AVA Guide · Sonoma County · Modern Love Living
Old-vine zin, sauvignon blanc, the quietest road in wine country.
A 16-mile valley running northwest from Healdsburg: old-vine zinfandel, mineral sauvignon blanc, and Dry Creek Road, possibly the loveliest tasting drive in California.
The brief
Dry Creek Valley is the AVA wine country regulars send each other to. Sixteen miles long, three miles wide, no town inside it. Old-vine zinfandel was planted here in the 1880s and never ripped out. Dry Creek sauvignon blanc, from Quivira, Dry Creek Vineyard, and Mauritson, is some of California's most distinct. Bella Vineyards built tasting caves into the hillside. Ridge Lytton Springs makes one of California's great Rhône-blend wines. And West Dry Creek Road — narrow, oak-shaded, slow — is the most beautiful wine road in California most people have never driven. This is the second-day AVA. Save it for after Russian River.
What to do
Experience 01
Hillside caves, a private tasting inside the mountain.
Experience 02
A Rhône-blend tasting in a strawbale barn. The most architectural winery building in the AVA.
Experience 03
Mauritson, Rued, and A. Rafanelli. Three appointments, one road, no rush.
Experience 04
A 1880s store, a counter sandwich, a glass of zin in the parking lot.
Experience 05
Wine Country Bikes runs guided routes through the valley.
Experience 06
Lambert Bridge: a small estate up a side road, and a terrace built for staying too long.
Where to stay
The legacy stay
Healdsburg sits at the AVA's mouth. The right base.
The boutique stay
Plaza-adjacent. Walk to dinner after the tasting day.
Where to eat
Dry Creek General Store (Healdsburg)
A counter sandwich, a glass, a parking-lot table.
Catelli's (Geyserville)
At the AVA's north end. Italian, garden, a long mid-tasting break.
Diavola Pizzeria (Geyserville)
Wood-fired pizza in a small Italian town. The right end-of-day.
Bravas Bar de Tapas (Healdsburg)
Backyard string lights for the post-tasting wind-down.
The tasting list
Dry Creek Valley
Hillside caves, a private tasting inside the mountain.
Dry Creek Valley
Rhône-blend tasting in a strawbale barn.
Dry Creek Valley
Biodynamic farm, garden tasting, a serious sauvignon blanc.
Dry Creek Valley
By appointment. Allocation-list zinfandel.
Dry Creek Valley
Rockpile estate above the AVA. Serious zin and cab.
Dry Creek Valley
The valley benchmark for zinfandel and sauvignon blanc, with a lawn made for a picnic.
From the magazine
Date Night · Healdsburg
The evening you build on purpose, then let unspool.
Read · 6 min →
Date Night
You don't need a reservation. You need a tank of gas, a loose route through West Sonoma County, and someone you actually want to talk to for three hours.
Read · 5 min →
Bachelorette · Napa
A slower, more considered bachelorette weekend: the one the bride will actually remember.
Read · 7 min →
Weekend Guide · Sonoma
The weekend that remembers why you picked each other.
Read · 8 min →
Self-Care · Calistoga
Twenty-four hours built around the parts of yourself you forgot to ask after.
Read · 6 min →
Intimacy · An Essay
The Tuesday evening that becomes the one you remember.
Read · 7 min →Bookable experiences
Experiences provided by Viator, a Tripadvisor company. Modern Love Living may earn a commission on bookings made through these links, at no extra cost to you.
The honest answers
Russian River is pinot and chardonnay. Dry Creek is zinfandel and sauvignon blanc. Both intersect in Healdsburg, so it's easy to do one day in each.
West Dry Creek Road is narrow but well-traveled. Drive it slowly. Hire a driver if you're tasting four wineries.
Bella Vineyards cave + Ridge Lytton Springs + a sauvignon blanc tasting at Quivira. Lunch at Dry Creek General Store between.
A Sunday-evening dispatch: one story worth reading in bed, one Tuesday idea, and the occasional very good bottle. Intimate, not noisy. Unsubscribe whenever.
You’re on the list. Look for your first letter this Sunday.
One letter a week. Unsubscribe anytime.
Keep reading
