Inside Winemaking - the art and science of growing grapes and crafting wine

Pam Starr has been making the wines and building the Crocker and Starr brands since she first met with Charlie Crocker of the Crocker Estate in 1997.  This podcast covers the long story of how Pam built Crocker and Starr beginning from the handwritten business plan.  Associate Winemaker, Evyn Cameron discusses Crocker and Starr's portfolio, they ways how her and Pam evaluate Cabernet Franc fermentations, and some of the winery's cool new equipment.  Our conversation gets out into the weeds of Cabernet Franc, which is one of the varieties that Pam is most known for.  It was a ton of fun to have this Franc geek-fest and discuss a grape that doesn't often get the limelight.  

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Questions?  Comments?  Let me know what you think: jim@insidewinemaking.com

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Direct download: Pam_Starr_and_Evyn_Cameron_Complete.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:27am EDT

Dave is a long time friend and agreed to help create the recent Winemaking Chemistry Series - pH and TA episode.  I asked Dave to be a part of that project because of his background in organic chemistry and his ability to describe where in winemaking those principles are most critical.  We ended up going deep on several aspects beyond wine acidity and I made the decision to make this a stand-alone episode.  Dave is currently the winemaker at Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma.  HIs experience making wine at a larger scale than most previous podcasts guests presented the opportunity to discuss the highest-leverage winemaking tools and the advances that oak suppliers have made available to wineries.  The final portion of Dave's episode is our discussion of pH and TA that was featured in the previous Chemistry Series podcast.  

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Questions?  Comments?  Let me know what you think: jim@insidewinemaking.com

 

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Direct download: Dave_Nakaji_Complete.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:49am EDT

This episode is the second in the chemistry series and focuses on the acidity elements of pH and TA (Ep. 56 was on sugar and alcohol).  Dave Nakaji, winemaker for Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery, came on the podcast to discuss how he integrates pH and TA as parameters to guide his decision-making all the way through from grapes to finished wine.  Beyond his experience with wine, Dave has a PhD in organic chemistry, and the rare ability to simplify the complex understanding of acid chemistry as it is applied to winemaking.  The next episode (Ep. 68) will feature Dave's full interview.  After Dave and my discussion of pH and TA, Casey Banach from Hanna Instruments joins the podcast to review the care and maintenance of pH meters.  

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This podcast is brought you by Hanna Instruments.  Makers of edge and Halo Wine pH meters, these tools are purpose built for winery environments.  The edge Wine pH meter is rich in features including using digital electrodes that can be swapped out anytime to switch to a different parameter, built in rechargeable battery, two USB ports, datalogging, automatic calibration, and Hanna’s exclusive calibration check feature that will alert the user to potential problems during calibration including when to clean the electrode and when the buffer might be contaminated. The edge Wine pH meter is a versatile pH meter for winemaking that be used as a benchtop, portable and even a wall mount to conserve space.

Questions?  Comments?  Let me know what you think: jim@insidewinemaking.com

 

The Inside Winemaking Podcast on iTunes

And Stitcher Radio Too

Direct download: pH_and_TA_Complete.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:49am EDT

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