This article is one in a series of articles about our recent tour of California Wine Country. You can read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, the Summary, the Winery Dogs and the Restaurants as well.
On the second day of touring the Dry Creek region of Sonoma County, we visited David Coffaro Vineyard and Winery.
At first glance the winery looks like a collection of not terribly impressive farm buildings. Then you notice the solar cell array on the way to the tasting room. The tasting room itself is more of an alcove in a building used to house barrels of aging wine. The counter is a handful of used barrels in front of a backdrop of Oakland Raiders gear. Various bits of stuff like tools and folding chairs line the walls. But looks can be deceiving.
David Coffaro has a unique perspective on winemaking that has earned the respect of his peers. He definitely does things his way. Like the use of screw cap bottles. Or blending grapes you’ve hardly ever heard of. Or selling most of his wine as futures. Or making a wine from the bottom of every barrel. Or making wines that are affordable.
The first wine we sampled was Fresco, a light, refreshing blend of 22% Alvarelhao, 21% Tempranillo, 21% Tinto Cao, 20% Pelousin, and 16% Carmine. It was on sale for $99 a case. We bought one to ship back. The other wines were just as good. The conversation drifted to Aaron Rogers and where we were going to have dinner. Steve showed us a menu for Cena Luna and offered to call for us. We had more wine ending with the ZP2C which is a blend made from the remains of every barrel of wine produced and including all 21 varieties of grapes grown. It was great. I joined the wine club. When we dined at Cena Luna that night we had a bottle of David Coffaro Sangiovese. Enough said.
Wines sampled:
2006 Fresco
2006 Terre Melange, 36% Carignan, 27% Peloursin, 27% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre
2006 Petite Sirah
2006 Escuro, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Tannat, 20% Petite Sirah, 20% Petit Verdot
2006 “My Zin”, 77% Zinfandel, 13% Petite Sirah, 10% Cabernet
2006 ZP2C, blend of 21 varieties
You are reading California Wine Country 2009 Read more from this series of articles.
- California Wine Country 2009 - Dry Creek - Day One
- Pedroncelli Winery
- Sbragia Family Vineyard
- Dutcher Crossing Winery
- David Coffaro Vineyard and Winery
- Bella Vineyards
- Preston Vineyards
- Zichichi Family Vineyard
- Papapietro Perry Winery
- Kokomo Winery
- F. Teldeschi Winery
- California Wine Country 2009 - Dry Creek - Day Two
- Alderbrook Winery
- Mill Creek Winery
- Lambert Bridge
- Quivira Vineyards
- Passalacqua Winery
- Dry Creek Vineyards
- J Rickards Winery
- Ridge Vineyards at Lytton Springs
- California Wine Country 2009 – Dry Creek – Day Three
- Rosenblum Cellars
- California Wine Country 2009 – Dry Creek – Day Four
- Seghesio Family Vineyards
- California Wine Country 2009 - Dry Creek - In Summary
- California Wine Country 2009 - The Restaurants
- California Wine Country 2009 - The Winery Dogs
