Our 2021 Harvest began on Monday, August 23rd with the arrival of our Chenin Blanc grapes. That Wednesday, we had a beautiful winery-wide toast next to the amazing sights and scents of our beloved estate Sauvignon Blanc grapes!
Sauvignon Blanc always has a special meaning for us this time of year, since our founder, David S. Stare, was the first person to plant the varietal in the Dry Creek Valley in 1972. In fact, this year’s harvest is the big 5–0, five decades after our family winery dared to plant this iconic white grape in our home appellation!
Listen to Dave talk all about the beginnings of Dry Creek Vineyard and our famed 1972 Fumé Blanc in a video here.
The inaugural Sauvignon Blanc crush during our toast!
Here’s what Winemaker Tim Bell had to say about our 50th harvest:
“The weather was largely favorable, without the long, sustained periods of heat (like 2017!) but a bit warmer than the relatively cool years of 2018 and 2019. Overall, yields tended to be down, but some vineyards managed an above average crop. The effects of several years of drought in northern California were evident; there were generally lowered yields and less shoot growth in dry-farmed vineyards and those with limited water.
Even with these conditions, we’ve had some pretty busy days — September 9th was our peak day of harvest! Sauvignon Musqué, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon all came in on one day. We also picked over half of harvest in just 17 days, between August 31 and September 16!
An early morning pick of our estate Sauvignon Blanc in our Wallace Ranch vineyard.
“Quality looks strong across the board. Thus far, I’m getting lots of beautiful citrus and floral fruit components with our Sauvignon Blanc. Our Zinfandel is also exhibiting some great spice aromas and flavors. Our Zinfandel lots and some early Cabernet lots were actually reminiscent of the concentrated 2017 reds, while later-ripening lots have more balance and elegance.
Our last day of harvest was October 18, and we’re very excited to see how this vintage progresses!”
Picking Zinfandel in our Four Clones Vineyard, located right across our family winery.
Follow how our 2021 vintage turns out on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. We hope that you’ll join us and raise a glass of Dry Creek Vineyard wine to toast yet another incredible harvest, with an even more incredible team!
Cheers,
