Nalle Winery Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Family Winemaking in Dry Creek Valley
June 27 2024 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
With roots laid down four generations ago,
Nalle is home to historic 95-year-old Zinfandel vineyard property
producing award-winning wines
The story of Nalle Winery is one of families pursuing a dream
with passion and perseverance for more than a century in Sonoma
County’s Dry Creek Valley. This month the Nalle family is
celebrating 40 years of producing estate old-vine Zinfandel and
small lot wines at their historic property under the next
generation of family winemakers.
Founder and winemaker emeritus Doug Nalle recalls the skepticism
when he started the winery in 1984 with an emphasis on Red
Zinfandel at a time when the sweeter White Zinfandel was enjoying
popularity. Nevertheless, he saw a vision in the historic benchland
Zinfandel vineyard owned by his wife Lee’s family and went to work
building an above-ground cave with a living roof of rosemary for
naturally temperature-controlled winemaking and cellar
operations.
“It’s taken a hefty amount of luck and endless support from my
wife Lee, family, and friends, yet here we are 40 vintages later
and the Nalle wines are better than ever thanks to the hard work of
our winemaker son, Andrew and his viticulturist wife, April,” said
Doug. “Lee and I are excited to see their enlightened vision for
grape growing and winemaking come to fruition and love drinking the
result their efforts.”
Lee, who grew up picking prunes in Dry Creek Valley before the
area was largely converted to grapes, has always been connected to
the region. “I am very grateful to my Henderlong ancestors for
giving us this opportunity to make a living and live in such a
beautiful valley, but, most of all, I thank my lucky stars for that
auspicious day 50 years ago when I met a talented, hard-working
guy,” she said. “Doug was so inspired by winemaking and Healdsburg
that he showed me the way to love and honor this land together. So
naturally I let the power of love carry me along and that has made
all the difference.”
Andrew, along with his brother Sam, began helping his parents
with harvest and in the cellar as a young child. Today, he and
April manage the winery operations, with their three young
children, Lena, Drew, and Ruby, always by their side.
While Nalle produces several different varieties of wine, the
family is best known for their Zinfandel. “The Nalle Zinfandel
style then and now remains constant—bright, refreshing fruit, round
mouthfeel, moderate alcohol, balanced structure, French oak aging,
and true to the Dry Creek Valley benchland terroir,” explained
Andrew. “When other wineries trended with high alcohol, jammy Zins,
Nalle stayed the course, and it proved the right thing to do. We
are committed to maintaining our house style and plan to keep this
passion alive for at least 40 more years.”
The Nalle tasting room is open on Friday and Saturdays,
reservations are encouraged. Photos and more information about the
property, the family, and their wines are available at
www.nallewinery.com.
About Nalle Winery
Nalle Winery, family owned and operated since it was established
in 1984, is located two miles from Healdsburg in Sonoma County on
land the family has farmed for five generations. The family is
dedicated to creating focused, fruit-forward wines in the
old-school California style: balanced, food friendly, and built to
age. Nalle produces small lots of old vine, dry-farmed, and estate
wines including Zinfandel, Cabernet, Chardonnay, and Pinot
Noir.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240627615925/en/
Media Contact: April Nalle april@nallewinery.com
1-707-696-5090