Dry Creek Vineyard Featured at the
2007 Screen Actors Guild Awards®

Seventh year as the official wine of the SAG Awards®

Dry Creek Vineyard Scores Big in Wine Enthusiast!
 

November, 2006.  In the November 15, 2006 issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Dry Creek Vineyard’s 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2003 Old Vine Zinfandel received glowing reviews.  California wine editor, Steve Heimoff, had this to say about these wines:
 

2003 Old Vine Zinfandel,  Sonoma County - "The primary source of this Zin is from Dry Creek Valley. It’s rare to find this quality and quantity of upfront fruit in a Zin that’s so balanced, but here it is. Just delicious."

2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley - "Dry Creek Vineyard keeps turning out the most drinkable, delicious Cabernets, at such a good price, and hardly anyone notices. Why? Because it’s not from Napa. A sophisticated wine."

November, 2005.  For the first time in its 34-year history, Dry Creek Vineyard is releasing a Cabernet Sauvignon comprised primarily of Dry Creek Valley fruit. The release of this terroir-driven Cabernet represents yet another strategic shift in Dry Creek Vineyard’s lineup of wines. “We’re dedicated to raising quality across the board,” says winemaker, Bill Knuttel. “Our narrowed focus on the Dry Creek Valley is another step in distinguishing ourselves and continuing our efforts to make world class, varietal defining wines.”
 

The decision to move the Cabernet program to the Dry Creek Valley was one that was not taken lightly. “For more than 30 years, we’ve made a Sonoma County Cabernet,” states winery General Manager, Don Wallace. “By focusing on the Dry Creek Valley, we’ve dropped our production from 20,000 cases annually to just under 8,000 cases with the 2002 vintage. Financially, we’re taking a hit, but our focus on quality and our home region comes first.”

There are only two wines remaining in the Dry Creek Vineyard portfolio that emphasize regions other than Dry Creek Valley; Clarksburg Chenin Blanc and Russian River Valley Chardonnay. The aim is to match variety to place and, whenever possible feature the appellation where the winery resides. The flagship wines, Dry Creek Vineyard Sonoma County Fumé Blanc and Heritage Zinfandel, use the Sonoma County designation but each is driven by grapes grown in Dry Creek Valley. In addition, the winery’s reserve program was replaced in favor of single-vineyard designated bottlings. “All of these efforts are about improving wine quality and reshaping our image in the marketplace,” says Wallace. “It is a necessary transition and one that we feel will help us better compete in today’s global wine marketplace.”

100 Year Old Vines & Refined Packaging
Contribute to New Direction at Dry Creek Vineyard

Old Vine Zinfandel leads the winery as flagship of its Zinfandel portfolio
 

July, 2005.  Dry Creek Vineyard, whose reputation for premium Zinfandel dates back more than 30 years, recently released its 2002 Old Vine Zinfandel, graced with an elegant new label. The powerful new look and feel of the packaging, coupled with the quality of wine in the bottle, leaves little doubt about Dry Creek Vineyard’s commitment to the Zinfandel category.
 

Dry Creek Vineyard defines Old Vine Zinfandel as wine that is produced from vines averaging at least 50 years in age or older. Having coined the term “Old Vine” Zinfandel in the early 1980’s, Dry Creek Vineyard established itself as a benchmark producer. However, with the term Old Vine becoming more diluted within the industry, the winery felt that a radical shift in packaging was warranted. The 2002 vintage was given a more modern, “da Vinci” look and feel, but also stays true to the sailing ship theme which graces the rest of the winery’s labels. One important component of the new package was communicating the average vine age of 80 to 109 years on the front label. “We felt that communicating the vine age was extremely important,” said winery proprietor Kim Stare Wallace. “By including this information, we’re telling our customers that this wine truly comes from Old Vines. It gives validation and significance to what is in the bottle.”

The Old Vine Zinfandel package also completes the label transformation of Dry Creek Vineyard’s core and single-vineyard offerings, providing a modern and refreshed look for the entire line up of wines.

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February, 2005.  Dry Creek Vineyard recently released Sonoma County’s first Sauvignon Musqué, a unique selection of the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety. There are a small number of wineries in California that blend Musqué in their Sauvignon Blancs, but only two before Dry Creek have produced what the industry would consider varietal versions and they both are made with grapes grown in the central coast region.  
 

Wineries cannot label the wine as Sauvignon Musqué because the Federal Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) does not officially recognize it as a true varietal. The agency requires wineries to call it Sauvignon Blanc. Call it what you will, Sauvignon Musqué is best described as a newly recognized selection, isolated from Sauvignon Blanc vines, though some would refer to it as a separate clone altogether. Dry Creek Vineyard named their wine Sauvignon Blanc, Taylor’s Vineyard Musqué.

Those familiar with the Musqué selection agree that it is truly unique. Its flavor profile does resemble Sauvignon Blanc, but with more perfumed, tropical and heady aromas and a touch more viscosity with flavors of guava, gooseberry, and exotic white grapefruit. Winery proprietor, Don Wallace, first experimented with the selection as an enhancement to the winery’s reserve style Fumé Blanc. With the winery’s decision to move away from reserves in favor of vineyard-designate wines, winemaker William Knuttel suggested the Musqué be bottled on its own since the selection was such a unique take on Sauvignon Blanc.

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October 2005.  For the 5th year in a row, Dry Creek Vineyard was the title sponsor of the Dry Creek Vineyard Pro Am Regatta.

Held October 29 through November 5, 2005 at the Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, this one-of-a-kind sailing event brought together the rock stars of the international sailing community for a week's worth of regattas and wine related events. For sailors, this is the equivalent of attending Major League Baseball All-Star game, says winery owner Kim Stare Wallace. "It's a chance for sailors of varying  degrees  of  ability  to  sail  and  hang  out  with their heroes."  The list of celebrity sailors included two-time Olympic medalist, J.J. Isler, Robbie Haines, and Lowell North, founder of North Sails.

In addition to the week long regatta, Dry Creek Vineyard owners Kim Stare Wallace and Don Wallace hosted several on-shore tastings and a dinner featuring the entire lineup of Dry Creek Vineyard wines. "We've been known as the wine for sailors for many years now", says Wallace. "Our support of the sailing community is something that we're passionate about. From our sailing themed labels to our support of US SAILING programs, it's logical for our family to blend our two passions into one."

February, 2005.  Dry Creek Vineyard was honored to host a culinary extravaganza at the revered James Beard House in New York City. For years, the Beard House has featured renowned chefs from throughout the country as part of a continuing tradition honoring the culinary philosophy, ideals and practices that earned James Beard his reputation as “the dean of American cooking.” As part of an effort to broaden the House’s reach and appeal, the James Beard Foundation also invites and features wineries; a sound concept since a glass of wine is most customarily enjoyed with food. During this event, Dry Creek Vineyard pulled  out all the stops  pairing  its fine wines with  the culinary delights of their friend, chef Ralph Tingle. Tingle's namesake restaurant, Bistro Ralph, is located on the Healdsburg square in Sonoma County, just a few miles from the winery.

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February, 2005.  For the 5th year in a row, Dry Creek Vineyard was chosen as the official wine sponsor at the Screen Actors' Guild Awards® (SAG Awards). The 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® aired on TNT from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center on Saturday, February 5, 2005.

Quickly becoming a favorite wine for Hollywood celebrities, winery proprietor Kim Stare Wallace was on hand to pour some of Dry Creek Vineyard's finest offerings. With mega-stars such as Clint Eastwood, Charlize Theron, and Leonardo DiCaprio in attendance, it was a night (and event) not to be missed!