Archives: Episodes

In this episode of The Good Stuff presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk to John Hamel, Winegrower/Winemaker of Hamel Family Wines.

Director of Winegrowing since the 2017 vintage, John oversees all farming, winemaking, and production operations at Hamel. He is committed to producing wines that reflect the character of the terroir. John came to wine with a passion for organic farming and also a deep connection with the philosophies and practices of the Slow Food movement—both have informed his winegrowing approach. John and his team apply a micro-terroir-based winegrowing approach in which the vineyard and winemaking practices are adapted specifically to the volcanic soils across Hamel’s vineyards. In addition, John has led the transition of the majority of the vineyards to dry farming and has instituted organic and biodynamic vineyard management practices.

Hamel Family Wines

Founded in 2014, Hamel is a family-owned winery that produces estate-grown wines from certified biodynamic and organic vineyards on the western hillsides of the Mayacamas Mountains in the Moon Mountain District and Sonoma Valley. Today, John Hamel leads winemaking and viticulture, and he has spearheaded Hamel’s work in innovative, sustainable growing practices since 2017. He and his team transitioned the vineyard to dry farming and instituted biodynamic and organic vineyard practices at Hamel. The team has embraced a micro-terroir-based winegrowing approach, tailoring vineyard and winemaking practices to the unique volcanic terroir of the hillside vineyards. This method was developed over a decade-long collaboration with renowned terroir consultant Pedro Parra. Throughout the winery, Hamel is committed to sustainability, stewardship, and forward-thinking innovation.

And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks!

Host Clark Wolf talks to MacKenzie Chung Fegan, Restaurant Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, and Cesar Hernandez, Associate Restaurant Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, about their Best Restaurants in Wine Country list. In addition, they discuss their respective personal & professional backgrounds, as well as local spots they like that didn't make the list!

GUESTS

Hope Bohanec-Executive Director

Veg Festestival-

9/27..Santa Rosa Veterans Building

https://socovegfest.org/

Chef Robert Nieto

Fleur Sauvage Chocolates in Windsor

Winner-2025 Lord of Rice Competition

https://www.fleursauvagechocolates.com/

Phone calls with questions every Saturday 9-11...1-707-636-1350

Email 24-7 to be answered each Saturday at steve@ksro.com

GUEST:

Sara-Sebastopol Community Seed Exchange

https://www.communityseedexchange.org/

The Farmers Market Update

https://thesantarosafarmersmarket.com/

GUEST:

Suzy Grady-Executive Director-Petaluma Bounty---Plant Sale 9/13

https://www.petalumabounty.org/

Phone Calls 9-11...1-707-636-1350

Emails 24-7 to be answered during the show...steve@ksro.com

In this episode, Dr. K & Chris Geiger of Center Point DAAC, talk about the anniversary of 9/11, first repsonders, trauma, PTSD, addiction & suicide.

Center Point DAAC of Santa Rosa has been serving Sonoma County since 1969, offering free or low‑cost addiction treatment for Medi‑Cal members. Their Dr. Sushma D. Taylor Recovery Center provides medically supervised detox and long‑term residential care, plus outpatient and specialized programs for teens, families, and individuals facing court involvement—all backed by mental‑health counseling and medication‑assisted treatment. For support with substance use recovery, visit cpdaac.org or call (707) 544‑3295.

Host Clark Wolf is talking all things Terra Madre Americas! He is joined by Duskie Estes, Owner of Black Pig Meat Co., Dan Kedan, Associate Professor at the Culinary Institute of America, and Sean McGaughey, Owner of Quail & Condor, as well as Troubador Bread & Bistro, as all of them will be at the Terra Madre Americas event in Sacramento!

In this episode of The Good Stuff presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk to Matt Taylor, Winemaker at Mascarin Family Wines.

Matt Taylor is a third-generation Sonoma County native and therefore has a passion for the Sonoma Coast AVA, its microclimates and rugged landscapes which bring forth intense and complex nuances to the finished wine. Matt’s first love, besides his wife Kaela, is viticulture and that’s a good thing because, for him, it is the first step in eliciting the perfect wine from the vine.

Matt started his winemaking career as Assistant Winemaker to Rod Berglund of Joseph Swan Vineyards Matt became Winegrower and Winemaker for the Biodynamic producers Bart & Daphne Araujo. His broad experiences with Araujo Estate Wines include a harvest internship in Mendoza and Cafayate, Argentina, another in Hawke’s Bay New Zealand, as well as return visits to top Estates of Bordeaux. He has designed and developed multiple vineyards for high-end grape production in Sonoma and Napa. In 2015, Matt began his collaboration with Ed Mascarin at 32 Winds.

Matt has a vision for the Grand Cru vineyard sites in west- ern Sonoma County, and wines made naturally. He is inspired by the old-world style of bio-dynamic farming and believes in allowing the fruit to express itself as naturally as possible, without additives, using minimal filtration, and restrained use of oak. Growing grapes and making wine naturally is a commitment, philosophy, and a way of life. It comes from respect of nature and all forms of life.

In 2019 and 2020, Matt was selected as the only California producer to be invited to the “La Dive Bouteille”, a natural wine expo, in Loire Valley France to present his recent vintages to other top producers and importers of Europe.

Mascarin Family Wines

It is a vision that has taken shape over 3 generations. The foundation was set with Ed’s grandfather, Angelo, who immigrated from northern Italy in 1904 and was hired to plant and farm vineyards in central California for the Italian Swiss Colony (now known as Asti Winery).  Ed played in the vineyards as a boy, and later worked on the family farm pruning, harvesting, irrigating, drying the raisins, anything his Nonno asked. Meanwhile Ed’s father (also an Italian immigrant who married Angelo’s daughter) was a cellar Master at the Roma Wine Company, working for the Cella brothers and the venerable Louis Martini in the 1930’s and 40’s in the small central valley town of Kingsburg, CA. The grape, raisin, and wine business was all Ed knew growing up –it was a family affair as almost every member of Ed’s extended family was involved in some aspect of the business. The Local Lion’s Club offered then 17 year old “Eddie”  a small scholarship to attend Cal Berkeley, where he was a walk-on for the football team and a star baseball player. The engineering classes he took along the way set him up to embark on a career in Industrial Engineering. 40 years and lots of Life Experiences later, he returned full circle to the wine world, and in 2009 became proprietor of Mascarin Family Wines.

Today, Ed, his daughter Mia, and a small team work together to continue the Mascarin legacy with 32 Winds and Mascarin Wines. Matt Taylor vinifies the wine and manages the vineyards. Our grapes are sourced from select vineyards grown by trusted vineyard managers, as well as from our own estate vineyard.  Our tasting room is nestled behind our vineyard in a garden setting, just outside Healdsburg, in gorgeous Sonoma County.

And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks!

In this episode of Digital Defense with CyberAuthority, Nick Eicken, Founder & CEO of CyberAuthority, talks about Phishing scams. Nick breaks down why the scams work, common tricks scammers use and how you can defend yourself and your personal information!