Dry Creek Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Once again Dry Creek has fashioned a knockout Sauvignon Blanc in the 2008 Dry Creek Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. It combines the best of California fruit with the classic distinction of Sancerre – France’s quintessential Sauvignon Blanc. Consequently, Dry Creek’s wine is the Sauvignon Blanc by which all other Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc wines are measured. Scents of melon, fig, grapefruit, kiwi, herb, and fresh mown grass pour from the glass. In the mouth, this exemplary Sauvignon Blanc follows through completely on the olfactory with an explosion of clean, refreshing flavors that linger on the tongue. Impeccably balanced and varietally intense, Dry Creek’s 2008 Sauvignon Blanc is textbook perfect. We suggest serving this exuberant wine well chilled, at least initially. Afterwards, allow it to unfold in the glass as it reaches towards a more ambient temperature. Most of all enjoy its pinpoint flavors and embracing vitality!

Clams, mussels, prawns, oysters, scallops, and just about anything else with a shell on it or that comes out of the sea is a sure bet with the 2008 Dry Creek Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. Sautéed Low Country Crab Cakes are perhaps our favorite dish with this savory wine. Herb encrusted chicken breasts, cheese pies, and quiches provide great companionship as well and offer excellent alternatives to seafood. Most hors d’oeuvres and appetizers make fine accompaniments, too. Moreover, another of our favorite choices with top notch Sauvignon Blanc is always a platter of gourmet cheeses, specifically Brie, Camembert, and other crusted cheeses. Dry Sancerre style Sauvignon Blancs such as Dry Creek’s are, perhaps, the finest accompaniments to full-flavored crusted cheeses. In the company of such cheeses, both the cheeses and the Dry Creek Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc truly shine.

When David Stare opened the doors of Dry Creek Vineyard in 1972, his foresight signaled a dramatic change for Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley. Dry Creek Vineyard was the first new winery to open in Dry Creek Valley since Prohibition. Guided by a new vision for a long neglected grape growing region, Stare’s initiative launched a new era in American viticulture. Furthermore, Stare’s action and vision have subsequently transformed Sonoma County and much of the way we think about American wine. David Stare began his illustrious affair with wine in Dry Creek Valley in 1972 when he purchased a single parcel of land on Dry Creek Road, which was then nothing more than a run down prune orchard. There, he planted his first forty acres of grapes, mostly Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Chardonnay. The locals ridiculed him and even the “farm experts” laughed at his folly, going so far as to exclaim, “Sauvignon Blanc will never grow successfully in Dry Creek Valley.” We wonder who is laughing now . . . well, so much for the naysayers and so called experts. It takes courage, persistence, and vision to be a pioneer. Dry Creek Vineyard’s leadership under Stare has inspired many important changes for Sonoma County. Not only was Sonoma County’s first Sauvignon Blanc created at Dry Creek Vineyard, but new standards of quality in California have resulted from Stare’s advocacy for Bordeaux style blending, especially for red wines. Stare proposed meritage offerings, as opposed to strict varietal bottling of a single grape variety, long before almost anyone else. Yet, Stare’s greatest contribution to American viticulture is, perhaps, his success in securing appellation status for the entire Dry Creek Valley, due almost entirely to Stare’s own accomplishments and the success of his Dry Creek Vineyard. These are no mean feats for a young MIT graduate from Boston, who decided in 1971 to give up his secure but unfulfilling career in civil engineering to become a true California pioneer and a Dry Creek Valley legend. Aside from his many personal accomplishments at Dry Creek Vineyard, David Stare has been an advocate far and wide for Sonoma County wines. He has left his pioneering spirit and entrepreneurial mark on quite a few important Sonoma County organizations. It is as if the securing of BATF approval for the creation of the Dry Creek Valley in 1983 as a distinct appellation or American Viticulture Area was just Stare’s first step in promoting Dry Creek Valley, as he went on to found an important regional organization of growers called Wine Growers of Dry Creek Valley. David Stare is, also, a founding member and past president of the California Wineries Association. In addition, he was an early supporter of The Meritage Society in California and a founding father of the Society of Blancs (SOB’s), an organization that extols and promotes the virtues of the noble Sauvignon Blanc varietal.