Q & A with Shawn & Vlada Walker, North Bay Wine Tours
Shawn Walker grew up in Southern California; his wife, Vlada, was born in St Petersburg, Russia, and came to this country when she was just 18. Although neither grew up with wine on the family table, both have developed an appreciation for how wine can distinctly improve the experience and flavors of the food that […]
Q & A with Erik Ayala, Winemaker, 1467 Cellars
Erik Ayala grew up riding horseback through the Cabernet vineyards in Napa County with his grandfather, Juan Roldan. After spending his first harvest in 2006 hand-picking and fermenting wine as a family project, he knew he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Erik has honed his winemaking skills at Far […]
Q & A with Megan Cline, Cline Cellars & Gust
Megan Cline, the daughter of Fred and Nancy Cline, owners of Cline Cellars, grew up in a large Italian family in Sonoma County. She was one of seven children, so there was constant chaos in the household, but it was chaos in a good way. She roamed the vineyards with her dad, while he quizzed […]
Q & A with Jenny Scheid, Managing Member, Toje Wines
Jenny Scheid grew up in Northern California and began her wine journey by taking small sips of wine that her parents purchased while enjoying their trips to wine country. During high school, she learned that making wine was a possible career path and that she could study it when she went to college. She made […]
Q & A with Dan Berger, Wine Journalist
Dan Berger was born in Brooklyn and attended New York public schools as a child. Even then, he was no stranger to the sound of printing the news, as his grandfather had a shop with a noisy hand-operated printing press. Their family moved to the Los Angeles area before Dan started high school. His parents […]
Winemaker Perspectives on Petaluma Gap’s Iconic Vineyards
Great wines are made from great grapes, and just like winemakers and brands that earn renown with wine drinkers for the quality of their wines, winegrowers and vineyards can earn a reputation for producing consistently high-quality grapes. As a result, they are sought out by top winemakers; the most sought after becoming iconic vineyards, whose […]
Q & A with Fran Leach, Director of Hospitality, Sojourn Cellars
Fran Leach is a fifth-generation California girl, who loved cooking with her dad and gardening with her mom. Family meals were always “Farm to Table” style, with home-grown fruits and vegetables and wine on the table for the grownups. She began her career in real estate, but with a growing interest in wine and hospitality, […]
Q & A with Semra Erden, Eloquent-U
Semra Erden, Founder of Eloquent-U, was born in Istanbul and came to the United States after earning a degree in French Literature and launching a designer boutique in Istanbul. She turned it over to her family after marrying a professor at SFSU and moving to California. With an interest in both wine and design, she […]
Q & A with Mike Scott, Owner Six Gates Vineyard and his Father, Mark Scott
Mike Scott grew up on his family’s farm in Petaluma on the Western Slope of Sonoma Mountain. His father, Mark Scott, was one of the first to plant grapes at the higher elevation in the Petaluma Gap. Although his father doesn’t drink wine, he planted wine grapes because they were a higher-value crop that he […]
Q & A with Jacqueline Yoakum, Winemaker, Keller Estate
Jacqueline Yoakum attended college in NY. Her first winemaking role was at Macari Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island, where she was introduced to biodynamics. She was fascinated by women working in the wine industry and after reaching out to a few, she decided to attend UC Davis and get a degree in […]
