Sonoma Wineries: Dry Creek

Papapierto Perry winery sits on a hill overlooking Dry Creek Valley, which is a prime location for growing Zinfandels thanks to its scorching summers.

I sat within the winery’s patio shade and sipped Pinot Noirs on a cool and breezy afternoon. All of the Pinots were great but their 2019 Perry and 2019 Nunes bottles were standouts. As stated in a previous blog, I’m no connoisseur, but I definitely tasted hints of raspberry and oak in both bottles. These wines also paired excellently with dark chocolate.

Dry Creek Vineyards is about a mile from Papapierto and is better known for its Zinfandels (though I also tried an excellent Chardonnay here). We sat in their picnic area and absorbed a healthy dose of sunlight (enough to burn my arms in just one hour). I can’t say that I’m quite a Zinfandel convert, but I was impressed with the precision and care put forth in their winemaking.

After finishing off these wines I ate a good pizza in downtown Healdsburg at PizZando and took a long walk through downtown.

Northern California has a strong cycling community that never ceased to impress me. The infrastructure allows it; cycling can easily become a way of life out here.