Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma's Wine Country

One of Northern Sonoma county’s important wine growing areas, the Dry Creek Valley borders the Russian River Valley on it south and the Alexander Valley on its east.

As a whole, Dry Creek Valley is quite small, some sixteen miles long and two miles wide, with just under 9,000 vineyard acres. Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are the prime varietals here, together they account for just about half of all vineyard plantings. Merlot and Chardonnay are also significant varietals.

• Read more about Dry Creek Valley
• Many of Healdsburg area wineries have vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley appellation.

Carved out of Dry Creek Valley's northern tip is an AVA called Rockpile. The Rockpile AVA is so tiny that it makes Dry Creek Valley look large. This area has just 160 acres of vineyard, all at an elevation of over 800 feet.This unique topography means that it misses its neighbor’s regular doses of cooling fog. There’s lots of sunshine and moderate temperatures making it a very friendly home for Zinfandel.

There are no wineries within the AVA – just wine growers -- but a number of Sonoma wineries use the grapes. To get a good sense of what Rockpile is all about, visit Mauritson Family Winery in Healdsburg (2859 Dry Creek Road Healdsburg, CA 95448). The Mauritson family has had vineyards in Rockpile since 1884, and now maintains ten vineyards. It makes a deep selection of Zinfandels, as well as Petite Syrah, Syrah and Malbec.

• Read more about Rockpile