Porter Creek Vineyards

  • Sonoma, California, United States
Porter Creek Vineyards
  • Over time, as its Westside Road neighbors have sided with heft, Porter Creek and its vineyards have become the loyal opposition, producing wines with modest extraction and a silken texture. It is surprising the wines aren’t better known.”

    —Jon Bonné, The New California Wine

  • Porter Creek is like a snapshot from Pinot's past… The approach Davis takes is the opposite of the modern style; it's nuanced, pure in its fruit and informed by his time in some of Burgundy's greatest cellars. It harks back to a much defter view of what Russian River could yield.”

    —Jon Bonné, SF Chronicle

Porter Creek is owned by Alex Davis, who biodynamically farms his low-yielding, hillside grown vines in the Russian River Valley.

The winery got its start in 1977 when Alex's father George Davis purchased 40 acres of land off Westside Road in what would eventually become the Russian River Valley AVA. Seeing that it was an ideal location for growing Burgundian varieties, George planted 10 acres of Chardonnay in addition to the 12 acres of Pinot Noir already on the land. The winery was bonded in 1982 and for the next 15 years, George paid no attention to the ever-changing wine trends and simply worked to express the unique terroir of the Russian River Valley.

In 1997, George handed wine-making responsibility to his son, Alex. In addition to growing up working along side his father at the winery, Alex studied Enology at Fresno University and spent several years in France working with renowned wine makers including Christophe Roumier and Marcel Guigal.

Although the style at Porter Creek has remained true to George’s original vision, one major change Alex made was the transition of their vineyards to biodynamic farming. Rigorous attention is paid both to the soil and the vines to ensure the entire vineyard is operating in harmony. The results are pure, balanced wines that speak strongly of their source, not just the hand that got them into the bottle.

The winery produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the 20-acre estate vineyard, and also purchases fruit for the Zinfandel, Carignane, Syrah, Viognier and a few other variety wines.

In the cellar, Alex uses about around 30% whole cluster on the Pinot Noirs, while the whites are direct pressed. Following a 3-4 day cold soak (for the Pinots), native yeasts are used for fermentation which happens outdoors in stainless steel tanks. Aging is done in 25-30% new oak.

 

Click here to read Bram Johnson's review of Porter Creek Vineyards!
Image Producer PRODUCT Description Country / Region

DB7062-19
Biodynamic
Porter Creek Vineyards Chardonnay "George's Hill" Russian River
2019
Chardonnay
George's Hill is the highest elevation vineyard on the Porter Creek estate. It was planted shortly after the Davis family purchased the...
United States

DB0233-20
Biodynamic
Porter Creek Vineyards Chardonnay Russian River
2020
Chardonnay
Organically farmed fruit; whole cluster pressed, settled and transferred to barrel and aged 11 months in 228L French barrels (25% new)....
United States

DB6052-21
Biodynamic
Porter Creek Vineyards Rosé "Old Vine"
2021
Zinfandel
Approximately 65% Dry Creek Zinfandel and 35% Mendocino Carignane from dry-farmed vines ranging from 24-82 years old. Whole cluster pressed...
United States

DB7108-19
Biodynamic
Porter Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir "Fiona Hill"
2019
Pinot Noir
Fiona hill is a meticulously planted, steep hillside vineyard with an ideal southern face, situated in Porter Creek’s estate in the...
United States

DB7110-20
Biodynamic
Porter Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate Russian River
2020
Pinot Noir
Soil: Clay and bedrock (reminiscent of schist, shale, granite) Farming: Organic and biodynamic Vinification: 3-4 day cold soak in naturally...
United States

DB7113-19
91 IWC
Porter Creek Vineyards Zinfandel "Old Vine" Sonoma County
2019
Zinfandel
Produced from hillside grown vines and blended with 10% Carignane for texture and overall harmony.
United States