Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Dry Creek Vineyard 2016 Vintage Yields Winning Pair

Looking for surefire wine selections for your next soirée? Here are a couple of California wines certain to please the crowd and not break the bank.

DCV Estate Block 10 Chardonnay


Our two wines come from Dry Creek Vineyards, a favorite winery in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley. They are located in the Dry Creek Valley appellation, where they are celebrating their 45th anniversary as a private family owned winery. For this first wine, they source the grapes from 30 rows of their Russian River Valley property. RRV is known for producing some of the best Chardonnay in California.


The cool climate allows the vineyard to ripen slowly, resulting in deliciously balanced grapes. The grapes are gently cluster pressed resulting in complex aromas and flavors. The wine is aged in 100% French oak, 22% new. Just over 1,200 cases of the DCV Estate Block 10 Chardonnay was produced.

Balance is the key with this Chardonnay. The judicious use of oak blends with apple, citrus and honeysuckle flavors. There is a nice riff of pineapple as well, and looking at my photo, I notice that the pineapple on our counter actually shows through the bottle. Purely accidental, but a great visual reminder of the taste.

This is a classy Chardonnay ready to uncork at your next party. SRP is $32.

Heritage Vines Zinfandel


Are you ready to graduate from cartoon labels with jammy juice inside? Then step up to a winning Zinfandel that delivers on both flavor and value – the 2016 Heritage Vines Zinfandel.


Dry Creek Vineyards is known for their dedication to the Zinfandel variety. We love Heritage Vines Zin because it melds the old and new. Cuttings from a pre-Prohibition era vineyard were grafted onto young, disease-resistant rootstock, creating an heirloom or heritage vine.

The Heritage Vines Zin is a blend of 79% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah and 1% Primitivo from Sonoma County. Aging is done in French, American and Hungarian oak. It offers a swirl of dark chocolate and fruit berries with a rich, round texture. There is no edge to the tannins, just a refreshing fruit forward glass.

Do you really want a bottle with a great pun on the label – or one with great wine inside? I think you know the answer. Heritage Vines Zinfandel is widely available at $24.

Full disclosure: We received this wine as a marketing sample.

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