A certified biodynamic family farm producing small lots of delectable Italian natural wines, award-winning olive oil and myriad of other goodies in the Dry Creek Valley.
I walked into this winery for a solo tasting in the fall of 2017 and left a proud member and devoted fan! In true Davero style, they made me feel like family from the moment I walked in. It’s officially the very first winery I’ve joined and I’ve been back to their magical property numerous times since, both for tastings and for their epic pick up parties.
The images below are from their winter 2019 pick up party. I’ll be continuously updating this post with images throughout the seasons.
The Davero Philosophy
“Grow what belongs here. Be patient.”
This mantra encompasses their relationship to their land – how they care for it, how they farm, what they choose to grow and how they make their wine.
The Davero Mission
To discover and bring to use the absolute best wine and olive oil that can sustainably be made on their land. Bring it on I say! Sounds real good to me!
The Davero folks are awesome stewards on the land and committed to creating a multi-generation farm-based business that is economically, agriculturally and environmentally sustainable… yaya!!!
A Brief Davero History
Ridgely Evers started the winerywhen he first purchased the home farm (across the street from the current visitor location) in 1982. He lived on the land and in 1990 imported olive trees from Tuscany (the first olive trees brought to the US since the 1800s), planted them and waited. The result is an internationally acclaimed olive oil and one of my all-time personal favorites!
Colleen McGlynn came onto the scene in 1993, really transforming the land. They are co-owners.
In 2000 they planted their first small vineyard of Sangiovese and then Sagrantino, and waited. The incredibly delicious results led to all sorts of other experimentations in Italian varietals.
In 2008, both Ridgely and Colleen purchased the second property.
Along their olive oil and winery journey, they embraced biodynamic practices and their land also supports fruit trees, citrus, lavender, produce, bees, chicken, pigs and sheep.
Davero Wines: Italian (not French)
Northern Cali sits on the same latitude as Sicily, with a climate characterized by hot, dry summers and cool nights. Seeking out vines that make the best wine with their climatenaturally led them to focus on Italian varietals. This contrast with many of their counterparts in the region that focus on French wines instead. They've chosen to trust those centuries of experimentation and focus on growing plants that come from a similar climate.
The Davero folks focus on growing plants that come from a similar climate, exclusively growing Mediterranean varietals. They want to be here.
The land is on Mediterranean climate and what grows best in that place is plants from the Mediterranean. They’re both easier to farm, and naturally produce better, more balanced fruit – the secret to great wine!
Davero Wine Making Practices
They practice natural, Old World wine making in which native yeasts fermentation, neutral oak again and patiencecombine to reveal the unique character of each varietal, each vineyard, and each vintage.
They rest their wines in well-age, neutral oak barrels, because they’ve learned that oak tannins actually detract from the flavor of the wine.
Having balanced grapes has allowed them to apply time-proven wine making techniques: harvest by flavor, ferment using the native yeasts on the grapes, and age in neutral oak.
The result is wines that consistently reflect the unique characteristics of each variety, each vineyard, and each vintage
Biodynamic Farming – what is it?
I hear this term thrown on a lot. Like a lot a lot. I once tried asking half a dozen farmers what it meant and got half a dozen different answers. A little researching around the Internet and chatting with more stewards of the land, here’s my understanding.
It began in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner and is based on his teaching of how to work with the earth and heavens to farm in harmony with nature. It is based on the belief that soil, plants, animals and everything in the solar system is connected. Biodynamic is the original organic agriculture and it’s all about working to restore fertility to depleted soils.
Biodynamic is a holistic practice where all things are considered living interrelated systems – animals, plants and the solar system, and incorporates astrological influences.
Davero recognizes the importance of diversity – both for the health of the farm as well as for the quality of the crop.
What’s next?
Asking the rad folks at Davero what's their vision for the future, they replied: "We endeavor to be a business that is healthy for our community and our farm, one that does well by doing good. We’ve cast a broad net in the last six years and have discovered what we feel makes delicious and remarkable wines; we’ll be coalescing around those more as time goes on."
Stoked on their vision!
Go visit!!!
Wanna see pigs, olive groves, vineyards and veggie all growing on biodynamic farm while drinking scrumptiously delicious natural wines?! If so, then this epic spot is for you!
They’re blessed with an incredible range of soil and topography, ranging from steep hillside to valley floor. Each block has its own distinct terror, and is best suited to particular varietals. The vineyards are all small and surrounded by open space and woodlands. Do a tasting, buy a bottle, roam the vineyards, check out the pigs, and thanks me later :).
A little behind the scenes action
Have ya enjoyed this post? I’d love to hear about it! Please leave a comment below and if you're in the Dry Creek Valley take a pic and tag it on Instagram with #wavesinthekitchen cause I'd love to see it! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and all sorts of awesome adventures!
See ya drinking wine in the wine country!
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