Hobo Wine Co. Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2024
We have 12 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
Most people know Dry Creek Valley for Zinfandel, but its western hillsides ripen Cabernet Sauvignon with real precision. The appellation dates to 1983 and counts as Region III. Fog comes in from the south near Healdsburg, cooling the lower valley, while the margins and terraces carry rocky, fast-draining soils that keep vine vigor in check. Larrick Vineyard sits off West Dry Creek Road. It covers 2 terraced acres on southwest-facing slopes that run from steep to gentle, planted in the early 1990s. The vines are dry-farmed. Without irrigation, they put roots deep into the hillside and set very small crops. That scarcity is the point, and it shows in the glass as concentration without heaviness.
The Wine
Hobo Wine Co. Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 comes entirely from Larrick. Low yields from dry-farmed vines gave ripe flavor and clear varietal character at modest sugar levels, and the wine sits at moderate alcohol. In the cellar, Kenny kept extraction light, fermented with native yeast, and aged the wine 18 months in second-fill French oak. That oak frames the fruit without adding a sweet vanilla layer. Expect cassis, red plum, bay leaf, and graphite, with fine, firm tannin and a dry, savory finish. Hobo describes it as a Cal-Bordeaux: California's forward fruit paired with a more European texture and structure. The 2024 season brought a long midsummer heat spell, and dry-farmed vines handled it on deep roots.
The People
Hobo Wine Company started in 2002 with two barrels of Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Kenny Likitprakong had no business plan and, by his own account, no real idea how the wine world worked. He owned no winery and no vineyards. The name nods to those years of drifting from job to job and cellar to cellar. Today Hobo fills more than 1,000 barrels, and this Cabernet takes it back to the valley where it started. Hobo has bought fruit from Larrick since 2005, took over the farming in 2017, and finished organic certification in 2023. Kenny calls it the closest thing Hobo has to an estate wine, two decades after a start on almost nothing.
Food Pairing
Firm tannin and savory fruit need protein and fat. Sear a dry-aged ribeye in cast iron and baste it with rosemary butter. The fat softens the tannin, and the herbs pick up the bay leaf. A mushroom and lentil shepherd's pie under a browned potato crust is a meatless match with enough earthiness to hold its own. Braise beef short ribs in red wine with carrots and thyme. Finish with a wedge of aged Gouda, whose caramel crystals soften the oak. Open it for the dinner that comes with a reason, and save a glass for the next night.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
Cabernet Sauvignon, originally hailing from Bordeaux, France, has triumphantly spread to become a cornerstone of vineyards worldwide, achieving particular renown in Napa Valley. This versatile grape variety adapts to a broad spectrum of climates, producing full-bodied wines that are rich in black cherry and blackcurrant flavors, with layered complexities of oak and spice. The grape's success in regions like Napa Valley is a testament to its global adaptability, where it benefits from the optimal blend of warm days and cool nights, coupled with diverse soil types, to express a unique balance of power and elegance that pays homage to its Bordeaux origins.
