Wines for Your New Year’s Celebration
In just a few days, we’ll count down the last minutes of 2015 and usher in 2016! The New Year brings a fresh start and a chance to celebrate and reflect with your nearest and dearest. To kick start the new year, here are some Dry Creek Valley wine pairings for the festivities. (more…)
Grower Spotlight: Goldschmidt Vineyards
Goldschmidt Vineyards
Nick Goldschmidt moved from his New Zealand home to Healdsburg in 1990. Says Goldschmidt, “Dry Creek Valley was ideal for us. We can’t be as close to the ocean as we were in New Zealand but at least we have the river. It’s a magic spot.” Twenty-five years later, Goldschmidt has now lived half his life in Sonoma County, though he’s such a world-traveler that one can hardly say “home” is any one place. Goldschmidt grows grapes and makes wine in Sonoma, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, and other locations, as consulting winemaker for dozens of wineries worldwide.
Nick Goldschmidt
Though Dry Creek Valley has historically been best-known for its zinfandel, Goldschmidt has long championed the region for its merlot. His Dry Creek Valley vineyard is seven acres, all planted to merlot clone 337. Goldschmidt explains, “The soil is really loam over river gravels. What I find is that there is really good water holding capacity which seems strange for this area but I am a big proponent of not having dehydration in merlot and so this works well. The grapes we pick are fully-ripe with fresh fruit elements and soft tannins.” His Chelsea Goldschmidt Merlot–named for one of his three daughters–earned a 92-point score in Wine Enthusiast in 2006, its first year of production.
Goldschmidt at the White House
This year has been a big one for Goldschmidt. The Kiwi got a rare American honor when his wines were served at the White House. The event was even more memorable, since Goldschmidt is an old friend of White House sommelier, Daniel Shanks. In other honors, Sonoma Magazine spotlighted Goldschmidt in their “Top 100 Wines” issue and included two of his wines among their favorites.
Goldschmidt is a dedicated educator, inspiring other winegrowers in Sonoma and beyond. He is a frequent guest lecturer at UC Davis, Fresno State, and Cal Poly, has written multiple articles for the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, and is a regular speaker at American Society of Viticulture and Enology conferences and at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium.
Goldschmidt’s favorite part of globetrotting are the people he encounters. “I get to work with the best winemakers in the world,” he says. As humble as he is generous, Goldschmidt explains, “They hire me to consult but actually I think I learn more from them. It is really fun and working with different cultures is what winemaking is all about.”
Dry Creek Valley’s Early History – A Photo Essay
Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley was settled by American families following the Gold Rush of 1849. By the 1880s, the area we now recognize as an AVA was home to nine wineries and almost 900 acres of vines were planted. A few of our present-day wineries have been making wine since the 19th century, and many of our current wineries make zinfandel from grapes planted more than 100 years ago. Here’s a photo essay looking back at the early days of a few of our pioneering winegrowers: Mauritson Wines, Seghesio Family Vineyards, Puccioni Vineyards, and Pedroncelli.
The Mauritson family, farming in Dry Creek Valley since 1868.
Winery Spotlight: Manzanita Creek Winery
Brothers Jack and William Salerno
Brothers Jack and William Salerno have been making delicious wines at their Dry Creek Valley winemaking facility since 2001. With backgrounds in construction and painting, the Salerno brothers might not seem the likeliest of winemakers, but they credit the skills they acquired in their previous industries–precision, perseverance and risk taking–with their success at Manzanita Creek Winery. Their passion for zinfandel and other bold red grapes that thrive in Dry Creek Valley is evident in the excellent wines these self-taught winemakers are making.
You need only to look at our Interactive Winery Map to see that many Dry Creek Valley wineries are pet-friendly. At many of our wineries, you’ll find dogs who live on site, helping welcome guests to the tasting room. A few wineries have cats for mascots instead. Where grapes grow, there’s often also fertile land for farm animals, including cows, sheep, goats and pigs. In our latest photo essay, we’re shining the spotlight on some of Dry Creek Valley’s cutest four legged friends.
This is Roadhouse Winery‘s helper Holly.
DaVero Farm and Winery raises piglets!
