Once and Future Wine Company’s Spring 2023 release includes a Dry Creek Valley AVA Zinfandel from the “Vogensen Vineyard”.
Clyde_Underwood shared a detail from an old Sonoma County Grape Growers Association map detailing the location of the “Vogensen Vineyard”.
Joel Peterson’s first vintage of Ravenswood included a vineyard-designated wine from this old-growth site. After many years, he was able to secure “Vogensen” grapes under his new label.
"‘Vogensen Vineyard’, Dry Creek Valley, Zinfandel
"In 1976, after I had worked with Joe Swan for four years, I decided to make wine for myself. It was an act of pure hubris. I had almost no money, no winery, no licenses, no sales experience, and most importantly, no grapes. I bought a four-ton capacity redwood fermenter and convinced Joe Swan to let me use some space in his winery. Then Tom Dehlinger of Dehlinger Winery introduced me to grape grower Joe Vogensen.
"The vineyard was all that a Zinfandel-loving novice winemaker could hope for: old head-pruned, dry farmed, low production vines, planted on an alluvial fan of Manzanita series soil in the upper west side of Dry Creek Valley. I contracted for four tons of Zinfandel at $300/ton and made the first 175 cases of wine for what became the first Ravenswood wine. This was the vineyard where my chance encounter with ravens while picking up grapes gave Ravenswood its name.
"The wine was spectacular and helped put Ravenswood on the map after tastings by a number of people we would refer to as wine influencers today. Of course, there was no internet, so the influence was more local in nature, but it was all that was needed for the small amount of wine that I then produced.
"Unfortunately, it took me so long to pay for the grapes that Joe Vogensen was unwilling to sell me more in the following vintage.
"In 1981, the vineyard was sold to Harry Wheeler. He called me to say he had tasted the 1976 wine and loved it so much that he wanted to sell me grapes to make wine from the vineyard in 1981. As I recall, the price had gone up to $600/ton. 1981 was the year that my son Morgan was born. I made the wine in a very aggressive style, very extracted, tannic, and oaky, in the hope that Morgan might be able to enjoy it when he came of age. I am happy to report that the wine, while still a bit austere, was very pretty on Morgan’s 21st birthday.
"The next year, Harry Wheeler sold the vineyard to Lou Preston (Preston Winery). Sadly for me, Lou, who was enthralled with Rhône varieties, pulled the vineyard out and replanted it to his desired grapes.
"Many years passed. Then, in 2021, my son Morgan was talking to Preston’s winemaker Grayson Hartley, reminiscing about the ‘Old Vogensen’ Zinfandel vineyard. He learned that Lou had left about a quarter of an acre of the old vines in the ground and would be willing to sell the production to me. I was thrilled. The sale completed the circle. I had started my new small winery, Once & Future, and now could make a small amount of wine from the vineyard that launched Ravenswood. The vineyard only produces about half a ton of grapes (about one barrel of wine) but has the same texture, feel, and character as the 1976. The price was $3,750/ton. Worth every penny.
"2021 ‘Vogensen Vineyard’ Zinfandel
88 Points - Vinous, Antonio Galloni
Review Date - January 2023:
“‘The 2021 Zinfandel ‘Vogensen’ is an intriguing wine redolent of spice, tobacco, cedar, mint and dried flowers. The aromatics are quite expressive, but the flavors are more towards the dried fruit end of the spectrum. The 2021 is a very pretty wine, but it is also very much on the lighter side in terms of weight.’
“118-year-old vines, 8x8 head pruned, picked 8/31/2021, pH 3.64, TA 5.8 g/L, 31 cases bottled November 2022.”
Google Maps detail of
“Vogensen Vyd” at the intersection of West Dry Creek Road and Brown Road in Healdsburg
Though other wineries have bottled single-vineyard wines from this location, the original old vines occupy about 1/4 acre of the site.
Preston Farm and Winery
2021 Carignane, Dry Creek Valley
“Our Carignane block in the ‘Vogensen’ parcel is truly a gem of the entire Preston Vineyard: eighty year old vines stand, statuesque but sprawling, with the same dynamic balance inherent to a large, tangled oak…”.
Dry Creek Vineyard
2020 ‘Vogensen Ranch’ Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley
“Rising more than 800 feet off the valley floor, ‘Vogensen Ranch’ is located on the back of Bradford Mountain and is one of the more extreme growing sites in all of Dry Creek Valley. We have isolated a steeply sloped, well-draining area of the vineyard called ‘Barn Block’ to create this bottling for our single vineyard series. The undulating nature of the terrain and east-facing sun exposure provide grapes that are beautifully ripened and lead to a wine that is silky, textured and well-balanced…”.
“…Vine Age 15-50 years”
John Fodera blog
“On the Sonoma Trail: Dry Creek Vineyard”
by John Fodera
June 21, 2013
A caption below one photo on this blog mentions a barrel of Dry Creek Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon from “Vogensen”.
