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Dear
Friend: |
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The fall colors in wine country are at their
absolute peak. Basking in the cool sunlight
of autumn's glow, the vineyards seem almost
ablaze with color and texture. Perhaps more
than any other time of year, the fall season
is one of the most glorious times to visit
wine country. Here at the winery, we are
getting ready for the changing of the
seasons. Our fireplace is once again
emitting a warm glow as tasters relax in
comfort, enjoying new releases and visiting
with our knowledgeable and friendly staff.
Cellar activity is winding down after a busy
harvest season. And soon, our tasting room
will be decked out for the holiday season.
This issue of
Friends is chock full of great stories and
includes our can’t miss Holiday Celebration
on Saturday, November 27 from 11:30 a.m to
4:00 p.m. We hope to see you at the winery
this holiday season!
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Habitat Restoration in the Dry Creek |
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Don
Wallace is on a mission to save the
endangered Coho Salmon and Steelhead
Trout that once flourished in the
Dry Creek.
A lifelong outdoorsman, Don is so
passionate about this important
endeavor, that he has donated his
family’s backyard as a research
vessel for Sonoma County Fish and
Game as well as the regional public
water agency. “This land is
something I want to leave for my
kids, Taylor and Spencer,” says
Don. “It’s important work and I
want to do my part to ensure the
project is successful.” |
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Since its
construction in the 1980s, the Lake
Sonoma Dam has drastically reduced
and changed the flow of the Dry
Creek. Once an area that flourished
with fish and wildlife, the Dry
Creek has suffered from years of
erosion and irregular water flows.
This has served to reduce the fish
population to a point where few, if
any fish, can be found up and down
the creek. Now, in a series of
environmental projects, the creek
bed is in for a major overhaul,
beginning with Don and Kim’s
backyard. A demonstration reach
will be created (an area for young
fish to spawn) and the creek itself
will be reinforced to prevent
harmful erosion. The hope is that
over the next 8-10 years, the Coho
and Steelhead will find their way
back to this once populace spawning
area. |
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Click to watch video
produced by the Sonoma
County Water Agency |
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For Don,
this project assures that the land
will remain as it was intended.
“It’s more than just a creek,”
comments Don. “This is our home.”
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Holiday
Celebration |
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The holidays are a special
time of year, bringing
together friends and family
for food, drink and
merriment. If you are
looking for that perfect
event during Thanksgiving
weekend, then look no
further!
Held Saturday, November 27,
2010 from 11:30 a.m. until
4:00 p.m., our annual
Holiday Celebration is just
the thing to get your
holiday spirit going. Our
tasting room is decked out
for the season and the
relaxing glow of our warm
fireplace is the perfect
place to enjoy our
world-class wines. This
year’s event features: |
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Exclusive Single
Vineyard Wines
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Holiday Carols by The
Merrie Olde Christmas
Carolers
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Wrapping, decorating and
craft ideas
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Savory and sweet food
bites paired with our
wines
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Unique wine country
gifts
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Roasted chestnuts
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Wine Club lounge
exclusive for wine club
members and their guests
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No RSVP is necessary
Admission is Complimentary!
We look forward to seeing
you! |
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Harvest Wrap-up |
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Whew! What a harvest! On Tuesday, October 26, we
brought in our last block of Cabernet Sauvignon
wrapping up a season that will go down as one of the
toughest in more than 3 decades. From a wet spring
and cold summer, to extreme heat spikes, mold,
shatter, bunch rot and finally – 5 inches of rain on
October 23 and 24 – it was truly a challenge. But,
with all the bad news there comes a silver lining.
The grapes that we were able to harvest looked
especially good. Cabernet Sauvignon was the
standout with near perfect sugar content, superb
acidity and nuanced blueberry flavors. Zinfandel
took it on the chin (with the extreme heat spike in
August especially damaging) but we think the grapes
we did receive are going to produce some very nice
wines. |
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Attention to
detail in the vineyard paid off this year,
and while overall tonnage was down, the
quality was uniformly good across all
varieties. Our winemaking team, as usual,
was all over the vineyard ensuring we
properly trained the canopy and picked the
grapes at just the right time. For many veterans
here at the winery, this vintage was
reminiscent of vintages from the 70s, all of
which produced remarkable wines that are
still tasting beautifully. All in all, we
feel fortunate and grateful that we were
spared by Mother Nature.
In looking back over this vintage, it’s a good
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bet
there will be some excellent wines that
come
from these difficult growing conditions.
The winemaking team really had to work hard
to ensure high quality grapes and, as a
result of lower yields and more attention in
the vineyards, we’d say these wines are
going to surprise more than a few people.
Stay tuned! |
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2008 Heritage Zinfandel |
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The
2008 Heritage Zinfandel
was released in
September and we still
cannot get over just how
incredibly delicious this
vintage is. Don’t get us
wrong – we enjoy all of our
new releases as they are a
labor of love and we treat
them all like our children.
However, this wine in
particular is a tremendous
effort on all fronts. |
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Since 1997, we have produced
the Heritage bottling – then
called Heritage Clone
Zinfandel – using old vine
cuttings grafted on to
rootstock in our young vine
vineyard. Our hope has
always been that fans of
this wine would be able to
pick up some of those
ethereal old vine flavors –
cardamom, white pepper,
allspice and maybe a hint of
cinnamon.
With the 2008 vintage, the
whole package has come
together with a seamless
bow. Syndicated journalist
Dan Berger had this to say
about our new release –
“this is probably the best
Heritage Zinfandel from Dry
Creek – a great job by
winemaker Bill Knuttel.
The Heritage Zinfandel lacks
the harshness of high
alcohol since it has only
13.5% and finishes with
delightful richness and
balance.”
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We bring all of this up to
remind you that a bottle of
Heritage Zinfandel is the
perfect accompaniment to
your Thanksgiving meal! To
order, please call us at
800-864-9463 x106 or visit
our
online store. |
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NEW Press |
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Pumpkin Ginger Soup |
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This
recipe highlights all that is good
about Thanksgiving. Sweet and
savory – rich and succulent – palate
and soul filling. Seriously, is
there anything better than
Thanksgiving fare? Try this soup as
a lead off to your Thanksgiving
supper.
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We recommend both the 2009
Chenin Blanc as a white wine
and 2008 Heritage Zinfandel
as a red wine paired with
your meal. These wines have
excellent acidity and the
fruit structure to hold up
under the richness of the
meal without overpowering
any of the flavors. Try
them! You won’t be sorry. |
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