Appellation · United States
Dry Creek Valley
A narrow valley north-west of Healdsburg, and California’s most celebrated home for old-vine Zinfandel.
Full-bodied Zinfandel with bramble fruit, black pepper and high alcohol, over moderate tannin. Also crisp, herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc.
About Dry Creek Valley
Dry Creek Valley is a small, narrow valley with a warm floor and cooler benchland, and it is the reference point for Californian Zinfandel.
Some of the vines here are over a century old, planted by Italian immigrant families before Prohibition and often interplanted with Petite Sirah, Carignan and other varieties in a "field blend".
Zinfandel from here is brambly, peppery and high in alcohol, with more structure than the jammy style the variety is often reduced to.
What the name means
- Legal name
- Dry Creek Valley AVA
- Type
- American Viticultural Area (AVA)
- Set by
- Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
- Recognised
- 1983
- Regulates
- Origin only. It sets no rules about varieties, yields, ageing or winemaking.
Only where the grapes were grown, plus the percentage that must come from the named area. An AVA sets no varietal, yield, ageing or winemaking rules whatsoever — the single most commonly misunderstood fact about US wine labels.
Grapes
Wines from here
What to eat, and how to serve it
Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.
Where to go next
Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.
- Alexander Valley — Sonoma’s warmest major AVA, on the upper Russian River, and its best source of Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Russian River Valley — A fog-cooled Sonoma AVA producing some of California’s best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Sources
Sources consulted
- American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) — Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), US Department of the Treasury
- Sonoma County Vintners — Sonoma County Vintners