Dry Creek Valley California Wine Country

Wine Touring Dry Creek Valley Wine Region with the Fast and Furious Cook

Every year or two I like to go to a wine region to explore for wine and food gems, and last week found me on the Dry Creek Valley wine trail in California. Thanks to friends of ours we were tipped off that this was the place to visit next, and we did visit last year but only for a few hours as our schedule had us mostly in and around the town of Sonoma.

This year’s trip was special as my brother was able to join me and assume the role of videographer, wine taster, and photographer as we explored Dry Creek Valley.

Welcome to Dry Creek Valley

Dry Creek Valley touts itself as a “premium wine” region, and thus far I agree. Now that doesn’t mean the wines, food and lodging are all at a premium price, but it can be if you want it to be. We found several wines that cost under $15 that were worthy of higher price tags. With over 70 wineries in the valley every wine drinker is probably going to find many excellent wines that suit their taste. Dry Creek Valley wineries are not caught up in the glitz like Napa wineries, and when you visit quite often you will be greeted by the owner or member of the owner’s family to share the story of the wines with you. It’s this down home, personal touch that will have me coming back for another taste.

The weather in the Dry Creek Valley is great for grapes and not bad for people either.

Dry Creek Valley Gen. Store

Here’s what the Wine Grower’s of Dry Creek Valley website has to say about the climate:

70 miles north of San Francisco and 20 miles east of the Pacific Ocean, Dry Creek Valley is ideally situated for winegrapes. Bordered by Lake Sonoma in the North and the confluence of Dry Creek and the Russian River to the south, the valley is classified as a Region II climate for grape growing (similar to Bordeaux region in France). Dry Creek Valley experiences both coastal and inland influences, with the nearby coastal mountain range keeping cool marine temperatures at bay, allowing for daily temperatures in the mid-80’s, July-Sept. But these mountains also provide a conduit for the coastal cold air and fog to come in at night, dramatically dropping temperatures. Long, warm days allow the fruit to fully ripen, while coastal cooling in the evening enables the grapes to mature slowly and retain their acidity and balance. These are the perfect growing conditions for Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc, the region’s signature wines, as well as Bordeaux and Rhone varietals.

We found found the weather lovely on our visit with the daytime highs in the mid 80’s and the morning low around 45 degrees. With the fall colors on display I think October is the best time to visit.

downtown Healdsburg

For a town of just over 11,000 Healdsburg has great food and lodging options. As far as food options in the area Tripadvisor.com lists 69 restaurants on their website with Partake by K-J tops on the list. I have eaten at the Oakville Grocery, a deli like restaurant on the square in downtown Healdsburg, and also stopped in at the historic Dry Creek General Store twice. Unfortunately on this trip when we dropped in at the Oakville Grocery for lunch, and we had to pass because the place was packed and our next appointment was just 30 minutes away. Instead we stopped at El Farolito and had a quicky lunch of chips and salsa, with a vegetable burrito. It was fast and good, but the salsa was the stand out dish. It was earthy, and spicy like a good red salsa should be and the chips were hot out of the fryer.

I haven’t stayed in the Healdsburg/Dry Creek area yet, but plan on it next year. Tripadvisor lists 8 hotels, 16 B&B’s or Inn’s and 5 specialty lodging choices ranging in price of $84 per night on the low end to over $500 on the high end. Tripadvsor also lists 62 vacation rentals on their site. I like to rent a place with a kitchen when I visit wine country so I can cook some of the great local produce my way. Last year in Sonoma we rented a lovely two bedroom cottage just steps from the Sonoma square that was great, and it only cost about $250 per night. I found a nice looking cottage on Tripadvisor that for a mere $175 offers two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a private patio that looks out on the vineyard. That’s quite a deal especially if you split it with another couple. If you travel with another couple you get the benefit of having extra designated drivers as well as bringing down the cost of lodging!

About the wines you ask? Yes I did partake of a bit of wine at the four wineries we visited, but in micro amounts as I was the designated driver. First on our itinerary was Fritz Underground Winery tucked into the hill side on the north end of the valley. I had heard a radio spot called “cellar notes” on the classical music station WJBC in Baltimore last year about Fritz and knew I had to check it out on my next trip to wine country. I tasted the the 2011 Chardonnay, 2011 Pinot Noir, 2011 Estate Zinfandel, 2010 Merlot, and the 2010 DCV Cabernet Sauvignon. I liked all but the Pinot Noir enough to go out and buy them next time I’m in my favorite wine shop. I was told that most of Fritz’s wines are available in the Baltimore area. I think my favorite was the 2011 Zin with it’s flavors of blackberry, and cherry accenting it’s delightful finish.

tasting on the patio at Fritz

At Ferrari-Carano we tasted just five wines but were very impressed with the 2012 Fume Blanc and 2009 Zinfandel. The Fume Blanc had just the right amount of French oak highlighting its aromas of orange blossom, peach, meyer lemon, mango, pineapple, pear and guava. A great wine to go with salmon in papillote(in parchment paper tent) one of my favorite fancy salmon dishes. The 2009 Zinfandel was on sale at $18(reg $28) and was tops on our list of wines to look for when out wine shopping back home. It has 18 months in French oak that helps bring out the aromas of blackberry, raspberry preserves, and strawberry jam, with flavors of bing cherry, milk chocolate, and vanilla bean. A fine wine to go with chicken and mushroom dishes.

On the patio with Barry and Phyllis of Chateau Felice Wines

Ferrari-Carano Winery

Our next stop was a Chateau Felice Wines in Healdsburg where we went to the owners home to sample wines on their gorgeous patio on a perfect afternoon. We tasted their Black Label series wines that are being fazed out as well as the new La Craie Reserve Series. Maybe it was the lovely patio, or our charming hosts, but we loved everything we tasted. Chateau Felice winemakers buy wines and work their magic in blending them into masterpieces for your enjoyment, as opposed to growing their own. I bought a case of the Black Label 2008 Estate Zin and a bottle of the American Celebration 2006 for a special occasion wine. Too bad I had to have it shipped, because now I have to wait a week or two to try it again.

The last stop on the wine tour was Ledson Winery. I have been to Ledson three times now and even though they are a bit spendy, I think they are the the best winemakers I have come across. They have over 80 wines from grapes grown as far south as the Monterey region, to up north in the Anderson Valley and out east around Lodi. Steve Ledson a fifth generation Sonoma farmer leads the team since 1997 when they produced their first wine under the Ledson label, an estate merlot. From their website here are the types of wines they produce:

The Ledson family specializes in small lots of hand-crafted wines reflecting California’s uniquely diverse terroir. Expressed across a broad range of varietals including Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Barbera, Mourvedre, Primitivo, Grenache, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Johannisberg Riesling, Rosé and Madera Port, Ledson Wines champion sense of place flavors and wine making artistry.

Quite a variety of wines produced by this amazing winery that doesn’t sell wine to distributors, or liquor stores. To buy their wines you have to go to the winery, the Ledson Hotel, or become a wine club member which I did three years ago while visiting Sonoma.

I don’t consider myself a wine snob, but I have found that more often than not when I taste a wine in the Napa, Sonoma wine regions the wines are all good to great. But when I taste a wine from other not so famous wine regions like Colorado, Virginia, Maryland their wines usually don’t impress me a bit. I also like Washington State, and Oregon wines, but don’t buy them as often as California wines.

It just goes to show how difficult it is to grow and produce wines and that we have some of the best wines in the world here in these United States. I once saw on the outside wall of a wine bar in Auckland, New Zealand this saying:

“Life is too short to drink bad wine.”

so whatever your idea of good wine is, go ahead and enjoy it with good food and friends and your life will be richer for that!

In the spirit of good wine and food I give you Sauteed Chicken on Mushroom Sauce with Dry Creek Zinfandel.

Mushroom Sauce for Chicken 

sauteeing the schrooms

8 ounces slice white button mushrooms

2 teaspoons minced garlic

3/4 cup sliced yellow or white onions

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon mushroom base

1 to 1 1/3 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons of fresh sage or thyme minced

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons half and half

In a saute pan cook onions in oil for 3 minutes on medium heat stirring every 30 seconds or so. Add sliced mushrooms and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes or until most of the liquid is cooked out of the mushrooms stirring about once per minuter. Add flour, and butter, and cook stirring for 3 minutes on medium low heat. Add chicken stock, red wine and and stir in well cooking it for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the mushroom base and half and half and cook on medium low heat for about 3 more minutes stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with chicken or pork.

sauteed chicken on mushroom sauce