Ep 25: Let's Venture to the Santa Barbara Wineries with Jason Mergenov of Rockets Red Wine

Welcome back to another episode of The Everyday Wine Aficionado Podcast, today let me introduce you to Jason Mergenov of Rockets Red Wine

Jason spent 22 years in the United States Air Force controlling nuclear missiles and tracking satellites. His career took him around the world, from missiles silos & Cheyenne Mountain in the states to Korea, Iraq, and the Indian Ocean.  After retiring from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Jason decided to stay in Santa Barbara County wine country to pursue his passion for grapes and wine.  Using his GI Bill, he earned two degrees in enology & viticulture and spent several years learning all aspects of the wine industry. In 2018 Jason started Rockets Red Wines to share his wines with the world. Today his focus is producing high-quality, small-batch Burgundy & Rhone Rosé, sparkling, and limited reds. 

Let’s dive into his wine story!

[00:01 - 08:02] Opening Segment 

• Regional Highlights Coming Soon!
• • What we’re checking: Santa Barbara Wines 
• I introduce our guest for this episode, Jason Mergenov
• • Jason shares his venture from the Airforce to Wine
  • Wine Schooling 24 Years After College
• It all started with 40 vines
• What makes Jason’s Rosé special: A Rosé for red wine drinkers

[08:03 - 22:51] Let’s Venture the Santa Barbara Wineries 

• The First Things You Have to Know About Santa Barbara
• • “The gamut of pretty much everything is in this county.”
• Winemaking is a passion project
• • How Jason started with Rockets Red Wine
  • Check out Bind Bass
  • Lots of synergies and partnerships
• Veterans are really underrepresented in the wine industry
• What’s on the horizon for Rockets Red Wine?
• • Pet Nat and A Quick Way to Make Sparkling Wine
• Winemaker to Vineyard Networking

[22:52 - 25:43] Tasting Round 

• Favorite Wine
• • Pet Nat
• Go-To Pairing
• • Thai Food and Grenache Rosé
• Wine Resource
• • University of California viticulture website
• Connect with Jason
• • See links below 
• Reach out to me for more wine conversations through the links below 
• Subscribe and leave a review
• Final words 

Tweetable Quotes:

“The great thing about Santa Barbara is it's a metal it's one of the five Mediterranean climates in the world.”  - Jason Mergenov

“The winemakers in Santa Barbara County is such a small, close-knit community. There's really no competition. Everybody here is supporting everybody else.”  - Jason Mergenov

Connect with Jason through Instagram! You can also check out Rockets Red Wine and have your taste of small-batch, veteran-owned, handmade wine. 

Let’s continue the Everyday Wine Conversations and connect with me through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected]. You can also check out my website at ​www.​klevywineco.com.

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