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Music and Great Wine Go Hand in Hand

19029 dreaming trees wine
As you are gearing up for holiday parties, we’ve found some wines that are sure to be a hit with your crowd. Even better, these selections are a natural conversation starter because they combine the worlds of wine and music.

You can tell your friends how musician Dave Matthews is now in the wine business. He teamed up with award-winning winemaker Steve Reeder to create The Dreaming Tree wine collection, named after his song ‘The Dreaming Tree” from the 1998 album “Before These Crowded Streets.” “These are wines you’re going to want to share with your favorite people,” says Reeder.

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The newest addition to their offerings is one we especially like. It’s the newly-released 2012 Central Coast Everyday white blend. It joins new vintages of 2011 Central Coast Chardonnay, 2011 North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011 North Coast Crush, and 2009 Alexander Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The pricing ranges from $15 to $35.

Matthews and Reeder concentrated on producing wines that have serious soul along with being affordable enough to appeal to a wide range of wine drinkers.

“There’s this kind of funny snobbery around wine that makes it seem exclusive, but it’s not true. Wine is for everyone and it’s fantastic stuff,” says Matthews.

Along with attention to wine quality, they are motivated to be equally environmentally conscious. The natural cork is sustainably grown and recyclable. The label is made with 100% recycled Kraft brown paper and the bottles, which are a quarter pound lighter than the average, are sealed with an eco-friendly sealant.

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Most wine pros can think of a single bottle that made them join the industry. Here are a few of those tales.
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For many in the wine industry, there was a defining moment that involved a very particular bottle. Over the course of a few sips, that wine changed the course of their lives, causing them to change career paths or give up prior dreams for a new, wine-soaked one. It's a tale as old as time in the wine industry, but the anecdotes are always entertaining. There aren't many liquids out there that can cause you to drop a successful role as a doctor or historian to become a sommelier, but that's the power of wine. Here are just some of the wine bottles that changed the lies of these professionals.

We asked some of our favorite wine professionals this question: What's the one bottle that changed your life? Here are their answers.
Josh Peeples
Peeples is the proprietor of a handful of labels, including Napa-based Elyse Winery and Institution Winery. “The experience that changed everything for me was when I visited Duckhorn Winery in 1995," he says. "I was only 18 years old and still living in my hometown of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The 1992 Duckhorn Three Palms Merlot poured for me by the owner, Dan Duckhorn, connected all of the dots: Great wine, great people, and allure of the business. Little did I know I’d move to San Francisco just three years later.”
Matt Stamp
A longtime sommelier, Stamp is also behind Compline Restaurant. He, like so many in the trade, was blown away by burgundy. “Hands down, the 2000 fixin from Domaine Mongeard Mugneret," he says. "I was just getting started in wine and was sort of nodding along as people talked about tar and earth and grass and other strange aromas beyond simple fruit. This bottle of red burgundy made me see it clearly: A whole interlocked universe of scent in a glass of wine. It made me understand how impactful smell is in our own memories and experiences. It kickstarted my desire to learn.”
Adrian Manspeaker
The winemaker and owner of Joseph Jewell Wines was moved by a wine born the same year as him. “It was my 25th birthday, and my wife and I went to dinner at Josh Ash & Co in Santa Rosa," he says. "While reviewing the wine list, the 1978 IronHorse Cabernet caught my eye. 1978 is the year I was born and, at $120 a bottle, I thought it was a really good deal considering the age of the wine. After the bottle arrived at our table, I read the back label to find that the grapes were harvested the third week of October that year — the exact week I was born. Yes, the wine was amazing, but it was all of the elements of the story that stand out to me. Wine goes beyond what’s in the glass to capture a moment in time.”
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2022 was a pretty good year for wine. We welcomed new appellations to the wine map, saw an increasing number of BIPOC industry members make waves, successfully messed around with new grape varieties, and generally heightened the status of the wine scene overall. So what really stood out? Well, several brands, but not just because of the wine they produce. That's a significant part of it, sure, but we're also interested in what they stand for, from real sustainability (environmental, social, economic) to how they're changing the game for the better. Read on to hear about our favorite wines.

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