Winemaker Dan Barwick with Melissa Galliani.

Winemaker Dan Barwick is back on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Dan is the winemaker at Trecini Winery. He has been on CWC before, the most recent was this other episode recorded on Aug. 25, 2023. Our regular co-host Dan Berger is on vacation this week.

Right away Steve Jaxon is loving Dan Barwick’s Sauvignon Blanc. It’s made with all Sonoma County fruit, mostly Russian River. It has rich flavors of apricot and mango. “Easy to drink,” says Dan.

Trecini has been bottling wine for 25 years. Dan took several courses at UC Davis and at Santa Rosa Junior College in winemaking including courses from Rich Thomas. He was at the forefront of changing viticulture in Sonoma County in ways which improved the quality of Sonoma County wines. He taught that you had to be in the vineyard to get to understand the vines. This helps him make decisions about pruning and harvesting.

Dan says that Sauvignon Blanc is his favorite wine to make. He can make blends with fruit from different vineyards, to assemble the flavors he wants. It’s hard to believe that such a good wine sells for $15. In addition to Sauvignon Blanc, Trecini also makes Chardonnay, Russian River Pinot Noir and Merlot, too.

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Dan Barwick recently visited Croatia, staying in a town called Rovinj. The wine and food and the whole scene was incredibly beautiful. Dan suggests everyone put Croatia on the bucket list. It is on the coast so there is a lot of seafood. The local olive oil is very fine. A delicious glass of local wine will cost 2 or 3 dollars.

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Dan Barwick talks about his early experience working in the food hall at Harrod’s in London, where he was exposed to all the best of everything, including wine. The chocolates were right next to the wine department. He worked there from the age of 18 to 27.