Dry Creek Vineyard's Clarksburg Chenin Blanc 2007

Scents of apricot and dried pineapple dominate the tantalizing nose of the 2007 Dry Creek Vineyards Chenin Blanc, and these are just for starters. Dry Creek's Chenin Blanc is both beguiling in the nose and fresh and supple on the palate. It offers ample but nicely restrained Chenin Blanc fruit, excellent minerality, and an exuberant freshness that defies the wine's California upbringing. In fact, this Chenin Blanc combines the best of California fruit with the classic distinction of the finest dry Vouvray from the Loire Valley of France. Is there any wonder, then, that Dry Creek's Chenin Blanc is the benchmark by which all other California Chenin Blancs are now measured? Dry Creek's 2007 Chenin Blanc is textbook perfect. We suggest serving the exuberant Dry Creek Chenin Blanc well chilled, at least initially. Afterwards, allow this sassy, hedonistic wine to unfold in the glass. Most of all, enjoy its expansive flavors and embracing vitality!

The 2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Chenin Blanc is a no-muss, no-fuss white wine. It is happy in a glass all by itself and is a joy to bring to table, even to a picnic table. We have especially enjoyed this wine as an aperitif in the company of an ice-cold bucket of boiled shrimp, complete with a heady horseradish-laden cocktail sauce. Clams, mussels, prawns, oysters, scallops, and most anything else with a shell on it is a sure bet with the 2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Chenin Blanc as well. Smoked salmon served with cream cheese, onion, and capers works well, too. In addition, cheese pies, pastas, poultry, and quiches provide great companionship and offer excellent alternatives to seafood. Furthermore, one of our favorite choices with Dry Creek's Chenin Blanc is possibly the simplest – an assortment of gourmet cheeses, specifically Brie, Camembert, and other crusted cheeses. Traditional Loire Valley varietals such as Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc are, perhaps, the wine world's finest accompaniments to full-flavored crusted cheeses. They also pair well with creamy cow and sheep's milk cheeses. In the company of such cheeses, both the cheese and the Dry Creek Chenin Blanc shine. Enjoy!

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 Vineyards 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 helped transform Sonoma County and much of the way we think about American wine. In 1972 David Stare began his illustrious affair with wine in Dry Creek Valley 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. Today, Fumé Blanc (dry Sauvignon Blanc) is Dry Creek Vineyard's flagship white wine and its original claim to fame. Moreover, Dry Creek Valley's Chenin Blanc is the benchmark by which all other California Chenin Blancs are now measured. 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 has inspired many important changes for Sonoma County. Not only was Sonoma County's first Fumé Blanc created at Dry Creek Vineyard, but new standards of quality in California have resulted from Dry Creek's advocacy of Bordeaux style blending for red wines. David Stare proposed meritage offerings, as opposed to strict varietal bottling of a single grape variety, long before almost anyone else. Yet, Stare and Dry Creek's greatest contribution to American viticulture is, perhaps, their success in securing appellation status for the entire Dry Creek Valley, due almost entirely to Stare's own accomplishments and the success of 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 Viticultural Area were 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. Many thanks to the dedicated team at Dry Creek Vineyards that is now headed by winemaker Bill Knuttel for more than thirty-seven years of pioneering excellence!