Monthly Archives: July 2014

A Day in Dry Creek Valley: Where to Sip, Eat, & Stay

July 30th, 2014

Forchini Winery and Vineyards

A Day in Dry Creek Valley: Where to Sip, Eat, & Stay

No exploration of Sonoma County wine country is complete without a stop in the region’s Zinfandel capital, Dry Creek Valley. Whether it’s just for the day or you’re spending the weekend, our area’s eclectic melange of centennial winemaking history, family-owned winery hospitality, and of course, world-class dining, lodging and shopping offerings in nearby Healdsburg, make us an unforgettable destination. We’re a place that visitors remember and love returning to again and again.

With such a variety of options to fork, cork and unwind, it’s probably a good idea to create an itinerary before you arrive based upon your own personal must-sees and dos. But since we’re experts on our amazing valley, we’ve offered up a few suggestions along three simple categories for you to get started: Sipping, Eating, and Staying.

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Winery Spotlight: Cast Winery

July 23rd, 2014

Casting The Spell

Tucked into the forest on a tranquil bench above Grey Palm Estate vineyard in Dry Creek Valley is Cast Winery, a boutique winery that produces wines in small batches using old-world techniques that highlight the very best of Sonoma County. The estate boasts spellbinding views which enhance an authentic wine country experience that echoes a simpler time. The winery’s name – Cast – was conceived over a bottle of wine while gazing out at a stunning sunset over their vineyard. Let’s take a closer look and see why Dry Creek Valley newest winery is casting such a spell…

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Sustainability In Dry Creek Valley

July 16th, 2014

Sustainability In Dry Creek Valley

What does sustainable mean to us? For the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley, it means being a passionate advocate for the Dry Creek Valley AVA and ensuring we’re giving back to the environment as much as we’re gleaning from it. It also means we’re assessing and maintaining that delicate balance between environmental impact, viability, and economic growth and taking a leadership position when it comes to sustainability practices.

To that end, WDCV is taking the lead on Sonoma County Winegrowers’ countrywide initiative to become 100% sustainable within the next five years. To achieve this precedent, we recently appointed third-generation winegrower David Mounts of Mounts Family Winery as chair of our new Sustainability Committee. Mr Mounts will help steer a contingent of 150 + growers and 65 wineries here in Dry Creek Valley to implement a three-phase sustainability initiative that will ultimately get all Dry Creek Valley wineries certified “sustainable” through credible third-party verification and certification programs. It’s a monumental task and we’re glad to have such a dynamic steward at the helm of this project.

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Dry Creek Valley Wines For Bastille Day

July 9th, 2014

Dry Creek Valley Wines For Bastille Day

We know what you’re thinking. Didn’t we just celebrate Independence Day? It turns out we’re not the only country with a festive-filled celebration in the month of July… On July 14th, France also celebrates their own unique brand of independence known officially as La Fête Nationale, Bastille Day , or simply, Le Quatorze Juillet. Like its U.S. counterpart, this celebration also features patriotic fireworks, backyard feasts, hometown parades, along with some traditions that are uniquely à la française, such as fireman’s balls and costumed dances.

Lucky for us, we don’t have to be left out of all of the Le Quatorze Juillet fun, especially with so many of us with an ancestral connection to France, a notion especially prevelant in the world of wine and here in our own Dry Creek Valley. So before you dash off to that nearby Bastille Day celebration in your neck of the woods,  here are a few Boredeaux-style blends that you’ll want to take along and share with good company… family, friends, those you have now and maybe some new friends to be made. Oh and “‘Joyeux Le Quatorze Juillet!”

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