Resurgence

Beginning in the 1970s and continuing unabated, except for small setbacks due to overproduction, an increasing interest in wine has led to the rebirth of the wine industry in Dry Creek Valley. Prunes were ripped out and replaced by Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and recently by more exotic varietals from Spain and France. Most of the vintners were new to the valley and to winemaking, hiring consultants or  experienced winemakers to produce their wines. Generic wines and gallon jugs were no more, replaced by bottled and corked varietal wines being produced by those who had made a good living elsewhere. By the 1980s the production of Zinfandel had been usurped in the demand for Chardonnay and Cabernet. Today there are XXX vineyards and 52 wineries in the valley, most of which toot their horn in loud contrast to those vintners of the early years. The total current acreage of vineyards is 9,318, and there are more than 140 members in the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley Association (Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley 2007).