The Willow Creek AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Humboldt and Trinity counties of northern California, near the town of Willow Creek. Surrounded by the Klamath Mountains, the AVA includes in the center of the Six Rivers National Forest, and has 6 vineyards, one active winery, Miles Garrett Wines and in wine grape production.
From the Beginning
Willow Creek has historically had a reputation for being a great growing region. There have been numerous agriculturally related private and commercial enterprises up and down the river. The most successful of these have been pot and peach orchards with the recent addition of small individual farmsteads producing and marketing fruits and vegetables at farmers markets and small roadside stands. Wine grapes while undoubtedly grown for personal table wine production really were not a significant part of this small river town economy until the early nineteen hundreds.
Enter the Gambi Family
The Gambis were immigrants coming to the United States in the early Twentieth Century from the Italian region of Tuscany. As the stories go, this industrious farm family first landed on our east coast and worked their way across the nation arriving at the Willow Creek Valley. Upon seeing Willow Creek they immediately fell in love with this small agricultural valley with its abundant water, sloping hillsides, and long days filled with sunshine. This valley reminded them of the Tuscan countryside and to them they were back home. Thus begins long, industrious family enterprises that includes farms, restaurants, cottages, and, most significant for the history of the Willow Creek AVA, a commercial winery. There is little written record of the actual winery operation, so most of what is written here about the Gambi winery is from interviews and anecdotal information. What is known is the family bonded the first Willow Creek winery and produced and sold table wines before prohibition, maybe during prohibition, and after its repeal right up till the nineteen seventies when the last of the Gambi family sold out and left the area. The wines most likely were only marketed locally through direct to consumer sales, the family restaurant, and local friends. There are some very interesting structures and artifacts that still chronicle the Gambi wine era. Pictured below in front of the Winnett Vineyards winery is a wine press and redwood fermentation tank removed from the Gambi winery and given to the Wirmetts by individuals whom had purchased some of the old Gambi property. Mark and Londa Rowly, owners of Coho Cottages and more recently China Creek Cabins, the old Gambi Resort, have discovered a wine cellar below the main building. There is also reported to exist a wine cave and oak casks used by the Gambis for wine storage. Even more interesting are the remnants of the old vineyards. Some of the old grape vines that would now be approaching 100 years old still live on various lots subdivided from the original vineyard. Most likely they are red Italian varieties with Sangiovese being one of them as that grape is the great wine grape of the Tuscan region. Although there is no known critic as to the quality of the Gambi wine, local consumers speak of it as being an intense red wine high in alcohol and filled with stone fruit flavors. This commentary on the wine's character would seem to be consistent with the cultural background of the Gambis and certainly similar to the commercial wines being produced in the Willow Creek AVA today. During this early period of Willow Creek wine grape production there was an additional grower along the river just down river from town. Apparently the property was owned by the Gardner family and Ms. Gardner experimented with the propagation of multiple varieties of wine grapes. While no wine was commercially produced by the Gardner family, several hobby wineries and at least two commercial wineries on the coast produced wine from these grapes.
The vineyard manager/caretaker for the property was a gentleman by the name of David Kenney. He and his family lived on the property, tended the vines, harvested and sold grapes, and made a little wine for their own consumption. David Kenney, would later help Winnett Vineyards establish their vineyard, initially with cuttings from the Gardner ranch, and later with grafted root stock from the Sonoma region. The Gardner property was later purchased by Lane Devries and the vineyards were expanded. Currently the vineyard is managed by Wil Franklin who produces wine under the Sun Valley label.