Series 2
8 episodes · Oct 16, 2007
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S2E1Santa Barbara County
Oct 16, 200730mThe odd couple are 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.
S2E2Paso Robles
Oct 23, 200730mOz Clarke's attempts to educate James May about the pleasures of wine take them to California's outlaw country, where Jesse James hid and James Dean died. The Top Gear presenter is impressed by the wine and its rebellious makers, but most excited by the Harley he uses to tour the second vineyard
S2E3Monterey County
Oct 30, 200730mOenophile Oz Clarke takes novice James May on a month-long trip around California's wineries. In this third episode, Oz and James are on the coastline of Monterey County. All manner of non-wine tasting related activities ensue, including muscle car racing and rifle shooting with an eccentric millionaire.
S2E4Santa Cruz County
Nov 15, 200730mOenophile Oz Clarke takes novice James May around California's wineries. They have arrived in the Santa Cruz area. Tension mounts between the odd couple when James crashes the RV. The bickering continues at Randall Grahm's New World vinery, which produces what James sees as yet more over-priced, inaccessible wine. James gets his revenge when they go to meet 'two-buck-Chuck', whose wine factory churns out bottles for only two dollars.
S2E5San Francisco Bay Area
Nov 27, 200730mThe duo tour the San Francisco Bay area in a classic British Mini and receive a history lesson as they visit vineyards more than 100 years old. They learn about the impact of Prohibition, and James is impressed when Oz finally finds a notable American wine that is both affordable and accessible.
S2E6North Coast and Sparkling Wine
Dec 4, 200730mArriving at the glamorous Napa Valley, they are dismayed to discover that they're staying in the car park. The pair argue about who will empty the RV's waste tank, then sample Californian champagne at the Tattinger estate. Next, the Schramsberg estate, where the quarreling continues with a heated debate about what bubbles taste like. Frustrated, James rents a Mustang Shelby to get them out of the hated RV.
S2E7Sonoma Valley
Dec 11, 200730mThey meet Mike Benziger, owner of an organic estate. He maintains an insectry, where he breeds insects to eat the lesser bugs that damage his vines, and a sceptical James is silenced when he tastes the wine. Next, they visit the Gallo estate, a producer of affordable wines that flood the international market. Their hostess, Gina Gallo, is charming, but Oz and James sour her hospitality by having another argument.
- S2E8
Napa Valley
Dec 18, 200730mOz and James return to the opulent Napa Valley. James is dismayed that Cabernet is a trophy to be paraded here, rather than a wine to be drunk and enjoyed. But at Bill Harlan's estate, a vinery making fine wines that regularly get ratings of 100/100, he concedes that he may have become a wine snob. As they drive home in the now-battered RV, they discuss where their next adventure will take them.