Before Christmas, I visited Darek Trowbridge at Old World Winery in Fulton, next to Santa Rosa in the Russian River Valley AVA. Despite the capricious, cloudy and rainy weather, I had a good time discussing with an easy-going winemaker who – and you can tell after a few sentences only – is from the West Coast and has the no-stress layback attitude that is typical around here.

He gave me a quick tour of his installation which is next to his house where he lives with his wife and two children. The property is rather small, and according to Darek, so is its ecological imprint. For example, the small cellar next to the fruit-processing area was built with recycled metal and recycled wood. The result is a nice and useful secondary cellar.

We decided to do the interview inside his tasting room, and here is a quick clip detailing his journey towards his decision to use native yeasts.

Good times. Thanks Darek!