There are tons of stories from the old days when the California wine biz was much smaller and run by families, where many are now corporate owned. This one is from Dry Creek Vineyard. The founder, David Stare, is receiving lots of local attention on the 50th anniversary of the winery because of his influence on Sonoma County's wine business. His daughter now runs the winery.
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| David Stare, in the old days before computers apparently Image from drycreekvineyard.com |
In '72 he made a Fumé Blanc and a Chenin Blanc. He said he got no reds from that year because of early autumn rains. At that time, Corti Brothers was the big, influential wine retailer out of Sacramento. Young Dave took his Chenin Blanc over to see if Darrell Corti wanted to sell it.
Darrel said sure, what's it cost? Dave said it retails for $3.25. Corti replied, "No Chenin Blanc is worth that!" Times have changed.
Some of David Stare's firsts:
- Planting Sauvignon Blanc in Sonoma County
- Pushing for a Dry Creek Valley appellation
- Using the term "Meritage" on a label (Meritage means a Bordeaux-type blend)
- Using the term Old Vine Zinfandel on a wine label
Info for this post from a Dan Berger column and Dry Creek Vineyard's website
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