DaVero Farms & Winery

Updated: Jan 12

Ambiance

Back when I taught kindergarten…
(Yes, I did in fact teach kindergarten for 5 years!)
Anyways, back when I taught kinder, the BEST field trip of the entire school year was….
Heading to Hidden Villa Farm.
I was more excited about heading to a farm than my students.
Something about farm animals, growing veggies to eat, and walking around in muddy boots made my soul happy.
The same feeling came over me at DaVero farms.
NO kindergarteners in tow this time!
Just me and my three favorite wine drinking gal pals.
Chickens, pigs, and sheeps oh my!
This is for sure a taste and stroll the gardens type winery.
A peaceful spot.
Consider even scheduling a tasting appointment and having a picnic.

By appointment only
This is a very Club focused winery. Almost all of the wines are only available to wine club members only.

I’m not a DaVero wine club member so that seriously limits wines I can purchase.
Bummer!
I really wish I could get my hands on the Altobasso Rosato and the Dolcetto.
I DID go home with a Pollo Rosso Jug.
A non-vintage, non-varietal blend.
Mystery Wine!
I guess this is a common practice in Europe.
Costs $26 but can be refilled for only $12.99.
Word on the street is that proceeds of the purchase might go to local charities.
Be sure to ask.

This might be a wordy and longer section than most.
Lots of juicy info. Buckle up!
Before I even made my way to the DaVero tasting room, I stumbled upon Michael Presley.
I was mystified by this copper pot he was fiddling with.
It looked like something out of a Wizard Of Oz movie.
He also had a table set up with different varieties of seeds to take.

Michael is DaVero’s soil keepeer.
He has been gardening and farming in Sonoma County for 40 years.
On this particular day he was distilling herbs and extracting a little essential oils.
Lemon Verbena and Sonoma Sage to be precise.
He described the process like making espresso.
You put the steam up through the plant material.
Then the steam goes through a condenser.
What comes out is a concentrated infused water with a little film of essential oil on top.
You may cook with it, drink it, put it in the bath, for your face, skin…
Hydrosols are aromatic waters.
Less concentrated and more mellow than essential oils.
They have all the medicinal properties of the plant plus all the aromatic properties for your nervous system.
I chatted with Michael for a half-hour!

At one point my friends hollered over at me, “WHERE ARE YOU?!?!?!?”
I completely lost track of time.
Michael took time to teach me so much about the winemaking process.
Here are the nuggets I snatched from him:
The more nutrients and microbes in the soil the more the grapes fully express their phenols and aromatics.
Wine tasting is predominantly aromatics.
DaVero grows their grapes biodinamically and organically.
They also grow Italian Varietals because those particular varietals WANT to be grown here due to the climate.
All the ferments DaVero uses consist of wild yeast.
No comercial yeast.
The yeasts are all in the air.
Michael’s a bread maker and collects his sourdough yeast from the earliest plums.
It’s the yeast that forms on all of our grasslands that stick to the skins of plums that become the yeast he uses.
Michael explained, “These are ancient arts that are so appropriate now.”

I’m a Podcast listener.
You too?
I listen to podcasts as I commute to and from my day job.
My new wine Podcast discovery is Sommtalks with Laura Levy Shatkin.
She interviews Ridgely Evers. (SEE PIC RIGHT ABOVE)
Ridgely is farmer, owner and wine(maker) at DaVero.
I met Ridgely myself while tasting at DaVero during Passport.
He was at a station pouring some of his 2017 Altobasso Rosato.
Poor guy was on the brink of losing his voice from spending two full days of passport talking about the farm and the biodynamic practices happening on the property.
This podcast walks through the journey of DaVero.
From when Ridgely first purchased the property to evolving it into the vibrant land it is today.
Producing olive trees, Italian Varietal vineyards, fruit trees, citrus, lavender, produce, and some farm animals!

It’s critical to note that DaVero is Wine Club focused.
Most of the estate wines you taste will be available to wine club members only.
An annual event that DaVero is known for is their TDAT Party.
The day after Thanksgiving.
If you’re not about Black Friday shopping madness and would rather hang out at the farm.
All ages welcome and no reservations required event.
You can bring your turkey left overs and picnic while drinking DaVero wines.

Happy
Happy wildflowers.
Happy bumble bees and insects buzzing around.
Happy Michael inspecting and caring for the DaVero soil.
Happy owner, Ridgely.
The mastermind and orchestrator.
So proud that his living organism of a farm is thriving.
Opening a bottle of DaVero is connecting straight to Mother Nature.
Opening a bottle of DaVero means you are drinking wine infused with all the happiness floating around the farm.
Pour me some DaVero.
Happiness in a glass please!