Winery Spotlight: Manzanita Creek Winery

Winery Spotlight: Manzanita Creek Winery

manzanita creek winery jack salerno william salerno dry creek valley

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.

Manzanita Creek Winery

The Salernos have never sought to make wines that please critics–their success has come by making wines that pleased themselves. In their second year as a winery, one of their reds appeared on the San Francisco Chronicle’s “Top 100” list. As Jack says, “Boutique wines shouldn’t mean snobbery. Instead, boutique wines should mean authenticity. We source our grapes from locally- owned vineyards in Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley. We’re here to make some of the finest wine in the heart of Wine Country.”

Since they first laid eyes on Dry Creek Valley, in 1990, the Salerno brothers knew they wanted to make wine. Their flagship wine is the Dry Creek Valley Carreras Old Vine Zinfandel, sourced from a vineyard planted in 1905. The current vintage offering is the 2008, and is aging beautifully, with big stature, deep color, and deep concentrated fruit flavor.

Manzanita Creek Winery is located in an industrial center in Healdsburg, but the flavors in their wines are so concentrated that you’ll feel like you’re among the vines. The winery’s catchphrase is, “Great Wines. No Scenery. Never Boring.”