Winery and Grower Members

The 60+ member wineries of the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley are mainly family-owned and operated and most have estate vineyards. The Valley's old families preserve the history and tradition; the new families bring modern techniques, styles and technology. The pride and the diversity of the people who live and work within this narrow, gentle geography are reflected in the special character of Dry Creek Valley grapes and wines. Seventy-five percent produce 10,000 cases or fewer annually. Sustainable farming practices have long been used, in addition to organic and biodynamic farming techniques. Land stewardship has long been a part of the Dry Creek Valley culture, not a fad. You can find a single proprietor, like A. Rafanelli and Peterson alongside high-tech facilities like Ferrari-Carano and Dry Creek Vineyard. Amidst the diversity there is a common theme for large and smaller wineries, older and newer wines, which are the grapes of Dry Creek Valley. The grapes make it special and the talented and dedicated, multi-generational grower families and winemakers make it work. Dry Creek Valley is renowned for Zinfandel. We are one of the few places on earth to have a dense concentration of century old Zinfandel vines. Paul Draper, Winemaker at Ridge Vineyards said "Zinfandel is California's unique contribution to the world of wine," Although Ridge started as a Cabernet Sauvignon estate winery, the dearth of those grapes at the time, led us to focus on our old vine Zinfandels. We decided to treat Zinfandel with the same expense and care as Cabernet and believe that we have been part of a renaissance of Zinfandel, part of the quality that is represented in California and particularly in Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Paul went on to add “My experience is that Dry Creek Valley - vineyard for vineyard - produces more consistently high quality Zinfandel than any other single viticultural region."

Although Zinfandel is our signature varietal, the more than 9,000 acres of vineyards that carpet the valley and hillsides provides the perfect place for Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, along with Syrah.