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| We’re a small, family owned winery with a history of producing award-winning, estate bottled and hand crafted wines. We produce 4500 cases annually of Petite Sirah, Reserve Syrah, Chardonnay, Cabernet, Zinfandel and Viognier. Our family vineyards consist of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Cabernet. | Healdsburg, CA
Phone: (707) 433-2001
Website: http://www.christophercreek.com
Appellation: Northern Sonoma
Map to Christopher Creek Winery
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Zinfandel
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2005 Zinfandel
Dry Creek Valley
The 2005 Dry Creek Zinfandel is the eighth vintage for Christopher Creek Winery. We produced this wine by fermenting the grapes in small open top tanks with two punch downs daily t ... moreo every “pump over.” After two weeks, the wine was transferred to a mixture of 65% American oak and 35% French oak barrels (25% of the barrels were new oak). Classical Dry Creek Zin in style, the wine exhibits a medium-dark ruby hue, with forward strawberry and raspberry jammy fruit, hints of vanilla, white pepper, spice and a mouth feel that lingers. While still quite young, this intense, perfectly balanced and bright wine is remarkably approachable with medium tannins and an aging potential of about 3-to-4 years. The wine pairs wonderfully with risotto, pasta, turkey, duck, lamb or chicken.
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Syrah
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2005 Syrah
Russian River Valley
At Christopher Creek, we take special care in the management of our vineyards, and as always we hand-pick, hand-sort and hand-macerate our fruit to produce a distinct wine from our ... more edge of the Russian River Valley; the 2005 Estate Bottled Syrah is no exception.
Produced in the classical French style from multiple clone grapes, grown at the winery site, our 2005 Estate Bottled Syrah displays black plum and black cherry fruit, with tastes of cocoa, spice, minerals and subtle smoky notes. On the palate, the texture is smooth and ample with a very long, complex finish created by the rich, yet soft tannins. We recommend bottle aging this wine for at least a year before drinking to let the tannins soften and the fruit fully develop. Properly cellared, we expect this wine to age well for 6-to-8 years.
Try our Syrah with a barbecued, marinated tri-tip roast, game birds, lamb, beef stew or spicy foods (Mexican, chili, exotic Asian infusions). Syrah is a great food companion of chocolate.
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Zinfandel
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2006 Viognier
Russian River Valley
Like our 2005, our 2006 Viognier was produced from grapes grown on Catie's Corner Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, which is a vineyard developed by Sara Lee Kunde. Catie is Sa ... morera Lee’s daughter. The crop this year was normal, but summer weather and a good growing season (more like 2002) produced fruit which produced wine more complex, fruity and with a fuller, balanced mouth feel.
The 2006 Viognier has a complex nose of apricot, peach, pear, citrus and wild flowers. The mouth feel is harmoniously balanced between richness and lively acidity. The finish is marked by long-lasting flavors reflecting the fruity and floral aromas.
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Syrah
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2005 Reserve Syrah
Russian River Valley
The 2005 Estate Bottled Reserve Syrah (a classic vintage) was produced from a selection of Syrah barrels that showed the best aging potential. This full-bodied, well-structured win ... moree reflects the exceptional quality of the multi-clone Syrah grapes grown on the multi-age vines on the hillside at the winery estate.
The color is dark violet and the fruit characteristics include black cherry, plum, blackberry and blueberry, with a hint of pomegranates and peppery, smoky accents. On the palate, the wine is rich and balanced with a long jammy finish. Drinkable now with decanting, this wine will nevertheless mature gracefully over the next 8-to-10 years, as the generous tannins soften.
Versatile with food, Syrah pairs well with grilled red meat dishes, duck, Mediterranean-style foods (olive oil, garlic, rosemary and thyme are its friends), as well as spicy food and cheese.
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Zinfandel
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2004 Zinfandel
Russian River Valley
The 2004 Russian River Zinfandel is the sixth vintage for Christopher Creek. We made this wine from grapes obtained from two nearby vineyards, both of which added to the complexity ... more and taste of the wine. 70% of the grapes are from young but "old clone Zinfandel vines" and 30% from a two acre plot of 80+ year-old dry-farmed Zinfandel vines which have intermingled a few Alicante Bouschet and Carignane vines. The younger vines bring a subtle berry aroma and acidity, while the older vines add the structure, concentration and intensity. Although somewhat spicier as a result of the cooler Russian River climate, this wine exhibits ripe, jammy boysenberry, blackberry, prune and currant fruits with a full mouth feel and is perfectly balanced and approachable. Should easily age for 4-to-6 years.
Traditional Italian food would be complimented by this Primitivo-style wine, as well as chocolate desserts and Amaretto cakes.
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Cabernet Sauvignon
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2004 Finlay's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Dry Creek Valley
Our 2004 Finlay’s Vineyard Cabernet is produced from grapes grown in red soils (terrior*) on the Eastern slopes of Bradford Mountain overlooking Dry Creek Valley and shows the ch ... morearacteristics of a “serious Cab.” Finlay is the Rhodesian Ridgeback who guards the vineyard. The vines are over 30 years old and the grapes produce wine with intense aromas and tastes of blueberry, boysenberry, cassis and plum with spicy, cedar and clove overtones. The wine is 95% Cabernet, 5% Merlot with a field blend of Cabernet Franc, and has been aged for 18 months in French oak barrels. The concentration and ample tannic structure should allow for 8-to-10 years of bottle aging. Red meat dishes are the pairing of choice for the 2003 Cabernet. Try it with steak, prime rib or a barbecued tri-tip.
*Terroir is defined here by soil, slope, drainage, sun exposure and climate characteristics of a growing area. These characteristics can provide a grape variety with a unique personality. A wine made with such grapes is said to have a “gout de terroir” or “the taste of where it comes from."
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Chardonnay
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2006 Chardonnay
Russian River Valley
With a sense of harmony, elegance and sand Burgundian style, our 2006 Russian River Chardonnay displays notes of fresh pineapple, citrus and crisp green apple. Overtones of toast a ... morend spice are the results of fermentation in French oak barrels.
The “Sur Lies” aging (i.e., the wine is left in contact with the fine lees) and a partial malolactic fermentation provide fullness, liveliness and a long-lasting finish that retains the aromatic complexity of the nose and produces a round mouth feel.
Appreciate this food-friendly wine with salmon, oysters, vegetable risotto, crab, lobster and scallops or sip as a reward after a long day.
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Petite Sirah
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2005 Reserve Petite Sirah
Russian River Valley
Our Estate Grown Petite Sirah grapes received, as always, very special care during the 2005 growing season. We are fortunate to have several blocks of Petite Sirah each with varyin ... moreg age, elevation and sun exposure. We hand-thinned the crop and did extensive deleafing to expose the fruit which maximizes pigment in the berry’s skin. All this work paid off and allowed us to get concentrated and healthy fruit. The favorable growing season coupled with sun-exposed fruit helped develop rich tannins and let the complex flavors of cassis, blackberry, coffee and spice fully develop. As with past vintages, the wine should age well over the next 8-to-10 years. So that the tannins will soften and the fruit will shine, we recommend holding this wine until mid-2007 before drinking. Should you want to drink the wine earlier, we suggest decanting a half hour before serving.
Petite can be enjoyed with many foods and can make a meal more memorable. Our suggestions for pairing are: Ahi tuna, game birds (especially duck, goose and quail), turkey, venison, lamb, pork and beef. If you are preparing gravy, try adding a tablespoon of wine to each cup of gravy to integrate the food with the wine
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Port
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2005 Petite Sirah Port
Russian River Valley
Produced from grapes grown on vines located on a young vineyard on the west-facing hillside above Christopher Creek, the 2005 Petite Sirah Port is a full bodied wine layered with b ... morelueberry/blackberry fruit with a hint of chocolate. The fruit was harvested in late October at the early stages of raisining when the rich, dark berry characters develop. About three-fourths of the way through fermentation, the wine is "knocked" with aged Germain-Robin brandy to halt the fermentation and preserve the residual grape sugar. A perfect wine for after dinner with cheese or chocolate or for sipping in front of the fire on a cold wintry evening.
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Viognier
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2005 Viognier
Russian River Valley
Like our 2004, our 2005 Viognier was produced from grapes grown on Catie's Corner Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, which is a vineyard developed by Sara Lee Kunde. Catie is Sa ... morera Lee’s daughter. The crop this year was smaller than usual (as was the 2004) producing fruit with more concentrated flavors.
Viognier (V-Own-Yeah) is an enjoyable white wine whose grapes have their origin in the Rhone Valley Appellations of Condrieu and Chateau Grillet. Viognier is also blended with Syrah in producing Cote Rotie wines. Food friendly, Viognier pairs well with fish, spicy foods, Asian infusions, crab and lobster, rice pudding or just drink it as an aperitif. Serve slightly chilled to enhance the fruit characteristics of the wine.
The 2005 Viognier has a complex nose of apricot, peach, pear, citrus and wild flowers. The mouth feel is harmoniously balanced between richness and lively acidity. The finish is marked by long-lasting flavors reflecting the fruity and floral aromas.
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Zinfandel
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2004 Zinfandel
Dry Creek Valley
The 2004 Dry Creek Zinfandel is the seventh vintage for Christopher Creek Winery. We produced this wine by fermenting the grapes in small open top tanks with two punch downs daily ... moreto every “pump over.” After two weeks, the wine was transferred to a mixture of 65% American oak and 35% French oak barrels (25% of the barrels were new oak). Classical Dry Creek Zin in style, the wine exhibits a medium-dark ruby hue, with forward strawberry and raspberry jammy fruit, hints of vanilla, white pepper, spice and a mouth feel that lingers. While still quite young, this intense, perfectly balanced and bright wine is remarkably approachable with medium tannins and an aging potential of about 3-to-4 years. The wine pairs wonderfully with risotto, pasta, turkey, duck, lamb or chicken.
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Updated on June 25, 2008
CrazyAboutWine recommends contacting Christopher Creek Winery at http://www.christophercreek.com or calling (707) 433-2001 to verify the winery's location.
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