Many
of us have "things" in our life we've grown attached
to over the years; a comfortable old pair of shoes, our
old Dodge Dart, maybe a frayed old terry cloth robe. For
us wine lovers, we often have a winery that fits that description;
a winery whose wines we keep drinking year after year because....we
just like the stuff.
For
me, the winery that best fits this description is Dry Creek
Vineyards, located near Sonoma County's Healdsburg. It is
a winery that I have followed from the very start, with
its founding in 1972. I've been drinking Dave Stare's wines
for nigh onto 34 years now. I was prompted to reflect on
our long time drinking relationship by the receipt of their
most recent newsletter titled "A Pioneer Sails Into
The Sunset", announcing Dave's retirement as President
of Dry Creek Vineyards. In today's column, I'll describe
why DCV owns such a special place in my heart.
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My
first encounter with DCV occurred in late 1973, when Liquor
Mart's Phil Reich (in Boulder, CO) urged me to try this
new Gamay Beaujolais they'd just received. It was nothing
great or profound, but just a tasty wine that was absolutely
delish. About a year later, he insisted I try the new Chenin
Blanc and Fume (Sauvignon) Blanc from DCV. Having developed
a fondness for Loire Valley whites, I immediately recognized
that these two wines were, though again nothing profound,
really great drinking whites and very much in the character
of their French brethern. Those first three labels now reside
in Volume #2 of my wine label collection. As I recall, I
fired off a short note to Dave, complimenting him on those
two whites. He responded immediately with a thank you and
an invitation to stop at the winery for a visit. A bit of
history: Dave graduated from MIT in Civil Engineering and
took a job with the B&O Railroad, trains being a passion
in his life. A trip to the Loire Valley precipitated a lifelong
love affair with those wines, made from Chenin Blanc and
Sauvignon Blanc, and triggered an insane notion that he
could make such wines in California.
In
1972, he settled on a plot of land in the Dry Creek Valley,
ripped out the prune orchard to plant grape vines, and founded
the first winery in the area since Prohibition. The locals
were convinced he was plum loco and certain this Boston
city kid was on the fast track to failure. Starting with
mostly purchased grapes, he expanded his portfolio to include
both Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. At that time, there
were many very old vineyards of Zinfandel in the Dry Creek
Valley and Dave realized, early on, what unique wines came
from these ugly/gnarly old vines; well before old-vine Zinfandel
became trendy.
I
first met Dave in 1975 when I finally arranged a visit to
his small winery. I, like many others over the years, took
an instant liking to the guy. The wines were all good and
very reasonably priced. Interestingly, during one of these
early visits, I noticed his daughter, Kim, sitting in his
office, merrily drawing away while Dad entertained this
visitor from New Mexico. Through the '70's, I bought and
tried nearly every wine Dave made. His Zins continued to
improve and they brought recognition to the Dry Creek Valley,
with it's old vineyards, as the source of some of California's
finest Zins.
I
developed a real love affair with Dave's Cabernets. They
were polished, smooth, spicy and very good drinking. In
an era of heavy hitters like Joe Heitz, Warren Winiarski,
and Paul Draper; it was easy to overlook Dave's Cabernets.
But they became a special part of my cellar. About 1983,
I invited Dave to come to Los Alamos and do a tasting of
his wines for our group, an invitation he eagerly accepted.
Ever the train buff, I remember well picking him up at the
Amtrak station down in Albuquerque.
I
continued to follow his Cabernets. They were always blended
with other grapes, exactly as in Bordeaux. They showed elegance
and balance and forsook the bigger-is-better character that
most California Cabernet makers sought.
In
1986, Dave again returned to Los Alamos and we tasted through
a decade's worth of his Cabs from my cellar, from 1973-1984.
It was a day of great upheaval in my personal life and I
remember little of that tasting; but my notes indicate the
wines were amazing and a clear illustration of the importance
of balance in aging of California Cabernets.
More
history: This cute little girl in Dave's office grows up,
goes off to college and gets her degree in Marketing. She
marries Don Wallace, who was then supervising the construction
of the huge dam at the headwaters of Dry Creek that now
entrains Lake Sonoma. Don decides to leave construction
and return to his farming roots. In the late '80's, the
second generation begins at DCV with Kim in charge of Marketing
and Don supervising the DCV vineyards. About 1989, Don and
Kim are on a cross-country journey in their camper. They
happen to be in Santa Fe, along with Dave's mom, on Thanksgiving.
They accept my invitation for dinner. With a huge turkey,
a roomful of special friends, and an ample flow of wines;
it was one of the most memorable Thanksgiving dinners I've
had.
Fast
forward a few years: Kim and Don launch the third generation;
with a daughter, Taylor, and a son, Spencer. Don becomes
General Manager at DCV and Kim Vice President/Director of
Marketing.
During
the late '90's, I drop in at DCV to chat a bit with Don
and Kim. They're having some friends over for dinner that
night and invite me to join them at their home near the
winery. Don introduces me to the new DCV Beeson Ranch Zin.
I recognize it as, perhaps, the best Zin yet to come from
DCV. It was a memorable evening, with kids galore.
Somewhere
in their photo archives, they have this picture of Taylor
and Spencer and several other kids, all in this line of
little chairs, driving this "train" across the
Atlantic Ocean to France. And way in the back, in the caboose,
sits this big "kid" from New Mexico, wearing a
silly hat and big aviator goggles, calling out "all
aboard" and making all the necessary train noises!!
This is the kind of photo you hope will never make it onto
the Internet.
These
personal remembrances make DCV very special to me. It's
been an exciting journey... and the train ride's not over
by a long shot. With the hiring of Bill Knuttle as winemaker
several years ago, the quality of the wines has ratcheted
up another notch. The wines are probably the best they've
ever been.
DCV
is not a winery that attracts a lot of attention from the
wine cognoscenti. They don't receive huge scores from Robert
Parker. They don't receive a lot of buzz on Internet wine
boards. But they do what they do best..... making good,
delicious, reliable wines at a good price. Their last Zins,
from Beeson Ranch and the Old-Vine bottling, are as good
as Zinfandel gets. Their Chenin Blanc and Fume Blanc continue
to be good. The Taylor's Vineyard Musque and DCV3 Vineyard
Estate
Fume Blancs are as fine as any you can find in the world.
The DCV Chardonnay is one of the few California Chardonnays
I ever drink. And Merlot?? It's probably the only California
Merlot I've tried over the last several years.
So...what
does the future hold for DCV?? With Don stepping up to President,
I don't foresee any dramatic changes. Dave is certainly
not going to "sail into the sunset" and will continue
as Ambassador for DCV. As more of their vineyards come into
production and mature, I expect the wines will continue
to improve.
And...maybe...sometime
down the road, I'll stop by Dry Creek Vineyard to meet their
newest marketing whiz....Taylor Wallace. Or maybe the new
cellar rat, Spencer, will be out back; hosing down a tank
or topping off barrels. And...just maybe...they'll remember
that wild train ride across the Atlantic a few years earlier!!
Especially if the picture shows up.
[Postscript]
Dave Stare was/is also an avid sailor. Probably more of
a passion in his life than trains (he actually bought/owns
a small amusement park train steam engine and was one time
going to have Don lay the tracks through the vnyd and refurbish
the train and do rides!!). When he wanted to spruce up his
label w/ artwork, I expect the sailboats made a classier
image (after all.... the wine biz is ALL about image...not
what's actually in the btl!!) than a clunky railroad engine.
I
didn't have space to get into the sailboat thing in the
article. And the tie to trains was the hook I was looking
for.
Dave's
father was Frederick Stare (who died in 2002), a famous
man in his own right. He founded the Harvard School of Nutrition
and wrote several books and many articles on debunking food
fads.
Now
you know the rest of the story.
