Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Los Angeles of Anaheim themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Angels fan? Although their baseball stadium is in Anaheim rather than Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim display their own brand of L. A. glamor. The team was created in 1961 as a Major League Baseball expansion team, with Gene Autry, the "Singing Cowboy" and media mogul, as its first owner. The Angels' name dates back to Los Angeles' first professional baseball team, the 1892 California League Los Angeles Angels.

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a San Francisco Giants themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Giants fan? The San Francisco Giants came into existence as the New York Gothams and joined the fledgling National League in 1883. Two years later, the baseball team was renamed the New York Giants, and a legendary sports name was born. The Giants moved from New York to San Francisco in 1957, taking up residence first at Seals Stadium, then at wind-blown Candlestick Park, where they played for 39 years. In 2000, the San Francisco Giants moved to AT&T Park, which was first known as Pacific Bell Park, then as SBC Park until SBC and AT&T merged. No matter where the Giants have played, this historic baseball team has attracted star players, created a rivalry with the same team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on two coasts and, according to Baseball Almanac , racked up more wins than any other team in Major League Baseball.

Leslie Sbrocco is an award-winning author, speaker, wine consultant, and the author of two national wine books. As host of the PBS series Check Please! , she has won a coveted James Beard award, two Tasty Awards, and three Emmy awards. Sbrocco was also a featured judge on the PBS national series, The Winemakers , and she is a regular guest on NBC’s Today Show. She is also a wine educator for Crystal Cruises and Holland America Cruise Lines, and has started a new venture, Thirsty Girl, which aims to empower women in their wine and food choices.

Lynfred Winery was entirely a creation of the love and ingenuity of Fred and Lynn Koehler. Between Lynn's ideas and Fred's practicality, they created one of the most unique attractions — not to mention gourmet tastes — in the United States today. The Koehlers were pioneers in the Illinois wine industry, and their road was not an easy one. Naturally, getting the business of a winery in Roselle, Illinois, off the ground took quite a while. Starting in an historic house that was originally built by the Hattendorf family in 1912, the Koehlers quickly went to work restoring the house and organizing a cellar to expand their "hobby" into a business. Lynfred Winery is celebrating 32 years in 2011. The winery has come a long way from the original tasting room opened in 1979. Lynfred has now expanded into a 24,000-square-foot facility. Fred still carries on the Lynfred legacy but has passed the winemaking duties along to Chilean-born Andres Basso. IntoWine recently caught up with Andre Basso to discuss wine and thoughts on current trends in the wine industry.

Vinotemp International, a leader in the wine storage industry, has been building premium wine cabinets for over 20 years. Vinotemp is a full-service manufacturer of custom wood wine cabinets and racking, Wine-Mate cooling systems, and a distributor of quality metal wine cellars. Specializing in all aspects of the wine storage industry, with an emphasis on customization. Since 1985, selling over 250,000 wine cellars in the U.S. and overseas. IntoWine recently caught up with India Hynes, President of Vinotemp, to discuss the latest in wine storage technology.

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Philadelphia Phillies themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Phillies fan? When it comes to professional baseball – or any professional sport, for that matter – no team has been in one city and maintained the same team name longer than the Philadelphia Phillies. Founded in 1883, the Phillies have won two World Series and fostered the careers of numerous players, including the famous Whiz Kids of the 1950s. Of course, when your team has accumulated over 125 years of statistics, there are bound to be some less-than-wonderful moments as well as high points. For the Phillies, this means that they have the dubious honor of being the first U. S. professional sports team to lose 10,000 games.

Andrea Robinson one of the country’s leading wine educators, and is one of only 16 women in the world who have been appointed Master Sommelier by the prestigious Court of Master Sommeliers. She was the first woman ever chosen Best Sommelier in the United States by the Sommelier Society of America. In 2007 she was appointed Master Sommelier for Delta Air Lines, for whom she selects all of their in-flight wines as well as develops flight attendant wine training. Her production company JGR Productions produces informative food, wine and travel video content for Delta Air Lines, Borders Books, and broadcast media and she has worked with the Food Channel and PBS. She is the author of eight wine and food books including Andrea Robinson’s Wine Buying Guide for Everyone , and her articles have appeared in publications such as Health , Eating Well , Esquire , Real Simple , Money , and Bon Appétit . She has received a James Beard Award for Broadcast Journalism. Formerly this busy mother of three was the Wine Director at Windows on the World, and was Corporate Director of Beverage Programs for Starwood Hotels.

Adam Strum is the Founder and Chairman of Wine Enthusiast Companies and Editor and Publisher of Wine Enthusiast Magazine and heads up the largest group of wine commerce and media companies in the world. With more than 800,000 readers Wine Enthusiast Magazine and its Web site Winemag.com provide editorial content and authoritative reviews and ratings of tens of thousands of wines every year. The Wine Enthusiast Catalog/Web business is the world’s leading inventor and seller of wine accessories and wine storage. Strum, a second-generation, 35-year veteran of the wine business, is a pioneer whose multi-faceted wine-related businesses have had a major impact on increasing wine consumption and wine culture in America. Since 1979 Wine Enthusiast Companies has mailed and distributed more than 300 million wine-related publications in the United States and around the world. Not bad for a husband and wife team who started a mail-order business in their attic.

Most everyone knows the name Frescobaldi. After 30 generations of producing wine in Italy, they continue to dominate with distribution of their wines in 65 countries. They own five different estate vineyard sites throughout the Tuscany region planted to nearly 3,000 acres of grapes. Founded in the 14th century and a supplier of wines to the royal courts of Europe for generations, Marchesi de' Frescobaldi is still a family-owned company today. The company continually upgrades and modernizes its grape growing and winemaking operations, maintaining a relentless focus on producing unique wines that range from approachable, everyday wines to rare, collector vintages. Leonardo Frescobaldi has been President of Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi since 2007, acting as leader and managing partner of multiple Frescobaldi companies. Prior to this position, he was Director of International Sales and Marketing, Board Member, and President of the Luce della Vite estate. With 700 years of wine experience, are there still things you learn, things that take you by surprise with each vintage? I consider that life represents the occasion for a continuous learning process. Particularly when you love the work you are doing. Certainly every vintage is a new chapter and brings a different challenge which enriches my patrimony of knowledge and experience.

Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owned, producing internationally recognized wines exclusively from its Hawkes Bay vineyards. Under the direction of John Buck, Te Mata Estate has, over nearly thirty years, produced a stunning array of red and white wines. Te Mata Estate has also developed a unique single vineyard from which it produces its Woodthorpe wines. IntoWine recently caught up with Te Mata Estate to discuss wine and thoughts on current trends in the wine industry. What prompted you to pursue winemaking as a career? I was born into wine, grew up in it, and was exposed to too many wonderful wines at an impressionable age. I’ve since been unable to consider any other career.