Unti Vineyards (www.untivineyards.com) is a small vineyard with a small tasting room located on Dry Creek Road, about half-way up. If you’re heading north, look for it on your left. It’s easy to drive by; we know because we’ve had to turn around on several occasions. It feels as though Unti has been there forever but was only founded in 1997, which means we’ve been tasting and buying there virtually from the beginning.
The Unti winery. Photo courtesy of The Press.
The winery is hardly a palace. It’s a house, with an industrial building in the back. Until only a few years ago, you’d pull into the parking lot and walk into a wood-paneled office. Someone would be on the phone and another doing some filing and they were delighted to be pulled away from these activities to pour you some wine and chat for a while. The subject of conversation was often Domaine la Soumade in Rasteau, France.
Huh?
The winery at Soumade has long shelves around the walls with bottles that the owner/ winemaker, André Roméro, had enjoyed. There among them was Unti! We felt very international, being fond of both of the vineyards and their wines.
The Unti tasting room. Photo courtesy of Tripadvisor.
A few years ago, the Unti family decided to build a proper tasting room. It still isn’t palatial and is a bit industrial with rough wood ceilings and corrugated metal, but the views out over the vines soften it a bit. It feels homey. Very often there will be an Unti to pour for you. The winery is family owned and operated and there is a sense that the vineyards, the wine and the family all grew up together, as an organic whole. And in fact, they have been farming organically since the early 2000s.
The wines they produce are a rather interesting mix. Some are Rhône varietals and others are varietals from all over Italy. Of course, they’re in Dry Creek Valley so they make a Zinfandel, too. Our favorites are the Rhônes, in particular their Syrah. Even these have an Italian character when young, with rather pronounced acidity. Quite a few years ago, we bought a bottle of Syrah, put it away and forgot about it for around five years. It had mellowed and acquired a more Rhône-like nose and taste. We’ve been aging the wines we buy there ever since.
Some of Unti’s Italianate wines are familiar, from grapes such as Montepulciano and Barbera. Others are, according to their web site, otherwise unknown in the area. These include Segromigno (from Tuscany) and Fiano (a white grape from southern Italy). We are pleased to see Unti and a handful of other California growers (Seghesio, David Coffaro and Ramazotti come to mind) are focusing on making Italian wines. If other people can be Rhône Rangers, why not Italian Stallions?
We don’t think of Unti as a destination winery, but we do consider Dry Creek Valley that way. So if you’re planning a day in Dry Creek, you ought to consider stopping at Unti. They have a “By Appointment Only” policy, but never once in twenty years have we been turned away. Still, you’d better check with them on busy weekends.