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Wine time: Dreaming Tree ’14 Chardonnay & 13′ Crush

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Sonoma Valley Sun
Co-conspirators: Winemaker Sean McKenzie and musician Dave Matthews (Photo: The Dreaming Tree)
Co-conspirators: Winemaker Sean McKenzie and musician Dave Matthews (Photo: The Dreaming Tree)

Musician Dave Matthews has been producing premium wine via at his winery, Blenheim Vineyards in Virginia for many years. However, those wines are limited production and available exclusively at the winery.

To satisfy the demand of fans and a longing to explore other winemaking regions, Matthews launched the Dreaming Tree in 2011.

Named after one of his most popular Dave Matthews Bands’ songs, the Dreaming Tree is a collaboration between the musician and winemaker Sean McKenzie, who served as winemaker at Clos du Bois for ten years before joining Matthews.

Wines are produced in Geyserville and utilize grapes from various California winemaking regions, not all from Sonoma County.

The wine labels are 100% recycled paper, the bottles are manufactured with lightweight bottles made with clean-burning natural gas, and the corks are recyclable. Proceeds from wine sales benefit eco-friendly organizations, including The Wilderness Society and Living Lands & Waters.

Having tasted Blenheim wines in Virginia, I was eager to see what Matthews had up his creative sleeve this time. However, I was a bit anxious – a new mass produced Constellation-owned label? Here we go again…

Well, we were pleasantly surprised.

Dreaming Tree delivers quality, inexpensive wines. We’ve reviewed two wines that could surely earn the status as “house wines” in any household, Dave Matthews fan or not.

Dreaming Tree 2013 Crush wine - Stierch.jpg
The Dreaming Tree 2013 Crush

The Dreaming Tree 2013 Crush
Merlot is making a comeback and this is a nice introduction to the once-shunned in Sideways varietal.

Named after a hit song by the Dave Matthews Band, Crush is a Merlot-heavy red blend that uses 83% fruit from the North Coast.

The wine has a beautiful rich ruby color and smells of vanilla, raspberry, a touch of smoke (the good kind, think BBQ) and American oak (it spent 16 months in oak). The mouth is full of plum, blackberry and raspberry compotes, and wraps up with a rich vanilla and cinnamon finish.

It’s a mellow, silky wine that will pair great with that BBQ mentioned previously – think stuffed peppers, ribs, or a chicken with a nice, smokey pepper and paprika rub. Retails at $15.

Dreaming Tree 2014 Chardonnay - Wine
The Dreaming Tree 2014 Chardonnay

The Dreaming Tree 2014 Chardonnay

The highlight of the duo was the Chardonnay, which was quickly consumed after “working.”

The wine pours into the glass with a golden straw color that caused a bit of shudder inside this stainless Chardonnay lover. However, the grapes spent 8 months in oak and stainless, giving the wine a great balance and a nice acidity sure to please both butter-bomb lovers and staineless-heads alike.

The nose has a decent balance of American oak, pear, applesauce, a bit of butter and red grapes chilled in the fridge. The mouth is full of honeydew, pear and pineapple, finishing with a topping of caramel, burnt popcorn and citrus.

The Chardonnay would pair great with fresh apricots, or save it for the fall for quince jam served with brie or a warm goat cheese. A cold shellfish salad or a lobster roll would be a delight with it, too. Retails for $15.

Dreaming Tree’s wines are nationally distributed, including at Safeway, Costco, and BevMo. Learn more at dreamingtreewines.com.



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