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Biodynamic® Wines & Vines | bd.wine

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Biodynamic® Wines & Vines | bd.wine

Biodynamic® Wines & Vines | bd.wineBiodynamic® Wines & Vines | bd.wineBiodynamic® Wines & Vines | bd.wine
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Sonoma Cty. | Russian River Valley AVA | Biodynamic Overview

Wineries

Tasting Rooms | Events

Tasting Rooms | Events

• DeLoach Vineyards

• Porter-Bass

• Porter Creek Vineyards

Tasting Rooms | Events

Tasting Rooms | Events

Tasting Rooms | Events

Guerneville

• Porter-Bass (by appt.)


Healdsburg

• DeLoach Vineyards (walk in or by appt.)

• Porter Creek Vineyards (walk in)

AVA Essentials

Tasting Rooms | Events

Biodynamic Vines | Acres

• The Russian River Valley AVA is a cool climate region that is one of the country's best known regions for fine Pinot Noir


• The finicky Burgundian grape is at home in the soils and climate here, with cooling fog that rolls in from the coast following the path of the Russian River


• Due to high mildew pressure, most of the local wineries use conventional fungicides ; organic or biodynamic practices are rare, but the grapes tend to be very high quality


• The region is also famous for its fertile Goldridge soils, a combination of sandy loam and sandstone; they attracted the legendary plant breeder Luther Burbank to the region in 1885


• Porter Creek Vineyards was the first in the Russian River Valley AVA to be biodynamic  and was certified in 2003


• Grapes from biodynamic grower Porter-Bass vineyards go into one of the state's most famous Pinot and Chardonnay ("Mays Canyon" from Littorai)


• Estate wineries with biodynamic vines: 3


• Biodynamic vineyard acreage: 66


Wineries; 56

Growers: 10


• Biodynamic case production (estimated):   3,600

Biodynamic Vines | Acres

Biodynamic Vines | Varieties

Biodynamic Vines | Acres

WINERIES


• Porter Creek Vineyards: 21

• Porter-Bass: 18

• DeLoach Vineyards: 17


GROWER


• Maboroshi Vineyards: 10 (sells to DeLoach Vineyards)

Biodynamic Vines | Varieties

Biodynamic Vines | Varieties

Biodynamic Vines | Varieties

• Chardonnay

• Pinot Noir

• Zinfandel

Biodynamic Vines | Cases

Biodynamic Vines | Varieties

Biodynamic Vines | Varieties

• DeLoach Vineyards: 1,500

• Porter Creek VIneyards: 1,500

• Porter-Bass: 600

DeLoach Vineyards | Russian River Valley AVA | Healdsburg

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Winery Overview

Location


• Sources its five estate wines from its 17 acres of Biodynamic estate vineyards in Santa Rosa as well as grapes for one wine from a local biodynamic grower; most of its production comes from grapes from dozens of non-organic growers 


• One of its wineries is located on the Santa Rosa site 


• The tasting room is on the winery and vineyard site in the Russian River Valley, surrounded by fruit and vegetable gardens


Best known for 


• Powerhouse Pinot Noir producer owned by the Burgundy based Boisset Family Estates, France’s third largest wine producer (with 25 brands in the USA and more in France)


• Makes six small lot wines from organic and biodynamic vines ($30-90) with its highest rated 95 pts.


• Originally founded in 1975 by the DeLoach family, DeLoach was one of the earliest wineries in the region; in 2003 the Boisset family bought the  brand and, in 2008, began converting the vineyards surrounding the tasting room and winery to organic and biodynamic practices


• Today proprietor Jean Charles Boisset and his wife Gina Gallo are forging a new Franco-American wine dynasty spanning the globe; at home they reside with their twin daughters in a modern art filled estate (formerly the home of Robert Mondavi) overlooking Napa Valley


• Overall Boisset owns 31 brands including JCB in Sonoma and Raymond Vineyards in Napa; in Napa, he's converted 111 acres to organic and biodynamic farming and certification


• The Frenchman attributes his love of biodynamic farming to childhood walks with his grandmother in France, picking herbs and flowers and learning about plants


• DeLoach's estate vineyards are located on clay loam soils in the Olivet Bench near the Russian River; cooling fog rolls in, promoting slow ripening of the grapes and enhancing flavor development 


• The estate wines come from diverse clones, including La Tache, Calera, 23, Swan, Mt. Eden, 828, 115, and 777


• DeLoach's Maboroshi Pinot Noir is a perennial standout, as is its name; the word Maboroshi is Japanese for  "whimsical dream"


• The winery has taken a pro-active approach to growers in becoming certified sustainable; it also pays higher prices for certified organic grapes


• Boisset, a debonair entrepreneur, also shares his love of luxury with his JCB lifestyle brand of accessories and in his opulent book about wine called  The Alchemy of the Senses ($395)


• The vintner's also helped Demeter USA's scholarship fundraising efforts, donating a dinner and auction night at DeLoach to raise money for the nonprofit; he also spoke about his passion for biodynamics as the keynote speaker at the 2018 Biodynamic Wine Conference in San Francisco


• The winery has been a Wine & Spirits Top 100 Winery 12 times


• DeLoach's 2015 La Bienvenue Estate Pinot Noir scored 95 pts. from the Wine Advocate


Organic and biodynamic vineyard case production


1,500 cases (out of 150,000 cases total)


Certified


• Vineyard, organic, 2008, CCOF; biodynamic, Demeter USA, 2010

• Winery, organic, 2015, CCOF; biodynamic, 2016, Demeter USA

Wines

ESTATE WINES


Certified: Made with Biodynamic Grapes

Bottle Labeled: Made with Biodynamic Grapes


• Pinot Noir-Estate


Certified Organic and Biodynamic Grapes


Russian River Valley AVA:


• Chardonnay-Estate

• Pinot Noir-La Bienvenue

• Pinot Noir-Les Parcelle Cachées

• Rosé-Estate


MORE WINES


Certified Organic and Biodynamic Grapes


Russian River Valley AVA:


• Pinot Noir-Maboroshi 

Visiting | What to Expect | Contact

The winery offers a wide variety of tasting experiences that change seasonally. Not all experiences include the organic and biodynamically grown wines. The experiences below do.


$35

Estate tasting with cheese and nibbles (by appt.)


$50 

Estate tour and tasting with cheese and nibbles (by appt.)


$NA

Private tours are available that showcase the winery's biodynamic program


DeLoach Vineyards

1791 Olivet Lane

Santa Rosa, CA 95401


707.755.3300


Website     |      Email      |       Facebook      |     Twitter     |     Instagram

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Porter-Bass | Russian River Valley AVA | Guerneville

Winery Overview

Location


• Sources its estate wines solely from its 18 acres of certified organic and biodynamic estate vines


• The wines are made on site


• The tasting room is a table outside overlooking the vineyard


Best known for


• Growers to the stars who also make small lots of their own estate wine


• The Porter-Bass family sells top quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes to sommeliers' favorite winemakers (think Littorai and Ceritas) and bottles small lots of their own wines


• Makes three estate wines from certified vines ($36-50)


• The Porter Bass family purchased what was then a rundown 25 acre vineyard site in 1980, selling grapes; in 2001, they began reserving a small percentage of their grapes for their own Porter-Bass estate wines


• Winemaker Luke Bass and his mother Susan Bass manage the vineyard, growing six acres of Chardonnay, five acres of Pinot Noir and four acres of Zinfandel


• The vineyard lies in a clearing deep within a redwood fir forest; it was first planted to vines in 1915


• The soils are Hugo-Josephine series with shallow (2-3 feet), weathered sandstone interspersed with veins of clay


• Under the Littorai label, the single vineyard designate from Porter-Bass is called Mays Canyon; it's one of Littorai's most celebrated wines


• At Porter-Bass, Luke Bass makes the wines; his background includes an internship under Greg LaFollette at Flowers, followed by stints abroad in South Africa and Chile, and then back in Sonoma County at Hirsch


• Bass also makes a second label, Poco a Poco, from both estate and purchased (non-organic) grapes 


• Luke's sister Phoebe Bass is also in the wine business; with her husband John Raytek, she has her own label Ceritas and makes limited production, single vineyard designate wines, including two from her family's vineyard


• Three quarters of the Porter Bass property is left wild and uncultivated


• Pigs, sheep and chickens have a place on the land; the pond here attracts ducks, frogs, geese, and herons


Organic and biodynamic vineyard case production


600 (out of 600 total)


Certified


• Vineyard, organic, 2009-2017, Stellar Certification Services; biodynamic, 2009-present, Demeter USA

• Winery: biodynamic, 2016, Demeter USA


EXTRAS


• Video

Wines

ESTATE WINES


Certified Organic and Biodynamic Grapes


• Chardonnay

• Pinot Noir

• Zinfandel

Visiting | What to Expect | Contact

$15

Owner vineyard tour and tasting (by appt.)


Porter-Bass

11750 Mays Canyon Rd.

Guerneville, CA 95446


707.869.1475


Website      |      Email

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Porter Creek Vineyards | Russian River Valley AVA | Healdsburg

Winery Overview

Location


• Sources its estate wines from its 21 acres of vineyards in Sonoma's Pinot heartland—on Westside Road in the Russian River Valley; it also buys grapes from other (not certified) growers for some of its wines


• The winery and tiny, rustic tasting room are on the vineyard site in Healdsburg


Best known for


• A legendary, under the radar Russian River winery that quietly produces acclaimed biodynamic Pinots


• Makes five certified wines from organic and biodynamic vines (91-93 pts., $42-76)


• Biodynamic since 2003, it's known for its non-interventionist winemaking approach


• Proprietor and founder George Davis purchased the 40 acre estate property in 1977, just a few years after a portion of it was planted to Pinot Noir vines; he planted 10 additional acres of Chardonnay and bonded the winery in 1982, making the wines himself until 1997


• His son, proprietor and winemaker Alex Davis, grew up in the vines where he learned to prune and, while he was in high school, won the statewide pruning contest; after high school, he studied viticulture at Fresno State


• In his 20's, Davis traveled to Burgundy, Dijon and the Rhone to learn about old world winemaking; he worked harvest in some of Burgundy's grand cru vineyards (Domaine George Roumier [Bonnes Mares and Musigny] and Domaine Michelot in Mersault)


• Davis also studied viticulture at the University of Dijon for two years, and then worked at Guigal in the Rhone before returning to the family vineyard in 1997 to become the winemaker


• Porter Creek's Hillside vineyard Pinot Noir vines, planted in 1973, are some of the oldest in California


• As wine critic Jon Bonné put it, the winery’s approach is “nuanced, pure in its fruit and informed by Alex's time in some of Burgundy's greatest cellars...has a following among advanced placement Pinotphiles”


• In 2019, Slow Wine awarded the winery a prestigious Snail award, the international organization's highest honor 


Organic and biodynamic case production


1,500 (out of 4,000 total)


Certified


Vineyards and winery, organic, Stellar Certification Services, 2003-2018, CCOF 2018 through present; biodynamic, 2003, Demeter USA

Wines

ESTATE WINES


Certified Organic and Biodynamic Grapes

Certified "Made with Biodynamic Grapes" or "Biodynamic Wine" 

(depending on the vintage)


• Chardonnay-George's Hill

• Pinot Noir-Estate

• Pinot Noir-Fiona Hill

• Pinot Noir-Hillside

• Pinot Noir-Winegrowers Reserve

Visiting | What to Expect | Contact

$20

Flight of wines (walk in)


Porter Creek Vineyards

8735 Westside Rd.

Healdsburg, CA 95448


707.433.6321


Website        |      Email      |       Facebook     |     Instagram

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