Romance of the jug On Sundays, Lou and Susan Preston open up the cellar under their tasting room, put on some Italian music and ready their jugs. At the northern end of Dry Creek Valley, Preston of Dry Creek is reviving a very local tradition of pouring wine straight from the barrel into jugs. Many customers come every week to refill their jugs with a blend the Prestons named in honor of their late neighbor, Jim Guadagni, who they say epitomized the hardscrabble style of early Sonoma winemakers.
... Preston is among a handful of Northern California wineries that are restoring some of the romance to jug wine, while upholding a decades-old tradition in the process. Martin Ray in Santa Rosa, which took over the century-old Martini & Prati in 2003, continues the original winery's tradition of serving jug wine direct from the barrel to a dedicated band of customers. Several larger California winemakers, such as Three Thieves, have experimented with modern-day versions of higher-quality wine in a jug. ...
I've never tasted Preston's jug wine, because I've never been there on a Sunday, but many of their other wines could hardly be classified as "jug" wine.
It's my very favorite winery, sort of the anti-chateau with its bread oven, organic vegetable garden, and friendly cats who serve as picnic companions and tour guides.
Sounds great ... but I think the title may be a misnomer, as Dry Creek Valley is in Sonoma, not Napa (and I understand there is a bit of a rivalry between the two).
Colleen, did you notice that Guglielmo Winery is listed in this article? They are in Morgan Hill! You should go on August 9th and bring your own bottle.
Curious to know what it costs. Ours is about 7 Euros for what adds up to 7 bottles of wine. By today's exchange rate about $1.56/bottle. Sure beats going to a restaurant in the states!
Originally posted by Shannon: Colleen, did you notice that Guglielmo Winery is listed in this article? They are in Morgan Hill! You should go on August 9th and bring your own bottle.
I think Sue and David may have gone to their 'bottling day' once - I'll have to ask.
Sorry about the Napa-Sonoma geographical error - I was concerned about specifying *which* California "Wine Country" (from the newspaper title) - then I didn't even check my facts! Although I could have sworn that Dry Creek was in Napa. Oops.
... I remember TV commercials for Italian Swiss Colony wines, and forced "Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino" mis-pronounciations to call attention to the wine region. I wonder if I could find one on YouTube?
Posts: 14303 | Location: The Beautiful San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 06 August 2001
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