She writes primarily about California wine, though her beat also includes beer, spirits, drinking culture, cults and, occasionally, doughnuts. In her regular Drink Up column, she reviews Bay Area bars. She leads the editorial team for The Press, the Chronicle’s digital guide to visiting wine country. Her weekly email newsletter, Drinking with Esther, includes a reading digest, product reviews and a behind-the-scenes look into the world of wine.
In 2018, the California Newspaper Publishers Association awarded Esther first place in Feature Writing for her story on a winery born from a California cult, and first place in Agricultural Reporting for her examination of Napa Valley's future. The Association of Food Journalists recognized Esther's work as the Best Writing on Beer, Wine or Spirits in 2017 for her profile of farmer Chuy Ordaz. Her work on the 2017 wine country wildfires was vital to the Chronicle earning the Scripps Howard award. She has twice been a finalist in the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Awards.
When she’s not writing about wine, Esther is often speaking about it. She gives seminars, presentations and classes to consumer groups and corporate clients.
In this episode we mention…
San Francisco Chronicle
Helen Keplinger, winemaker
Paolo Lucchesi, former food editor at The SF Chronicle
Federal Wines in Boston run by Len Rothenberg
L’Espalier
Round Pond Estate
Bodega Rolland
Smith College
Jon Bonné, wine writer and former wine editor at the SF Chronicle
Esther’s interview with Randall Grahm on selling Bonny Doon
The lost civilization of California Wine by Esther Mobely
Seavey Vineyards & Jim Duane Interview on Cru
Champagne Pierre Peters
Josh Phelps Interview on Cru
Follow Esther On…
INSTAGRAM
TWITTER
WEBSITE
Josh Phelps is the founder and winemaker of Grounded Wine Co. making delicious, all-American, and approachable wines across the west coast while based in St. Helena, California.
Josh’s roots run deep in Napa, raised in a winemaking family, he was exposed to the industry from a young age, starting his very first endeavor in the wine world, “Napa Valet”, at age 15. He continued to build his knowledge of the business through college, selling wine, working the harvest and creating wine for friends with his father, Chris Phelps (of Dominus Estate). As a Napa local, his philosophies on winemaking and business are advised from luminaries of the wine world he calls his mentors and friends like Joel Gott, Kimberly Jones and Leslie Rudd, and of course, his own father. With Grounded Wine Co., Josh hopes to build on this legacy and make his own splash in the wine world while exposing wine drinkers of his own generation to his hometown in wine country.
As a part of his incredible résumé, Josh has been named to Forbes’s 30 under 30 list, Zagat’s 30 under 30 and Wine Enthusiast’s 40 under 40 – though one of his proudest accomplishments is still the Eagle Scout badge he earned at the age of 18.
Grounded Wine Co. is being built to reflect his experience growing up in wine country, and his relationships in the wine community. A grassroots, all-American, wine label, the wines feature grapes from trusted, sustainable vineyards in California and Washington and showcase what it means to be a winemaker today. Working with trusted farmers and childhood friends, his company respects his deep understanding of wine, one that can only be developed growing up around the vines.
In this episode we mention…
Chris Phelps, Josh’s father
Dominus Estate
Caymus Winery
Taken Wine Co.
Chambers & Chambers Distributors
Trinchero Family Estates
Grounded Wine Co.
Ad Vivum Cellars, Chris’ wine label
Landform Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, newest label from Grounded
Work by Gospel, Josh’s design team
Terry Wheatly, Vintage Wine Estates
the late Leslie Rudd
Authentique Wine Cellars, Oregon
Dan Petroski (interview 1) / (interview 2)
Space Age Rosé of Grenache, Grounded
La Gravette de Certan
Massican
Champagne Vilmart
Champagne Pierre Peters
Champagne Doyard
Follow Grounded Wine Co. On…
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
WEBSITE
Valley Bar & Bottle is a neighborhood restaurant, wine bar, and wine retail establishment that simultaneously reveres and revitalizes Sonoma cuisine and hospitality. Launching as a dinnertime restaurant, Valley will gradually incorporate daytime services.
Valley aims for a sustainable approach to all aspects of its business, from waste-reducing and eliminating practices to radical intentionality behind the economy and environment they will create for their employees. As Sonoma locals, they’re looking for creative ways to support and promote the community. They are dedicated to making sure those that work alongside them are able to live fully in the place they serve.
Lauren Feldman and Tanner Walle, two of the co-founders, manage the small front-of-house team, while co-founders Emma Lipp and Stephanie Reagor helm the back-of-house. The beverage program includes local producers as well as imports, with an emphasis paid to organic & biodynamic agriculture practices. The menu is driven by the availability of seasonal produce and the offerings of local purveyors, and influenced by the team’s travels and personal history.
Lauren was born and raised between Sonoma and Santa Rosa in Sonoma Valley. Her studies took her to Indiana, Italy, and then New York, where she became immersed in the food and wine world. Her professional background is in wine sales and branding with an emphasis on restaurant beverage direction + management, winery hospitality + management, brand development and event production. With over a decade of hospitality and beverage management experience, Lauren has managed restaurants & wine lists from New York (L’Artusi, Anfora, west~bourne), to Nashville (Husk), and back to her native California (Molina, CALA).
In 2010, Lauren returned to Sonoma County to develop a closer connection to wine production, starting with launching the hospitality program at Scribe Winery, where she managed the tasting room and events for 4 years. As a harvest intern at Foradori Winery in 2014, Lauren affirmed her passion for biodynamic practices and natural winemaking. In 2015 she started SurPointe, where—with a focus on like-minded producers—she has launched wine brands, grown restaurant beverage programs, and overseen creative collaborations bridging the divide between wine and hospitality communities nationwide. In 2016 she oversaw the creative development and implementation at Napa newcomer Ashes & Diamonds as Director of Sales and Marketing. That same year she received her WSET Diploma certification.
After juggling many roles and tasks at once, Lauren is eager to bring her varied skills together to build a program and community in Sonoma, the town where she was raised and has again called her home for the past 9 years.
Tanner Walle’s career in hospitality spans over a decade, with rolls as both GM and beverage manager for some of New York City’s most well-known wine establishments. Most notably, under the guide and mentorship of James Beard Award-winning sommelier Paul Grieco, Tanner oversaw operations and hospitality at Terroir wine bars, a quintessential helm for both aspiring and veteran wine professionals alike. There, Tanner would help to craft and pioneer a wine and hospitality program many restaurants and wine bars still model today.
In 2015 he orchestrated the opening of The Riddling Widow, a discrete Champagne bar frequented primarily by winemakers and other industry pros.
Beyond restaurant work, Tanner spent much of his tenure in NYC as a consultant for many large-scale wine and hospitality events, including with NBC, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, PBS and LinkedIn. Tanner would also contribute on panels for NY Champagne Week, Social Media Week and New York Cider Week.
Tanner is excited to bring his New York City expertise and love for hospitality and beverage education to the community of Sonoma.
Jeff Meisel is the Vice President of Brand Development for Long Meadow Ranch based in St. Helena, California. Jeff oversees all things marketing and development across Long Meadow Ranch, Farmstead Restaurant, Hunt & Harvest, and Stony Hill. We chat about Jeff’s story and career in the wine industry thus far, his learnings, and dig into how the Long Meadow Ranch umbrella brand works to engage with customers across marketing channels, platforms, and in real life, along with the specific strategies and tools that they implement do grow the brand across its many product offerings.
Learn more about Jeff and Long Meadow Ranch with the show notes at https://crupodcast.com/show