have mostly Cab Francs? 185 00:10:48.289 --> 00:10:51.990 Is it an international selection? Is it friends and neighbors? 186 00:10:52.250 --> 00:10:52.970 What would we find? 187 00:10:53.629 --> 00:10:58.120 It's all of the above. We're actually somewhat Cab Franc lacking, 188 00:10:58.179 --> 00:10:59.899 but I'm going to fix that in the next couple 189 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:09.330 of months. There's so many from wines that I first 190 00:11:09.370 --> 00:11:11.909 started finding when I first came to the Central Coast. 191 00:11:11.970 --> 00:11:14.649 I started collecting wines, so I have a bit of 192 00:11:14.730 --> 00:11:17.309 a collection built up so that we can drink wines 193 00:11:17.330 --> 00:11:20.690 that are 7, 10, 12, 14 years old or so. 194 00:11:20.690 --> 00:11:21.990 Do those tend to be certain grapes? 195 00:11:23.289 --> 00:11:26.809 Not necessarily. All over the map from, you know, from 196 00:11:26.889 --> 00:11:32.029 Pinot to some ageable whites, some beautiful Chardonnay from Sonoma 197 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:37.539 County that ages really well. It's a little bit of everything. 198 00:11:37.580 --> 00:11:42.019 There's not one dominant thing. I think there was earlier 199 00:11:42.059 --> 00:11:44.580 in my life, but then I, much like, you know, 200 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:47.950 I was like when I first started drinking wine, wine 201 00:11:48.190 --> 00:11:51.149 well cabernet sauvignon it's the king of reds what else 202 00:11:51.190 --> 00:11:53.169 are you going to drink right and then i started 203 00:11:53.220 --> 00:11:57.139 discovering all these other grapes so you know now it's 204 00:11:57.360 --> 00:11:59.600 like i said it's hard for me to like i 205 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:03.059 have a huge collection of cabernet pepper at home who has. 206 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:07.139 That most people don't even know what it is so 207 00:12:07.179 --> 00:12:10.200 is there anything you opened up recently that drank really well. 208 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:18.429 Um Can I check my phone? Because I take pictures 209 00:12:18.470 --> 00:12:23.029 of everything we open, but sometimes I don't always remember. 210 00:12:23.049 --> 00:12:26.090 What did we have? We did have something recently that 211 00:12:26.110 --> 00:12:26.710 was really good. 212 00:12:28.330 --> 00:12:29.649 From your cellar or at a restaurant? 213 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:34.820 Usually from our cellar. It's one we love to cook 214 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:39.539 at home. And as much as we do enjoy a 215 00:12:39.580 --> 00:12:43.019 great meal in a restaurant, we, you know, we're, we're 216 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:45.899 spoiled here on the central coast as far as all 217 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:48.450 the farm fresh ingredients we can get. I just bought a, 218 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:51.139 you know, a whole salmon off the fishing boat the 219 00:12:51.179 --> 00:12:53.679 other day and, you know, had them cut it up 220 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:56.809 and put vacuum bags. So we have fresh salmon to 221 00:12:56.850 --> 00:12:59.429 eat anytime we want to have it. Um, a friend 222 00:12:59.450 --> 00:13:02.210 of mine just, uh, butchered a wild boar. So I've 223 00:13:02.230 --> 00:13:05.269 got some of that and, uh, you know, all the, 224 00:13:05.769 --> 00:13:08.350 you can go to get fresh produce every day because 225 00:13:08.370 --> 00:13:10.620 there's a farmer. If there's not a farmer's market in 226 00:13:10.649 --> 00:13:13.340 your town, um, there's a farmer's market one town over. 227 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:13.519 Right. 228 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:15.600 And we're right here on the coast. I mean, literally 229 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:18.470 in the town of Morro Bay. So fresh seafood and, 230 00:13:18.649 --> 00:13:20.889 and stuff like that. Have you found your wine? 231 00:13:21.909 --> 00:13:29.730 Um, I have, there's, there's so many. Um, but, uh, one, 232 00:13:29.889 --> 00:13:32.509 one that we did have recently that we really enjoyed 233 00:13:32.590 --> 00:13:37.539 was a, uh, a Rube, an Ingle Nook Rubicon from, uh, 234 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:43.570 Francis Ford Coppola's estate, which, uh, used to belong to 235 00:13:45.149 --> 00:13:47.490 all sorts of famous people back in the day, and 236 00:13:47.529 --> 00:13:50.309 then kind of when Ingle Nook became a jug wine. 237 00:13:50.830 --> 00:13:53.990 And he's kind of really restored the estate to something, 238 00:13:54.009 --> 00:13:59.639 you know, like it used to be, but also wines 239 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:02.559 that are balanced. You know, there's a lot of blingy 240 00:14:02.620 --> 00:14:05.320 wines in Napa. This is not a blingy wine. It's 241 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:09.960 just an old-school Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. And if you've got 242 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.759 a nice steak in front of you, There's nothing like that. 243 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:16.460 I think it was a 2016. It was 10 years old. 244 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:20.100 It was just in a really nice spot. And, uh, yeah, 245 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:22.980 that was probably the one of many. I mean, we, 246 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:26.399 we drink wine with dinner probably five nights a week. 247 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:28.480 You know, we try to take a couple of nights 248 00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:30.460 off just. 249 00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:34.139 To rest the

liver a little. So you mentioned at 250 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:36.590 the beginning that you, you like, you source from all 251 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:39.690 different places because every restaurant, kind of area in the 252 00:14:39.730 --> 00:14:43.610 Central Coast produces different grapes better and different expressions, you know, 253 00:14:43.649 --> 00:14:47.509 terroir driven. And you also mentioned that you're also a 254 00:14:47.529 --> 00:14:50.330 big Cab Franc fan. So I'm curious, based on those 255 00:14:50.389 --> 00:14:53.559 two sort of opposing views, do you think there's a 256 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:55.080 such thing as a perfect variety? 257 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:03.730 I mean, there's, you know, I think Syrah gets the 258 00:15:03.789 --> 00:15:06.279 short end of the stick when it comes to being 259 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:09.620 a really great variety because it can grow in cool climates, 260 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.620 it can grow in warm climates, grow in all different soils, 261 00:15:13.379 --> 00:15:16.720 makes for a different expression of the grape. But, you know, 262 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:19.389 you go to the store, there's no Syrah section. You 263 00:15:19.429 --> 00:15:23.610 might find a Shiraz under the Australian lines, but finding 264 00:15:23.649 --> 00:15:27.950 a domestic 100% Syrah is almost impossible. And it's, to me, 265 00:15:27.990 --> 00:15:31.289 kind of sad because... And even, you know, the French, 266 00:15:31.389 --> 00:15:34.610 it's almost always a blend. Yes, there are certain regions 267 00:15:34.649 --> 00:15:38.419 where it's certainly Syrah dominant, but to find a hundred 268 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:42.519 percent Syrah, you know, out there in the world of 269 00:15:42.779 --> 00:15:45.940 where you typically find your wine is, is kind of rare, 270 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:49.129 even restaurants and stuff. So I think that's a grape 271 00:15:49.190 --> 00:15:52.490 that is remarkably adaptive to a lot of different places, 272 00:15:52.549 --> 00:15:57.230 but just doesn't quite get its due. Um, Cab Franc, 273 00:15:57.299 --> 00:15:59.549 I like to say, is more of the Goldilocks grapes. 274 00:15:59.669 --> 00:16:03.970 Not too hot, not too cold. It likes it just right. So, 275 00:16:04.049 --> 00:16:07.110 you know, there are certain places you should not be 276 00:16:07.149 --> 00:16:09.750 growing Cab Franc, and there are certain places you should 277 00:16:09.789 --> 00:16:13.190 be growing Cab Franc. Because it was a blending grape, 278 00:16:13.230 --> 00:16:16.769 I think it gets the short shift. So I'm an underdog. 279 00:16:16.809 --> 00:16:18.870 I'm a champion of the underdog, and I think that's 280 00:16:19.129 --> 00:16:22.009 probably what makes Cab Franc my favorite grape at the 281 00:16:22.049 --> 00:16:22.850 end of the day, too. 282 00:16:23.350 --> 00:16:28.370 So loving an underdog like Cab Franc... And championing for underdogs. 283 00:16:28.789 --> 00:16:31.730

I'm curious on the other side what your opinion is 284 00:16:31.990 --> 00:16:36.090 on wine critics and scorers who are always sort of 285 00:16:36.750 --> 00:16:39.320 getting people to go after the big numbers and the 286 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:42.019 big scores and the big identifiers. 287 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:46.860 I think with wine critics, it's important for you to 288 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:51.120 find if that's something that... And it can be helpful. 289 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:52.940 I think if you can find a critic that has 290 00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:56.360 a similar palate to yours... keeping in mind that all 291 00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:59.440 our palates are uniquely different and no two are going 292 00:16:59.460 --> 00:17:00.500 to align perfectly. 293 00:17:00.610 --> 00:17:01.470 Like a snowflake. 294 00:17:01.490 --> 00:17:07.970 Right. There's nothing wrong with that system, but it's the 295 00:17:08.009 --> 00:17:11.549 same thing I tell people. People always ask me, what 296 00:17:11.569 --> 00:17:13.390 am I supposed to be tasting in this wine? I'm like, 297 00:17:13.450 --> 00:17:15.250 I don't know. What are you tasting in the wine? 298 00:17:15.309 --> 00:17:20.089 Because ultimately your palate is correct. Tasting notes are generally 299 00:17:20.289 --> 00:17:25.289 one person's opinion about a wine. I purposely hold... blind 300 00:17:25.349 --> 00:17:28.150 tastings for our members and whoever else wants to come 301 00:17:28.210 --> 00:17:31.009 whenever i've got my 10 new releases we taste them 302 00:17:31.049 --> 00:17:34.579 all blind we talk about them there's no preconceived notions 303 00:17:34.619 --> 00:17:37.059 of what's in the glass we just talk about the 304 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:40.900 color and we get way better color descriptions than just 305 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:44.869 straw and garnet and you know that type of thing 306 00:17:44.890 --> 00:17:47.470 you know vampire blood and all sorts of really cool 307 00:17:47.549 --> 00:17:50.549 things I'm like, yes, that makes for a way better 308 00:17:50.569 --> 00:17:54.230 wine when you're writing it out. Because I do publish 309 00:17:54.269 --> 00:17:59.210 them when I kind of pull them all together. But 310 00:17:59.710 --> 00:18:01.579 we don't have a lot of words for aromas and 311 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.980 flavors in the English language. So more often than not, 312 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.680 when you're talking to consumers, a lot of childhood references, 313 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:13.599 candy references. God, every flavor Jolly Rancher comes up when 314 00:18:13.619 --> 00:18:17.029 you're tasting wine. And some really obscure candies, too, which 315 00:18:17.089 --> 00:18:20.710 is pretty awesome. Or like memories of grandma baking cookies 316 00:18:20.750 --> 00:18:23.049 in the kitchen during the holidays. Way to get spices 317 00:18:23.190 --> 00:18:27.349 and stuff. Yeah, and walking through the forest after a rain. 318 00:18:27.670 --> 00:18:31.900 All sorts of really cool descriptive terms that to me 319 00:18:31.980 --> 00:18:35.700 are far more emotive and interesting than pencil, lead, granite. 320 00:18:37.710 --> 00:18:40.150 I haven't chewed on a pencil since like elementary school, 321 00:18:40.170 --> 00:18:41.940 so I couldn't even tell you what it tastes like. 322 00:18:41.950 --> 00:18:44.460 You don't remember? Thankfully not. 323 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:49.380 So as a wine drinker, getting down to it, red, white, 324 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:49.880 or rosé? 325 00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:57.049 It's probably up close to, I would say it's probably 326 00:18:57.049 --> 00:18:59.009 40% white, 40% red, and 20% rosé. Rosé is a 327 00:18:59.069 --> 00:19:11.140 remarkably food-flexible wine. And that's, you know, I think we're 328 00:19:11.339 --> 00:19:15.569 finally rediscovering serious rosé in our world. It was, you know, 329 00:19:15.609 --> 00:19:20.130 always the Sarnier, the sweet stuff, the porch pounder. And 330 00:19:20.190 --> 00:19:23.019 now there are a lot of wineries making some serious 331 00:19:23.650 --> 00:19:26.019 rosé that can really go with so many different things 332 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:29.599 from the pool and the porch to Thanksgiving dinner, you know, 333 00:19:29.619 --> 00:19:30.819 and all points in between. 334 00:19:31.420 --> 00:19:33.099 So when it comes to food and wine pairing, you 335 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:34.599 said you like to cook a lot, and you like 336 00:19:34.619 --> 00:19:37.099 to open different bottles, and rosé being such a friendly 337 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:42.250 food pairing. If rosé was sort of your easy go-to, 338 00:19:42.970 --> 00:19:44.829 can work with anything... That's. 339 00:19:44.670 --> 00:19:47.230 Kind of like, yeah, if you don't know what to open, 340 00:19:47.369 --> 00:19:51.099 open a nice dry rosé. It'll go... pretty much with everything. 341 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:53.980 But let's go, how would you approach it if you're 342 00:19:54.019 --> 00:19:56.329 not trying to just go for easy what to do? 343 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:58.849 Are there certain rules you follow? Do you follow the 344 00:19:58.930 --> 00:20:01.269 old adage of, you know, white wine and fish and 345 00:20:01.309 --> 00:20:02.910 red wine and meat, or do you approach it a 346 00:20:02.950 --> 00:20:03.349 different way? 347 00:20:03.990 --> 00:20:09.069 I think, you know, 80 to 90% of the time, yes. 348 00:20:09.150 --> 00:20:12.789 And sometimes if I'm making something that has a particular spice, 349 00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:16.750 I'm generally more of a... Tanya, my better half, always 350 00:20:16.789 --> 00:20:18.450 says I'd be really good on one of those cooking 351 00:20:18.470 --> 00:20:20.390 shows where you get a bunch of random ingredients and 352 00:20:20.430 --> 00:20:23.680 make stuff where she loves to follow recipes. So if 353 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:27.779 we've got a recipe dinner, I'll sometimes

look up, okay, 354 00:20:28.339 --> 00:20:32.539 what particular grapes might pair well based on the spices 355 00:20:32.619 --> 00:20:37.589 or the contents of this dish. But I mean... The 356 00:20:37.910 --> 00:20:39.869 other universal one, and we were just on a cruise 357 00:20:39.910 --> 00:20:44.609 for almost two weeks, and the best wine that was 358 00:20:44.670 --> 00:20:47.890 on the drinks package by far was a lovely French champagne, 359 00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:52.720 which we had literally with almost everything on board, including steak. 360 00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:54.559 Because when in doubt, go bubbles. 361 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:59.440 Which is why I'm now making two different bubbles. Are you? 362 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:04.890 Haven't released them yet. We just started this spring. made 363 00:21:04.930 --> 00:21:05.869 the still wine. 364 00:21:05.670 --> 00:21:07.829 And so you're doing traditional method traditional. 365 00:21:07.490 --> 00:21:09.809 Method yeah what what grapes are you working with uh 366 00:21:09.849 --> 00:21:13.529 we're doing albarino and one of the rarest grapes in 367 00:21:14.150 --> 00:21:16.549 this side of the world orinto. 368 00:21:15.829 --> 00:21:18.230 Oh i can't wait to try those and when will 369 00:21:18.250 --> 00:21:20.180 those be released um i. 370 00:21:20.170 --> 00:21:23.140 Just tasted the orinto not too long ago and actually 371 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:26.759 i invited some people in because i was blown away 372 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:29.059 by how good it was i knew that grape would 373 00:21:29.099 --> 00:21:32.579 be great because it's a highly acidic white and um 374 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:37.140 and it really doesn't ripen much beyond a level of 375 00:21:37.220 --> 00:21:40.160 where you'd pick it for a bubbly anyway. And people 376 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:43.119 do like the still wine, but there was something about 377 00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:45.500 it that made me think this would make an amazing bubbly. 378 00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:48.180 I mean, are you going to keep it aging for 379 00:21:48.259 --> 00:21:50.589 six months or 18 months? Are you going a long time? 380 00:21:51.180 --> 00:21:54.369 Since I'm doing the two, I'm kind of monitoring them 381 00:21:54.730 --> 00:21:59.170 and seeing which one maybe we can release for the 382 00:21:59.210 --> 00:22:02.349 holidays this year and which one we might want to leave. 383 00:22:02.829 --> 00:22:05.349 you know, for two years or whatever. The nice thing 384 00:22:05.390 --> 00:22:11.170 about doing this, um, the whole bubbly process is you 385 00:22:11.190 --> 00:22:23.839 can decide to, you can decide to, um, you know, 386 00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:29.579 maybe take half, you know, half a barrel because they're 387 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.539 already in bottles, you know, take a hundred bottles or whatever, 388 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:35.619 and put some labels on them and release them to 389 00:22:35.660 --> 00:22:36.000 the

market. 390 00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:37.089 And then hold the others and see. 391 00:22:37.099 --> 00:22:38.880 And then hold the others and see how it goes. 392 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:42.539 So that's kind of a neat thing that you can't 393 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:45.019 do with other, well, you could technically do with other wine, 394 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:47.430 but it becomes pretty cost prohibitive. 395 00:22:47.470 --> 00:22:50.509 Right, yeah, you can't age everybody's wine for them. 396 00:22:51.329 --> 00:22:52.349 Correct, exactly. 397 00:22:54.069 --> 00:22:57.529 So for somebody who hasn't had the pleasure to taste 398 00:22:57.569 --> 00:22:59.619 your wines yet, what do you think they're missing out on? 399 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:06.980 I think an authenticity of time and place, I think 400 00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:09.240 that's one of the things that I found lacking. It 401 00:23:10.869 --> 00:23:13.990 was harder for me to find those wineries that were 402 00:23:14.029 --> 00:23:20.769 really focusing on the grape rather than a style. For example, 403 00:23:21.609 --> 00:23:26.380 if one year the Syrah is ready based on flavor 404 00:23:27.140 --> 00:23:32.470 and it happens to come in at 12.5% alcohol, That's okay. Yeah. 405 00:23:32.750 --> 00:23:35.839 And the next year it wanted to hang and the 406 00:23:35.930 --> 00:23:39.660 acids weren't dropping and we got a 15.8% Syrah from 407 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:40.339 the same vineyard. 408 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:40.859 So be it. 409 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:43.599 So be it. That's part of the beauty of wine. 410 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:47.019 It's so unique that you can't, you can't ever, if 411 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:49.900 you do it in that way, you can't ever replicate it, 412 00:23:49.940 --> 00:23:54.660 which is sad, but it's also kind of cool because 413 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:57.980 it's natural. It comes from the earth and the sun 414 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:02.779 and all the elements combined to make this unique snapshot 415 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:06.559 of place and time. And, um, I do do some 416 00:24:06.599 --> 00:24:11.220 blending and it's fun. Sometimes it's been because I decided, well, 417 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:13.460 this grape grows on this side of the driveway and 418 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:15.730 this grape grows on this side of the driveway and 419 00:24:15.809 --> 00:24:19.450 eat individually. They're really good, but they should shake hands 420 00:24:19.509 --> 00:24:21.930 and meet. Let's see what happens. And sometimes it's a 421 00:24:21.970 --> 00:24:25.730 matter of necessity. Hey, you know, in that year, that 422 00:24:25.809 --> 00:24:29.579 grape from that vineyard doesn't quite measure up to my, 423 00:24:30.059 --> 00:24:33.339 my standards to to label it as a single vineyard wine. 424 00:24:33.940 --> 00:24:38.559 But I have 20 other puzzle pieces that I can 425 00:24:38.609 --> 00:24:41.849 play with, and let's see what we can do out 426 00:24:41.890 --> 00:24:46.410 of that. We had a non-vintage, a two-year, six-grape red 427 00:24:46.490 --> 00:24:49.109 blend that got 90 points from Wine Enthusiast. 428 00:24:50.289 --> 00:24:52.230 Well, there you go, backing to the scores. It's not 429 00:24:52.269 --> 00:24:53.430 bad when you get a good score. 430 00:24:53.589 --> 00:24:58.670 And it's nice to be acknowledged. Obviously, the People's Choice Award, 431 00:24:58.750 --> 00:25:02.109 the purchase is what matters most. But there are people 432 00:25:02.150 --> 00:25:04.130 that look for that because, like I said, many people 433 00:25:04.190 --> 00:25:07.789 do use it as a guide. Well, I know this 434 00:25:07.869 --> 00:25:11.349 guy likes these types of wines, and so therefore I 435 00:25:11.410 --> 00:25:15.970 will probably like wines that have that associated with it. 436 00:25:16.099 --> 00:25:19.420 When you're only making 1,400 cases, it kind of puts 437 00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:20.039 you on the map. 438 00:25:20.200 --> 00:25:24.670 Right. No, it's true. People call me up and say, hey, 439 00:25:24.690 --> 00:25:27.170 did you see what Jeb Dunick wrote about you and 440 00:25:27.250 --> 00:25:29.069 scored your Grenache? And I'm like, no. 441 00:25:32.549 --> 00:25:33.289 But I don't know. 442 00:25:33.349 --> 00:25:34.490 But I don't know. Thank you. 443 00:25:36.730 --> 00:25:40.480 So with 20 different wines in any given year, in 444 00:25:40.579 --> 00:25:43.960 every year, but 20 different wines every single year, if 445 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:46.420 space aliens were to come on down to the beach 446 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:48.740 here and knock on the door and walk in, which 447 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:50.640 of your wines would you want to welcome them with? 448 00:25:51.099 --> 00:25:53.079 Oh, well, the one that has them on the label, 449 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:54.059 the Syrah. 450 00:25:54.710 --> 00:25:58.119 Ah, okay. And why are they on the label of 451 00:25:58.160 --> 00:25:58.619 the Syrah? 452 00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:06.279 Well, that's because our label artist, Asia Trier, who's currently 453 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:10.750 based in Florida, originally from upstate New York and spent 454 00:26:10.789 --> 00:26:13.509 some time in Texas, I found her art through a 455 00:26:13.569 --> 00:26:16.990 friend of mine on the Internet. And this was the 456 00:26:17.069 --> 00:26:19.599 art piece that he had shared. And I was like, 457 00:26:19.630 --> 00:26:22.819 that is so cool. It's Van Gogh. Starry Night. It's 458 00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:25.980 got cows. It's got an alien tractor beam and a spaceship, 459 00:26:26.339 --> 00:26:30.309 which was very reminiscent of Bonnie Doon's Cigar Volant for me. 460 00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:33.490 So the wine tie-in was there and the humor of 461 00:26:33.549 --> 00:26:35.589 the aliens beaming up the cows. But that looks like 462 00:26:35.609 --> 00:26:38.829 a white wine. No, this is just water in this bottle. 463

00:26:39.029 --> 00:26:40.109 Oh, it's a water bottle now. 464 00:26:40.130 --> 00:26:45.359 Got it. Unfortunately, when the college kids come down here 465 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:48.799 and we have display bottles outside, first of all, we 466 00:26:48.839 --> 00:26:51.730 wouldn't put wine in the bottles. Anyway... But when they 467 00:26:51.750 --> 00:26:54.829 were empty, sometimes the wind would come through here and 468 00:26:54.849 --> 00:26:57.130 knock them over, so we'd put water in them. So 469 00:26:57.170 --> 00:26:59.609 every once in a while, I'd say every year or so, 470 00:26:59.630 --> 00:27:02.309 there's at least one college kids that come by, grab 471 00:27:02.349 --> 00:27:04.549 a bottle, open it, and start chugging it to realize 472 00:27:04.630 --> 00:27:05.450 it's stale water. 473 00:27:05.470 --> 00:27:08.119 I love it. 474 00:27:09.059 --> 00:27:11.759 They're not welcome to the winery that way, but anyone 475 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:13.039 else would be getting the Syrah. 476 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:16.099 The aliens would definitely be getting this. This is our 477 00:27:16.140 --> 00:27:20.430 reserve Syrah. It comes from Shalom. The clones were a 478 00:27:20.430 --> 00:27:22.990 gift from Jean-Louis Chave to the vineyard owner because he 479 00:27:23.009 --> 00:27:26.490 had hosted Jean-Louis as a harvest intern back in the day. 480 00:27:26.539 --> 00:27:28.940 And so they sent over an envelope marked Wood for 481 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:36.579 Musical Instruments containing the cuttings from over there. So it's 482 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:39.160 pretty special. We leave this in barrel for three and 483 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:43.529 a half years because it just gets really good over time. 484 00:27:44.269 --> 00:27:46.470 Two years in a row, double gold medal at the 485 00:27:46.509 --> 00:27:49.859 Mid-State Fair for Bess Zaraa. We're hoping for a third 486 00:27:49.880 --> 00:27:54.240 this year. We'll see what happens. But if not, that's okay, too. 487 00:27:54.680 --> 00:28:01.329 But again, I like the blind tasting aspect of reviews, 488 00:28:01.380 --> 00:28:06.980 especially when it comes to competitions like that. really, other 489 00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:09.980 than you know they're all Syrahs sometimes, but if it's 490 00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:13.839 the other white wine category, which I'm in frequently, nobody 491 00:28:13.880 --> 00:28:15.259 knows what they're drinking. 492 00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:18.000 Yeah, is it a Trebbiano? Is it an Albarino? 493 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:22.660 So to have a group of people come to some 494 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:27.029 kind of consensus, and I think the same reason why 495 00:28:27.089 --> 00:28:29.809 I do the tasting notes that way, when you start 496 00:28:29.849 --> 00:28:32.750 to hear things echoing in the room, okay, this is 497 00:28:32.769 --> 00:28:37.019 something people, normal consumers can identify with we can put 498 00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:38.180 that in

the tasting notes. 499 00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:38.539 Yeah. 500 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:39.339 I love that. 501 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:42.740 So you're working with 20 different vineyards and, and I 502 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:45.619 assume you, you, because of these handshakes you have, you, 503 00:28:45.849 --> 00:28:48.950 you return to these vineyards year after year and you've 504 00:28:48.970 --> 00:28:50.309 been making wine since what year? 505 00:28:50.329 --> 00:28:52.549 Uh, I started as a hobby in 2014 and, um, 506 00:28:55.970 --> 00:28:58.890 kind of the pivotal year was 2017. I realized I 507 00:28:58.930 --> 00:29:01.230 had made way too much wines as a hobby that 508 00:29:01.369 --> 00:29:04.609 basically I had enough commercial winemaker. I had enough wine 509 00:29:04.650 --> 00:29:07.710 to drink for the rest of my lifetime, uh, without, 510 00:29:07.890 --> 00:29:11.049 and then I would have required me stopping the process 511 00:29:11.109 --> 00:29:14.250 altogether or taking that quantum leap to make, cause I 512 00:29:14.269 --> 00:29:16.819 didn't have enough to open a tasting room, you know, 513 00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:19.900 so where, where do you draw that line? And I 514 00:29:20.119 --> 00:29:22.180 knew that I had to up my production in order 515 00:29:22.220 --> 00:29:23.480 to make that happen. So in 2017 is when I 516 00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:27.319 took that, quantum leap you know the day job went 517 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:30.799 away and just started making wine and you know the 518 00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:33.180 hard thing is to make a really good red wine 519 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:36.430 especially a cab or something where the tannins just need time. 520 00:29:36.470 --> 00:29:39.700 You can't hurry that process along. Well, you can, but 521 00:29:40.220 --> 00:29:42.000 we don't want to. So 2020 at that time seemed 522 00:29:42.019 --> 00:29:49.059 like a great time to open a tasting room. It 523 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:51.559 became a little more challenging when it actually happened. 524 00:29:51.660 --> 00:29:57.009 Well, at least you got to do it slowly and properly. But, 525 00:29:57.029 --> 00:29:58.789 you know, I mean, so you're working with all these 526 00:29:58.849 --> 00:30:01.690 different vineyards that you have relationships with. So you spend 527 00:30:01.730 --> 00:30:04.349 a lot of time going, you know, north and south 528 00:30:04.390 --> 00:30:06.549 of here. And we know that every vintage tells a 529 00:30:06.569 --> 00:30:09.920 different story. So in your, you know, more than a 530 00:30:09.980 --> 00:30:14.559 decade of experience in visiting these vineyards, do you see... um, 531 00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:17.940 more commonality from year to year? Are there certain areas 532 00:30:17.980 --> 00:30:22.829 that give you much more, um, much more diversity with 533 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:24.789 it from year to year? What, what have you noticed 534 00:30:24.829 --> 00:30:25.690 over the last decade? 535 00:30:26.630 --> 00:30:32.410 Um, I'm glad I'm not a farmer. Those farmers have 536 00:30:32.450 --> 00:30:35.349 the most difficult business partner in the world, mother nature. 537 00:30:35.950 --> 00:30:36.990 She doesn't communicate well. 538 00:30:37.190 --> 00:30:39.519 No, no. And she does what she wants whenever she 539 00:30:39.579 --> 00:30:46.180 wants with no, generally with no warning. Um, It's interesting. 540 00:30:46.940 --> 00:30:50.289 Part of the diversity of going from the Bay Area 541 00:30:50.349 --> 00:30:52.730 all the way down to Santa Barbara County is when 542 00:30:52.769 --> 00:30:57.170 there are challenging vintages perhaps in one area, they're a 543 00:30:57.210 --> 00:31:00.349 little bit not so challenging in others. So I can 544 00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:04.339 oftentimes balance that out, whether we have a heavy crop 545 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:07.079 or a light crop in one area and vice versa 546 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:11.700 and such. I have to say the one vineyard that's 547 00:31:11.740 --> 00:31:14.740 been my most consistent vineyard is Martian Ranch down in 548 00:31:14.779 --> 00:31:19.859 Santa Barbara County. They are biodynamically farmed, Demeter certified, so 549 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:24.690 they're really doing everything by the book and getting recertified 550 00:31:24.710 --> 00:31:29.769 and everything. As crazy as biodynamics is with the whole 551 00:31:29.869 --> 00:31:34.450 lunar part of the equation, the organic part of the 552 00:31:34.490 --> 00:31:36.579 equation makes all the sense in the world. The lunar 553 00:31:36.599 --> 00:31:39.150 part If you look back in history, yeah, I mean, 554 00:31:39.170 --> 00:31:41.269 there's a lot of tie-ins. The Farmer's Almanac was also 555 00:31:41.309 --> 00:31:43.710 based on lunar cycles. They've been using that for a 556 00:31:43.730 --> 00:31:47.329 few centuries. This one is just way more specific and detailed. 557 00:31:47.990 --> 00:31:50.029 But I've got to be honest, it is my most 558 00:31:50.109 --> 00:31:53.269 consistent vineyard year in and year out, both from a 559 00:31:53.390 --> 00:31:56.829 quality and a quantity standpoint. I can count on that 560 00:31:56.890 --> 00:32:01.650 vineyard like clockwork. I don't worry about any of them 561 00:32:01.690 --> 00:32:03.809 because I'm always going to just make the best of 562 00:32:03.930 --> 00:32:08.640 whatever nature gives us that year. but that one is like, wow, 563 00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:09.180 you know? 564 00:32:09.799 --> 00:32:14.329 So, so the consistency you find might be because of 565 00:32:14.410 --> 00:32:15.130 how it's farmed. 566 00:32:15.769 --> 00:32:18.509 I think that has a large part to do with it. Yeah. 567 00:32:18.869 --> 00:32:21.210 Because they're adjusting to what they have to deal with 568 00:32:21.950 --> 00:32:25.750 and then to get, to get the same ultimate result, 569 00:32:26.029 --> 00:32:29.250 not identical, but a similar result, you

know, it's, you know, 570 00:32:29.869 --> 00:32:34.079 more coverage, less pulling leaves, dropping fruit, you know, to adjust. 571 00:32:34.710 --> 00:32:37.660 Yeah. And they've had a consistent crew there from day one. 572 00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:40.740 I think they still have the same crew since, since 573 00:32:40.779 --> 00:32:43.980 they started. So they know that vineyard inside out. It's 574 00:32:44.019 --> 00:32:47.319 much like working with Michael Michaud up at Shalom. Uh, 575 00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:51.089 Michael's been up there making wine, growing grapes for 40 576 00:32:51.089 --> 00:32:55.049 plus years. He basically dedicated his entire winemaking life to 577 00:32:55.130 --> 00:32:58.950 that region. So he's seen it all. You know, he 578 00:32:59.009 --> 00:33:04.019 knows what he needs to do to adjust. Um, But climatically, 579 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:06.809 Chalone is crazy because it can be, I think, a 580 00:33:06.869 --> 00:33:13.250 Winkler scale 2, 3, or 4. It could be anything. 581 00:33:13.869 --> 00:33:19.039 Most regions maybe have two different things on the Winkler scale. 582 00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:22.460 That one could be anything. Wow. 583 00:33:23.140 --> 00:33:24.920 How much time do you spend in the vineyard? 584 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:34.119 A lot during harvest. Somehow, I've been... blessed with the 585 00:33:34.180 --> 00:33:36.759 ability to kind of taste grapes off the vine and 586 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:39.119 sometimes i've even there are some vineyards i can walk 587 00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:43.099 into and smell like okay we're going to be picking 588 00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:46.180 these grapes here really soon but there's just a certain 589 00:33:46.299 --> 00:33:50.599 thing that tells me that i can't explain it but. 590 00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:54.599 Well yeah have you um in the time that you 591 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:56.869 spend in the vineyard have you found yourself talking to 592 00:33:56.880 --> 00:33:57.950 the vines you talk to the. 593 00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:01.450 Grapes i play music for them sometimes in the vineyard 594 00:34:01.589 --> 00:34:04.609 yeah I've got my phone on. I'll be jamming along 595 00:34:04.650 --> 00:34:08.090 to something, walking through the vineyard. It's always been, you know, 596 00:34:08.510 --> 00:34:11.190 initially my goal was to buy some land and plant 597 00:34:11.210 --> 00:34:14.530 my own vineyard. And then starting to work at wineries 598 00:34:14.590 --> 00:34:17.489 and learning how hard these farmers were working, even on 599 00:34:17.550 --> 00:34:21.440 sometimes one and two acre vineyards, I realized that my 600 00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:24.039 path would be, you know, I don't think I could 601 00:34:24.199 --> 00:34:27.320 ever be in this second half of life career that 602 00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:30.000 I could ever really truly master the art of farming 603 00:34:30.019 --> 00:34:33.809 without Winemaking is the same thing. Anybody that says I've 604 00:34:33.949 --> 00:34:37.070 mastered everything about winemaking is not telling the truth. 605 00:34:37.090 --> 00:34:39.019 But at least you can focus your energy on one thing. 606 00:34:39.219 --> 00:34:43.679 I can focus my energy on working with the vineyard. 607 00:34:44.199 --> 00:34:46.519 I don't worry so much about the farming practice. Like 608 00:34:46.559 --> 00:34:50.280 I said, a lot of these vineyards have been around forever, 609 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:54.340 or these people have been working with the same region forever. 610 00:34:54.900 --> 00:34:57.429 They know what they need to do during the year. 611 00:34:58.099 --> 00:35:01.099 I I'm certainly not any better at telling them what 612 00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:04.019 to do than they are. Um, and I'm fine with 613 00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:06.070 that because the proof is in the pudding at the 614 00:35:06.110 --> 00:35:06.710 end of the day. 615 00:35:06.730 --> 00:35:11.829 Um, so yeah, but a little music never hurt those 616 00:35:11.869 --> 00:35:13.349 little grapes to be happier. 617 00:35:13.469 --> 00:35:16.690 And I play guitar. So one of my dreams has 618 00:35:16.730 --> 00:35:19.510 always been like to set up my amplifier and in 619 00:35:19.530 --> 00:35:22.449 the vineyard and just really crank, rock out, you know. 620 00:35:23.670 --> 00:35:26.730 I love it. Well, when you get into the winery, 621 00:35:26.769 --> 00:35:29.659 do you play for the grapes when they're in barrel 622 00:35:29.719 --> 00:35:30.139 and tank? 623 00:35:30.340 --> 00:35:33.480 Well, usually when we're sorting, we've always got tunes on. 624 00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:36.360 And generally when I arrive with my grapes, because I 625 00:35:36.400 --> 00:35:39.699 make wines at Midnight Cellar, so there's a broad variety 626 00:35:39.739 --> 00:35:43.480 of wineries making wine there. And a lot of, I 627 00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:46.280 found out yesterday, yet another winery was coming there to 628 00:35:46.340 --> 00:35:48.760 press all their white wines there. which we do a 629 00:35:48.820 --> 00:35:53.019 lot of there. Um, so generally when I'm there, it's 630 00:35:53.860 --> 00:35:54.619 rock and metal. 631 00:35:57.699 --> 00:36:01.559 So, but I wouldn't call your wines like they're, they're 632 00:36:01.579 --> 00:36:04.280 not all like big metal wine. I mean, they're not, 633 00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:06.019 they're not reflecting the. 634 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:08.960 Music to me. Like as a, as a kid growing 635 00:36:08.980 --> 00:36:13.699 energetic kids, like as a kid growing up for me, 636 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:16.519 rock and metal. First of all, all my parents did 637 00:36:16.539 --> 00:36:19.219 was listen to classical and opera. which I've come to 638 00:36:19.280 --> 00:36:22.780 appreciate now as in my much later adult years. But 639 00:36:22.820 --> 00:36:25.000 at that time, I wanted to get as far away 640 00:36:25.059 --> 00:36:27.480 from it as possible, and heavy metal

was perfect for that. 641 00:36:28.179 --> 00:36:32.519 But I also, you know, I was an immigrant kid 642 00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:37.239 coming here, didn't know the language. I, you know, was 643 00:36:37.320 --> 00:36:40.820 tall and gangly. I didn't know any American sports. I 644 00:36:40.860 --> 00:36:43.239 had to teach myself how to play baseball and football 645 00:36:43.280 --> 00:36:46.170 and stuff because my parents had no knowledge of Everybody 646 00:36:46.230 --> 00:36:48.650 assumed I could play soccer because I was German. I 647 00:36:48.769 --> 00:36:52.980 sucked at soccer. So, you know, I didn't have the 648 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:56.900 greatest growing up. And to me, like, heavy music was 649 00:36:56.940 --> 00:37:00.739 a catharsis, a stress relief. Like, these people were kind 650 00:37:00.760 --> 00:37:03.239 of taking out my anger for me because I'm a 651 00:37:03.280 --> 00:37:05.610 pretty chill guy. Everyone's like, Dirk, you're so chill and 652 00:37:05.650 --> 00:37:09.369 so relaxed. I'm like, because I have things that get 653 00:37:09.429 --> 00:37:12.210 rid of that for me. And music was one of 654 00:37:12.230 --> 00:37:15.550 the biggest things that does that. I know. I think 655 00:37:15.849 --> 00:37:18.630 the wines react in the same way. They're like, okay, 656 00:37:18.650 --> 00:37:20.190 we can just do what we need to do now. 657 00:37:20.210 --> 00:37:22.159 We don't need to worry about all these other things. 658 00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:25.699 The music took our attention out. So do you have 659 00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:27.719 any good luck rituals that you do at the start 660 00:37:27.739 --> 00:37:31.119 of harvest? Have you instituted any sort of things that 661 00:37:31.179 --> 00:37:34.769 you do for yourself or as a team you, you know? 662 00:37:36.039 --> 00:37:38.480 We always pop a bottle of bubbles, and it's usually 663 00:37:38.539 --> 00:37:42.219 something obscure like sparkling Albarino or Gewurztraminer. 664 00:37:42.239 --> 00:37:43.579 One day it'll be your own bubbles. 665 00:37:43.619 --> 00:37:46.909 Yes, it will be my own, yes, which is also obscure. 666 00:37:48.769 --> 00:37:50.449 But that's about it. Yeah. 667 00:37:51.090 --> 00:37:54.150 And so this is a second career for you. When 668 00:37:54.170 --> 00:37:55.670 you were a little boy, what did you want to 669 00:37:55.690 --> 00:37:56.369 be when you grew up? 670 00:37:57.630 --> 00:37:59.670 Oh, I wanted to be a pilot, and then I 671 00:37:59.710 --> 00:38:02.949 got glasses, so I realized at that time that wasn't 672 00:38:02.969 --> 00:38:03.829 going to be an option. 673 00:38:03.849 --> 00:38:05.170 Right, right. 674 00:38:06.860 --> 00:38:09.619 I wanted to be an architect. And in high school, 675 00:38:09.699 --> 00:38:11.639 I remember, you know, they said, well, you know, go 676 00:38:11.699 --> 00:38:14.119 talk to some people in the profession that you're really 677 00:38:14.179 --> 00:38:16.679 interested in. I talked to a couple of architects and 678 00:38:16.739 --> 00:38:18.719 it's like, you don't want to be an architect. There's 679 00:38:18.739 --> 00:38:21.360 all these lawsuits and this, that, and the other. And, 680 00:38:21.409 --> 00:38:23.019 you know, as a, as a kid, that's like the, 681 00:38:23.190 --> 00:38:25.309 that sounds terribly uninteresting. 682 00:38:25.329 --> 00:38:26.429 It took all the sexiness out. 683 00:38:26.449 --> 00:38:31.110 It took all the sexiness out of that. So I 684 00:38:31.170 --> 00:38:35.460 ended up getting a scholarship, an academic scholarship to the 685 00:38:35.500 --> 00:38:38.309 University of Miami. And I majored in finance and real estate. 686 00:38:38.329 --> 00:38:41.710 And I ended up working first as an accountant and 687 00:38:41.730 --> 00:38:44.449 then into all aspects of real estate from sales and 688 00:38:44.489 --> 00:38:48.809 marketing to product design and land acquisition and stuff, residential 689 00:38:48.869 --> 00:38:52.869 development for 25 some odd years. 690 00:38:52.889 --> 00:38:56.679 Which in an odd way is a perfect segue into 691 00:38:56.719 --> 00:38:59.610 having your own winery, right? Because You have an accounting background. 692 00:38:59.869 --> 00:39:03.809 You have a product management background. You have a business development, 693 00:39:03.849 --> 00:39:06.289 a marketing. I mean, it's like everything you need to 694 00:39:06.309 --> 00:39:07.630 just apply to another industry. 695 00:39:07.949 --> 00:39:09.949 Yeah, I mean, people always ask, where does the name 696 00:39:10.050 --> 00:39:11.389 Absolution Sellers come from? 697 00:39:11.800 --> 00:39:12.940 And I was going to ask you, where does the 698 00:39:12.960 --> 00:39:14.400 name Absolution Sellers come from? 699 00:39:14.699 --> 00:39:16.980 So it's the name of my favorite album by Muse. 700 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:18.280 Okay. 701 00:39:18.599 --> 00:39:22.219 But on the marketing aspect of it, when I was 702 00:39:22.300 --> 00:39:25.460 working in the marketing side of the real estate development 703 00:39:25.500 --> 00:39:28.400 company I was working for, I was in charge of 704 00:39:28.500 --> 00:39:31.139 naming all the communities that we were building you know 705 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:33.460 it's easy to look at a map and come up 706 00:39:33.480 --> 00:39:36.590 with some romantic Italian names for the communities and stuff 707 00:39:36.610 --> 00:39:38.889 like that especially when you're in Florida because that's what 708 00:39:38.909 --> 00:39:42.050 they're all named after but then I was like well 709 00:39:43.309 --> 00:39:46.409 you know in the in the newspaper every Saturday or 710 00:39:46.429 --> 00:39:49.320 every Sunday depending on the paper the listing of new 711 00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:52.079 homes was on the back of the classifieds or whatever, 712 00:39:52.099 --> 00:39:54.340 or even sometimes there was a special section for new 713 00:39:54.360 --> 00:39:57.489 homes and

it was always alphabetical. So I'm like, I'm 714 00:39:57.510 --> 00:39:59.349 just going to find all the cool name places that 715 00:39:59.409 --> 00:40:00.889 start with the letter A and we're going to be 716 00:40:00.909 --> 00:40:03.469 the first one that people see on that list. And 717 00:40:03.510 --> 00:40:05.449 hence absolution, the same thing. 718 00:40:06.679 --> 00:40:09.739 Always first in a wine tasting, always first in the booklet. 719 00:40:09.900 --> 00:40:12.860 Yeah. That's smart. That's part of it. And last but 720 00:40:12.900 --> 00:40:15.219 not least, you know, we all need a little absolution 721 00:40:15.260 --> 00:40:15.800 now and then. 722 00:40:15.820 --> 00:40:15.980 So. 723 00:40:16.610 --> 00:40:17.210 Absolutely. 724 00:40:17.469 --> 00:40:17.969 I love that. 725 00:40:18.150 --> 00:40:18.590 I love that. 726 00:40:19.210 --> 00:40:24.599 So when you're not working at your retirement job, what 727 00:40:24.619 --> 00:40:26.940 do you like to do in your spare time? I 728 00:40:26.960 --> 00:40:28.880 know you mentioned guitar. What else do you like to do? 729 00:40:32.239 --> 00:40:34.320 I listen to a lot of music. I don't play 730 00:40:34.500 --> 00:40:38.780 as much anymore. When I first kind of was still 731 00:40:38.840 --> 00:40:41.570 dabbling in this, I still played a lot of beach volleyball. 732 00:40:41.630 --> 00:40:44.530 I miss it tremendously. I do love to go hiking 733 00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:47.380 on a day off. Just being outside, being out in 734 00:40:47.460 --> 00:40:51.760 nature is just wonderful. Lately, we've taken up a cruising habit. 735 00:40:52.039 --> 00:40:55.519 So when we go on vacation, we hop on a 736 00:40:55.559 --> 00:40:56.940 boat and we don't worry about a thing. 737 00:40:56.960 --> 00:41:00.639 I love it. I love it. So do you have 738 00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:02.300 a favorite band or musician? 739 00:41:02.320 --> 00:41:07.539 I am constantly learning about new bands and new music. 740 00:41:07.559 --> 00:41:11.650 It's funny. You get those year-end summaries of what did 741 00:41:11.690 --> 00:41:14.989 you listen to. And people in groups like, hey, everybody 742 00:41:15.050 --> 00:41:18.349 post yours and I'll post mine. And people are like, 743 00:41:18.809 --> 00:41:20.829 where are you finding this stuff? And it's a lot 744 00:41:20.869 --> 00:41:23.329 of algorithm off YouTube based on the stuff that I 745 00:41:23.349 --> 00:41:26.929 do like. I've recently discovered a band from New Zealand 746 00:41:26.989 --> 00:41:30.530 called Tadpole that apparently had been out of commission for 747 00:41:30.570 --> 00:41:33.760 like 15 plus years, but they've just reformed. They put 748 00:41:33.800 --> 00:41:36.079 out a couple of killer new songs. And I'm like, 749 00:41:37.300 --> 00:41:40.760 I love finding, it's much like finding the undiscovered grapes 750 00:41:40.840 --> 00:41:43.530 is finding these, you know, apparently they were huge in 751 00:41:43.590 --> 00:41:46.059 New Zealand. They have all these platinum records from 15, 752 00:41:46.059 --> 00:41:49.260 20 years ago, but then they just disappeared, you know, 753 00:41:49.900 --> 00:41:52.739 into the ether. And then all of a sudden they've reappeared. 754 00:41:52.780 --> 00:41:56.000 And I love stuff like that, you know, discovering bands 755 00:41:56.019 --> 00:41:58.679 from all over the world. I think, you know, especially 756 00:41:58.699 --> 00:42:02.929 it's interesting. I find, I like a lot of Australian 757 00:42:02.989 --> 00:42:05.969 bands and I got a chance to meet one of 758 00:42:06.010 --> 00:42:11.400 my favorite bands, uh, Caligula's horse. And, um, we were 759 00:42:11.420 --> 00:42:14.739 just talking and I asked the question, do you feel 760 00:42:14.780 --> 00:42:19.690 like being in a place like Australia that is not connected, 761 00:42:19.849 --> 00:42:23.909 like Europe, everything's interconnected, and here in the States, all 762 00:42:23.929 --> 00:42:26.090 the states are certainly connected, but do you feel like 763 00:42:26.170 --> 00:42:30.170 being on an island in a way makes you create 764 00:42:30.610 --> 00:42:36.420 music that's generally less genre-specific and more like just your 765 00:42:36.539 --> 00:42:40.300 own little thing that you can't really pinpoint and pigeonhole 766 00:42:40.750 --> 00:42:42.829 into one category and that's much like making a lot 767 00:42:42.849 --> 00:42:45.530 of different wines you can't really and what was their 768 00:42:45.590 --> 00:42:49.510 answer they they they thought that absolutely and they said 769 00:42:49.530 --> 00:42:51.969 you know and australia is so big that if you're 770 00:42:51.989 --> 00:42:54.110 on the west coast of australia on the east coast 771 00:42:54.349 --> 00:42:58.530 of australia your influencer influences your musical influences can be 772 00:42:58.570 --> 00:43:00.110 completely different as well. 773 00:43:00.070 --> 00:43:02.409 And you're here in the diverse central coast so it's 774 00:43:02.449 --> 00:43:05.949 hard to yeah yeah Another benefit to not owning your 775 00:43:05.969 --> 00:43:11.670 own vineyard. Yes. So when you look back at your career, 776 00:43:12.449 --> 00:43:14.650 what would you say is one of your proudest achievements 777 00:43:15.210 --> 00:43:18.619 so far? Your entire career. 778 00:43:20.440 --> 00:43:25.280 I think it was when my father came out here. 779 00:43:25.300 --> 00:43:29.530 I want to say it's now two and a half 780 00:43:29.610 --> 00:43:32.530 or three years ago during harvest. And I got to 781 00:43:32.590 --> 00:43:36.110 take him out. and we went and picked up grapes 782 00:43:36.190 --> 00:43:39.829 together and we sorted grapes and he got to see 783 00:43:39.869 --> 00:43:41.969 the tasting room up and running and everything. Cause I 784 00:43:41.989 --> 00:43:45.039 think he was always very skeptical of this whole wine. 785 00:43:45.059 --> 00:43:49.940 You're like, what is he doing?

He was an accountant. 786 00:43:49.960 --> 00:43:51.019 He had a good job. 787 00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:54.420 As parents tend to be. Oh, they were like, you know, 788 00:43:54.440 --> 00:43:56.519 when I got into guitar as a kid, they, they 789 00:43:56.539 --> 00:43:58.179 were like, Oh my God, he's going to spend his 790 00:43:58.239 --> 00:44:00.429 life as like a ditch digger working, you know, on 791 00:44:00.449 --> 00:44:03.019 the highway or something or, And I'm like, no, this 792 00:44:03.079 --> 00:44:06.380 is just something that I enjoy doing. Don't worry, I'll 793 00:44:06.420 --> 00:44:09.780 find something. And this is just something new that I've 794 00:44:09.820 --> 00:44:13.590 found that I'm really passionate about. And my favorite thing 795 00:44:13.670 --> 00:44:16.349 is I get to do this for a living in 796 00:44:16.389 --> 00:44:21.650 a place that I love. And I'll echo my better 797 00:44:21.670 --> 00:44:26.079 half Tanya's kind of thing. It brings joy to people 798 00:44:26.119 --> 00:44:28.989 when they come wine tasting here. You always see people 799 00:44:29.590 --> 00:44:32.469 generally on their best days. They're having a good time. 800 00:44:33.159 --> 00:44:35.480 She used to work as a firefighter, paramedic. 801 00:44:35.659 --> 00:44:35.900 Wow. 802 00:44:36.300 --> 00:44:40.440 And she's like, I saw people on their worst days typically. 803 00:44:41.179 --> 00:44:43.460 And here I get to see people on their best days. 804 00:44:43.480 --> 00:44:46.969 It's great. And it's like, yeah, that's, I mean, what 805 00:44:47.010 --> 00:44:50.369 a joy. You get to do something that's bringing joy 806 00:44:50.409 --> 00:44:54.090 to others. And if you like what you're doing, what 807 00:44:54.170 --> 00:44:56.829 more could you want from a career? Yeah. Yes, there's 808 00:44:56.849 --> 00:44:58.449 no money in it. I can tell you that. 809 00:45:02.469 --> 00:45:04.250 But you're happy. 810 00:45:04.289 --> 00:45:09.710 I'm not about to retire anytime soon. But I can 811 00:45:10.050 --> 00:45:12.690 make do for us and we can live where we 812 00:45:12.730 --> 00:45:14.949 love and eat good food and drink good wine. At 813 00:45:16.510 --> 00:45:22.239 this point in life, accumulating stuff is really not interesting. 814 00:45:22.699 --> 00:45:28.119 I'd rather... explore other parts of the world here and there. And, and, uh, 815 00:45:28.650 --> 00:45:30.769 to me, that's part of the beauty of wine too, 816 00:45:30.829 --> 00:45:34.309 is like you can open a bottle from Italy, like 817 00:45:34.349 --> 00:45:38.710 from Sicily. It's got a little bit of that volcanic 818 00:45:38.829 --> 00:45:42.409 dirt in it. Like there are just certain things, or 819 00:45:42.489 --> 00:45:44.280 if you've ever been to a part of the world 820 00:45:44.340 --> 00:45:47.400 and you, you open a bottle that you had brought 821 00:45:47.480 --> 00:45:49.980 back from there 10 years later, it takes you back there. 822 00:45:50.039 -->

00:45:51.820 So you can try, in a way you can almost 823 00:45:51.909 --> 00:45:55.530 travel the world or the state or whatever in a glass. 824 00:45:55.610 --> 00:45:58.349 And that's kind of, to me, kind of cool too. 825 00:45:59.289 --> 00:46:01.429 Is there a piece of advice anyone gave you along 826 00:46:01.469 --> 00:46:04.250 the way that you have found is, uh, something you 827 00:46:04.289 --> 00:46:07.250 carry with you or how you approach life or work or. 828 00:46:08.650 --> 00:46:11.269 I don't, I don't think it was given. It was 829 00:46:11.329 --> 00:46:14.409 given to me in a very strange way. And that 830 00:46:14.650 --> 00:46:19.389 is adapt to change, be able to adapt to change 831 00:46:19.449 --> 00:46:23.800 because life, is always changing and throwing you curveballs and 832 00:46:23.860 --> 00:46:28.659 everything else. And for me as a kid, even when 833 00:46:28.760 --> 00:46:30.659 we lived in Germany, my dad took a job in 834 00:46:30.699 --> 00:46:32.639 Sweden for six months. So we moved to Sweden. So 835 00:46:32.659 --> 00:46:34.760 all of a sudden I was trying to learn Swedish. 836 00:46:35.300 --> 00:46:37.130 And then we moved back to Germany. And then a 837 00:46:37.159 --> 00:46:39.070 year later, we went to the United States and I 838 00:46:39.090 --> 00:46:41.130 had to learn a new language there. And so I 839 00:46:41.150 --> 00:46:44.050 ended up going to, and then we moved around the States. 840 00:46:44.130 --> 00:46:47.250 I went to four different elementary schools overall. So I 841 00:46:47.289 --> 00:46:51.969 had to adapt to different schools, different teaching methods, different friends, 842 00:46:52.050 --> 00:46:56.670 making friends every time. Thankfully, I only went to one 843 00:46:56.710 --> 00:47:00.070 middle school and then three different high schools, again, just 844 00:47:00.429 --> 00:47:05.320 for job-related reasons. And high school is really tough because, 845 00:47:05.340 --> 00:47:08.039 you know, there's cliques that form and everything. And, you know, 846 00:47:08.079 --> 00:47:11.800 joining a high school your senior year, brand new, you know, 847 00:47:12.239 --> 00:47:14.440 is not the easiest thing. But I think by that time, 848 00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:17.619 I had gone through so much change that I was 849 00:47:18.239 --> 00:47:20.679 you know, able to just figure it out. And it's, uh, 850 00:47:21.400 --> 00:47:25.500 as much, I became a single full-time single parent relatively 851 00:47:25.579 --> 00:47:30.090 early on in my adult years. And yeah, there's no 852 00:47:30.179 --> 00:47:32.489 book that could, no book can prepare you for being 853 00:47:32.530 --> 00:47:36.909 a parent period, but let alone a full-time single father, 854 00:47:36.929 --> 00:47:40.769 you know, to two kids and, you know, you just 855 00:47:40.849 --> 00:47:42.869 have to figure it out and you got to make 856 00:47:42.929 --> 00:47:45.289 do and you got to, you got to make choices 857 00:47:45.349 --> 00:47:47.760 and you got to make some sacrifices. I never I 858 00:47:47.800 --> 00:47:50.639 never took a chance like moving to California when they 859 00:47:50.659 --> 00:47:53.340 were little. I never took a chance of taking a 860 00:47:53.440 --> 00:47:57.030 better job in real estate because I needed that steady. 861 00:47:57.110 --> 00:47:59.670 I knew I needed that steadiness for them, which I 862 00:47:59.710 --> 00:48:01.809 kind of wanted to provide, too, because I didn't have 863 00:48:01.849 --> 00:48:05.360 a lot of that steadiness. Yeah. Yeah. So I wanted to. 864 00:48:05.980 --> 00:48:08.920 have them go to the same school district for, for 865 00:48:08.960 --> 00:48:09.780 most of their lives. 866 00:48:09.840 --> 00:48:13.019 For somebody who has learned to adapt, you wanted stability 867 00:48:13.079 --> 00:48:14.570 for others. 868 00:48:14.590 --> 00:48:17.090 Like I knew how, I knew how much harder that 869 00:48:17.170 --> 00:48:17.579 made it. 870 00:48:17.730 --> 00:48:18.010 Yeah. 871 00:48:18.210 --> 00:48:21.429 But in hindsight, it also, you know, forged me and 872 00:48:21.530 --> 00:48:24.690 gave me the ability to cope with that. And that's 873 00:48:24.730 --> 00:48:26.900 like when I, when I moved here, I didn't know anybody. 874 00:48:27.539 --> 00:48:30.170 I just, It was just like changing schools. Like, I'll 875 00:48:30.210 --> 00:48:31.369 just figure it out. Right. 876 00:48:31.469 --> 00:48:34.130 And opening up a tasting room when COVID hits. I mean, 877 00:48:34.489 --> 00:48:39.449 you figure it out. And here you are today. Afterwards. So, 878 00:48:40.309 --> 00:48:43.760 complete this sentence for me. A table without wine is like? 879 00:48:46.880 --> 00:48:50.980 It's not a table. You know, wine is something that 880 00:48:51.139 --> 00:48:54.400 keeps you at the table long after the meal is gone. Like, 881 00:48:54.420 --> 00:48:57.929 there's nothing better than just, you know, Pour in that 882 00:48:58.030 --> 00:49:01.960 second glass even when you're done eating. And just sitting 883 00:49:01.980 --> 00:49:04.239 there and talking to the person, the people that you're 884 00:49:04.260 --> 00:49:07.880 at the table with. I mean, look at the Europeans. 885 00:49:07.940 --> 00:49:14.210 I mean, that's a thing. They're happy. They're healthy. That's 886 00:49:14.250 --> 00:49:21.619 an important social aspect, that communication aspect. And I don't 887 00:49:21.639 --> 00:49:24.619 think there's any other beverage that really does that. Wine 888 00:49:24.679 --> 00:49:25.179 does that. 889 00:49:25.760 --> 00:49:26.219 I agree. 890 00:49:26.239 --> 00:49:26.840 I agree. 891 00:49:27.389 --> 00:49:29.489 So we're sitting at a table and there's an empty 892 00:49:29.530 --> 00:49:31.630 seat next to you. Your bottles are on the table. 893 00:49:32.309 --> 00:49:34.469 Who from any walk of life, living or deceased, do 894 00:49:34.489 --> 00:49:36.829 you wish you could share a bottle

of Absolution Cellars with? 895 00:49:38.860 --> 00:49:45.690 Um, Oh, that's, that's tough. Um, Will Ferrell, but he 896 00:49:45.750 --> 00:49:47.530 has to be in the anchorman character. 897 00:49:51.630 --> 00:49:54.750 Okay. I have never heard that one before. 898 00:49:54.809 --> 00:49:57.750 I like that. Okay. 899 00:49:58.349 --> 00:50:02.139 So it's been such a pleasure talking to you and 900 00:50:02.159 --> 00:50:04.260 we can keep going, but we're kind of to the 901 00:50:04.380 --> 00:50:06.659 end of my questions and I have just a few 902 00:50:06.760 --> 00:50:12.010 more questions for you, which is, If you were being 903 00:50:12.090 --> 00:50:15.469 sent off to a deserted island, I mean, weather conditions 904 00:50:15.530 --> 00:50:18.090 are ideal. What three wines would you want to take 905 00:50:18.130 --> 00:50:22.090 with you? What I'm saying is you can have electricity, 906 00:50:22.289 --> 00:50:25.690 air conditioning. We're not talking about a deserted hot island. 907 00:50:25.710 --> 00:50:26.829 So any three wines. 908 00:50:26.849 --> 00:50:28.300 How much of those three wines? 909 00:50:28.389 --> 00:50:30.460 Unlimited amounts, but just three wines. 910 00:50:30.579 --> 00:50:40.050 Okay. Oh, this is a good question. 911 00:50:41.110 --> 00:50:43.289 In that whole world of wine, how do you narrow 912 00:50:43.349 --> 00:50:43.730 it down? 913 00:50:44.929 --> 00:50:47.780 Especially for somebody who likes so many different wines, three 914 00:50:47.840 --> 00:50:50.280 is a really tough... I know one is going to 915 00:50:50.340 --> 00:50:58.519 be a well-aged Hansel Pinot. One of my favorite places 916 00:50:58.639 --> 00:51:03.139 on this planet to go visit. There's so much history there, 917 00:51:03.199 --> 00:51:06.670 and it's just gorgeous, and the wines are phenomenal, and 918 00:51:06.690 --> 00:51:09.340 there are other people... group that takes their farming to 919 00:51:09.389 --> 00:51:14.050 the next level. That's definitely one of them. I'd want 920 00:51:14.070 --> 00:51:16.789 to take one of my own wines, but now that 921 00:51:16.829 --> 00:51:21.050 makes a tough choice. I've already chosen a red, but 922 00:51:21.090 --> 00:51:25.349 it's a light red. Do I go bold red? I 923 00:51:25.369 --> 00:51:26.829 think I would bring my Cabernet Franc. 924 00:51:27.010 --> 00:51:30.570 I would hope, since... It's the favorite child. 925 00:51:30.590 --> 00:51:40.590 You've got to bring the favorite child. Oh... Probably a 926 00:51:40.650 --> 00:51:43.150 Chave Hermitage Blanc. Okay. 927 00:51:43.769 --> 00:51:48.099 Yeah, because why not? Why not? In the age well. 928 00:51:48.119 --> 00:51:48.880 In the age well, yes. 929 00:51:48.960 --> 00:51:53.980 In the desert. So our last little game that we 930 00:51:54.000 --> 00:51:56.239 always play is about pairing wine with music. You clearly 931 00:51:56.280 --> 00:51:59.820 have expressed your interest in music. It should be interesting 932 00:51:59.860 --> 00:52:05.690 with your eclectic taste and knowledge of wine. very eclectic 933 00:52:05.730 --> 00:52:08.369 bands from around the world, um, what you'll pair. And 934 00:52:08.409 --> 00:52:11.489 I think also, you know, if people see your labels, 935 00:52:11.550 --> 00:52:16.340 as you described before, they're very, um, vibrant, colorful, they're 936 00:52:16.380 --> 00:52:20.019 busy because they're, they're artworks on the label. So that 937 00:52:20.079 --> 00:52:22.969 in itself is, is a story. So, um, let's see 938 00:52:22.989 --> 00:52:25.090 if we can be kind of brief as you tell 939 00:52:25.110 --> 00:52:27.829 me a little bit about the, what the label represents 940 00:52:27.889 --> 00:52:30.889 and then the song or genre or musician that would 941 00:52:31.210 --> 00:52:34.599 represent the style of the wine. So, um, I've been 942 00:52:34.639 --> 00:52:36.699 sipping the, what have I been sipping? 943 00:52:37.119 --> 00:52:37.699 Verdello. 944 00:52:37.719 --> 00:52:38.539 The Verdello. 945 00:52:38.639 --> 00:52:38.780 Yes. 946 00:52:38.800 --> 00:52:40.090 So let's talk about the Verdello. 947 00:52:40.110 --> 00:52:43.769 So Verdello originated on the island of Madeira. The first 948 00:52:44.030 --> 00:52:46.650 Portuguese explorers that found the island off the coast of 949 00:52:46.730 --> 00:52:49.570 West Africa were amazed how lush and green it was. 950 00:52:49.630 --> 00:52:52.630 And Madeira kind of means lush green forest. And on 951 00:52:52.650 --> 00:52:57.929 the label, we have a beautiful lush green forest, which, 952 00:52:58.590 --> 00:53:05.500 you know, Oh, what would I be listening to in 953 00:53:05.519 --> 00:53:07.820 the forest? I feel like it has to be some 954 00:53:07.880 --> 00:53:08.780 Jethro Tull. 955 00:53:09.099 --> 00:53:09.800 Okay. 956 00:53:09.920 --> 00:53:10.900 Songs from the wood. 957 00:53:11.219 --> 00:53:14.320 Okay. What about your Albarino? 958 00:53:16.059 --> 00:53:18.579 Albarino is a bit of a, more of a party. 959 00:53:19.920 --> 00:53:23.469 Albarino has a rooster on it. The Basalis rooster has 960 00:53:23.489 --> 00:53:27.829 a lot of cultural significance in Portugal and Spain and 961 00:53:28.989 --> 00:53:31.269 rose up from the ashes to save an innocent man 962 00:53:31.309 --> 00:53:34.230 from the gallows poles. That's kind of like the Portuguese Phoenix. 963 00:53:34.289 --> 00:53:37.929 There's paintings and statues of this rooster everywhere for good 964 00:53:37.969 --> 00:53:40.750 luck and good fortune. So it'd have to be something 965 00:53:40.769 --> 00:53:46.050 kind of upbeat. I've been really into this UK band 966 00:53:46.110 --> 00:53:49.510 called South Arcade, and they're kind of like, they're bringing 967 00:53:49.570 --> 00:53:54.949 the 2000s back in a kind of a, if Britney 968 00:53:55.010 --> 00:54:00.389 Spears went a little bit more alt style, Okay. A 969 00:54:00.800 --> 00:54:05.260 little bit into metal, but not really very far. It's 970

00:54:05.300 --> 00:54:09.360 more like poppy, but rocky, but just really kind of 971 00:54:09.440 --> 00:54:13.380 fun and bright and happy and upbeat. Okay. 972 00:54:13.800 --> 00:54:16.480 And then the one with the cat on the label, 973 00:54:16.500 --> 00:54:18.519 is that the Trebiano? No. 974 00:54:18.840 --> 00:54:19.780 That's the Orinto. 975 00:54:19.860 --> 00:54:20.969 The Orinto. 976 00:54:21.250 --> 00:54:24.070 Which we couldn't call Orinto because the U.S. government doesn't 977 00:54:24.150 --> 00:54:26.519 recognize it. As I found out when I. 978 00:54:26.510 --> 00:54:27.309 That's the white blend. 979 00:54:27.710 --> 00:54:28.750 No, it's not a white blend. 980 00:54:28.789 --> 00:54:29.429 What do you call it? 981 00:54:29.909 --> 00:54:33.400 So I call it felicidade. Felicidade. Which means joy, bliss, 982 00:54:33.440 --> 00:54:37.199 and happiness in Portuguese. So there's another happy one. So 983 00:54:37.219 --> 00:54:39.699 what would I... What else would I pair with that? 984 00:54:44.769 --> 00:54:48.829 That's a tough one. That's two... Two really bright and 985 00:54:48.929 --> 00:54:57.719 happy things. Oh... I feel like maybe like some of the, 986 00:54:58.460 --> 00:55:03.420 like Jason Mraz did that duet with Colby Calais. Lucky, 987 00:55:03.599 --> 00:55:06.739 I think it was called. It was like a breath 988 00:55:06.780 --> 00:55:09.150 of fresh air and just really kind of, yeah. 989 00:55:09.510 --> 00:55:13.110 Okay, the Syrah that you would be giving the space aliens? 990 00:55:13.929 --> 00:55:19.260 Oh, we're definitely going metal with that. But proggy metal, 991 00:55:19.300 --> 00:55:22.739 so I think Caligula's Horse would be a strong... Strong 992 00:55:22.820 --> 00:55:25.239 front runner for that one. I think the aliens would 993 00:55:25.260 --> 00:55:26.679 enjoy some Caligula's horse. 994 00:55:27.059 --> 00:55:29.039 And now I'm going to end. The last one we'll 995 00:55:29.079 --> 00:55:30.780 do is your beloved Cap Franc. 996 00:55:37.760 --> 00:55:41.630 There was this really cool band when I was just 997 00:55:41.769 --> 00:55:44.309 ending college in the 80s. And they were on MTV 998 00:55:44.329 --> 00:55:48.050 a little bit called the Dan Reed Network. And they 999 00:55:48.090 --> 00:55:51.250 were rock, but they had a funk aspect to them. 1000 00:55:52.019 --> 00:55:54.409 And not like the Chili Peppers. They were like a 1001 00:55:54.610 --> 00:55:58.309 little more rock-based, but they had a couple of tunes 1002 00:55:58.349 --> 00:56:04.590 that were just really kind of got the dance floor moving. Okay. Nice. 1003 00:56:04.630 --> 00:56:06.150 Well, you have 20 wines, but we don't have time 1004 00:56:06.190 --> 00:56:08.050 to go through 20 wines. But still, that was good. 1005 00:56:08.110 --> 00:56:10.869 I mean, I like that. Well, thank you. My last 1006 00:56:10.929 --> 00:56:14.269 question is a two-part. The first is, you said you 1007 00:56:14.289 --> 00:56:18.070 like to

travel. You guys are into cruising now. There 1008 00:56:18.090 --> 00:56:19.969 are a lot of rivers you can cruise that are 1009 00:56:20.010 --> 00:56:22.980 wine regions. I'm curious, what wine region is the top 1010 00:56:23.019 --> 00:56:24.300 of your bucket list to explore? 1011 00:56:25.840 --> 00:56:29.519 I feel like I've been to Bordeaux, but I feel 1012 00:56:29.559 --> 00:56:32.320 like I'd be doing a disservice to the Rhone to 1013 00:56:32.360 --> 00:56:35.539 not have actually gone there, especially since some of my 1014 00:56:35.579 --> 00:56:39.690 cuttings come from there that I'm working with and stuff. So, uh, 1015 00:56:39.739 --> 00:56:45.460 that's definitely up there. Uh, I've done the Danube, um, 1016 00:56:45.800 --> 00:56:48.960 which was beautiful. And yeah, I love like some of the, 1017 00:56:49.119 --> 00:56:53.940 those crazy terraced Austrian vineyards in the Wachau and places 1018 00:56:54.000 --> 00:56:58.940 like that. Super cool. Um, the Rhine for, you know, 1019 00:56:59.199 --> 00:57:01.860 I haven't, I haven't really been to Germany as a tourist. 1020 00:57:01.920 --> 00:57:04.159 I would always go back to see relatives, but they've 1021 00:57:04.179 --> 00:57:08.059 all passed on now. So I'd love to go back 1022 00:57:08.119 --> 00:57:14.449 as a tourist again. And the Douro. I do love 1023 00:57:14.489 --> 00:57:20.110 Portuguese varieties. I think they are vastly underplanted and underrepresented here. 1024 00:57:21.829 --> 00:57:24.139 Not just the whites, but the reds too. There's some 1025 00:57:24.219 --> 00:57:27.460 fantastic grapes out there that I think would grow really 1026 00:57:27.500 --> 00:57:31.030 well here. But I think the challenge with that, and 1027 00:57:31.050 --> 00:57:34.110 I understand it from both a farming and a winery standpoint, 1028 00:57:34.170 --> 00:57:38.630 is ultimately you've got to educate a consumer. It's much 1029 00:57:38.769 --> 00:57:42.440 easier to plant more Chardonnay and Pinot and Cabernet Sauvignon 1030 00:57:42.460 --> 00:57:44.460 than it is Alfa Tauru. 1031 00:57:45.480 --> 00:57:47.239 They don't know how to pronounce it. 1032 00:57:47.880 --> 00:57:50.659 Even I'm not sure if that's the correct pronunciation. But 1033 00:57:50.679 --> 00:57:52.389 it makes for a really lovely wine. 1034 00:57:54.480 --> 00:57:57.019 Well, so there's a whole world to explore. Now, for you, 1035 00:57:57.079 --> 00:57:59.219 on the other hand, if someone wants to come visit you, 1036 00:57:59.400 --> 00:58:02.880 you are sort of a gem in the middle of 1037 00:58:03.820 --> 00:58:07.340 a boardwalk here. Where can people find you? How can 1038 00:58:07.380 --> 00:58:08.880 they find you? And what will they find when they 1039 00:58:08.920 --> 00:58:09.179 get here? 1040 00:58:10.179 --> 00:58:14.400 You can find us at 845 Embarcadero, Suites G and H, 1041 00:58:15.079 --> 00:58:20.039 since our expansion last year. We are open six days 1042 00:58:20.079 --> 00:58:24.420

a week. We're usually closed on Tuesdays, but if I'm 1043 00:58:24.480 --> 00:58:26.679 not doing anything, I'll open the door on a Tuesday 1044 00:58:26.719 --> 00:58:29.380 and be down here myself. I call it the winemaker Tuesdays. 1045 00:58:30.300 --> 00:58:33.829 So it's usually in our newsletter. So, um, get on 1046 00:58:33.889 --> 00:58:38.590 our mailing list, absolutionsellers.com. Um, our wines are available in 1047 00:58:38.590 --> 00:58:42.989 40 States. We have permits to do that, um, directly 1048 00:58:43.030 --> 00:58:46.010 through our website and we're running a $ 15 flat rate 1049 00:58:46.070 --> 00:58:48.639 ship ship special all through the summer because shipping has 1050 00:58:48.659 --> 00:58:51.579 gotten so expensive and, We want to do our part 1051 00:58:51.639 --> 00:58:53.539 to help get our wines in the hands of people 1052 00:58:53.559 --> 00:58:56.659 because people need wine during these times more so than ever. 1053 00:58:56.679 --> 00:59:03.469 Yeah, and we're here down on the boardwalk. So, I mean, 1054 00:59:03.710 --> 00:59:05.869 you're the only tasting room here. So people can come 1055 00:59:05.909 --> 00:59:07.969 down and they can shop. They can eat good seafood. 1056 00:59:10.460 --> 00:59:12.860 Well, the great thing about making so many different wines 1057 00:59:12.920 --> 00:59:16.400 and actually now having two spaces that are adjoined is 1058 00:59:16.420 --> 00:59:19.320 we do two entirely different tasting flights. So we have 1059 00:59:19.340 --> 00:59:21.889 our classic tasting flights. Those are kind of six of 1060 00:59:21.969 --> 00:59:25.269 our best sellers. It's $ 25 for a tasting flight. We 1061 00:59:25.309 --> 00:59:27.610 waive that with a $ 50 purchase. We don't make you 1062 00:59:27.650 --> 00:59:30.869 buy three bottles or anything like that. And then we 1063 00:59:30.909 --> 00:59:33.380 do the rare and reserve tasting flight in the other room. 1064 00:59:33.969 --> 00:59:37.539 Those are our reserve wines and generally our new releases. 1065 00:59:37.599 --> 00:59:39.239 A lot of the club members love to come and 1066 00:59:39.320 --> 00:59:42.679 taste the new releases and the reserve wines. But the 1067 00:59:42.719 --> 00:59:46.460 general public can too. And that's $ 35 for a tasting 1068 00:59:46.500 --> 00:59:52.190 of six wines. And that's waived with a $ 70 purchase. 1069 00:59:52.489 --> 00:59:54.090 Super affordable ways to taste. 1070 00:59:54.610 --> 00:59:57.449 And you can... I always said it would be great 1071 00:59:57.510 --> 00:59:58.869 if we had a bunch of tasting rooms here in 1072 00:59:58.909 --> 01:00:00.750 Morro Bay. People could make a day of wine tasting 1073 01:00:00.769 --> 01:00:02.880 in Morro Bay. But you can come to Morro Bay 1074 01:00:03.570 --> 01:00:06.219 and do two different wine tastings. You can taste the 1075 01:00:06.260 --> 01:00:08.780 classic menu. And then the reserve. You can go have 1076 01:00:08.820 --> 01:00:11.840 a great lunch or afternoon snack at one of our 1077 01:00:11.940 --> 01:00:15.460 fabulous waterfront restaurants, get some fresh seafood, come back and 1078 01:00:15.480 --> 01:00:17.860 do the rare and reserve. And we have people do that. 1079 01:00:18.449 --> 01:00:20.750 Or they'll share a classic tasting, and then they'll come 1080 01:00:20.789 --> 01:00:22.769 and share a rare and reserve tasting. That's wonderful. 1081 01:00:22.829 --> 01:00:24.309 I mean, you know, one-stop shopping. 1082 01:00:24.329 --> 01:00:27.730 Exactly. Exactly. And you know, the beauty of Morro Bay 1083 01:00:27.750 --> 01:00:30.570 is it's not just wine. There's so many other things 1084 01:00:30.630 --> 01:00:32.710 to do. We've got the Tiki cruise that goes out 1085 01:00:32.730 --> 01:00:35.510 of here. We've got amazing whale watching cruises every day. 1086 01:00:35.530 --> 01:00:39.210 I see the videos from their, from their Instagram and 1087 01:00:39.230 --> 01:00:42.239 they're seeing just amazing things out there on the ocean. 1088 01:00:42.679 --> 01:00:46.900 There's kayaking, there's paddle boarding. There's just walk. The city 1089 01:00:46.920 --> 01:00:50.960 of Morro Bay has basically demanded that you are able 1090 01:00:51.019 --> 01:00:54.880 to walk as a normal person along the waterfront that the, 1091 01:00:55.340 --> 01:00:58.199 Businesses can't block the waterfront, so you can walk almost 1092 01:00:58.260 --> 01:01:02.099 the entire Embarcadero out to the rock without ever having 1093 01:01:02.199 --> 01:01:06.349 to leave the water, which is super cool. That's amazing. 1094 01:01:06.409 --> 01:01:08.630 So, I mean, it's really worth taking a trip here. 1095 01:01:08.969 --> 01:01:12.250 We're on the coast. We're not far from Paso Robles. 1096 01:01:12.269 --> 01:01:13.789 We're just, what, 20 minutes? 1097 01:01:13.789 --> 01:01:15.030 30 minutes. 1098 01:01:15.030 --> 01:01:17.909 30 minutes from Paso Robles. So if you're driving up 1099 01:01:17.949 --> 01:01:20.349 the coast or driving down the coast, stop in Morro Bay. 1100 01:01:21.329 --> 01:01:23.070 You know, go down to the beach, stop for some 1101 01:01:23.110 --> 01:01:25.730 wine at Absolution. And Dirk, thank you so much for 1102 01:01:25.769 --> 01:01:27.510 joining us today. It's been really fun chatting with you. 1103 01:01:28.429 --> 01:01:30.809 I've enjoyed this as well. I could go on and 1104 01:01:30.869 --> 01:01:34.360 on and on, but our time has reached an end. 1105 01:01:34.389 --> 01:01:35.699 That's right. So cheers. 1106 01:01:35.820 --> 01:01:37.099 I will say cheers to you. 1107 01:01:38.840 --> 01:01:42.480 Thanks for listening to a new episode of Wine Soundtrack USA. 1108 01:01:42.539 --> 01:01:46.480 For details and updates, visit our website, winesoundtrack.com.