Dry Creek Yummyness! (Quivera and Preston)

Good range of wines from Dry Creek this weekend!

With seared Ahi and rice: Preston Family 2012 Rousanne. Apple, nuts, touch of savoryness. Quite lovely!

With burgers on Labor Day:

2012 Quivera Sauvignon Blanc/Viognier blend (almost 50-50). I remember quite liking Quivera SB, and the Viognier adds more complexity and interest to this wine, which sees Acacia barrels! and neutral French oak!!. Not oaky at all (or Acacia-y. What does Acacia aging even taste like?). Anyway, you get that bright acidity from the SB, but complemented by the peachy richness of Viognier. This resulted in a wine that certainly fruity, although I would say the Viognier dominates in the fruit profile, the SB contributes freshness and acid. Most importantly, there is a saline, savory quality to the wine that hits my palate for white wines. Delicious and unique wine!

2011 Quivera "Flight" Zinfandel. This was a lithe and delicious and elegant, yes elegant Zinfandel from Dry Creek. Lovely berry fruit, especially on the mid palate and finish. What really stood out, though, was the note of white pepper that really came through. Really sang with grilled burgers. Happily, I have one more bottle.

I need to shift some club memberships around (I was disappointed in one club pickup the last two times). May drop them and pick up Quivera again. My main problem with Quivera is they seem to be "too popular". Too many bachelorette parties and bros with popped collars. But these wines were remarkably solid. And the place is lovely.

2013 Preston Family "When the Black Suits Get Together" Organic Syrah. This is an outlier in the Preston family of wines. I mean, they always have a touch of the organic/biodynamic character, but this uniquely fresh take on Syrah (which clocks in at 12.9% abv) tastes like it could have been made by Jarrod at Donkey and Goat or Chris at Broc Cellars. Very lively, high acid, high toned Syrah with a distinctive funky "natural wine" character. One of their more interesting bottlings.

[Jenise]

Good range of wines from Dry Creek this weekend!

With seared Ahi and rice: Preston Family 2012 Rousanne. Apple, nuts, touch of savoryness. Quite lovely!

With burgers on Labor Day:

2012 Quivera Sauvignon Blanc/Viognier blend (almost 50-50). I remember quite liking Quivera SB, and the Viognier adds more complexity and interest to this wine, which sees Acacia barrels! and neutral French oak!!. Not oaky at all (or Acacia-y. What does Acacia aging even taste like?). Anyway, you get that bright acidity from the SB, but complemented by the peachy richness of Viognier. This resulted in a wine that certainly fruity, although I would say the Viognier dominates in the fruit profile, the SB contributes freshness and acid. Most importantly, there is a saline, savory quality to the wine that hits my palate for white wines. Delicious and unique wine!

2011 Quivera "Flight" Zinfandel. This was a lithe and delicious and elegant, yes elegant Zinfandel from Dry Creek. Lovely berry fruit, especially on the mid palate and finish. What really stood out, though, was the note of white pepper that really came through. Really sang with grilled burgers. Happily, I have one more bottle.

I need to shift some club memberships around (I was disappointed in one club pickup the last two times). May drop them and pick up Quivera again. My main problem with Quivera is they seem to be "too popular". Too many bachelorette parties and bros with popped collars. But these wines were remarkably solid. And the place is lovely.

2013 Preston Family "When the Black Suits Get Together" Organic Syrah. This is an outlier in the Preston family of wines. I mean, they always have a touch of the organic/biodynamic character, but this uniquely fresh take on Syrah (which clocks in at 12.9% abv) tastes like it could have been made by Jarrod at Donkey and Goat or Chris at Broc Cellars. Very lively, high acid, high toned Syrah with a distinctive funky "natural wine" character. One of their more interesting bottlings.

I remember tasting at Quivera a long time ago--just SB and zin, IIRC, and recent experiences with the SB says it's still the style I remember, which I liked a lot. However, ownership has changed hands and I thought they were now a negociant (maybe they never had their own vineyards). Anyway, I'm surprised there's still a tasting room--in the kind of ownership change I thought had occurred, tasting rooms usually go away.

Jenise: Not to my understanding. Winery is still there. Stunning gardens and very busy. Website still indicates open hours.

http://www.quivirawine.com/index.php?op ... =2&show=78

Hugh Chappelle is still listed as wine"grower" (they are biodynamic, so they emphasize this )

But...a bit of Google-Fu does show the winery WAS last sold to a Peter Kight in July of 2006. So the wines I had are under the current regime. Kight owns an Australian winery as well, I recall.

http://www.winemag.com/2006/07/21/dry-c ... ards-sold/

Emphasis on Biodynamics. A lot. (an entire Q and A)

So...we'll see!

[Jenise]

But...a bit of Google-Fu does show the winery WAS last sold to a Peter Kight in July of 2006. So the wines I had are under the current regime. Kight owns an Australian winery as well, I recall.

Ah, I think that's right and now I remember where I learned of the sale. They had a table set up at an industry tasting I went to and the combination of wines on the table did not make complete sense.