2004 Arrowood Special Select Late Harvest Hoot Owl Creek White Riesling, 375ml

Arrowood Vineyards and Winery was founded in Sonoma, California, in 1986 by Richard and Alis Arrowood. Richard was the original winemaker at Chateau St. Jean and while there produced some of the state’s first single-vineyard wines. Arrowood’s first vintage under his own label was 1987, and in 1990 Richard left Chateau St. Jean to devote himself full time to Arrowood. Since then the 20-acre estate, half of which is in Sonoma Valley and half in the Russian River Valley, has been acquired first by Robert Mondavi then by the wine and spirits conglomerate Constellation. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that despite the change in ownership “things have changed little, which is good news for wine consumers, as this has long been a noteworthy source for beautiful white and red wines. Arrowood has no weak spots in its portfolio.”

Alexander Valley is an American Viticultural Area just north of Healdsburg, in Sonoma County. It was granted AVA status in 1984, with amendments made in subsequent years. The Russian River flows through the valley, and the region was named for Cyrus Alexander, a 19th century landowner and grape grower. The AVA includes 15,000 vineyard acres, much of it rich, alluvial soil layered on a bed of gravel, somewhat similar to many vineyards in Bordeaux. Alexander Valley is sheltered from marine weather by the low hills northeast of Healdsburg, though it is often shrouded in the morning fog coming off the Russian River. Some of the earliest commercial winemaking in the area started in the 1880s, when immigrants formed the Italian Swiss Colony cooperative at Asti. The region made jug wines until the 1960s and 1970s, when a new wave of quality-minded producers started estates. Today Alexander Valley is home to some of California’s most admired wineries, including Simi, Stonestreet and the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Silver Oak Cellars, though based in Napa Valley, has a second winery in Alexander Valley where it makes Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Many grapes do well in the Alexander Valley, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel.