My Wine Journey

My Napa wine journey began approximately 38 years ago, when I graduated from university my first job was with a start up in the bay area. Every Friday afternoon the team would cut out around noon and drive up to Napa. Since I was a new recruit, I had many training trips to the home office, and I was fortunate to stay for long weekends.

Mind you my only sense of wine was a homemade Italian wine my grandfather and his best friend made in my original hometown of Chicago along with my adolescence years with Strawberry Boones Farm, so fine wine was something I had no idea about.

I can remember vividly driving into the valley the first time and seeing the beauty of the grape vines and the surrounding majestic mountain ranges. It was breath taking. I knew instantly that this was truly a special place that I was completely consumed by for the rest of my adult life returning year after year and introducing many friends and family members. My dream was to someday own a home there. 

Over the many decades of returning to the valley year after year I have saw countless changes along with the growth and popularity of the region in some ways I long for the rustic charming wineries. I can remember Heitz Winery a well-established winery today but years ago it was nothing more than a trailer parked right in the middle of the vineyard. I have embraced the growth and success of the region with welcome arms as it has been a remarkable journey, one I am very proud to have been a part of all these years. 

The valley is truly inspiring to me, and I only hope that I have done my best to introduce as many new wine connoisseurs as possible to this amazing region. This is the foundation of the Podcast to introduce this special place in my heart and to share it with a wider audience. Along with a fun, entertaining and informative show we hope to inspire you to come experience this magical place for yourself.

My Political Journey

Never in a million years would I ever think I’d be hosting a political talk show, my earliest memories of politics began in my Chicago middle class home. My folks weren’t particularly active in civics however I do remember their true dedication to voting and the importance to pick a candidate that inspired them and held their values. 

I can remember being ~10 years old and coming home to lunch every day during the school day and my mom had a little 15 inch black and white tv on in the kitchen, while I ate my lunch it was then I began my political curiosity watching the Watergate hearings with her every day. I was captivated by watching these mainly all white men being interrogated by congress and trying to make sense of it, that this is our government trying to get to the truth of what I can only surmise was that something went radically wrong and that we had to get to the bottom of it to move forward as a people. I was fascinated even though it wasn’t until much later that I really understood the significance of that time.

My next profound memory of my political journey was in college, I took a political science class and one of our main assignments was to pick out a township and find out when the board had a meeting to raise issues to vote on. It was the basis of our democratic society in action, it was at that meeting I learned that you have a voice and could effect change in your local town. How powerful that was as a citizen I could make a difference if I only got involved.

Next, I began watching religiously Meet the press in the mid 80’s.at the time I was very busy with school and beginning my professional career so I couldn’t devote as much time to being as active however I knew the importance of being a good citizen was to be informed of our country and the world for that matter. At that time the “norm was never talking politics” which I never understood or bought into since we as a people if we don’t talk how were we ever going to solve our country’s problems? I held that belief and almost always brought up the day’s politics despite family members trying to keep me quite and not to make waves.

My first job out of university was with a global economic research and forecasting bay area company led by the former Chief economist at BOA. It was there that my depth of political understanding really began as you can imagine economics and politics go hand and hand. I was surrounded by intelligent bright passionate journalists and analysts from around the world always looking for a discussion and or debate on the day’s global politics. I was truly in my element and was determined to have an opinion backed by the truth and facts of the subject matter. This experience was in my DNA and wherever I would go I always gently pursued a civil discussion of the day’s politics and in most cases I found people were very receptive to talk and have their viewpoints heard respectfully even if we were not always aligned.

There in lays the foundation of this podcast, its merely a platform to bring people together to discuss our country and the world’s complex issues in a respectful civil manner. I truly believe with an open heart and mind we can find common ground to solve some of our most challenging complex problems of our time.

Cheers!

Tyrene

Meet the Team

  • Tyrene Peterman

    FOUNDER & CREATOR

    Over 30 years corporate Sales and Executive Management experience in the Financial Information Industry.

  • Freddie Henjes

    PRODUCER

    A Product Manager and Entrepreneur in small Tech. Helping people launch new businesses and ideas.

  • Amy Rocen

    EDITOR

    An on-air radio personality at Santa Barbara's Modern Rock KJEE; board operator at Southern California NPR affiliate KCRW and editor of your new favorite podcast Breaking Bread Napa.