Sonoma Cty. | Dry Creek Valley AVA | Biodynamic Overview

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Location

• Sources grapes from its 14 acres of biodynamic estate vineyards in Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley, 3 acres of organic vines in Mendocino (in transition to Biodynamic certification), and a grower in Lodi (in transition to biodynamic certification) 

• The winery is on the Dry Creek estate in Healdsburg

• The tasting room is part of a farm complex, home to chickens, heritage breed pigs, and a flock of Shetland sheep; a stately olive oil tree marks the center of courtyard, honoring the estate's olive oil origins

Best known for

• Dry Creek olive oil producer and winery making wine from Italian varietals, including many varieties rarely grown in California

• Makes 14 wines from certified vines ($32-125)

• The name "DaVero" is an Italian expression that means "the real thing"

• Proprietors Ridgely Evers (he was the guy behind QuickBooks) and his wife Colleen McGlynn (a chef) started DaVero as olive oil producers in 1990, importing and planting 22 acres of Italian olive trees

• An early fan, the famous Italian chef Mario Batalli used the oil at his restaurant and helped DaVero enter it, secretly, in an Italian olive oil competition where it won a prestigious award in Tuscany

• Italian wine lovers, the couple expanded into planting vineyards in 2000 on the Healdsburg property, putting in a 8 acre vineyard on their hillside and buying an adjacent creekside property with 10 additional acres of vines

• Over time the roadside site has become a farm with diverse crops and livestock (chickens, pigs, sheep, and fruit trees) as well as vines

• Second generation farm manager Arturo Valladares, who was raised on the farm, took over the role from his father Juan in 2019; in addition, Michael Presley works the land with the official title of "Soilkeeper" 

• Evan LaNouette oversees the cellar

• The winery has convinced many of the growers it buys grapes from to convert to biodynamic certification

• DaVero was featured in natural wine devotee Alice Feiring's 2011 book Naked Wine; she writes about trying her hand at making a wine of her own at DaVero

• All wines and farm products (olive oil and more) are sold direct to consumers in the tasting room or wine club

• The winery says it is the only one outside of Campagna, Italy to grow Pallagrello Bianco

• Italian wine fans treasure DaVero's wines from grapes rarely grown in the U.S.—Malvasia Bianca and Pinot Nero—and an outstanding Sagrantino ($125, club only wine), a varietal native to Umbria

Organic and biodynamic vineyard case production

3,000 (out of 5,500 cases)

Certified

Estate vineyard, organic, 2008-2018, Stellar Certification Services; biodynamic, 2011-present, Demeter USA

$30

Seated tasting of wines, olive oil and food bites from the farm (by appt.)

$45

Private vineyard tour and seated tasting of allocated wines (by appt.)

$75

A tour and tasting of the private Home Farm's olive groves, vineyards, and gardens followed by a tour of the roadside farm and a seated wine tasting paired with a charcuterie plate (by appt.).

CONTACT

DaVero Farms & Winery

766 Westside Rd.

Healdsburg, CA 95448

707.431.8000

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Location

• Sources grapes solely from its 70 acres of estate vines on its 120 acre Dry Creek Valley farm in Healdsburg

• The winery, housed in a big old fashioned barn, and farmhouse tasting room are surrounded by the vineyards and farm with acres of produce and grains

Best known for

• A longtime community favorite and down home Eden, Preston is a poster child for the farm to table and grape to glass movements, growing both food crops and wine grapes

• Makes 16 certified wines ($22-$36) with a focus on both the climate appropriate Rhone varietals (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Cinsault) and Dry Creek traditions (Carignane, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel) with the occasional Italian wine grape thrown in for good measure (Barbera)

• Proprietors Lou and Susan Preston bought the property in the 1970s when it was an old prune orchard and converted it to a bustling 25,000 case a year winery

• In the 2000's, the couple transitioned out of monoculture into a vibrant polyculture, downsizing wine production to 7,000 cases a year and increasing food crops, growing more than 200 species including persimmons, kale, walnuts, olives, grains and other fruits and vegetables sold to local restaurants

• They also have 1,500 olive trees and produce olive oil from their own mill on site

• Crops include 25 varieties of heirloom apples, peach trees, pears, figs, plums, pomegranates, quince and more

• Proprietor Lou Preston, whose hobby is making bread, now bakes it from his own grain, offering it for sale in the tasting room along with Preston's olive oil

• Sheep, pigs and chicken also roam the land, fertilizing the vineyards as they graze

• After years of being certified organic in both the vines and the winery, and then experimenting with Biodynamic practices, the vines and winery were certified Biodynamic in 2015

• The winery is one of just three wineries in Sonoma County that's certified biodynamic and bottle labels all of its wines "Made with Organic Grapes" or "Made with Biodynamic Grapes"

• Winemaker Dan Ditzler uses only native yeasts

• As a nod to local traditions, Preston offers an old fashioned jug wine (sold only on Sundays, $32) it calls Guadagni, in honor of its old Italian neighbor, Jim Guadagni, who was an unofficial mayor of sorts of Dry Creek Valley; the blend of Zinfandel, Cinsault, Carignane and Mourvèdre is much better than the old jug wines ever were

• A convivial and community oriented winery, visitors enjoy picnicking on picnic tables on the grassy lawn and playing bocce ball during the week

• Preston is more than a winery and a farm, combining its philosophy of a whole farm with a commitment, as Lou Preston puts it, to "food, environmentalism and community activism"

Organic and biodynamic case production

8,000 (out of 8,000 total)

Certified

Vineyards and winery, organic, 2002-present, CCOF; biodynamic, 2015-2019, Demeter USA

In 2019, Preston withdrew its Demeter certification as a cost saving measure. However all of its wines through the 2018 vintage are Demeter certified. The winery is continuing its organic certification.

$15 

Tasting at wine bar (walk in)

$25 

Seated tasting (by appt.)

$30

Farm tour and tasting (by appt.)

CONTACT

Preston Farm & Winery

9282 W Dry Creek Rd.

Healdsburg, CA 95448

707.433.3372

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Location 

• Sources estate wines from its 15 acre of biodynamic vines in Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley and one additional wine from a biodynamic vineyard in Mendocino; other wines come from local, non-organic growers

• The winery is located in Healdsburg

• The tasting room is on the estate vineyard site in Healdsburg in Dry Creek Valley

Best known for

• Dry Creek Valley producer making bold Zinfandels and hearty red wines

• Makes three wines from certified organic and biodynamic vines ($44-63)

• Founders Phil Hurst and veteran biodynamic producer Paul Dolan launched the winery in 2007

• Dolan, a founder of Bonterra and a long time champion of organic and regenerative agriculture, was board president of Demeter USA, the Biodynamic certifier for many years and is a past president of the Wine Institute and  a 4th generation winemaker (Carlo Rossi was his ancestor)

• Truett Hurst's GPS red blend is sourced from Dolan's own spectacular 65 acre estate, Dark Horse Ranch, in Mendocino, a poster child for biodiversity and Biodynamic practices

• The Dry Creek site in Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley has 15 acres of estate vines that were planted in 2010

• Ross Reedy is the winemaker

• Cultivating biodiversity as part of its biodynamic farming practices, Truett Hurst is home to ducks, goats, chickens, olive trees, fruit trees (oranges, lemons, pears and heirloom apples) and an organic vegetable gardens

• The winery is a working farm with livestock; it's also a salmon habitat restoration area, the Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project, working with the Sonoma County Water Agency to build slow moving water channels for juvenile salmon to hang out 

• Visitors enjoy sitting in the winery's iconic red Adirondack chairs overlooking Dry Creek; others come on weekends for its popular down home music series

• The winery just released its first vintage from the biodynamic estate - the 2016 Estate Zinfandel and a Petite Sirah (wine club only)

•  The North Bay Business Journal honored the winery with its top award for environmental stewardship in the 2018 Wine, Beer + Spirits Industry Awards

Biodynamic vineyard case production

1,500 (out of 15,000 total)

Certified

Vineyard, organic, 2015-2018, Stellar Certification Services; biodynamic, 2015-present, Demeter USA

$15

Flight of 5-6 wines

Indoor tasting (walk in) and outdoors (walk in on weekdays, by appointment on weekends)

Patio tasting (by appt.)

Red Chair creekside seating (walk in on weekdays; reserved for wine club members on weekends)

Picnicking is permitted; guests can bring their own food or purchase snacks (cheeses, nuts, crackers, and olives) and enjoy outdoors.

CONTACT 

Truett Hurst

5610 Dry Creek Road

Healdsburg, CA 95448

707.433.9545

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