Donnelly
Creek, Anderson Valley
Most
of Mary Elke's wines come from the Donnelly Creek vineyard in Anderson
Valley. It's a beautiful 80-acre site along the confluence of Donnelly
and Anderson
creeks,
just east
of
the
fabled
town of
Boonville.
There are many fabled wineries in Anderson Valley, from
Navarro to Breggo to Goldeneye. Click
here for more on the Anderson Valley.
"Wine
growing is not for control freaks or the faint of heart. Weather,
bugs, and market forces have contributed to many ups and downs over
the past twenty-five years for the Elke family. That's why when it
comes to making one's own wine, I try to make it in small batches
with great love and care because I believe it makes a difference
and I
get
to interact with the wine instead of mass produce it. This
makes a great difference in my life." - M.E.
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Mary's snippets
Elke
Vineyards is comprised of about 60 acres at Donnelly Creek in
Anderson Valley, and about 18 acres in Napa Valley in the Tulocay
District.
We
are "growers", and grow Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot
Gris, and Merlot. We work with guest winemakers to make wine
from the grapes we farm.
Elke
Vineyards began more than twenty years ago, and we have
grown fruit for many, many wineries over the years. Chances are, you
have tasted the wine from our grapes. Currently we grow
fruit for Mumm Napa, Roederer Estate, Radio Coteau, Copain Wine Cellars,
Londer Vineyards, Au Bon Climate, Mendocino Wine Company,
Far
Niente, ICI/La Bas, Franciscan, and Breggo Cellars.
Every
year since 1997 we have reserved fruit for our own Elke wines,
namely the Elke Vineyards Blue Diamond Pinot Noir. That wine
has been made by master winemaker Tom Farella, of Farella Vineyard,
since inception.
We
choose other winemakers to work with our grapes, and more
often, they choose us. There's always something coming out of this interaction
between grower, buyer, and guest winemakers. This phenomena
fuels
the "Mary Elke" label, which you might call the "Elke
deal of the year." Our 2006 Mary Elke Pinot and 2005 Mary
Elke Chardonnay are our current "deals of the year."
Elke
sells primarily to restaurants on the East and West coasts,
and direct to the customer via this web site and some direct marketing.
For 2007-8 we produced about 1700 cases. Next year should be about
the same case quantity.
I hope you
enjoy my wine.
Thank you for coming to elkevineyards.com.
Mary Elke
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Elke
trivia
• New
York City restaurant Union Square Cafe reports that Elke Pinot
Noir is their second-best selling wine by the glass of all varietals.
• For
a terroir tasting, try Mumm Napa's Blanc
de Noir sparkling wine (made with about 12%
of Elke Pinot Noir) and then try an Elke
Pinot Noir. You'll be able to taste terroir
of the Anderson Valley Elke Pinot Noir grape.
• Mary
Elke began her farming career growing
organic apples and making Mary Elke Apple Juice.
Some people in California still know
Mary for her apple juice instead of her wine.
She still makes 50+ cases of organic
apple juice a year. The famous Green's Restaurant in San Francisco
serves Mary Elke's Organic Apple Juice, and has for years.
• The new "Mary Elke" label
is the venue for Mary to work with what the
winemakers are doing
with Elke Vineyard grapes. With so many talented winemakers
using Donnelly Creek fruit, there's always a new Pinot blend or Chardonnay
opportunity.
• The Elke Blue Diamond Pinot Noir has been made by Tom Farella
for ten years. Its French Burgundian style has been winning converts for
just as long. Farella's masterful blending of three different clones
of Pinot Noir is something you should appreciate. The grapes are hauled to the
Farella
facility in Napa at harvest, where they are barrel-aged and bottled.
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