Wine Country at Work

Wine tourism is a relatively new industry, as least in the scale that it exists today. The most visited wine region in the world is San Francisco's north bay, including Napa and Sonoma counties. The small populations in these agricultural regions host millions of international visitors, most of whom are inebriated. Yet they do that gracefully and graciously. What's their secret?

That is the question that leads the hosts of Wine Country @ Work, local tour guides, to go behind the scenes into a wide variety of workplaces, discovering what talents and skills are necessary to create a great wine tourism destination. The people who work there come from all over the world, drawn to this icon of wine, to learn, to work and to enjoy. The show enjoys beautiful scenery, unique locations and wonderful stories. Taken together it offers interesting lessons about what we call hospitality, life style and success.

Notes to Stations About This Show:

As fits Wine Country this is a very fun, relaxed show, that looks deeply into how people make things work and create a life style they enjoy. This is not a wine country confection interviewing wealthy owners who visit their 'wineries' twice a year. The people featured here are the ones that make the wine, host the guests and work daily to create the wine country experience. It makes them easy to relate to and people can see themselves in those roles.

Wine Country at Work - Visiting Regusci Winery

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The building at the heart of this family winery dates back to the late 1800's. They are famous for their location and their hospitality. This very entertaining interview with their team offers wonderful insights into what makes a successful winery tasting work for both the customers and the staff.

Wine Country at Work - Wine Tasting 101

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Ralph de Amicis is a top wine tour guide in the two top wine destinations in the world, Napa and Sonoma. Over the years from visiting wineries with his clients he had learned a thing or two about what makes a wine tasting enjoyable and educational. He share some of that here and follows that up with some insights about wine grapes based on clients questions, and finally a look at enjoying sparkling wines.

Wine Country at Work - Napa Walking Tour

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Napa is known for being a famous producer of wine and yet its history goes far beyond that. One of the towns great performing historians is tour guide and actor George Webber, who has created numerous characters, both fictional and historic to tell the fascinating story of Napa and Sonoma. This half hour interview in Napa with host Ralph de Amicis is filled with interesting insights about the region and the work of an actor/tour guide.

Wine Country at Work - Napa Wine Train

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This rolling museum/restaurant rolls up the beautiful Napa Valley twice daily, but what goes on behind the scenes, with these antique cars hosting visitors from throughout the world is a whirl of well organize activity. Ralph starts of in the train yard among the repair crews, moves into the big commercial kitchen, and then travels up the valley splitting his time between compact kitchen, work areas, dining cars and platforms. It is a wonderful, graceful relaxing trip.

Wine Country at Work - Viader Vineyards

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Perched on the steep hillsides of Howell Mountain in Northern Napa, this small family winery is known for its remarkable wines and incredible scenery. Here Ralph is looking for answers about how much the location shapes both the products and the experience? The answer appears to be, dramatically! This episode is not surprisingly filled with gorgeous scenery and a wonderful interview with the tasting manager, a native of Napa with wonderful insights about the local wine world.

Wine Country at Work - Trefethen Winery

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Houses in one of Napa's oldest winery buildings this large, estate family winery is well known for their excellent hospitality. In Ralph's interview with one of their most experienced team members, and one of their newest, he seeks answers to how they create this welcoming and diverse educational experience as part of their retail operation.

Wine Country at Work - The Caves at Soda Canyon

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Very little in Wine Country happens quickly, and digging caves is not one of them. This particular project is fascinating because it also spawned a unique business model where four wineries share the same remarkable cave complex. This project from inception to opening doors spanned almost ten years and hearing the story from the two founders offers a great perspective on what it takes to make a modern winery.