IntoWine Staff

IntoWine recently had the good fortune of catching up with John Tarabini, Owner of Damian Rae Winery, to discuss the evolution of his wine brand as well as his thoughts on winemaking. Thanks to John for participating. What inspired the name Damian Rae Winery? Damian and Rae are the middle names, respectively, of winery owners John and Sharol Tarabini.

Loren Sonkin has been a long-time contributor to IntoWine.com. In addition to his frequent appearances as a panelist on IntoWineTV , Loren writes columns on both French and Italian wines, contributes wine recommendations, vintage guides , and provides the wine/food pairing knowledge behind the IntoWine Wine & Food pairing tool . In other words, he does it all. So when Loren told us he was venturing into winemaking himself with his own label, SonkinCellars , we jumped at the chance to be the first to taste his barrel samples on IntoWineTV. Though the wine, Persona, is not due for release until 2011, we are excited to catch up with Loren about this new venture. What inspired the name SonkinCellars? Obviously, the winery is named after me. The name was decided on when a group of investors approached me to create a wine. They were familiar with my tastes from Intowine as well as Internet Bulletin Boards. They asked me what kind of wine I would like to create and said that the wineries name should reflect that vision. I was a bit uneasy about it at first, but I do agree that it allows those people who know me, to have some level of confidence in the wine.

For some people wine is just another beverage. For others it is an expression of life, something some might describe as art in a bottle. Malcolm Nicholls has taken it one step further by putting art ON – as well as in- the bottle. His eponymous Santa Barbara wine label, Nicholls Wine, creates fine wine as a platform for showcasing emerging contemporary artists. Each varietal and vintage release features new work by an exciting young artist. IntoWine recently caught up with Malcolm Nicholls to discuss the vision and goals for Nicholls Wine.

IntoWine recently caught up with Brad Loos of Loos Family Winery: How did your foray into winemaking come about? We come from a family of German and Dutch farmers that settled in Iowa. We were first introduced to the sweet dandelion and rhubarb wines produced there. Later, we relocated to California where a true appreciation of world-class wine occurred during numerous family trips to nearby Napa and Sonoma beginning in 1970. In 1983, Brad Loos met his wife, Dr. Kim Loos, who also enjoyed fine wine. Soon it wasn't enough just to enjoy wine. We longed to be intimately involved in the creative process. Thus, Loos Family Winery was born!