Wine Words

An enduring family affair
by Millie Howie
If there is one thing that Sonoma County does better than Napa
County – and, of course there are lots more things than one – it is
to showcase its vineyards and the men and women who tend them. And,
in my opinion, the people who do this best are the residents, grape
growers and wineries of Dry Creek Valley. Next most welcoming would
be those in the Russian River Valley, and we’ll talk about them in
another few weeks.
Today let’s consider the Fourth Annual Insider’s Exploration of
Dry Creek Valley, presented each year by the Winegrowers of Dry
Creek Valley (WDCV). The day started with a panel discussion of why
Dry Creek Valley sets the benchmark for Zinfandel. Moderator was
George Christie of Alderbrook Vineyards & Winery, president of
WDCV and panel members were Paul Draper, winemaker and chief
executive officer, Ridge Vineyards; Fred Peterson, owner and
winegrower, Peterson Winery, and John Akeley, manager of the wine
and spirits department at Roberts of Woodside.
When Paul decided on winemaking as a career he also decided the
wine he would make would be what he considered to be California’s
unique contribution to the world of wine – Zinfandel. With Zin, he
felt, California had set the standard.
“We made our first Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel in 1972 at Lytton
Springs,” Paul mentions. “Now we make Zinfandel from a number of
different growing regions, but Dry Creek Valley is the benchmark,
because the soil and climate here produce the finest fruit, and Dry
Creek probably contains the greatest acreage of truly “old
vines.”
Fred Peterson joined in with praise for the combination of
elements that make Dry Creek Zinfandel so special. “In 1983 I
bought property on Bradford Mountain which had a 100-year-old
vineyard growing on it,” he recounts. “The first year we had rain
and I discovered Zinfandel was not an easy wine to produce, but
Zinfandel has been in the Dry Creek Valley for 130 years so that
gives us a lot of fine experiential wisdom.”
Speaking for the consumer, John Akeley added simply, “History
supports that fine Zinfandel has come out of the Dry Creek Valley
in the past. There are great Dry Creek Zinfandels today, and there
will be great Dry Creek Zinfandels far into the future that will
excite wine enthusiasts with their flavor and elegance.”
When we boarded buses for various vineyard destinations, I drew
a visit to Thom Mauritson’s vineyard sites which lie within the
dual appellation of Dry Creek and Rockpile. Our escort was Clay
Mauritson, Thom’s son and a member of the sixth generation to grow
grapes in Dry Creek Valley. Clay is a co-owner and winemaker for
Mauritson Family Winery. The first vineyardist was his
great-great-great grandfather S. P. Hallengren, who arrived from
Sweden in 1886 and founded his winery, the seventh in the valley,
on a 4,000-acre homestead. In 1968, with the creation of Lake
Sonoma, 3,300 acres of the family ranch were taken over by the Army
Corps of Engineers and are now under water in Lake Sonoma. Some of
the old terraces are still visible at lake’s edge.
At that time, it was not profitable to grow grapes on the
remaining acreage, high above the lake on steep hillsides, but in
1999 the Mauritson family planted four small vineyards at their
Rockpile Ridge Vineyards. The largest, called Jack’s Cabin, has 24
acres of Zinfandel and 11 of Sauvignon Blanc. Two of the others,
Madrone Springs and Graveyard have Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite
Sirah vines, and Landslide has been planted with four traditional
Port varieties.
The first commercial wine from Mauritson Family Winery is the
1998 Dry Creek Zinfandel. The grapes for this old vine Zin were
custom crushed at Taft Winery with the Mauritson’s own equipment
then fermented in open top fermenters.
By harvest time 2004, Thom and his family hope to have their own
winery and tasting room up and running at Lytton Springs and Dry
Creek Road. You’re all invited to drop by to taste some of those
great Dry Creek Zins John Axeley was talking about.