Dry Creek Valley Archives - Page 2 of 3

Armida Winery – one of the best picnic wineries

May 26, 2012 by joe

Enjoying a picnic lunch at a winery is one of life’s finer pleasures. We have our list of favorite wineries with great picnic areas and views, and the Armida Winery is one of those that head the list. Armida is located on the edge of the Dry Creek Valley on Westside Road, a couple of miles from the town of Healdsburg. It is small family-run winery producing 10,000 to 12,000 cases a year.

The winery is situated high on a hill affording a spectacular view of the Russian River Valley area. Yes, although the winery is situated in the Dry Creek AVA, the view is of the neighboring Russian River Valley. The winery has a good-sized deck with several tables that afford this wonderful scene. A pond just below the deck adds to the beauty of the vineyards off in the distance. Once people experience this beauty, they return again and again to enjoy this spot. Saturdays are very popular here, especially from Spring to the early Fall months.

Bistro Ralph – 19 Years of Delicious Dining in Healdsburg

November 18, 2011 by joe

Note: Bistro Ralph has closed its restaurant.

On the spur of the moment, we decided to take a quick overnight trip to the wine country in the Russian River area. We have a couple of favorite spots in this area that we love to visit during the Fall. The colors are absolutely beautiful in the Dry Creek Valley, the Alexander Valley, and the Russian River Valley.

Besides the Fall colors another good reason to travel at this time of year, and in midweek, is that you can get a better lodging rate and things are much less crowded everywhere you go.

Liquid Amber on West Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg

We found a room at the Best Western Dry Creek Inn for a measly $69. The room is in the new Tuscan center of the hotel and has a fireplace, large screen TV, and a Jacuzzi tub. We don’t really need those things but why not take them if they come with a room that normally prices well over $200? For you travelers to Healdsburg, this online midweek offer is probably going to continue to run during the winter months.

Geyserville Wine Country Excursion – Five Lovely Wineries to Visit

April 13, 2011 by joe

Who would of thought that the tiny Russian River town of Geyserville would someday emerge as a destination spot for wine tasting and gourmet dining? Yes, amazingly, this little town and its surrounding countryside has much to offer for those who love to visit wineries. Here are five wonderful wineries to visit in the surrounding area of Geyserville. This route will take you to some absolutely beautiful vineyards along the Alexander Valley and into the Dry Creek Valley.

Head north on Highway 101 and take the Independence Lane exit some 20 miles past Santa Rosa.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery

You will either love it or hate it. This is Hollywood time in the Alexander Valley. It’s got swimming pools, cabanas, Bocce courts, the Tucker automobile, movie memorabilia and something for the entire family to enjoy. The Rustic Restaurant is a “must” for lunch and if the weather is nice you should ask for an outside table. What a view! You can take a tour of the winery and taste wines galore; there are many options at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. The winery is open daily 11 to 5 pm.

Poolside at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery

Biodynamic Farming Montemaggiore Winery in Dry Creek Valley

May 3, 2010 by joe

We have a great five-minute video of how biodynamic farming is implemented at the vineyards of the Montemaggiore Winery near the town of Healdsburg. We interviewed winery owner Vince Ciolino as he walked us through his hillside vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley. Vince along with his wife Lise are the owners of this beautiful winery. Lise is the winemaker and Vince is the vineyard manager. The wines are Rhone style wines and the emphasis is on Syrah. The winery is open only by appointment, but don’t let that stop you from visiting. If you are looking for something very different from the standard tasting room fare, then you will find a visit to Montemaggiore an exciting diversion.

One of the coolest and most unusual biodynamic practices at Montemaggiore is the use of chickens. The winery has 15 chickens that live in a chicken coup on wheels. This little chicken habitat is an exact replica of the winery. Vince can move the chicken coup to various locations on his estate vineyards to do their work. The chickens leave the coup periodically to roam the vines in search of insects. They scratch the soil with their claws to find the bugs. That scratching helps mix in the natural compost that Vince has applied to the vines. The chickens eat tons of insects and that removes many an insect pest from the vines.

Watch the video to get an idea of what goes on at a biodynamic vineyard.

In Search of the Perfect Paella — Gerard the Paella Guy

October 26, 2009 by joe

Soon after returning from a visit to Spain in the Spring of 1994 I began my trials and tribulations of attempting to cook the perfect Paella dish. Here we are some 15 years later and even though I think I make a seriously good Paella, I am still trying to master this famous Spanish meal. This past Saturday I learned interesting tips and tricks from one of the best-known Paella celebrities around, chef Gerard Nebesky. Every weekend, he and his crew cook up huge Paella dishes for events throughout Sonoma and Napa Counties and even beyond. Gerard was cooking at the annual Vendemmia party at Montemaggiore Winery in the Dry Creek Valley and I was lucky to be one of the invited guests. Lise and Vince Ciolino, owners of Montemaggiore, had about 120 guests at their home to celebrate the harvest with their wines and Gerard’s delicious Paella.

Gustafson Family Vineyards Dry Creek

September 24, 2009 by joe

Wow, what an amazing winery in so many ways. You must plan a day trip to visit this new winery that sits high atop the mountains of Dry Creek Valley. Although the winery is officially in Dry Creek, it is far from any of the wineries on Dry Creek Road that you might have visited in the past. It is remote, beautiful, and breathtaking. Put it on your list of wineries as a “must visit.”

Dan Gustafson and his family have developed this remarkable winery on 260 acres of beautiful oak woodland forest. 20 acres have been planted with vineyards, all organically farmed. The winery building and the home of the Gustafsons are spectacular to say the least. The view from the front of the house extends all the way to Mountain St. Helena, 26 miles away. Within view is the Dry Creek Valley, the Sonoma Valley, and the Napa Valley. Up on the hill on the opposite side is the picnic area that sits under beautiful Madrone trees. Here visitors are treated to another spectcular view to the north and Lake Sonoma. The vineyards are at 1800 feet, making them the highest vineyards in Sonoma County.

Dan Gustafson standing in front of 300 year old Madrone

Dan and his winemaker, Emmett Reed, are the only two full-time employees. Wine production is at 2800 cases annually, and there are five varietals produced. We sampled all the wines with food and were quite impressed with the quality of the wines. The RosÃ© of Syrah is perhaps one of the better dry RosÃ© wines we have tasted in recent times. The reds we tasted were elegant and all will pair beautifully with food. The first vintage was 2006 so things are really just getting started at Gustafson. I’m sure these wines will be in high demand as the word gets out.

Gustafson officially opened its tasting room in April of this year. The tasting room is open on Saturdays to the public and by appointment Monday to Friday. To get to the winery from Healdsburg, drive all the way to the end of Dry Creek Road and past the recreation area. Take Skaggs Springs Road for about five miles. It is about 20 miles from Healdsburg and will take about 30 to 40 minutes of driving time.

If you visit and the weather is anything but terrible, you must bring a picnic lunch and sit at the picnic area and enjoy the view and serenity of the area.

One more thing, near the entrance to the winery is a massive Madrone tree that is 300 years old and possibly the oldest Madrone in California. Take a look at this tree, it is truly one of nature’s great gifts.

Lou Preston Wine Man of Many Talents

September 21, 2009 by joe

We always enjoy a visit to Preston Vineyards, but this time our visit was more special than usual. We had the pleasure of meeting and taking a tour with Lou Preston. Lou’s story began 40 years ago when Lou and his wife Susan purchased their property in the Dry Creek Valley. They slowly grew their winery and vineyards, producing some 25,000 cases of wine. In the year 2000, they decided that big is not necessarily a good thing. They began to “grow down”their winery and today produce 8000 cases of wine, and farm and live a lifestyle that is environmentally in tune with their farmland.

Mounts Family Vineyards – Dry Creek Valley

July 31, 2009 by joe

Among things I enjoy so much about the Dry Creek Valley are the numerous backroads and side roads throughout this amazing wine area. On Wine Creek Road, just off West Dry Creek Road, there are two hidden wineries, one of which is Mounts Family Vineyards. Rich Mount and his son David are the owners of this small-production winery.

The family has owned vineyards here since 1945 and has been farming 85 acres of vineyards. Rich and David decided a few years back to begin testing the waters for making their own label. 2005 marks the first vintage for Mounts Family Vineyards. The family keeps only a small portion of their crop to produce 2000 cases of wine and the rest is sold to several different wineries. On the list of clients are Michael Mondavi (Folio), Blackstone, St. Francis, and Sattui.

We arranged an appointment for a mid-week visit and found Rich Mount at the small tasting room. Rich does all the farming while David is the winemaker. Rich Mount is a throwback to another era. He does things very much in the old-fashioned way and describes how some of his clients send out their chemist, winemaker and others to tell him how to manage their plot of vineyards. He pretty much ignores their advice and does things the way he thinks will work the best. “If they don’ like it, they can get their grapes somewhere else.’ I guess when you have owned the land since 1945, you can very much call your own shots.

Now for the wine. Rich poured several varieties, we liked them all especially the Petite Sirah. We found the reds to be a little too much on the tannic side and perhaps that will mellow with age. The price point we thought was a little too high for our wine budget. We tend to search for wine bargains like the one we found the previous day at the Rosenblum tasting room. Some of their wines were marked down 25 to 40%. These days there are plenty of bargains to be had and I find it hard to pay over $30 for wine that is good and tasty but not out of this world.

Mounts Family Vineyards is open on Saturdays and by appointment the other days of the week. It is a fun place to visit and the beauty of the vineyards are at their best this time of the year.

Will Smoke Taint be an Issue with the 2008 Vintage?

June 4, 2009 by joe

On June 21, 2008, we attended a Maurtison winery outdoor dinner for wine club members at one of their Rockpile Vineyards deep in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County. This is an amazing area of deep hillsides and rough terrain. We took a tour of the vineyards that sit high above Lake Sonoma. The air was clear and breezy and the views terrific. Two hours later during dinner, it was a completely different story. The entire area was filled with a haze of smoke. A wave of lighting strikes had set forest fires in Mendocino County and the winds brought the smoky air to the south. The smoky air lingered there for days as far away as the San Mateo Peninsula, but in Mendocino Country and parts of Sonoma County the smoky air was there for three weeks.

Rockpile before the fires

Two hours later the smoke filled air

The 2008 vintage will begin to emerge soon with white wines. These wines should not have a problem with smoke, because in the winemaking process the juice is squeezed from the grapes and the skins discarded. In the case of red wines, the skin is in contact with the juice, and hence the greater chance for smoke taint. The 2008 reds are in barrels now and I imagine the vintners have a good idea of how these wines will taste.

More on Dry Creek Valley, The Trip Planner, & Robert Mondavi Summer Concerts

May 5, 2009 by joe

We recently blogged about Montemaggiore and Quivira wineries, two biodynamic wineries in the Dry Creek Valley. There are at least four other wineries practicing sustainable and organic farming in the Dry Creek Valley. If you are interested in touring the sustainable wineries of the Dry Creek Valley, I have outlined a suggested two-day tour of these wineries on WineCountryGetaways.com. One thing that is very nice about visiting wineries in the Dry Creek Valley is that most of the wineries are small and family-owned. If you visit during the week, you might even find the winemaker or owner in the tasting room.