In 1996, the husband and wife winemaking team of Michael and Anne Dashe founded Dashe Cellars. Focused on crafting exceptional single-vineyard wines, Dashe Cellars blends the two winemaker's combined 40-plus years of experience at such noted wineries as Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château La Dominique, Ridge Vineyards, Cloudy Bay, Far Niente, Chappellet, and Schramsberg Wine Cellars. Drawing on this wealth of experience, the Dashes create vineyard-focused wines that capture the complexity and character of top vineyards throughout Sonoma County and beyond.
Anne and Michael met in 1994. Sharing a wealth of personal and professional interests, the couple spoke early in their relationship about the prospect of founding a winery. With complementary advanced degrees in enology from the University of Bordeaux and the University of California at Davis, they knew their combined backgrounds could form the foundation for something special. In 1996, Michael and Anne were married. That same year they founded Dashe Cellars, and produced their inaugural 1996 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. For the wine's label, they chose a playful image featuring a monkey riding on the back of a fish, a metaphor for two unique creatures traveling together on a journey.
The vineyard—owned by Jack Florence of Rockpile Ranch fame—was planted from cuttings of the St. Peters Church clone, taken from the original Rockpile Ranch vines. This clone of zinfandel has very tiny, intensely flavored berries, and the large proportion of skins to juice from these tiny berries make for an exceptionally rich, complex wine. The wine from the 2008 vintage was no exception, showing its typically perfumed aroma of violets and lavender, and rich flavors of black raspberry, chocolate, and clove spice.