Driving through the Dry Creek Valley for Zinfandel lovers like us is a heavenly experience. The breathtaking views, the gnarly looking vines and the vast number of great Zinfandel producers makes the valley the perfect place to Zin. We must confess, that in our most recent escapade to the area, our visit to Nalle Winery was one of the most Zinful experiences of the trip.
Most wine lovers, including us, love to talk about the dream of one day leaving everything behind and moving to wine country. Sometimes the dream is to own a winery, sometimes it is to own a vineyard and other times it’s just to simply enjoy the life style and beauty of wine country. Most of us often like to talk the talk but rarely do we decide to walk the walk. Cecilia Enriquez, who just turned 32 this month, is one of the brave ones that committed to walking the walk and is now the owner and president of Enriquez Estate Wines.
The story of Saini Vineyards began in 1917 when Michele Saini, the Great Grandfather of now caretaker and vineyard manager Mike Saini, bought a farm in the Dry Creek Valley of California. Michele, who immigrated to the USA from Genova, Italy, originally worked as a garbage man in San Francisco. While holding on to his full time job, he began growing winegrapes in his farm and making wine in his basement, which he then sold when he went to work in San Francisco. That grape growing and winemaking tradition continued with Mike’s grandfather, Eugene Saini who continued to expand the family land holdings into the Alexander Valley.
The story of Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery began when Walt and Eileen Brys decided to purchase an 1890’s homestead in the Old Mission Peninsula of Michigan to build their dream winery, which was inspired by a trip to Napa in 1975. Originally planted with cherries and apples, the 91 acre estate had a history of producing fruit even during the harshest of times and to this day the terroir of this breathtaking property is producing delicious fruit. The Brys Family continues to honor the tradition of the homestead, not only by their grape growing endeavor, but with what they call the Secret Garden which consists of 6,000 lavender plants, herbs, flowers and strawberry and blueberry patches.
