The Old World and the New World collaborated to make our wine of the week winner — the Dashe, 2008 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel.
Michael Dashe and his French wife Anne are the co-owners and co-winemakers who produced this zin and gave the American varietal its French accent.
"From the start, we wanted a California zinfandel in a balanced, complex, subtle style," Michael Dashe said.
"Anne brings restraint and more subtlety to the blend. .
.
. We think people are moving to the balanced wine rather than toward the full-throttle zin. It seems to be popular. Thank God for us." Dashe said they're careful not to get blindsided by California's ability to produce sun-kissed zins."It's easy in a climate like California to really focus on the fruit and almost be seduced by the intensity of it," he said.Dashe and Anne met for the first time in San Francisco in 1994, although they had both interned in France the summer of 1989, he at Lafite Rothschild in Pauillac and she at Chateau Le Dominique in Saint Emilion."It's my joke that I probably saw her because I was always rushing off to Saint Emilion," he said.Settling in California made sense. "Anne was amazed at what you could do in America — the openness of the winemaking community," Dashe said.The two scraped together enough money to buy grapes and custom crush them. They opened Dashe Cellars in 1996 and now produce 10,000 cases a year. "It's something you wouldn't see in France," Dashe said.Ninety percent of the winery's production is zinfandel, which Dashe describes as "a natural progression." He worked at Ridge Vineyards in the Paso Robles area for eight years before opening his winery.Dashe said he's a fan of the zinfandel grape because of its many incarnations."You can go lighter and more delicate with the Beaujolais style or make a big brooding beautiful wine to go with steak. .
Dashe said they're careful not to get blindsided by California's ability to produce sun-kissed zins.
"It's easy in a climate like California to really focus on the fruit and almost be seduced by the intensity of it," he said.
Dashe and Anne met for the first time in San Francisco in 1994, although they had both interned in France the summer of 1989, he at Lafite Rothschild in Pauillac and she at Chateau Le Dominique in Saint Emilion.
"It's my joke that I probably saw her because I was always rushing off to Saint Emilion," he said.
Settling in California made sense. "Anne was amazed at what you could do in America — the openness of the winemaking community," Dashe said.
The two scraped together enough money to buy grapes and custom crush them. They opened Dashe Cellars in 1996 and now produce 10,000 cases a year. "It's something you wouldn't see in France," Dashe said.
Ninety percent of the winery's production is zinfandel, which Dashe describes as "a natural progression." He worked at Ridge Vineyards in the Paso Robles area for eight years before opening his winery.
Dashe said he's a fan of the zinfandel grape because of its many incarnations.
"You can go lighter and more delicate with the Beaujolais style or make a big brooding beautiful wine to go with steak. .
.
. From a winemaker's point of view it's one of the most interesting wines to make," he said. Staff writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat
Staff writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat
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