03/16/2015 - Horses and Wine to the Rescue!

This week Slow Living Radio celebrates horses. Our first guest established a winery on a converted Equestrian Center in Lake County, and still finds time to compete in rodeo and other equestrian events. The second tells us the story of Sunrise Horse Rescue which brings hope and home to less fortunate horses in the wine country.

Tracey Hawkins

Hawk and Horse Vineyards

Mitch and Tracey Hawkins along with Tracey’s step-dad, David Boies and the Boies family, partnered to create Hawk and Horse Vineyards. The winery takes its name from the plentiful Red-Tail Hawks on the property as well as the ranch’s history as an equestrian facility.  Known as El Roble Grande in the '60's and '70's, the ranch was formerly an Arabian breeding estate.  The Boies and Hawkins families maintain the original rustic elegance of the ranch and welcome visitors for tours and tastings.  The equestrian elements of the ranch are now for private use only. The primary focus of the ranch is viticulture.

Tracey was born in Fullerton, California on July 22nd, 1964. She grew up in Sonoma County, California, where, from a young age, she helped in the family's restaurant. Growing up in California's wine country, wine was a natural part of life.

When the family purchased the 1,300 acre Lower Lake property which is now home to Hawk and Horse Vineyards, Tracey immediately resonated with the land and its rugged beauty. Regular visits evolved and she and Mitch eventually began running the ranch and developing Hawk and Horse Vineyards with the support of their family. Tracey and Mitch work closely together in all aspects of wine production, from farming and harvest decisions to winemaking and cooperage.

Tracey serves as Executive Winemaker, liaising with the winery's Consulting Winemakers and is involved in all the substantive winemaking decisions. She has had the opportunity to work with and be mentored by some of the ‑nest winemakers in the industry. Before starting Hawk and Horse Vineyards, Tracey worked in the wine industry for six years in sales and marketing. Tracey holds a degree in Creative Writing, summa cum laude, from San Francisco State University. She has also studied wine making through U.C. Davis and wine marketing at Sonoma State University. In her spare time,
 

Tracey enjoys spending time with her children, cooking, and writing poetry. She also competes in amateur rodeo and gymkhana events. Mitch and Tracey have three children whom they raise in close relationship to the land and the business they so love.

 

 

 
 
 

Lisa Beth O’Connor
Sunrise Horse Rescue

 Every year, countless horses go without enough food, shelter or love. Sunrise Horse Rescue is the only non-profit organization in Napa County dedicated to saving such horses and providing them with forever homes. Children and adults in the community gain life-skills by assisting in the rehabilitation of these horses and provide them with the loving attention they so deserve.

Sunrise Horse Rescue is a non-profit horse rescue and sanctuary operation in Napa County, whose mission is to rescue and provide sanctuary for abused and neglected horses in Napa County as well as to provide community members of all ages with life-enhancing skills and experiences derived from horsemanship.  Since its inception in 2007, SHR has rescued and provided homes for more than 50 at-risk horses.

 

03/09/2015 - A Naked Wine Perspective

 

 

NakedWines.com is a way for wine drinkers to get in touch with winemakers. You can buy wine from them like any other wine company, or you can get an even richer experience by becoming a Naked Angel and directly supporting independent winemakers. Angels deposit $40 a month in their NakedWines.com accounts as a prepayment for wine, and those deposits allow NakedWines.com to invest in talented winemakers. There are over 250,000 Angels around the world funding this completely new way to make and enjoy fine wine.

 

 

 

Benoit Vialle runs the US branch of NakedWines.com, but he's more likely to describe himself as our most ardent Angel than as a chief executive of the company. His unending enthusiasm is only paralleled by his tech savvy which he honed in years of work at Microsoft and smaller startups like VentePrivee.

 

Ryan O'Connell started making wine in the south of France when he was just 19 and within a few years, his family turned to crowd-funding to save their vineyard and make the business sustainable. With some very flattering awards and accolades for winemaking and wine writing under his belt, Ryan now works at NakedWines.com USA where he helps recruit new winemakers and wine drinkers by sharing stories about the wines with the whole community.

02/16/2015 - A Global Whisky Discovery and Spring Mixing!

 

Slow Living Radio uncovers the intriguing world of Whisky with Paul Martin and Aaron Lahey of Napa Valley Distillery, while finding some great ideas for cocktails in Spring.

 

 

 

 

Family owned and operated by Arthur and Lusine Hartunian, Napa Valley Distillery was founded on one basic principal - Make it different! Our creativity is driven by two questions.

Why and Why not?

Why.. as in why do the same as others?

Why not...as in why not make it different?

 

Paul Martin

Tasting Room Manager/Brand Ambassador

with Aaron Lahey, Mixologist

Napa Valley Distillery

Paul had been enjoying “mixed” beverages since 2001, but it wasn’t until 2008 that he learned the difference between good and bad “booze” and became “intoxicated” with the industry.  Working his way through all aspects, from tour guide, to production, bottling, tasting room management, and of course, mixing, Paul has an acute sense of  the defining levels of many spirits including vodka, gin, brandy, tequila, rum, whiskey, absinthe, liquor, and the accompanying world of bitters.

 

Leading the tasting room of Napa Valley Distillery, Paul is often seen guiding large groups through a more extensive selection of beverages than one would ever see in a wine tasting room.  One could wonder whether his goal was to educate or inebriate?

 

 

 

02/02/2015 - Winter Feasting and Sipping - Game for Wine?

Slow Living welcomes you into the New Year with some winter treats.  Bob Hurley, restaurateur and chef of Hurley's restaurant, renowned for his wild game menus, will give us the low down on game meats.  And Jeff Prather, Wine Consultant and Author, gives some winter and game pairing ideas, as well as brings us up to date with what's happening in the world of wine.  Snuggle up by a fire, or with hot toddy and enjoy!

Sally joins the show from the Blue Mountains in Australia, staying at the magnificent Lilianfels resort in Katoomba.

 Bob Hurley

Hurley's Restaurant

Over two decades ago, Chef Bob Hurley planted roots in the California Wine Country, first as a chef at Domaine Chandon, then as Executive Chef at the Napa Valley Grille.

In November 2002 he opened his own restaurant, Hurley's Restaurant, in Yountville, California. Chef Hurley describes his menu as local California cuisine high in flavor and influenced by the Mediterranean so that it fits very well with wine. It is creative food done simply and he always has two or three wild game selections as well. The menus are revised about three times each year to take advantage of seasonal changes, particularly with produce and seafood.

Chef Bob Hurley is a world traveler and a devotee of the culture, cuisine and lifestyle of many other countries. His years of trekking and working around the world provide the basis for his theory that Napa Valley is no longer a melting pot of cuisines from the rest of the world. But they have come together to create a Napa Valley regional cuisine.

Bob has always had a strong belief that the use of regional, seasonal ingredients is important on many different levels. It promotes sustainability, showcases local producers and provides the finest dining experience to the customer. He says that the Napa Valley is particularly blessed with a wide range of such products, from produce and meats to fish and fruits, as well as artisanal breads, cheeses, oils and much more. This philosophy is a guiding light behind the menu development at Hurley’s Restaurant.

Hurley’s Restaurant is located at 6518 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599.

Online reservations are available at www.HurleysRestaurant.com or by calling 707-944-2345



Jeff Prather
Jeff Prather - Certified Master of the Obvious

With decades of experience in the food and wine business, Jeff Prather shares his wealth of knowledge through engaging, and often amusing, wine content for the website and wine shop. Having been an actor in his earlier years, Jeff is a natural as one of our entertaining tasting class instructors.

 After opening the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley in 1995 as the Restaurant Director and Cellar Master, Jeff served as Director of Wine Education at Shafer Vineyards, Flora Springs Winery, as well as the historic Beaulieu Vineyard. After serving as Senior Wine Merchant for the original Wine.com with Peter Granoff and Bo Thompson, Jeff was the managing Director of Azalea Springs Winery.

Jeff became known for his decade of work as Wine Director for Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle which merited him several awards, including four James Beard Award nominations, Restaurant Hospitality Magazine’s Best American Wine List, Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, and Restaurant Wine Magazine’s Wine Marketer of the Year nominee.

Jeff judges at wine competitions and is a frequent speaker and guest sommelier at national wine events. As a writer, he has been published in several magazines, was a correspondent for the Microsoft Online Network (MSN), a contributor to Oz Clark’s Microsoft Wine Guide CD-ROM and is co-author of the book “Northwest Wines.”