DRNK - Russian River
Memphis in the wine cave ~ Green Valley ~ 08/20
It’s the first Saturday in August during the summer of Covid-19 and my family is sitting at the mouth of the DRNK wine cave in the heart of Russian River. Ryan Kunde and his wife Katie are bussing wine glasses and sanitizing tables after a full day of small household tastings. They are warm, kind and immediately make us feel as if we have known them for years.
We are there for a casual small tasting with our friends who live across the street. They had us come after hours so they can relax and visit too. Our girls play on a free four-wheeler they found down the road and our 1 year old runs off to explore the wine cave. The beautiful 78-degree weather is quickly contrasted by the dark dank chill of the cave. The deeper you walk into the mountain the musty, yet sweet smell lingers in the air and you notice a room for an elegant and romantic dinner that sits empty yearning for laughter and conversation.
Back outside Ryan tells us we are indeed drinking the very last bottle of Rose from this season. Lucky us! This Rose of Pinot Noir has a delicate rose petal aroma and hints of strawberry and melon. It’s refreshing and a perfect introduction to DRNK’s philosophy.
As we chat with Ryan, his passion for wine and the Russian River Valley is potent in every story. He walks into the cave and emerges with a topographical map of Sonoma County AVA’s to punctuate his place and love of Green Valley. He shows us the location of the vineyards we are drinking from. While he doesn’t grow the grapes he presses, he sources them from long standing cultivated relationships with farmers and vineyards that he knows and respects. He started using drones a few years back to check the grapes for any problems due to pests or water and finds the most fertile areas to harvest first.
As a fifth-generation winemaker, Ryan recites the technical vernacular in a way that seems like his first spoken language. We continue to taste through his un-oaked Chardonnay which he explains is a punchy modern take on the classic varietal being aged in concrete. It has a round mouth feel with concentrated nectarine that lunges me forward into the cheese plate.
To finish we taste through three of the four Pinot Noir’s which are as different as our children. The 2017 Hallberg Vineyard which is unfiltered and full of robust fruit and flavors of earthy date syrup. The 2018 Sonoma Coast is more up front with a classic velvety texture, a cranberry nose and notes of black cherry. It’s a subtle yet noticeable contrast to the 2018 Widdoes Vineyard which oozes blackberry and cacao. It’s soft and has a nice weight. They gifted us a bottle for our future BBQ chicken dinner and then showed us around their small crush pad and family camping site.
With a promise to come camping it was official that we will indeed be back to taste the new vintages and possibly watch the sunrise over the vineyard. DRNK is the hug we’ve all needed these last 9 months and we can’t wait for more.
