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Oz and James’  Big Wine AdventureEpisode oneThe odd couple were reunited on Muscle Beach where Oz won the World Wine Tasting Championships in the 1980s. His bubble is soon burst when James reveals his vehicle of choice for their road trip, a 42ft monster motorhome which they will share for four hot, cramped and sweaty weeks.The duo head off to Buellton in Santa Barbara, the home of Pinot Noir and the location of the film Sideways. James soon becomes bemused by the reality that Oz Clarke is a local hero and inspiration to young winemakers.The boys met winemaker Fess Parker who played Davey Crockett in the TV series and one of the wine world’s characters, wild boy Jim Clendenen, to try his Pinot Noir. They also enjoy the Highliner Pinot Noir at the Hitching Post restaurant, made by owner Frank Ostini and partner Gray Hartley.Episode twoOz and James hit Paso Robles to meet a host of rebellious winemakers who are happy to break some rules by taking grapes associated with the Old World Rhône varieties and blending them into exciting and invigorating blends.They tried the Reva blend made by John Alban at Alban vineyards, which mixes grapes such as Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier and Roussanne. Another recommended blend was Broken Stones, made by Justin Smith at Saxum, which contains Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. They also tried Gary Eberle’s Syrah from his Steinbeck Vineyard.Episode threeThe dynamic duo headed to the dusty plains and opulent coastline of Monterey County, stopping in Delicato – the world’s biggest vineyard – which is so vast that there are different climates from one end to the other. It even has a runway, which is often used as a racetrack. From here the boys went to Carmel, one of California’s richest towns. It is home to L’Auberge, a swanky restaurant selling the seemingly controversial notion that red wine tastes goods with fish. The boys met up with Josh Jensen from the Calera winery, who has struggled for years to make the perfect Pinot and Chardonnay in one of California’s most remote and difficult vineyards.Finally they visited Gary Pisoni, who invested his parents’ money into planting Chardonnay. His mad lifestyle is reflected in his dress sense, conversation and wine, but he also produces one of the boys’ favourite wines of the trip.Episode fourOz and James met some established winemakers in Santa Cruz to talk about varietals. Bonny Doon wines were a big hit with the boys, made by eccentric winemaker Randall Grahm. He blends Mourvèdre, Grenache and Syrah along with less well known grapes like Cinsault. They also met another influential winemaker, Paul Draper at Ridge winery and enjoyed his Merlot. Counter to what many expect of Merlot, the Ridge wines are forceful and intense and need some time in the bottle to develop their potential.Episode fiveOz and James hit the San Francisco Bay Area on a mission to delve deeper into the history of California wine. They investigated Prohibition and sought out old vineyards that are more than 100 years old. At Cline Vineyards in Oakley they met Fred Cline, an old-school winemaker keen to carry on the heritage of old vines while resisting selling out to the urban sprawl of San Francisco. He also challenged James to a grape harvesting race with one of his pickers.Oz and James also found their favourite grape variety, Zinfandel. This is hailed as the true California wine and they loved it. One of the best producers is Kent Rosenblum whose winery is in Alameda, near Oakland. He’s considered by many as the ‘King of Zin’ and produces an excellent array of Zinfandel bottlings.Episode sixOz and James left San Francisco and headed for Carneros on the shores of San Pablo Bay to find out why some of the cool parts of California are perfect for sparkling wines. They met Eileen Crane from Domaine Carneros (owned by Champagne Taittinger), a winemaker who believes she was born to make bubbles. James, who dislikes Champagne, was surprised by how much he actually liked it.More bubbles were downed at the Schramsberg estate with another maverick winemaker, Hugh Dennis. Finally they hooked up with the intimidating and eccentric Su Hua Newton. She treated Oz and James like naughty schoolboys and, when he was left by himself, James tucked into her wine, incurring the wrath of both Oz and Su HuaEpisode sevenOz and James continued their tour of California and met some of the most powerful and eccentric winemakers in the Golden State. They headed for Sonoma, an established wine region now competing with the best that the more famous Napa Valley has to offer. First they met Mike Benziger, a biodynamic winemaker who believes that working with the moon and stars can help him to make the perfect wine.Next was Gina Gallo, the latest figurehead of the world’s most successful and productive winemaking family. The total opposite to the Gallo dynasty is the eccentric Sean Thackrey. He gets his grapes from vineyards where nobody has a clue what the grape varieties are!Episode eightIn the final leg of their New World adventure Oz and James took on the opulence of Napa Valley, California’s biggest tourist attraction after Disneyland.James was shocked by the wealth and over-the-top wineries that seduce tourists into buying wine. In Napa fine wine is an expensive trophy that’s for collecting rather than enjoying.Technical Information – All episodes are similar=== File Information ===File Name:            Oz and Jame’s Big Wine Adventure S02E01.XviD-GIA.aviDuration:             00:28:54 (43,350 fr)File Size:            309 MB (or 316,828 KB or 324,431,872 bytes) bytes=== Video Information ===Video Codec Name:     XviDVideo Bitrate:        1354 kb/sBits / Pixel:         0.192 bits/pixelResolution:           704×400 (1.76:1) [=44:25]frames Per Second:    25.000 fps=== Audio Information ===Audio Codec:          0x0055(MP3) ID’d as MPEG-1 Layer 3Audio Bitrate:        134 kb/s (67/ch, stereo) VBR LAME3.90. thanks to the Original Capper