Vintage episode (2006)

Why This Episode Matters

The Guys dissect classic “wine gaffes” and the social survival tactics that follow.
Susan Ridley explains why Hendry’s vineyard site matters: cool maritime influence, rocky soils and foothill elevation
A look at vineyard thinking from a grower-driven perspective, where farming stress, decades of experience, and selectivity shape the wine.
Wine dinners are the best “real-world” wine education: food changes everything.

The Banter

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott open with wine-party etiquette wars. How to prevent your “special bottle” from being shelved like an unwanted candle and why perfume at tastings should be a misdemeanor.

The Conversation

Susan Ridley (Brookside Ranch) joins to tell the accidental origin story of becoming George Hendry’s partner—starting with dinner at the neighbor’s house and ending with a serious winery built on one vineyard, no purchased fruit. The Guys dig into what makes Hendry’s site in Napa’s cooler corner so distinctive, why vineyard stress and rocky soils can produce better wine, and how wine dinners teach pairing in a way tastings never can. Along the way: vineyard tours with a pith-helmeted nuclear physicist, Napa seasonality, legendary blackberry jam, and the screw cap vs. cork debate.

Timestamps

0:00 – Welcome + Natalie MacLean’s “Grapes of Gaffe”

2:15 – Having your host ignore your bottle, too much perfume and “off” bottles

9:00 – Guest Introduction: Susan Ridley, Brookside Ranch and Hendry Wines

12:50 – Hendry vineyard location, elevation, and rocky soils

15:45 – George Hendry, farmer and nuclear physicist

20:40 – Wine dinners and lessons they teach

23:13 – Brookside Ranch B&B + Napa seasonality

29:00 – Screw caps vs. cork closures discussion

Guest Bio

Susan Ridley was a partner in Hendry Wines in Napa Valley and proprietor of Brookside Ranch, a historic bed-and-breakfast neighboring the Hendry estate. She worked closely with grower-winemaker George Hendry on communicating the winery’s vineyard-first philosophy and focus on estate fruit. Susan passed away in 2025.

Info

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Cool Napa, Serious Wines | Susan Ridley, Hendry Wines