Christopher Creek Winery

The first vines went in on Limerick Lane in 1972 and still make the Reserve Petite Sirah and Reserve Syrah. Sixty dollars gets you the Pinot straight out of the barrel.1 2

Why go

The winery opened in 1974, two years after the planting, and makes about 4,000 cases a year.1 The fruit comes off 11 acres in the Russian River Valley and 27 hillside acres on Bradford Mountain in the Dry Creek Valley, which is two quite different pieces of ground for one small house.1 You taste in a barrel room or outside over the vineyard, and there is a pool.1 2

Order this / avoid

Order: the Legacy Tasting, $60, limited-production Pinot Noir tasted from the barrel.2
Order: the Reserve Petite Sirah or the Reserve Syrah, which are the wines off the 1972 planting.1
Avoid: reading the $30 and $120 figures as tasting fees. Both are per-person deposits, and only the $60 Legacy is a flat price.2

Good to know

The Estate Tasting books parties up to twenty, which is a large ceiling for a 4,000-case winery.2
There is a poolside package, three hours of reserved seating for four with a chilled bottle, at $120 for the party.2
You can stay on the property. The winery runs an Estate House.1

Verdict

could-visit — Vines went into Limerick Lane in 1972 and the winery opened in 1974, and those first vines still make the Reserve Petite Sirah and the Reserve Syrah, which is a date attached to a bottle rather than to a logo. It is a small operation, about 4,000 cases off 11 Russian River acres and 27 hillside acres on Bradford Mountain. The tasting worth the money is the $60 Legacy, where the Pinot comes out of the barrel. Held here because the winery calls everything award-winning without naming one award, and I could not find an independent voice on it.

Christopher Creek Winery.