ROCKnVINO: A Pairing of Music & Wine
Arts:Food
During this episode of ROCK’nVINO, hosts Coco and Michelle talk with The Wine Guy, Tom Simoneau! KSRO listeners are quite familiar with Tom’s voice, since he started his radio career as The Wine Guy on KSRO back in the 90s. Tom is uniquely suited for our show, since he started out as a musician and ended up a winemaker! Tom learned to play guitar with his college friends and decided to make a go of it as a band in Georgia. Their first band was named C&W Mow Company, since their landlord told them they needed to pay rent somehow and mowing lawns was a good way to earn some dough! Influenced by bands like the Allman Brothers and Little Feat, Tom and his bandmates started to play bigger shows and tour across the country. The music scene in San Francisco drew them west, and they decided they were going to head to California to get signed and become professional musicians. Luck wasn’t in the cards, but after a holiday trip home, Tom started to date a beautiful girl he knew from home in Maine, and brought her back to California. Tom and Brenda Lee bought a home in Healdsburg and Tom started working by selling wine over the phone direct to customers. He had the chance to make some wine, and won awards as an amateur winemaker. They sold their first home and bought a ranch in Alexander Valley. That sealed the deal, and Tom the bassist became Tom Simoneau, winemaker and grape grower. In the early years, Tom relied on American AgCredit to help him live from harvest to harvest, as he fleshed out his business. This episode is PACKED with great stories not only about Tom’s history, but stories of Sonoma County, Healdsburg, and the families who make this place their home.
Check out Tom’s wines (including the Brenda Lee Chardonnay!) online at simoneauvineyards.com and find it on the menu at Valette in Healdsburg.
ROCK’nVINO is sponsored by American AgCredit.
RNV 37: Coco and Mike talk sports, music venues and Mike's brush with death!
RNV 36: Dustin Valette | Chef / Owner of Valette Healdsburg
RNV 35: Keith Wallen | Breaking Benjamin
RNV 34: David Drake | Lancaster Estate Winery
RNV 33: Sheldon Wines | Dylan Sheldon
RNV 32: Josh Silvers | Jackson's Bar and Oven
RNV 31: Wine Guerrilla
RNV 30: Sarah + Ernest | The Winemaker + The Rock Promoter
RNV 29: Sterling Vineyards | Rose Fest 2019
RNV 28: Haters Gonna Hate
RNV 27: Bruce Cohn | Trestle Glen Vineyards | BR Cohn Winery | Famed Music Manager
RNV 26: Josh Windmiller | The Lost Church
RNV 25: Debbie Osborn | The Wine Road / Winter WINEland
RNV 24: Kingsborough
RNV Bonus: BottleRock 2019 Line-Up Announcement & Instant Reaction
RNV 23: Jeff Bundschu | Gundlach Bundschu Winery
RNV 22: Tim Zahner | Director of Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau
RNV 21: Holiday Hangover | Looking Back at 2018
RNV 20: Geoff Whitman | JaM Cellars
RNV 19: Matthew Lowe | Kendall-Jackson Chef + Garden Educator
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