Dry Creek Vineyard
The winery names its Fume Blanc and its Dry Chenin Blanc before its Zinfandels, which in the Dry Creek Valley in 2026 is a choice somebody made on purpose.1
Why go
David Stare founded this in the early 1970s and the family has farmed the estate vineyards sustainably since 1972.12 The range runs from those two whites through Zinfandel to Bordeaux-inspired blends.1 There are picnic grounds and a bocce court, and the tastings are built to work with both.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Dry Chenin Blanc. It is the odd one out on the list and it is the reason to stop here rather than at the next gate.1
- Order: the estate flight with the picnic lunch if you want the grounds rather than the counter.1
- Avoid: treating it as a quick tasting. The bocce and the picnic ground are what this address is for.
Good to know
- The vineyard stroll starts at a History Room and walks the estate before the tasting.1
- The bocce experience takes up to twelve people.1
- Two dated events: classic cars and an outdoor screening of Grease on 18 September 2026, with Kelly Ward, one of the original T-Birds from the 1978 film, attending; and a stargazing dinner on 9 October 2026.2
- No tasting price is published on the winery's site or its booking platform.
Verdict
could-visit — Dry Creek Vineyard names Fume Blanc and Dry Chenin Blanc before it names its Zinfandels, and hardly anyone else in this valley still bottles a dry Chenin. David Stare founded it in the early 1970s and the family has farmed the estate sustainably since 1972. There are picnic grounds and a bocce court, and one of the tastings is built around bringing lunch. Held here because the winery is the only source, it publishes no tasting price, its two award claims carry no year, and the press quotes on its own page name no masthead.