Sonoma Wineries:
“Old Vines” in the Dry Creek Valley
Returning to the main road, slow down to see the sixty-foot-tall, redwood water tower, an artifact from the end of the 19th century. To provide piped water for homes and farms, water towers were built high, for enough gravity to build water pressure. Of the thousands of towers that once stood in northern California, few remain from the ravages of storms and fires.
Farther up West Dry Creek Road where it tapers to one lane, just north of the Yoakim Bridge, proceed at a snail’s pace a half-mile or so to where dark vines grow right up to both sides of the road. Winter, when the vines are bare, is the best season to really get a look at these old geezers, like grizzled, ancient gnomes, their fingers flailing from stubby, twisted, muscular arms, rooted in the volcanic soil that feeds them.
Growing on gravelly benchlands and hillsides, and on the valley floor in reddish, clay loam, the old vines are the riches of the valley. To be designated as “old vine.” they must be at least fifty years old. When you explore the California wine country, you will notice that these thick, low-to-the-ground, scraggly “head-pruned” vines no longer exist in most of the state’s vast winelands, a fact that contributes to the romantic sense of place here. In the Dry Creek Valley is the densest concentration of old vine Zinfandel vineyards in the world. The grapes produce spicy, full-bodied reds, redolent of blackberry, black cherry and black currant, often with peppery overtones.
Continue the Dry Creek Valley Winery Guide With a Stop at Preston Vineyards »
The article on this page is adapted from the book, Backroads of the California Wine Country by Karen Misuraca (www.karenmisuraca.com), published by Voyageur Press.
Photo Credit: The pictures on this page are by Lisa Moore. www.studioponderosa.com