What we stand by
- Estate wine All of our wines, including our sparkling wine, are 100% grown, produced, and bottled on our Dry Creek property.
- Fair prices We think everyone should be able to enjoy great California wine regardless of their budget.
- No-nonsense Our winery doesn't focus on frills and we're proud of it!
- Fruit-forward wines We ferment fast and press early to showcase the fruit in our wines and emphasize the flavor of our grapes.
- Screw caps We prefer screw caps to corks because they preserve the wine longer and produce a more consistent product.
- Small, family production We produce 5,000 cases of wine a year, and we think that's the perfect size to keep our prices low and our quality high.
- Our people Our family and friends helped us every step of the way as our winery grew, and our dedicated employees are like family to us.
Our Vineyard
100% of David Coffaro wine is estate grown on our 20 acre vineyard. David and Pat Coffaro purchased the property in 1979 when Dry Creek Valley was a virtually unknown grape region. Dave has been working the vineyard since then, and he thinks this spot is special. We get more extreme temperatures than most of the valley with lower lows and higher highs. This allows the grapes to rest at night and develop during the day which helps retain acids. Our soil is loose and rocky with good drainage, a key to healthy vines. This combination results in wine characterized by lively acids and intense fruit.
Our vineyard is divided into 7 blocks. More than half of our vines were planted in the late 1800s and are primarily Zinfandel, Carignan, and Petite Sirah. In recent years, Dave has experimented by planting some lesser-known varieties that do well in our area including Lagrein, Souzao and Dave's personal favorite, Aglianico.
We source our popular field blend, Block 4, by harvesting all grapes in the 4th block together. Some vines are overripe and some underripe, resulting in the perfect balance.
Our Bordeaux-style blend, Aca Modot, is named from an ancient Pomo Indian village that was once located on a slight knoll in Block 5. This well-drained soil is still black from the campfires and produces some of the most vibrant fruit in our vineyard.
The map shows the layout of the first 4 blocks of our vineyard.
Our Team
Dave
The man, the legend.
Pat
Pat runs the office. She's the person you're most likely to reach on phone or email. Remember, Giants fans get priority treatment.
Catarino
Catarino (aka "Cat Man") is our vineyard manager and has been with the winery since 1998! In addition to running the vineyard, he also maintains two impressive vegetable gardens on the property.
Salvador
Salvador has also been with the winery since the beginning. He works side by side with Catarino in the vineyard, and also helps with winemaking, shipping, and facilities.
Martha
Martha is Catarino's wife and started with us full time in 2009. She is the person we turn to for assistance with just about everything from harvest and vineyard maintenance to bottling, shipping and special events.
Catalina
Catalina joined our tasting room during the fall of 2012. She's known for her cheerful personality, vast wine knowledge, and for planning amazing wine events.
Jose
Another member of the Flores family, we have known Jose since he was about 16 and came to help his parents during bottling. After many years of handling miscellaneous roles, Jose is now Dave's assistant winemaker and head of wine analysis and barrel management!