HEALDSBURG, Calif., /PRNewswire/ — Dry Creek Vineyard announced the beginning of its 50th harvest just one day after the winery’s anniversary of 49 years of family winemaking in Sonoma County, California. This historic vintage was marked with the arrival of 10.35 tons of Sauvignon Blanc from one of the family’s estate vineyards.
The love of the Loire Valley led Founder David S. Stare to produce his inaugural 1972 Fumé Blanc, and the winery has continued to craft the varietal every harvest since. The 81-year-old Stare was in attendance at the crushpad of his family winery to sprinkle the original 1972 Fumé Blanc into the hopper for good luck for the 50th harvest.
Stare is widely known as the first to plant Sauvignon Blanc in Dry Creek Valley, against the advice of vineyard specialists. 50 years later, Sauvignon Blanc is the most planted white grape in Dry Creek Valley. Dry Creek Vineyard has proudly produced Sauvignon Blanc each year of its history and currently features four distinct Sauvignon Blanc bottlings in its portfolio.
Stare’s daughter, Kim Stare Wallace, is currently the President of Dry Creek Vineyard and continues to lead with a “no compromises” philosophy producing appellation-focused, terroir-driven, varietal-defining wines.
“Competition is at an all time high in our industry, so being true to our wines, our vineyards and the terroir of our region is more important than ever before,” said Stare Wallace. “Instead of getting sucked into the increasing corporatization of the industry, our family winery is bucking the trends and is an increasingly rare breed.”
“We are proud to be looking towards celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2022,” continued Stare Wallace. “Our goal is to continue forward into the future as an iconic, family-owned, heritage brand – reflecting the true essence of Sonoma County.”
Established in 1972 by David S. Stare, Dry Creek Vineyard is Dry Creek Valley’s flagship winery located in the heart of Sonoma County, California. This premier, family-owned winery is celebrating 49 years of winemaking and is led by the second generation. Dave’s daughter, Kim Stare Wallace, serves as President overseeing a successful family winemaking and grape growing business that includes 185 acres of sustainably farmed vineyards. Named one of the Top 100 wineries of 2015 by Wine & Spirits Magazine and a Top 10 Tasting Room by USA TODAY, the winery is also 100% Certified Sustainable. Dry Creek Vineyard proudly produces delicious Dry Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Meritage blends as well as a portfolio of single vineyard selections.
To learn more, visit www.drycreekvineyard.com. Connect with Dry Creek Vineyard on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The collectable wines, which are available in limited quantity, go on sale today and can be purchased exclusively in-store at select Cost Plus World Market locations nationwide as well as ordered exclusively online at 
The tasting is set up as a self-pour format and attended by various members of the press and wine community – people that can be trusted to spit and not over pour. I like the tasting as I can not only control the pour, I can usually complete the event in about 90 minutes. The downfall is that there is no way to take notes while holding my glass in one hand. I can only accomplish that at a sit-down tasting.
“The wines we select for Pop Culture are highly allocated and rarely appear anywhere other than on the lists of the most cutting-edge restaurants,” Richards says. “These are the insider choices that every wine lover wants to know about, and then, actually be able to get their hands on. We are able to help them do both.”
There is a little more magic to mention: the invisible cellar, the shuttered chateau. But I do not want to emphasize this. Xavier does not play any of this up: like the vineyards, all of this disappears. There is no show: only wine. He does not even make a show of his methods; he never mentions his own devotion; he never draws distinctions between his way of working and his neighbors’. He does not celebrate or elevate what he does; he is utterly matter of fact. He never mentions “purity” or any other value. His only point of pride, if I read him right, is his wine’s relation to time. His only theory, insofar as I could grasp, is related to what he calls “matière”– “matter.” His labels have alchemical references (see photo); I think that he means something old-fashioned and metaphysical by this. He does not just mean “matter” or even something like information. He talks about his farming being devoted to translating matter from the field (not just the soil) to the grapes, and his pressing being devoted to translating the matter from the grapes to the juice. The density of this wine is due to this attention to matter– and also the complexity, I think. But this means that “matière” is not just some concentration of molecules, but some kind of system, with architecture, proportion, interrelation. For what else is complexity? His matter, I think, is something more like spirit or soul– not necessarily in the Christian sense, but in a way that Aristotle would understand.
