Porter Creek Vineyards
Porter Creek Tasting Room, a winery dog and guest
On my recent visit to Porter Creek Vineyards guests were purchasing the last 5 bottles of viognier that they had had at dinner the night before at The Farmhouse; the rustic Tasting Room was filled with this big group and staff were warm, genuine and very funny- totally erasing any and all wine pretentiousness. Producing all Rhone and Burgundian wines, Porter Creek is completely family owned, farmed and run- combine that with the immediacy and proximity of the vines, the strong sense of place and terroir, and you can see the way the wines are hand-crafted with exceedingly great attention to detail. All their estate vineyards are on hillsides, making for a lower yield and more power and flavor in the fruit as it struggles. All vineyard practices are organic and bio-dynamic. All grapes are hand-picked in the early morning hours to keep them cold and preserve their natural qualities; grapes are hand-sorted in the fields for optimum quality. Gravity and gentleness are employed as wines make their journey from vineyard to bottle. The processes are pure and proven. There are even Ranch vehicles that run on organic vegetable oil or bio-diesel!
Porter Creek Tasting Room
They do have a Wine Club which would have helped those folks in search of the very limited production viognier-which is a seasonal offering because of its rarity. New releases are available in the Tasting Room- an usual structure with hand-hewn redwood beams and open windows with views of the vineyards right outside. Local art and memorabilia adorn the walls. And of course, the delicious wines are being poured there daily.
Heading up to Porter Creek.
Here’s looking at you, kids.
TR
