Twenty years as the Publisher of Flying Adventures magazine (a Lifestyle Travel Magazine for people who own and travel on private airplanes, and are Food & Wine Connoisseurs), which has lead him to the most amazing wine experiences.
"I have been fortunate to taste some of the best wines ever produced, enjoyed dinners and detailed discussions with very famous winemakers and vintners, in their homes, wineries, special wine events, auctions, and I have made wine with them, made my own wine, and have participated in blind tastings, food & wine pairings with celebrity chefs. I am traveling the world Exploring Wine Regions, finding interesting and unusual wine experiences, an insiders concierge to share special and hard to find gems and travel experiences with you."
So what does he really know? Well he loves wine, and loves travel! And knows enough to know where to look, and what to look for! He’s traveling the world Exploring Wine Regions, finding interesting and unusual wine experiences, he’s an insiders concierge to share special and hard to find gems and travel experiences with you.
As manager of communications for the Wine Institute, a nonprofit advocacy association of more than 1,100 California wineries and affiliated businesses, Gladys Horiuchi spends her time thinking of ways to promote California wineries and wine (How hard can that be?) And as a communicator for the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, she also helps encourage the adoption of environmentally friendly winegrowing and winemaking practices.
“I studied to be an English and journalism teacher for junior high or high school,” says the Mill Valley resident. “And I actually taught for six months when an English teacher left on maternity leave mid-year.” But Horiuchi’s career led her down a different path instead.
“I’m a firm believer that great wines come from great fruit,” said Alex Szabo, whose eponymous winery offers tastes in a stylish spot on Nevada City’s strip. Unlike many of his blend-friendly neighbors, Szabo makes single varietal wines that he believes reflects his European-oriented palate. “I consider myself a purist,” explained Szabo, whose Hungarian roots, expertise in five languages, and time spent working around the Eastern Bloc countries honed his wine sense. “I just want to be amongst the best at what I do.”
Szabo calls this smoky, soy-inflected bottle his “velvet hammer,” and it doesn’t fail to arrest your senses with a serious but supple mouthfeel and perfectly pleasant flavors. $24
I like talking to strangers, dogs with beards, hair braids, flat caps, patterns on patterns, Robyn, cheese and crisp baguettes that crumb all over your clothes. I like cider that tastes like dirty earth and wines that taste like tear drops and soft waves, purple marker and fistfulls of herbs.
I am a Toronto city girl through and through. Keep your mountains and give me urban parks & winding alleys.
After university, I fled to France (#thedream) because cheese, bread, men and wine.
I worked for a fancy negociant making labels, translating websites, learning French swears and tasting expensive things. Croissants, velour and hunting trips were fun, but what I really wanted was to stomp grapes, drive tractors, wear overalls and dress like a boy.
Dreams of the land lead me to Australia because they have so much of it. I worked a vintage in Clare Valley, a small town two hours north of Adelaide with more millipedes than people. I drove machines I had no right to drive, cleaned barrels, shovelled grapes and met hilarious grape pickers from around the world.
I moved back to Toronto and spent 3 years selling badass wine to badass people, while completing my French Wine Scholar certification, finishing my WSET Diploma (so close) and traveling most places they make great wine.
Work asked me to move to Vancouver and I said yes, because beauty and weather and adventure and fear.
Lucero Vineyards & Winery is owned by Dan and Marian Lucero on family owned property dating back to 1906. We are located in Dobbins, California; 72 miles northeast of Sacramento in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.
Years prior to the vineyards being planted, our family ran cattle and farmed these gentle slopes amongst the Ponderosa Pine trees. Since then, we have looked for other uses of our land.
After his retirement as a teacher, Dan & Marian decided to start a vineyard. They and their children took many viniculture classes at U.C. Davis and with their four daughters and their families, hand planted the first vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay rootstock in 1993. The Merlot field followed in 1997 hand planted with potted bench grafts.
These estate vineyards produce small crops of intensely flavored grapes. The combination of warm days, cool nights and rich red clay soil contributes to our deep color, elegant flavors and full-bodied wines.
Our emphasis is on growing and making limited production, ultra premium wines. We take pride in our wines and look forward to you experiencing our variety of wines.
Before founding Grey Fox Vineyards in 1996, the Arrigoni and Cecchi families spent much of their free time pursuing their passion for flying small planes. It was on these getaways that conversations turned to dreams of planting a vineyard and building a winery. Bruce's family had a tradition of making wine at home and Gary had a good chemistry background. A seed was planted and it began to take hold.
They all sought out viticulture courses at U.C. Davis and committed themselves to a new passion--winegrowing. While Bruce, Gary and Jeanne are involved in the vineyard and winery operations, Pat is busy handling sales and wine tasting events. Their goal is to create high quality wine by constantly overseeing and improving their vineyard to produce great fruit.
Come visit Grey Fox and share in the fulfillment and pride of this incredible endeavor. Taste the premium wines and you'll understand why winemaking has become their ultimate passion.
Alison Kero grew up with 2 different organizational styles being modeled to her. One parent was precision neat while the other was a pack rat. Through her teenage and college years Alison lived more like her pack rat parent but when she became an adult and started living on her own, she searched for systems that allowed her to easily get and stay organized.
When Alison became a decluttering expert in 2004, she continued her search for the best productivity and organizational practices. However, it wasn't until 2015 while recovering from an illness that she discovered what the process was trying to show her. Clutter wasn't just physical, it was emotional and spiritual as well. However, by starting with the physical clutter and using the 5 Main Organizational Steps, she was able to start transforming her life in a truly meaningful way and she also found that as the physical clutter left her life, the emotional and spiritual clutter were easier to identify and remove as well. Suddenly she felt she was living an easier, happier, more authentic life. In fact, Alison found that her health, happiness and productivity levels were all rising when she stuck to the Main 5 and that they were particularly helpful during times of stress or when she could feel herself wanting to self-sabotage the positive changes she was making. She has continued working the process ever since and is now happily sharing her methods with her clients.
Mitch and Tracey took over the daily operations of the ranch in 1999 and began to plan the vineyard. The vines were planted in 2001 and the first release, the 2004, was met with an International Gold Medal. It was important to the family that they maintain the original feel of the property. Lake County is still Cowboy country and Hawk and Horse Vineyards takes advantage of a local work force of young men and women – true cowboys and girls - who understand the value of a good day’s work.
The rustic elegance of El Roble Grande has been maintained in the development of Hawk and Horse Vineyards. The tasting room is in a part of the former horse trainer’s residence and is kept as a tack room with antique saddles, tack and memorabilia from the property’s storied past. The horse pastures now house a handful of American Saddlebred and American Quarter Horses which the family uses to ride the fence line and for play at amateur rodeo events. Some of the pasture land is also home to Scottish Highlander Cattle which provide the necessary elements of the biodynamic farming used in the growing of Hawk and Horse Vineyards wine.
The majority of vineyard preparations are made on site – compost and manure are vital ingredients. The vineyard is also home to a large number of Red-Tail Hawks who help keep rodent populations in check. A visit to Hawk and Horse Vineyards is a step back to the gracious ranching life and family-based hospitality of a bygone era.
Mitch and Tracey took over the daily operations of the ranch in 1999 and began to plan the vineyard. The vines were planted in 2001 and the first release, the 2004, was met with an International Gold Medal. It was important to the family that they maintain the original feel of the property. Lake County is still Cowboy country and Hawk and Horse Vineyards takes advantage of a local work force of young men and women – true cowboys and girls - who understand the value of a good day’s work.
The rustic elegance of El Roble Grande has been maintained in the development of Hawk and Horse Vineyards. The tasting room is in a part of the former horse trainer’s residence and is kept as a tack room with antique saddles, tack and memorabilia from the property’s storied past. The horse pastures now house a handful of American Saddlebred and American Quarter Horses which the family uses to ride the fence line and for play at amateur rodeo events. Some of the pasture land is also home to Scottish Highlander Cattle which provide the necessary elements of the biodynamic farming used in the growing of Hawk and Horse Vineyards wine.
The majority of vineyard preparations are made on site – compost and manure are vital ingredients. The vineyard is also home to a large number of Red-Tail Hawks who help keep rodent populations in check. A visit to Hawk and Horse Vineyards is a step back to the gracious ranching life and family-based hospitality of a bygone era.
Michael's expertise in the world of food and drink are unrivaled. He is a highly sought-after personality at corporate events and on national television, with numerous appearances on MSNBC, CNN, The Today Show, and The Food Network.
He is the creator and host of the web series The Wine Hero and serves at as the food, drink and travel consultant to Departures Magazine.
Let Michael harness the power of wine to build unforgettable experiences for your business with carefully curated food and wine experiences, wine country tours, and private concierge services.
Looking to bring something different to a short evening with coworkers, an extended corporate retreat, a high-level meeting, or an employee incentive program? Michael’s extensive knowledge will ignite your audience! His close relationships with wineries, restaurants, and world-renowned chefs will provide you with all of the resources you need to create an event that will resonate for years to come.
When working with Michael, you will not only receive his services as a food and drink expert; you will receive a detail-oriented and research-based strategy for your entire event. Michael and his team will craft resonating experiences, exciting wine pairings, detailed travel plans, sensible event strategies, and carefully chosen entertainment programs that will flow seamlessly and effortlessly. They work to ensure that the only thing you have to focus on is enjoying yourself.
With a winning combination of wine, experiential marketing, and theater, Michael creates a perfect experience that will always leave you, your colleagues, and clients wanting more.
Jeff Cohn Cellars is a premier urban based winery
located in historic Jack London Square in Oakland, California.
they specialize in, and produce small lot single vineyard wines
as well as Rhone inspired red and white blends.
Adam Nelson, successful Tech entreprenuer says, "we make wine in Oakland California, with grapes from Sonoma, Napa, and the Central Coast. We have deep relationships with our growers (some of the best in California). They grow grapes in the same way we make wine – with their hands. People ask "where are your vineyards?" Simple answer – we don't own any vineyards, which enables us to keep our eye on the wine. When we find a vineyard with exceptional fruit - we pounce on it. We're good at making wine, which makes its way to our Oakland winery an hour after we manage the pick. We're urban, but not in a "we're urban" way".
Two Mile Wines is named after the two-mile area around UC Berkeley where the sale of alcohol was prohibited in the late 1800’s after a delegation of state legislators visited and witnessed some unruly undergraduates returning from a drinking ‘bout…
new head winemaker, Zoe Schmitz, who most recently worked at Mondavi. Two Mile is committed to low-intervention winemaking that produces what both Schmitz and Nelson emphatically describe as “clean” wines where the flavors and beauty of the grapes are able to come through. This means using as few additives as possible and focusing on finding and sourcing the best grapes grown with the least intervention
I’m very pleased to introduce my next guest… he’s a remarkable man with a great success story. the founder and CEO of a successful company... that was ultimately acquired in 2001 … but he was far from finished…
he founded Fritz Institute, a group dedicated to assisting humanitarian organizations with the complicated logistics of global disaster relief.
he had purchased Quail Hill Ranch back in 1980 as a hang out to decompress from all of his business travel…
the original vines on the property, now over 40 years old,
James Cluer of Fine Vintages speaks with Mike Wreyford, host of "The Good Life" Show about wine and getting more wine knowledge thru wine certification.
Talking with Sam Heitner, Chairman of the Champagne Beureau about National Champagne Day, the history of the Champagne region in France, and the upcoming Champagne tasting event in San Francisco.
Fasion industry drop outs start their on wine company based on catchy lables the "Speak" to the consumer.
An interview with Mike Wreyford, AKA Mike the Wine Guy and Zac Robinson, owner and winemaker at Husch Vineyard and Winery in Anderson Valley, Sonoma County, California.