Monthly Archives: February 2016

Dry Creek Valley on Tour – A Picture Perfect Event

February 26th, 2016

Thank you, Los Angeles, for a great event!

The wine was flowing and the food pairings were perfect thanks to food partners: Bob Blumer, Baby Blues BBQ, One World Beef, Cowgirl Creamery and Hog Island Oysters. The event started on the Hog Island Oyster patio where southern California’s world famous weather perfectly complemented the sparkling, white wine and oyster pairings. Winemakers mingled with VIP guests, personally presenting their quintessential white wine for pairing with oysters.

Then, the VIP guests moved inside Lightbox at Smashbox Studios, where Dry Creek Valley icons highlighted their library vintages during the VIP hour, moderated by Dan Dunn. Legends such as Ed Sbragia and Julie Pedroncelli highlighted their library vintage and talked about their history farming in Dry Creek Valley. The food continued with passed trays of Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese as well as Catfish Corndogs, Shrimp “on the Barbie,” Steak Au Poivre bites, and many additional tasty morsels from the combined minds of Bob Blumer and Baby Blues BBQ.  20+ wineries poured their signature varietals with a few surprise vintages for our guests. Partners Ian Blackburn and his WineLA team produced an amazing event that raised almost $5k for TJ Martell, an organization dedicated to funding innovative medical research focused on finding cures for leukemia, cancer and AIDS.

Take a peek at all the fun!

Guests are welcomed with Steak Au Poivre bites

Bob Blumer in the kitchen with Baby Blues BBQ head chef & One World Beef cooking up the amazing food for this event.

The outdoor patio was a perfect place to enjoy Sauvignon Blanc and Oysters.

Hog Island Oyster Co. wowed LA audiences with 1,000 fresh oysters to pair with our wineries’ Sauvignon Blanc, Sparkling Blanc de Blanc, and Viognier.

Bill Frick’s highlighting his scrumptious Grenache Blanc.

Another Shrimp “on the Barbie” mate?

Julie Pedroncelli shows off Pedroncelli’s Sauvignon Blanc – perfect for a hot day!

Our camera ready Silent Auction raised a generous amount towards the TJ Martell Foundation.

LA loved our friends at Comstock Wines, Dry Creek Valley’s newest unmissable winery!

Guests enjoy a local Bay Area Favorite – Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam

We can’t get enough of Cast Wines epic Petite Sirah

Eco-chic Boxed Water kept DCV on Tour guests hydrated between wine tastings

February in LA is a fine time for watermelon and grilled chicken, delicious with Dry Creek Valley’s Rhone-style white wines and, of course, Zinfandel

WineLA’s Ian Blackburn toasts with Dry Creek legend Ed Sbragia

Our friends at Dutcher Crossing welcomed a new family member…to their wine library: a large-format bottle of Dry Creek Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon!

Our LA friends know how to party!

This made us hungry before we even knew what it was! Chef Bob Blumer and Baby Blues BBQ made pulled pork “snowcones” with wonton wrappers.

Cheers to making new friends in Los Angeles! We love bonding over food and wine. See you all again next year!

Our Valentine’s Date – We <3 Steelhead!

February 10th, 2016

Join us on February 13th at the Lake Sonoma Steelhead Festival

Rain or shine, the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley will be pouring your favorite wines at Lake Sonoma. Come celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend with the Steelhead and their annual journey up the Creek.

The festival will be held from 10a to 4p at the Mill Brandt Visitors Center at Lake Sonoma. This family friend event will have food trucks, wine (that’s us!), beer (Bear Republic), live music, interactive exhibits, and of course, plenty of fish! Did we mention that admission is FREE?!

Learn more about the 8th Annual Steelhead Festival 

A big THANK YOU to the below wineries for their continued dedication in both the Dry Creek restoration process and for graciously donating wine to pour at this event. All proceeds made from wine purchases will be going back to the Friends of Lake Sonoma to help keep this event free and keep fish happy on their adventure up the creek.

Amista Vineyards, Comstock Wines, Dry Creek Vineyard, Ferrari-Carano, Martorana Family Winery, Quivira Vineyards & Winery, Sbragia Family Vineyards and Truett Hurst Winery.

When you come visit our tent, be sure to stop by the Sonoma County Water Agency’s table and learn more about their amazing restoration project and progress. Continue reading to learn a little bit more.

There’s plenty of fish in the sea Dry Creek, thanks to the Fish Habitat Restoration Project!

A six-mile habitat enhancement project is being conducted by the Sonoma County Water Agency in cooperation with wineries, private landowners, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in order to provide an enhanced habitat for endangered Coho salmon and threatened Steelhead and Chinook. The project will use boulders, root wads, and logs to create backwaters, side channels, and shady habitats for the young fish that live in Dry Creek during the summer.  The project is intended to restore Dry Creek to its original flow and restore the original ecosystem so that wildlife can thrive.

This project has been in the works since 2008 and is over half way complete! We’ve restored the first mile of Dry Creek, and in the coming years will restore an additional two miles of habitat. You can download a PDF of this timeline if you’re interested in more information.

Many of our wineries border Dry Creek and are an integral part of the initiative to create a friendlier habitat for migrating steelhead and chinook. The restoration process involves two steps – the first involves restoring the gravel beds that are the spawning grounds for salmon and steelhead and the second requires pulling back the steep creek banks and building natural retaining walls using rocks and willow trees.

Amista Vineyards was one of the first on board with the SCWA’s restoration and have monitored the progress over the past year as the creek banks have been rebuilt at their property. Don Wallace of Dry Creek Vineyards states that, “the project makes good sense. It’s going to be good for our land values. But even more important, it’s good for the environment.” All natural materials are used to create a more stable stream bank and resting points for these fish on their adventures to Lake Sonoma. Martorana Family Wineries has been recognized for their efforts in restoring Dry Creek by The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies in 2014 with the Private Lands Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Award.

In 2010, The Department of Fish & Game worked closely with Quivira in a restoration project that released 6,600 juvenile Coho Salmon into Wine Creek, which adjoins with Dry Creek at the winery. The Coho are equipped with a PIT tag antenna that can estimate efficiency and determine the number of migrating Coho and the number of adults returning to the creek. Read more about their other great conservation projects on their website. Quivira’s bio-dynamic friends at Truett-Hurst are no stranger to these efforts. Visit their winery and sit in their classic red Adirondack chairs by the creek with a glass of their Dragonfly Red Blend to appreciate what these efforts have all worked for.

Images pulled from The Press Democrat.