Sonoma Wines

Introduction

Located in the heart of Sonoma County, and with wine making roots dating back over 135 years ago, this region has one of the richest and longest wine making histories among all of Sonoma County's sub-regions.  This breathtaking valley with many natural advantages for growing produces distinctive world class wines.  Dry Creek Valley is located just 1.5 hours from San Francisco and is a short drive from the fine dining, shopping and nightlife of downtown Healdsburg.

History

Tradition in grape growing and wine making in Dry Creek valley is among the richest in all of California, with roots dating back over 135 years ago including professional wine reviews appearing in public newspapers as far back as 1878 in the Healdsburg Enterprise.

Wine grape vines were originally planted by French immigrants in 1870 followed by an influx of Italian winemakers who brought techniques and vines from their native homes in Italy.  Many of these pioneering Italian wine makers described the vinous geography of Dry Creek Valley as similar to their native Tuscany and Piedmont.  By the turn of the 20th century, Dry Creek Valley had become one of California's most respected producers of Zinfandel.  Unfortunately, much of the progress the area had made was halted during Prohibition.  During this time most wineries closed and much of the area was converted to plum, pear, and prune orchards.  Interestingly, before Prohibition there were 256 wineries in operation county-wide which compares with approximately 140 wineries in the county today.

Wine grape production surged again in the 1970s and Dry Creek Valley began to reclaim its destiny as one of the prime grape growing and wine making regions in the world.  In 1983 the United States government established a system of American Viticultural Areas.  Dry Creek Valley was one of the first regions approved under the system and gained its AVA status in July 1983.

Geography and Climate

Approximately 16 miles long and 2 miles wide, and created by uplift and subsidence along earthquake fault-lines, Dry Creek Valley is one of the smallest enclosed American Viticultural Areas.  The region centers around a tributary of the Russian River called 'Dry Creek' and is located northwest of the town of Healdsburg.  Wines grown in this relatively dry area benefit from the irrigatory properties of nearby Lake Sonoma reservoir.  Dry Creek Valley is quintessential Sonoma County featuring warm days tempered by morning fogs from the Pacific rising from the narrow valley floor before being burned off passing into the benchlands above.  Dry Creek Vally has a relatively high concentration of benchland vineyards and is classified as a cool climate growing region similar to that in the Bordeaux region of France.

The Dry Creek flows south into Sonoma County from its canyon at Warm Springs Dam before entering the Dry Creek Valley where it deposits alluvial material before joining the Russian River near the northern edge of the Santa Rosa Plain 25 miles from the Pacific Ocean.  Like its cousin Alexander Valley to the east, Dry Creek Valley enjoys daily high temperatures in the mid-80s during the critical growing months of July, August and September.  But like the Russian River Valley to the south and west, the Dry Creek Valley also experiences late afternoon and evening cooling from the coast during the growing season.  What's unique about Dry Creek Valley is that fog rarely enters the valley until after dark which provides the maximum hours of sunshine needed to bring grapes to full maturity.  These influences of the Pacific Ocean coupled with the inland location make Dry Creek Valley an ideal and distinctive location for high quality wine grape production.

The soils of Dry Creek Valley fall into two distinctive categories.  The first is the soil on the valley floor that is deposited by Dry Creek.  This soil is primarily gravelly and sandy loam with high concentrations of gravel and sand.  The soil in this area is well drained and fertile.  The second soil category of this region is the soil on the benchland and surrounding hills which primarily contains gravelly clay loam.  This soil drains very well and tends to be rocky and red in color.  The rocky soil limits vine vigor and stresses unique grape personality.

With bench land and hillside vineyards on both flanks, Dry Creek Valley provides winemakers with an exceptional palette from which to work.  Grapes from vineyards facing west-southwest often have powerful varietal character, as the vines are in full sunlight during the heat of the afternoon. Vineyards with an east-northeast exposure present an oblique angle to the sun during the afternoon, and grapes from these vineyards frequently achieve great complexity

Wines

Approximately 9,300 acres of vineyards extend along Dry Creek Valley floor, benchlands and hillsides, with 63 wineries producing a diverse selection of wines ranging from Zinfandels to Bordeaux and Mediterranean varietals. Dry Creek Valley AVA houses the majority of E & J Gallo Winery's Sonoma vineyards which were established in the early 1990s.

The grapes originally planted here by pioneer Italian immigrants produce hearty red wines were Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Carignane.   Today, the leading varietals include Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, with the AVA being particularly well known for its for its Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel, and the Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel being the most planted varietals.  The Dry Creek Valley AVA is one of the California's top Zinfandel producers.