Wine for Sailors: How Dry Creek Vineyard Merged Sailing and Sonoma Wine

WWMD – What would Margaret drink?

Margaret Pearman is a certified sommelier under the Court of Master Sommeliers and curates the award-winning wine list at Charlie’s L’Etoile Verte. Here is her sipping suggestion for August:

How a love of sailing helped shape one of Sonoma’s standout family-run wineries

My life in wine started at a young age, counting bottles. Labels and wine caps ingrained themselves in my memory. One label in particular, an old sailboat crashing through the waves, stuck with me. As it turns out, the image on Dry Creek Vineyard’s bottles is a meaningful representation of the family behind the wine.

Founded in 1972, Dry Creek Vineyard was the dream of David Stare, a novice winemaker hoping to build a new life. A recent MIT graduate with a degree in civil engineering, David became hooked on wine after traveling abroad. He especially loved the crisp sauvignon blancs of the Loire Valley, particularly Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. With that inspiration, he packed up his young family, loaded their station wagon and moved west. Originally from Massachusetts, they brought with them a love of sailing. Today Dry Creek Vineyard remains one of the few family-owned-and-operated private wineries in California.

After a day sailing the San Francisco Bay, David’s daughter Kim suggested that the labels should reflect the family’s passion for sailing. From that point on, Dry Creek Vineyard labels have featured a J Class yacht, a nod to the golden era of yachting, known for its intricate rigging and lack of motors. Over the years the family forged strong ties to the sailing community, from supporting start-up sailing programs at local colleges to sponsoring international regattas and the America’s Cup. The nickname “Wine for Sailors” was well earned.

David is also credited with founding the Dry Creek Valley AVA in 1983. Located in Sonoma County, the area is known for its excellent zinfandel and sauvignon blanc. Today the fruity yet crisp style of sauvignon blanc that Dry Creek Vineyard introduced to American palates in the late 1970s remains its hallmark. Seeing it on a wine list feels like spotting an old friend.