Beyond Napa: Anderson Valley Wine Country

Anderson Valley - part of Mendocino County - stretches along Route 128 between Albion and Cloverdale. Closer to Albion and the coast, the valley is thick with redwoods - gorgeous hiking country. More inland, the valley opens up, and turns into the beautiful rolling "golden hills of California", peppered by wineries, farms, and funky stores and relaxed villages. This is what Napa used to be, before it got too commercial - and hopefully, Anderson Valley will retain the ways that keeps it so very charming.

This is working farm country, so the pace of life here is a bit different than other parts of the state - in the best way possible. The folks are friendly, the skies are full of sunshine, and you have attractive countryside all around. The local economy is primarily run by wineries, forestry, orchards, commercial fisheries, livestock, and of course, tourism.

Of course, there are the wineries, scattered primarily between Yorkville and Navarro. The cool, foggy nights and the warm, sunny days lend themselves particularly well to Pinot Noirs; but you will also find other noteworthy reds such as Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Syrah, and the lesser-known Grenache and Charbono. Many of the wineries also produce white varietals, especially Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Regional growers are strongly supportive of organic agriculture and eco-friendly power resources (many sport solar panels on their property), and in electricity-hungry California, are justifiably proud of the fact that they produce enough energy to sell their excess into the local power grid.

Beer lovers will be happy to discover the carefully crafted selections at Anderson Valley Brewing Company, located in Boonville.

Several campgrounds can be found in the redwood region closer to the Pacific coast, including one at the junction of 128 and route 1, on the windswept expanse of Navarro Beach. Sports enthusiasts will love the many choices in this area for kayaking, hiking, fishing, and biking.

Throw in a handful of antique shops, crafters, delicious local cuisine, charming hotels and B&Bs, and you have all the makings for a superb California vacation spot.

Quick Tips:

* Use local sites such as mendocino.com, or the best B&B site, bedandbreakfast.com, to find the widest variety of lodging choices for this region. Although websites like Travelocity and Expedia do have listings in the area, they primarily show chain hotels in the major towns in the area (Ukiah, Fort Bragg, etc). This area is fantastic for B&Bs, and many of them offer amenities such as hot tubs and fireplaces, and quite a few of them are pet-friendly.

* Most wineries provide an area where you can enjoy a picnic lunch. Some consist of only a table or two on the winery porch; many are extremely picturesque, located next to rows of grape vines or sheltered under arbors. Tasting rooms are happy to uncork bottles bought at their winery, and to provide glasses; some even sell wine-friendly food items such as cheese, crackers, fruit, olives and more. Food stores and restaurants in the area know that people like to take picnic lunches out to the vineyards, and you will find that some of them offer pre-packed or pack-to-order box lunches.

* Forget fast-food restaurants when looking for a place to eat in this region! Fast food restaurants are extremely uncommon outside of the larger towns (ie. Ukiah), and besides, the local restaurants and cafés will feed you high-quality, fresh food for around the same amount of money that you'd plunk down for a burger and fries. (See notes on picnics, above.)

* For a quick overview of the area, and to see which wineries are in Anderson Valley, check out mendocino.winecountry.com

* It can be a long distance between gas stations in this area of California. If you're getting low, be sure to fuel up when you see a gas station.

* If you plan to buy wines as you visit wineries, you may want to consider buying an inexpensive styrofoam cooler at a local market to help protect your purchases against the California heat in your car.

* Most wineries will ship your purchases for a small fee. (Check to see if your State Laws allow this.)

Most of all, be open to wandering off your itinerary when discovering this area. Anderson Valley is loaded with plenty of "happy accidents" that you won't find in the guidebooks or on web searches. Keep your eyes open, and delight in the unexpected.

Best Way To Get Around:

Like most California destinations outside of the major cities, the best way to reach Anderson Valley is by car. The closest major airports are Oakland and San Francisco. You could also fly into San Jose or Sacramento, but these will add to your drive time.

From either SFO or OAK, take 101 north to Cloverdale, where you will then take 128 north, the main road through Anderson Valley. It is approximately 100 miles/just under two hours to Cloverdale.

Route 128 is 60 miles from Cloverdale to Albion on the coast; while the drive will take just under 90 minutes if you drive straight through, it is much more fun and enjoyable to meander up towards the coast, sampling wineries and other local attractions.

Alternatively, if you have time to spare, you can take the extremely scenic coastal Route 1 north from San Francisco up to Albion. It should be noted, however, that Route 1 is not for drivers who are faint of heart; stretches of the route are constructed at stomach-lurching heights which give wonderful views of the coast but which require extra attention to your driving.

As of January 2007, I am not currently aware of any companies that offer bus or shuttle tours of Anderson Valley. However, like most California wine regions, you can find private tours available through limousine or van services, great for groups, and which also solves the issue of who the designated driver will be. Rates for private tours vary.

Greenwood Ridge Vineyards - (707) 895-2002- has been open since 1980, with a production of approximately 5,000 cases per year. In addition, the winery has been named one of America's top 30 wineries three times in recent years by Wine & Spirits Magazine, and their tasting room shows off the many awards they've received for their vintages.

The distinctive oriental dragon that graces their bottles is a tribute to the winemaker's father, Aaron G. Green - who also designed the tasting room building on route 128. Aaron Green created a dragon that was given to Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in 1959, and the dragon can still be seen at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona. Of special note about the tasting room is that the wood of a single tree - a 400-year-old redwood that had fallen on the property in 1969 - was used to construct the visitor building. Greenwood is also solar-efficient - producing enough solar energy that they can actually feed some into the local power grid.

The tasting room is spacious and airy, with a wonderful hostess. Allan Green and his team produce a solid lineup of reds and whites; I was able to try their sauvignon blanc and white riesling, as well as their pinot noir. I loved that their tasting glasses have their trademark dragon on them, as do their bottles. Due to their small size, Greenwood Ridge takes extra care with their grapes to provide the best-possible end result. For example, during fermentation, instead of "pumping over" the cap, which can shred the grapes and produce stronger tannins, the cap is moved via buckets from the fermenter to the press. It is this kind of care that helps produce their smooth, lovely reds.

In July, Greenwood Ridge hosts the California Wine Tasting Championships, which also includes chocolate and cheese tasting competitions. If you're exploring route 128, be sure to stop in at Greenwood Ridge.

Tasting room open from 10am to 5pm daily.

Husch Vineyards is the oldest winery (1971) in the Anderson Valley appellation, and their tasting room - a converted sheep barn that dates to the late 1800's - is one of the most charming visitor buildings you'll find.

Under winemaker Brad Holstine's direction, Husch produces 18 wines, of which most are generally available for tasting.

I usually go with their whites, which this time meant the 2005 Sauvignon Blanc; the 2005 "Renegade" Sauvignon Blanc (which was made with no artificial additives or chemicals); the 2004 Vine One Chardonnay; the 2004 Special Reserve Chardonnay; the 2005 Gewürtzraminer; and the 2005 Chenin Blanc Mendocino. I found the current offerings (2004-5) were decent wines, and I particularly liked the Gewürtzraminer, which was citrusy, clean, fresh, and tangy.

My favorite thing about Husch is actually just outside their tasting rooms: the picnic tables outside are shaded by a number of Concord grape vines. If you are visiting in late September/early October, visitors are actually encouraged to pick clusters of these grapes. And they are so delicious. Forget the thin-skinned store grapes... I need to find a grocery store that offers Concord grapes, because mmmm-mmm, they are a treat and a half!

The Husch tasting room staff is fantastic, very friendly, and highly knowledgeable about their wines, with good memories for past vintages. This charming winery is worth a stop when visiting Anderson Valley wineries.

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(800) 554-8724

Jepson is located on Route 101 about halfway between Cloverdale and Ukiah, CA. The vineyard is distinctive for two reasons: its winemaker is a woman, Alison Schneider; and in addition to making wine, they also distill brandy and produce a sparkling wine.

The winery produces several traditional varietals - Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Zinfandel, Syrah, etc., but they also produce some unusual wines worth tasting.

For example, they produce a Carignane, which is commonly used as a blending grape. Some are produced in very small lots, such as their Sauvignon Musque (a Blanc clone; 185 cases), their Screaming Rosé (246 cases) or their Petite Sirah (112 cases). The rest of their wines also have small productions, ranging from 447 to 1984 cases. By comparison, some of the big-name-brand vineyards such as Fetzer and Mondavi produce well over 2 million cases per year.

Jepson wines are also very reasonably priced, with their whites averaging $11.50/bottle and their reds about $18/bottle - I considered them my 'bargain gem' find of this trip and will definitely keep their brand in mind when I'm in my local wine shop.

I enjoyed their 2003 Viognier ($16), which was beautifully fruity, yet dry enough that I didn't feel like it was a dessert wine - it would go very well with spicy foods. I also loved the 2004 Chateau d'Alicia, made from 100% French Colombard (traditionally used in cognac), which was an absolute bargain at $7/bottle - but only available for sale in the tasting room. The tasting room host told me that the Chateau d'Alicia is a very popular local wine, and it was easy to see why.

As it turns out, the same grapes used to produce the Chateau d'Alicia also go into their brandies, and they produce three varietals: Rare (aged 7 years); Old Stock (aged 10 years); and Signature Reserve (aged 15-23 years). Although I do not often partake in brandy or cognac, I did sample the Old Stock, which had lovely notes of peaches and dates, with nutty undertones.


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(800) 516-7342. Tasting fee for brandies.

Tasting room open from 10am to 5pm daily.

Navarro Winery is my favorite vineyard. This friendly, laid-back, family-run vineyard produces an outstanding selection of whites and reds, as well as three nonalcoholic fruit juices (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay Verjus, and Gewürztraminer grape juice).

Although their Sauvignon Blanc makes frequent appearances in my collection, as well as their Chardonnays (particularly the Première Reserve), Gewürztraminer, and Muscat Blanc, I got to taste their Edelzwicker for the first time this trip. The Edelzwicker is a blend of Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Pinot Gris, creating a European-style white wine that is just marvelous. Production is limited, though, so get it while you can.

Navarro is also home to the oldest Riesling vineyard in Anderson Valley; the vines continue to produce excellent fruit, and their late harvest wines are always a treat.

Navarro has a lovely tasting room in Philo on route 128 staffed by friendly folks; it's usually the busiest of the various Anderson Valley wineries I've been to. You will not find Navarro's wines at wine merchants or supermarkets; they do all their sales through direct sales to restaurants around the country, tasting room sales, and online sales. (Need to know if a local restaurant carries Navarro? Call the tasting room—they'd be happy to tell you.)

The tasting room has a wraparound deck, where you can sit and enjoy some wine while looking out over their vineyards. They also have several tables where they encourage people to come picnic. Should you not bring your own picnic along, they do have a limited selection of meat and cheeses available from local producers.

They offer a single daily tour during crush season (usually October), with group size limited.

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(800) 537-9463 / (707) 895-3686

Wine tastings are free, although you will be limited to five to six selections of what is currently available.

Scharffenberger Cellars was founded by John Scharffenberger - who also created the chocolate factory - in 1981. The winery operated under the name Pacific Echo from 1998-2004, but has not stopped making the excellent sparkling wine that they are known for.

In an appellation region - Anderson Valley - best known for its Pinot Noirs, winemaker Tex Sawyer has been producing lovely sparkling wines here since 1989.

Their tasting room is located in Philo along route 128, and unfortunately, is only open weekends, Friday through Monday. (Call (707) 895-2957 for current hours.) The tasting room is a pretty, shaded two-room building lined with local art, which, like most of the wineries in this area, encourages picnicking in the areas around their building.

The woman who manages the tasting room is very knowledgeable about Scharffenberger's vintages. This is a good introduction to California sparkling wines, and the best thing about it is that they're so reasonable. (For those unaware, technically only wines that come from the Champagne appellation region of France should be labelled 'champagne'; effervescent wines produced in any other region of the world should be labelled 'sparkling wine'.)

They had five wines available for tasting - their Brut, of which they produce 25,000 cases; and their Extra Dry, Cremant, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, all of which they produce between 442-590 cases. The Cremant was excellent, but I found the Extra Dry (2% RS) to be outstanding, my favorite among the various sparkling wines I tried throughout the week.

If you're a fan of sparkling wines, this is one winery that you should definitely add to your list.

Parducci is one of the oldest surviving brands in the U.S., founded by Adolph Parducci in 1921 just outside of Ukiah. He was able to keep his vineyards open during Prohibition by selling his grapes to home winemakers. Parducci was one of the first California winemakers to produce Zinfandel, and they were the first to bottle wine under the Mendocino appellation.

The way to the winery from 101 is well-marked, with plenty of parking. The tasting wine is decorated in warm tones of gold and brown, with friendly staff. Unlike most Mendocino county wineries, Parducci's tasting room is well-stocked with wine-related items, including cookbooks, grape-adorned crockery and items, various corkscrews and glasses, and books covering information about the local area. If you can ignore all that, make your way to the counter, and prepare yourself for a wide variety of wines.

Parducci is part of the Mendocino Wine Co. partnership, and in addition to Parducci wines, you can taste wines from the SketchBook, Zingaro, Zig Zag Zin, Big Yellow, Tusk 'N Red and Roselle labels here. The pleasant tasting room staff can help you figure out your selections - the Mendocino Wine Company produces primarily red varietals.

If you don't have time for visiting a lot of wineries, Parducci is a good place to be able try out several different local wines that you would not be able to sample elsewhere.