Dancing Crow started with a unique vineyard in the Big Valley region of Lake County, California. There is something special about the deep clay soils lying next to Clearlake, at 1400 ft. elevation in the shadow of Mount Konocti.
This terroir allows us to make a Sauvignon Blanc that is stylistically distinct – complex at only 12.5% alcohol with no “grassy” aromas. To see how exceptional this is, check out the other Sauvignon Blancs on the shelf next time you’re shopping for wine. If you find one that’s below 13% alcohol it will likely be from France, or perhaps New Zealand. This is a stand out wine.
We find very similar growing conditions at the Smith Lane vineyard that produces the Syrah for our Rosé and the resulting wine shares many characteristics with the Blanc, fresh, crisp, and flavorful, again at only 12.5% alc.
The 2020 Rosé has been receiving some good press recently. We already posted back in March about the S.F. Chronicle’s Best in Show award, as well as 90 points from the Wine Enthusiast recently, and just last week we heard about a Double Gold Medal and 96 points from the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition.
Of course, we’re happy about this recognition, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so why not order some Rosé today? Especially good during these warm summer days.
Here’s some more about the vineyard and the wine
The Land
Our Rosé comes from 25-to-30-year-old Syrah vines on the Smith Lane Vineyard, whose name alone tells you how long the Smiths, who own the property, have lived and farmed here. Looking for a vineyard planted to Rhône red grape varieties suitable for a Rosé, Smith Lane was the perfect find. The vineyard is located at 1,300 feet on the lower portion of the Kelsey Bench AVA and sits on dark clay-loam soils where abundant willows and a nearby pear orchard indicate the riparian nature of the environment.
Winemaking
This wine was grown and harvested specifically to be a Rosé. By contrast, many Rosés are actually a by-product of red wine production, a solution to an unripe or overripe vintage. We add just a bit of our Sancerre-style Sauvignon Blanc to enhance the wine’s brightness and aromatics. For the 2020 vintage the Syrah grapes were hand-picked at around 21° Brix. 50% of the grapes are put through a classic “white pressing program” and the other 50% go through a “Champagne pressing” program. The former gives us more flavor and color, while the latter gives us a wine that has intriguing aromas and more elegant texture. Combining the two optimizes the qualities of the fruit and creates a fresh, subtle yet complex wine in the Provençal style.
Our new Old Stake label
Those of you who are fans of Dancing Crow’s Old Stake 1901 field blend may have noticed that we debuted a new label with the recently released 2019 vintage. It was designed by Dancing Crow co-owner Stefan Cartlidge and while representing the “old vines” that contribute to the wine, and the crows of course, it also pays tribute to a few of the unique qualities of Lake County.
First is Clear Lake itself – the second largest in California after Lake Tahoe and one of the oldest in the entire country. It sits at an elevation of 1417 feet and comprises almost 70 square miles. This formidable body of water helps to create a unique climate zone for premium grape growing.
Next the pears – Bartletts have been grown commercially in Lake County since 1885, shortly after being proclaimed “the finest in the world” at the World’s Fair in New Orleans. Beautiful pear orchards still adjoin our Sauvignon Blanc vineyard.
Then Native American basketry for which the region is famous. Numerous indigenous tribes lived in the area – Pomo, Wappo, Lake Miwok and Yuki among them and they were master basketmakers, using the great variety of reeds and grasses that still grow around the lake and its watersheds to craft not only extraordinarily varied and beautiful baskets, but also storage structures as large as a small tent and canoes made from tightly bundled tule.
And lastly the elusive owls who preside in the old barn next to the vineyard at Dancing Crow…
July Rising filmed in Lake County
Lake County is a bit off the beaten path, lying between two of California’s major highways, 101 to the west and Interstate 80 to the east. All the roads into the region are narrow and winding as they climb to the 1400 plateau where Clearlake sits.
It is unusual to find a film that uses this county as a location, but we are delighted to have discovered July Rising (2019). Not only are many of the locations very close to our vineyards, but they also highlight the beautiful pear orchards that the county has long been famous for. We not only see the pears, but also some of the equally famous crows!
July Rising was written and directed by Chauncey Crail, who is part of the family that owned and farmed Dancing Crow before we bought the vineyard. He features a bottle of Dancing Crow in the movie – our first product placement! Thanks Chauncey.
Here’s a plot summary – When sixteen-year old Andy inherits her grandfather’s orchard and becomes the ward of her aunt from the city, she must navigate the path to her future from a small town where choice and agency have never been options for young women.
2020 Rosé – Top of its Class
Our 2020 Rosé of Syrah from Lake County is the first wine we’ve released from the new vintage, which is always exciting. We’re also delighted to have stellar recognition for the wine right out of the gate.
At the recent 2021 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition this wine was chosen as the Best Rosé in the entire SFCWC, which is the largest wine competition of North American wines and features nearly 5,700 entries from over 1,000 wineries.
You might enjoy these two short videos of our winemakers, David and Katharine DeSante, talking about the Syrah vineyard which produces the Rosé and their winemaking process
Here’s some more information about this lovely wine, which is perfect for the spring season.
The 2020 Growing Season
The Lake County 2020 vintage was an interesting one to say the least. Between COVID-19 and the wildfires in the surrounding counties of Napa and Sonoma it was definitely a challenging harvest. However, we are learning how to adapt and excel when Mother Nature throws a few curve balls our way, and we are very enthusiastic about the quality of the wine we produced from this vintage. For 2020, Rosé and White wines from Lake County are showing particularly well, with lighter yields but exceptional grape quality. The weather was mild through most of the growing season, followed by a manageable heat spike in September, which meant that harvest began slightly earlier than normal.
Winemaking and Tasting Notes
The Syrah grapes were hand picked at just around 21° Brix. 50% of the grapes are put through a classic “white pressing program” and the other 50% go through a “Champagne pressing” program. The former gives us more flavor and color, while the latter gives us a wine that has intriguing aromas and more elegant texture. Combining the two optimizes the qualities of the fruit and creates a fresh, subtle yet complex wine in the Provençal style. We added a little of our Sauvignon Blanc for brightness and aromatics.
The color of this wine entices with its pale pink hues. On the nose, aromas of floral jasmine and Alpine Strawberry abound. After the wine eases over the palate, flavors of ripe strawberries and Bartlett pears become readily apparent. The finish boasts notes of clover honey accented by a refreshing minerality. Much in the French style, this Rosé delivers just a suggestion of color, but follows with an abundance of freshness, complexity and flavor. Alcohol: 12.5%.
New Grapes for Old
Verdelho Grapes
Dancing Crow’s Old Stake 1901 Vineyard is an ongoing experiment in grape diversity 120 years in the making. So far we’ve identified over 20 different varieties, some dating back to the original plantings at the turn of the last century, all the way through to modern times and even into the future as we add new vines to replace some that are unhealthy or no longer productive. The palette of aromas, flavors and textures is always evolving.
While Old Stake produces a truly unique and complex red wine field blend, there are both red and white grapes in the vineyard; the white varieties not only add their own aromas, flavors and characteristics to the blend, they actually enhance the quality of the reds, and this carries through to the color of the wine as well – white grapes can actually catalyze the color of the reds though a process called co-pigmentation as you’ll see in this short Youtube video of winemakers David and Katharine DeSante. LINK
With all these factors in mind, one of the varieties we’ve selected as a new addition to the site is Verdelho – a white grape noted for its floral and citrus aromas that is grown throughout Portugal, where it was first planted as early as the 15th century. It is closely associated with wines from the island of Madeira where it was the most widely planted grape at the turn of the 20th century. The fortified wine named after the island was extremely popular in the American colonies, a favorite of Thomas Jefferson and used to toast the Declaration of Independence.
As one of the few heat-loving white grapes, Verdelho is well adapted to California where it has a long history. By the 1870’s it was extensively grown in what is now Amador County in the Sierra foothills. Currently there are approximately 200 acres in California are devoted to the grape, which has also been successful in the vineyards of Australia.
Among the reds we have chosen Niebbolo in part because of the success one of our neighbors on the Kelsey Bench has had with this variety. Originating in Northern Italy’s Piedmont region, where it dates back to the 13th century, this grape is best known for producing Barolo and Barbaresco, powerful, full-bodied, and highly tannic wines, often with a surprisingly light color.
It will be a few years before we see how these new vines contribute to Old Stake, by which time we will no doubt have discovered some new “old” varieties in vineyard.
If you’d like to sample this fascinating old world field blend, Old Stake 1901 is the only wine we sell in a three pack – currently offered at $99 or mix and match with any of other wines – HERE
Photo credit: By José Luís Ávila Silveira/Pedro Noronha e Costa – Own work, Public Domain
Looking Back at 2020
Well 2020 isn’t a year any of us will forget in a hurry!
It was definitely a year of challenges. Of course Covid dominated the news, and the various wildfires in wine country, over the late summer and early fall, were also a major concern. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by both of these disasters.
Fortunately Lake County, where our vineyards are located, was largely untouched by fire, and we were able to farm grapes during the year and harvest them without serious interruption. We very much appreciate our vineyard team led by David Weiss of Bella Vista Farms and his entire crew, including those who harvested the grapes, for ensuring an excellent crop delivered safely to the winery. By the time you read this the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé will be bottled, ready for release in early 2021.
The Rosé was a real bright spot for Dancing Crow in 2020. When we decided we wanted to add this varietal to our portfolio, we started looking for a vineyard that was planted to Rhône red grape varieties and suitable for a Provençal style wine. The ideal site turned out to be one where 25-to-30-year-old Syrah vines sit on the Smith Lane Vineyard, whose name alone tells you how long the Smiths, who own the property, have lived and farmed there. The site is full of promise for the kind of Rosé we want to make – fresh and complex with alcohol in the 12.5% range and a lovely pale peach color.
Before everything changed in March, we had begun a project to video our winemakers, David and Katharine DeSante, talking about the vineyards and the wines. The effort was interrupted by Covid, but we did capture some interesting clips about individual wines, the vineyards they come from, and the uniqueness of Lake County itself as an up and coming winegrowing region. They are a most engaging and knowledgeable winemaking team so if you’d like to “meet” them and learn more please go to our YouTube channel HERE.
We feel very fortunate that David and Katharine are creating our wines and we thank them and the entire winery production crew for keeping everything moving and on track under the very difficult circumstances of 2020.
And that seems to be the thread here – remembering and appreciating how many people it takes to bring our wines from the place where they grow to the consumer’s table.
We owe thanks to them all, including the warehouse people, the shippers, the sales teams across the country who kept our wines on the store shelves. We are also very fortunate that grocery stores, where we sell the majority of our wines, have stayed open and made our wines available, and we thank the staff that continued to stock and sell them. And of course last, but very much not least – thanks to you, our customers, we truly appreciate your support of our family’s wines!!!
And speaking of appreciation, we are very pleased about the quality of our 2020 vintage wines. David Desante is already raving about the aromatics and bright, luscious flavor profiles of the wines; and these offerings seem destined to be a much needed silver lining to offset our otherwise less than stellar memories of this year.
The photo above was taken in March 2020 by David and Katharine looking from the eastern shore of Clearlake (for which Lake County is named) towards Mount Konocti. Apart from being an evocative image, it also seems to us to embody the wild and beautiful place where our wines begin.
Harvest 2020
The grape harvest went well in Lake County this year and it is always a gift, but this year our appreciation is tempered by the ravages of the Glass Fire in neighboring Napa County. Dancing Crow co-owners Tony Cartlidge and Sarah Forni had a close call themselves when the flames got to within a few hundred yards of their home in Saint Helena. Our hearts go out to everyone, including many friends and colleagues, whose lives have been touched to whatever degree, from evacuation to significant loss. We hope that the rest of the fire season passes without further threats.
In the gift of the harvest there are always a few surprises, but this is especially true for our Old Stake 1901 Vineyard where we always find new, unusual varieties, some still to be identified, as we stand at the sorting table watching the grapes come into the winery. The recent photo above illustrates the point.
These 14 different varieties are a just sample of what’s been planted since 1901 at Old Stake on the Kelsey Bench. All of them are fermented and aged together to create a true field blend and a wine unlike any other.
Here’s Jim Gordon’s review in the Wine Enthusiast – “This field blend of traditional California grape varieties is distinctly peppery and potent, showing vivid black-pepper, char and black-olive flavors over black cherries. It’s bold and attention-getting, without being overly full bodied or overly oaky.”91 POINTS
The 2018 Old Stake is the only wine we sell in a 3-pack – so get yours now for just $99.
Or mix-and-match Old Stake in a 6-pack or 12-pack with any of our other wines with a 25% discount during our Holiday Special offer – so stock up for Thanksgiving and Christmas here
use the code Holiday2020 (not case sensitive)
Offer good through December 16th
Old Stake Video
If you’d like to know more about Old Stake – check out this video of winemakers David and Katharine DeSante talking about the vineyard and the wine.
Great Scores from Sunset International Wine Competition
These two wines – our 2019 Sauvignon Blanc and 2019 Rosé – really express what makes Lake County such an interesting place to make wine. Both are grown in vineyards that sit at 1400 ft. elevation close to the lake itself near the town of Kelseyville. This altitude plus unique soil conditions enable us to create complexity and freshness at only 12.5% alcohol. With the warm weather continuing into early Autumn, this is the perfect time to drink these lovely wines.
Here are some food pairing suggestions for the Rosé from our winemakers:
For something quick and easy, a nice herbed goat cheese (or other soft cheeses) with prosciutto and a French baguette or a classic ripe tomato bruschetta will work perfectly. For more substantial pairings we recommend grilled prawns, beet salad with feta, ceviche, burrata with olive oil & flatbread, Niçoise salads, salmon dishes, herbed chicken, or barbeque veggie skewers.
P.S. The Rosé is almost sold out.
Use our new Mix & Match option to buy both wines – HERE
Our Inaugural Virtual Tasting on September 12th
Greetings!
The Dancing Crow Family invites you to our Inaugural Virtual Tasting Event
on Saturday, September 12th at 6:00 PM PDT
Our first virtual wine tasting will be hosted by the Dancing Crow Family and our wonderful husband and wife winemaking team, David and Katharine DeSante.
If you’d like a preview of what’s in store check out this video of David and Katharine
We have picked out two of our favorite wines for you to taste along with us:
2019 Rosé – made in the classic style of Provence utilizing European grape pressing techniques, this “true” Rosé is light in color, dry, aromatic and crisp with a sumptuous balance of bright fruit and lively mineralogy. You can download complete tasting notes HERE
2018 Old Stake 1901 Vineyard “Field Blend.” – More than 15 varieties of grapes from our Old Vine vineyard (planted in 1901) are harvested together and co-fermented to create this rare, Rhône-style “Field Blend,” from one of the oldest vineyards in Lake County!
The total cost for the tasting kit is $50 and includes:
1 bottle of our 2019 Rosé of Syrah
1 bottle of our 2018 Old Stake 1901 Vineyard Field Blend
Free shipping
Detailed information about the wines and Dancing Crow Vineyards
An in-depth, fun and educational tasting of both wines facilitated by our winemakers David and Katharine DeSante.
Live Q & A
To register for the tasting simply order your wine tasting kit by clicking HERE
We’ll ship you the wine and confirm your registration by email including your the ZOOM link for the tasting.
If you have any questions about the event please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at adam@dancingcrow.com or 707-738-5228
We look forward to hosting you on September 12th!
Two Wines Awarded 91 Points by Wine Enthusiast
Recently two of our 2018 Vintage red wines received 91 Point scores from the Wine Enthusiast. These two current releases represent the wonderful diversity of soils in the various Lake County AVA’s. The 2018 Zinfandel is made with grapes from both Red Hills (75%) and The Kelsey Bench (25%). Red Hills is perhaps the best known red wine producing region in Lake County and it is an open secret that fruit from this region ends up in many premium Napa Cabernets. The red soil is volcanic in origin, mineral rich and fast draining. These qualities combine with altitudes ranging from 1600 to 2500 feet to create a unique terroir. The wine has lovely complex fruit and bright acidity.
Here’s Jim Gordon’s review for the 2018 Dancing Crow Zinfandel in the Wine Enthusiast:
“Fruity, rich and moderately spicy, this is an easy wine to sip and enjoy. It offers well-concentrated blackberry flavors, mild tannins and full body, without feeling heavy or tasting too sweet.”
The other 91 Point wine is from our Old Stake 1901 Vineyard on the Kelsey Bench, which sits between the Red Hills and the low lands closer to Clear Lake itself where the soils are typically sedimentary and range from loams to heavy black clay. At Old Stake we see a blend of all these different elements. This is the fifth oldest vineyard in Lake County, with vines dating to 1901 and still producing. Not only are the vines old, but also surprisingly diverse with over 20 different varieties identified to date, including Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet, Cinsault, Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Primitivo, and Counoise. This resulting field blend creates a wine unlike any other.
Here is Jim Gordon’s review in the Wine Enthusiast – “This field blend of traditional California grape varieties is distinctly peppery and potent, showing vivid black-pepper, char and black-olive flavors over black cherries. It’s bold and attention-getting, without being overly full bodied or overly oaky.”
We now have a Mix & Match option on our purchase page so you can sample both wines in a 6 pack or 12 pack of your choice HERE.
