For the second year in a row, NorthBay biz readers have chosen Dutcher Crossing Sauvignon Blanc as their favorite. Coincidentally, proprietor Debra Mathy has only owned the Dry Creek Valley winery for going-on three years. “We’re two-for-two,” she laughs. “We like the feeling of being on a roll!”
The recognition is especially meaningful to Mathy, because, she recalls, “The Sauvignon Blanc was the first wine I ever bought from here as a visitor. I absolutely loved it—and normally, I don’t enjoy a Sauvignon Blanc. But when I was out looking at wineries, we stopped by this one even though it wasn’t for sale, and I ended up walking away with a case of Sauvignon Blanc.
“Within a year and a half of buying that case, I became owner of the winery.”
Mathy’s not the only one to be won over. Assistant winemaker Dan Glover, who’s been with the winery since before Mathy took ownership, says, “Everyone really loves it. It’s always been something people come here for, because it is a little different than other Sauvignon Blancs. White wine drinkers love it, but the nice thing is, a lot of red wine drinkers find they love it, too. I think it’s because it’s a little more complex. A lot of red wine drinkers complain that Sauvignon Blanc is sour and grassy, but ours isn’t really like that.”
What makes the wine so different is the Roussanne, Sémillon and Viognier that winemaker Kerry Damskey has added to the blend since the beginning. “Kerry has been the winemaker all along,” says Mathy. “The founders wanted something unique for their Sauvignon Blanc, so this is their spin, created by Kerry.
“It’s just different,” she continues. “It has a great citrus and gooseberry quality, but it’s a little richer and cuts through the grassiness that’s more typical of a Sauv Blanc.”
In addition to its Sauvignon Blanc, Dutcher Crossing produces three Chardonnays, four Zinfandels, three Cabernet Sauvignons and four varietals available only to wine club members (Pinot Noir, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Merlot). Damskey has also created two Cabernet-Syrah blends for the winery, the first of their kind in Dry Creek Valley.
Grapes are sourced from across Sonoma County, including the Preston Vineyard—“which is literally next door,” says Mathy, pointing to the neighboring farm—which provides fruit for the award-winning Sauvignon Blanc. About 17 acres of the Dutcher Crossing estate are currently planted to Chardonnay, and the remaining seven plantable acres will be planted this spring to Chardonnay and the Rhone varietals Mathy loves [see “When in Rhone…,” April 2009]. “We want to do a California style Chateauneuf-du-Pape,” she says. “I really love Rhone blends and so does Kerry, so we’re planting toward that goal.”
As she expands the winery’s offerings, though, Mathy is always conscious of a different goal as well: “We want everyone to enjoy our wine,” she says, “but to maintain the quality, we can’t create enough for everybody to have. We wouldn’t be able to handcraft it, and we’re not willing to compromise that. It’d be an easier way out, but it wouldn’t be the right way to do things. The bottom line is, we have to make the best wine possible.”
