With roots reaching back over 140 years, the Zinfandel grape has a fabled history in Dry Creek Valley

  • 1849 California Gold Rush: European immigrants settled in Dry Creek Valley, attracted by a terroir, landscape and climate similar to that of their homelands.
  • 1860s: Zinfandel farming was well underway, followed by production of the valley’s first recorded wine in 1872.
  • 1880s: Europe’s phylloxera pandemic was a catalyst for viticulture in Dry Creek Valley. Vineyard acreage tripled to 883 acres, the majority Zinfandel. 75 local winegrowers owned the vines. Nine wineries were in operation.
  • 1920s: Wineries disappeared with the onset of Prohibition. By 1933, only four of 16 wineries remained, two of which continue today - J. Pedroncelli and Frei Brothers. Many Zinfandel vineyards survived, but prunes and pears became a mainstay through the Depression and beyond.
  • 1970s: Revitalization of the Dry Creek Valley wine industry started, with longtime families and newcomers rescuing old vineyards, planting new vineyards and establishing wineries focused on creating world class Zinfandel.
  • Today: Over 9,000 acres of vineyards cover the valley, providing exceptional fruit to over 60 wineries - nearly all of which are family-owned. Many of the original families continue to farm the vineyards with successive generations producing premium Zinfandel based on the tradition of their fathers and grandfathers … establishing roots for everyone that came after. 

Zinfandel is a finicky grape. There are very few regions, worldwide, where it can consistently mature and produce premium wine. Dry Creek Valley is an ideal location.

The Perfect Soil: only 16 miles long by two miles wide, the narrow Dry Creek Valley offers a patchwork of well-drained and low fertility soils running the valley floor, bench and hillsides. Before Dry Creek – the stream running down the middle of the Valley – was dammed at Lake Sonoma, it would routinely flood and deposit masses of stone through the valley. The stones remain, creating the perfect soil for Zinfandel.

An Infamous Climate: 70 miles north of San Francisco and 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Dry Creek Valley is ideally situated for winegrapes. The coastal range keeps cool marine temperatures at bay, allowing the valley to warm up early in the day, while providing a conduit for cold air and fog to arrive at night and dramatically drop temperatures. There is minimal rain during the growing season. A climate that is warm and dry enough to fully ripen and mature the grapes, yet cool enough to retain their acidity and balance … it’s the best of all worlds for Zinfandel. 

A Taste of Place: geography, climate and soil create a flavor profile that is distinct to Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, yet personally directed by the growers, vineyards and vintners.  Zinfandel is usually described as having aromas and flavors of blackberry, raspberry, boysenberry and cherry, often times laced with black pepper, cloves, anise, and herbs.

Quotes

Dry Creek Valley’s Zinfandel is the perfect summer red

Steve Heimoff/Wine Spectator

 

Dry Creek Valley’s Zinfandel holds a unique place in California.

Steve Heimoff/Wine Spectator

 

“Zinfandel offers immediate hedonistic access that almost anyone can enjoy.

Crhistopher Matthews/NY Law Journal

 

Zinfructure: Zin and Dry Creek Valley are built into another.

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Dry Creek Valley . . . the sweet spot for Zin.

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History

Zinfandel is truly America’s grape. Zinfandel gained popularity during the 1849

Gold Rush when timber and wire were scarce. It could be planted without special equipment. This same technique, called head pruning, is still used today. Zinfandel was planted in Dry Creek Valley in 1869.  However, most of Northern California’s vineyards were destroyed by phylloxera. Some Zinfandel vines survive either because they were planted on resistant rootstock or are isolated from the disease. Zinfandel remains popular among home winemakers during Prohibition. In 1973, White Zinfandel is created and it is seen as a savior and a curse for the future of Zinfandel. However, it paved the way for wineries to begin taking a fine-wine approach to Zinfandel winemaking in 1978-1985.

 

The Zinfandel Challenge

It has been said that growing Zinfandel grapes and making Zinfandel wine is particularly challenging due to the fact the “berries within the bunch ripen unevenly, so some berries are slightly under ripe, some perfectly ripe and some are verging on dehydrated or raisiney” (Joe Peterson/Ravenswood Winery).  This produces bright acidity from the slightly under ripe areas, perfect fruit flavors from ripe berries and concentration and depth from slightly withered or overripe berries”. However, Dry Creek Valley growers and vintners like a challenge and enjoy putting their own thumbprint on the personality of their Zinfandel. Naturally, the terroir in Dry Creek Valley plays a major role in development. The well-drained soils and fog patterns from the Pacific Ocean create perfect growing conditions for Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Zinfandel is usually described as having aromas and flavors of blackberry, raspberry, boysenberry and cherry, often times laced with black pepper, cloves, anise, and herbs.

 

Old Vine Zinfandel

Dry Creek Valley has one of the most highly concentrated areas of Old Vine Zindandel in all of California. Although there is no legal definition of Old Vine Zinfandel, Joel Peterson of Ravenswood Winery describes it this way:

0-10  years-Young vines

10-50 Middle age vines

50-80-Old vines

80+-Ancient