Monthly Archives: September 2014

The Flavors of Fall: Dry Creek Valley Wines

September 30th, 2014

The Flavors of Fall: Dry Creek Valley Wines

Autumn in Dry Creek Valley offers up all of the the quintessential trappings of the season one would hope for and is one of the best times of year to come visit us. After the long hot summer, the air becomes brisk enough that we can pull out our coziest sweaters and comfiest jeans. The leaves on the vines turn to brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds, for scenery on par with the best East Coast fall foliage. The best Fall fruits and veggies abound for hearty harvest meals and the cool evenings are wonderful for twilight strolls around Healdsburg and surrounding winery vineyards. It’s also the perfect time to drop into the Healdsburg Farmers Market, which takes place every Wednesday afternoon through October and Saturday mornings through November.

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Celebrate California Wine Month in Dry Creek Valley

September 24th, 2014

This September in Dry Creek Valley

Celebrate California Wine Month in Dry Creek Valley

In Dry Creek Valley, we like to think every month is California Wine Month, but in September, it’s official. This year marks the tenth year California’s Governor has legally-proclaimed the occasion; Governor Jerry Brown issued an official statement earlier this month to commemorate California’s bounty and its incredible history of winemaking.

The first grapes were planted in California by Spanish missionaries for making sacramental wine. By the late 1770s, California’s viniculture was flourishing. In the mid-19th century, a Hungarian Count named Agoston Haraszthy brought a huge range of grape varietals to California and was likely responsible for introducing zinfandel to the state, which is now recognized as one of California’s most iconic wine grapes. Today, our state produces approximately 90% of the United States’ wine.

Dry Creek Valley is the proud home of one of the densest concentrations of Old Vine Zinfandel in the world, with vines over 140 years old. For generations, our winegrowers have put tremendous labor and love into our zinfandel and played an integral part in establishing this beloved grape as a California icon. Today, Dry Creek Valley sets the bar for producing world-class, age-worthy zinfandels.

Whether you’re a fellow Californian or visiting us from afar, we invite you to raise a glass this month in honor of the early pioneers who first grew wine on our soil and the innovators who keep the industry thriving today. We’ve been celebrating California Wine Month with events all September long, and there are still opportunities to close out the month with a toast. If you’re headed out our way, make sure you take advantage of some of the unique offerings at our member wineries. (more…)

Dry Creek Valley Winery: Spotlight Hawley Winery

September 19th, 2014

Dry Creek Valley Winery: Spotlight Hawley Winery

With over 16 years of experience growing for some of California’s most influential wineries including Clos Du Bois and Kendall Jackson, where he was their chief winemaker, John Hawley decided to stake out on his own in 1996. He bought some barrels and fermenters, bonded his garage, borrowed a press, and with a lot of help from friends and family, and considerable toil, became a small wine producer.

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#SCHarvest14: September Update from Dry Creek Valley

September 15th, 2014

#SCHarvest2014: September Update from Dry Creek Valley

September is the busiest time for our wineries in Dry Creek Valley, with a fast and furious #SCHarvest14 season well under way. This year is expected to be a vintage of exceptional quality, with somewhat smaller yields than 2012 and 2013, but richly-pigmented, approachable reds and mouthwatering whites.  Some producers are calling 2014 the best vintage they’ve ever seen.

The king of Dry Creek Valley is zinfandel, where it thrives in the area’s unique climate, with long warm days that allow the fruit to fully ripen and coastal cooling breezes that enable the grapes to retain their acidity and balance through the process of maturation. Zinfandel loves hot weather, and this year delivered a warm spring and a very warm summer. In Healdsburg, there were multiple days in July and August reaching into the mid-90s, but monthly averages overall were around 81 degrees Fahrenheit. All grapes love a big diurnal temperature shift, and in July and August of 2014, daily lows were often more than 20 degrees cooler than daily highs.

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Interview with a Grape Grower: Bob Littell of Treborce Vineyards

September 11th, 2014

Interview with a Grape Grower: Bob Littell of Treborce Vineyards

Bob and Joyce Littell holding the 2012 Treborce Vineyard Zinfandel from Wilson Winery, Double Gold Winner and Best Zinfandel at the San Francisco International Wine Competiton

Every day, Bob Littell goes for a walk through his Treborce Vineyards and inspects his vines, with pruners on his belt, tape in hand, and his dogs–German shorthaired pointers he rescued–for company. If he sees a problem developing, he can nip it in the bud, literally, or if he wants to keep an eye on a particular vine, he can mark it with colored tape so his vineyard manager and crew know to watch it closely. There’s a constant breeze in the vineyard in the afternoon, so Treborce Zinfandel grapes aren’t as susceptible to some of the challenges posed by the area’s prevalent fog.  Nonetheless, it takes continuous monitoring and hard work year-round to produce top-notch fruit, which is essential to making top-notch wine.

Treborce Vineyards, first planted in 1999, has been producing phenomenal Zinfandel and Petite Sirah grapes ever since. That’s why so many of the wines made from Treborce fruit have won awards. A relatively small property–a mere 10 acres of vines–has made a big impression in the wines of Dry Creek Valley.  We spoke to Mr. Littell about what it’s like to be a grower of wine grapes, his favorite vintages, and his impressions of Dry Creek Valley evolution in the 34 years he’s been there. (more…)