Mendocino County in a Case
Mendocino County might be the most underrated wine region in California. It's a diverse county best known for cool, foggy weather, but it has warmer areas like its neighbor to the south, Sonoma. Mendocino's annual wine grape crop is about half the size of Napa County's, but it gets 1 percent of the attention.
Anderson Valley – home of fine Pinot Noirs and some of California's best sparkling wine – is the only part of Mendocino County known outside of California. But warmer parts of the county have made outstanding wine for decades, and lack of national recognition keeps prices reasonable.
I believe Mendocino County has been held back by something basic: driving distance from San Francisco. Most people visiting Northern California wine country fly into the city, rent a car and drive north. Mendocino's wineries are at least an hour north of Sonoma County's Healdsburg, which is as far north as most wine tourists get.
Here's a fun fact for people outside California: Mendocino County's most famous farm product for years has been marijuana. Now that cannabis is legal, it's possible that there will be pressure on vineyards to produce revenue at the same level as weed. In fact, Hopland has two of the best cannabis stores I've been to, while good wine shops in the region are hard to find. But it would be a shame if good vineyards were ripped up to grow a weed that will grow anywhere, because Mendocino is one of the top ten counties in the entire USA for wine quality.
Mendocino has other charms. Farmers were into green farming before it got hip; Mendocino County is the cradle of organic and biodynamic wine farming in the US. The county's attractiveness to fiercely independent trailblazers, as well as reasonable land prices, means there are always new passion projects in wine.
All of this is no secret inside the state: Mendocino County is definitely considered a Major Wine Region by Californians. I tried to choose one case of wine to represent everything I love about Mendocino County. Here are those 12 wines.
2015 Pennyroyal Farm Monty In Vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
This 9-year-old combination sheep and goat farm, cheese producer and winery is a classic European style of mixed agriculture, but could not have been created in any other quality wine region in California because the land would be too expensive. Proprietor Sarah Cahn Bennett is the daughter of two icons of Anderson Valley wine, Navarro founders Ted Bennett and Deborah Cahn. Her parents got into the wine business by buying a 900-acre sheep ranch in Anderson Valley in 1974, but they soon got rid of the sheep. Sarah brought them back in 2008 on a 100-acre portion and also planted 23 acres of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. She helps out at Navarro but Pennyroyal Farm, divvied up into several small single vineyards, is her own project.
This wine's mouthfeel is what Pinot Noir strives for: graceful, with an elegant entry, excellent balance and a long smooth finish. It's a delicate wine, with fresh berry character and hints of flowers, but also an interesting note of raw hamburger.
2015 Murder Ridge Wildlands Mendocino Ridge Zinfandel
Mendocino Ridge is the only non-contiguous AVA in the United States. It sits above the fog line, giving it plenty of sunshine and thus different terroir from the surrounding area. It's wild and difficult to farm; bears, coyotes and wild boars all take interest in the grapes.
Murder Ridge is a collaboration between grower Steve Alden, who has been farming the ridge for two decades, and winemaker Leslie Sisneros, an alumnus of Kendall Jackson. They both have a taste for the macabre. The brand is named after a murder that happened on the property in 1911. The proprietors claim one man murdered another to steal his wine. I love the label, which looks like a Nick Cave album from one of his darker periods.
This wine is intense and mysterious and deserving of its scary label. It's fruit-driven, with both black and red berries along with wildflowers and brambly notes. The alcohol percentage is high but you don't taste it. But please: just buy it. Don't kill somebody for it.
What is Coro Mendocino, you might ask?
In 2004, a group of eight Mendocino County wineries decided to create a category they hoped would garner more money for their grapes. It hasn't caught on, probably because the rules are complex and weird. Zinfandel must be the main grape, between 40 and 70 percent. There's a second tier of approved grapes, but wineries can also add up to 10 percent of any grapes they want. It's like a red field blend, but it isn't a field blend.
The good news is that for all Coro wines, there's a tasting panel of other winemakers and wines can be rejected. Therefore Coro wines are usually good.
This wine from a third-generation family farm is an excellent example: It's 60 percent Zinfandel and 18 percent Barbera with small amounts of Sangiovese, Carignane and Petite Sirah. It's complex and interesting, with good freshness and intense dark fruit that comes in waves onto the palate. Very nicely balanced.
2015 Parducci True Grit Reserve Mendocino Petite Sirah
John Parducci put Mendocino County on the viticultural map. His family founded Parducci Wine Cellars immediately after Prohibition. John became the winemaker in the 1940s and stayed in that role until 1994. There is no brand, not even Fetzer, more associated with the history of Mendocino County than Parducci.
That said, John Parducci sold the Parducci brand to the California teachers' union in 1972 and it bounced around several owners. Since 2004 the brand has been owned by the Thornhill family, who came to wine from the gardening business. They make a lot of different wines, most in the Tuesday-night-leftovers price range. This wine isn't exactly expensive but it's one of their priciest, and for my money, their most reliable. The spicy, brambly black fruit on the nose smells like a farm product, in a good way. The fruit is so lively that it feels like you can taste the berry skins. Spicy and delicious.
2009 Roederer Estate L'Ermitage Brut Rosé
The French Champagne house Roederer has run an outpost in Anderson Valley since 1982, when the locals spoke their own language (true! Look it up) called Boontling. As it was invented by children so they could speak freely in front of their parents, I'll bet the locals used it a lot when French vintners first came to town.
Now, though, Roederer is long established as probably the best California sparkling winemaker for quality-price ratio. It was tempting to include entry level Roederer Estate Brut NV in this case, as that is a go-to wine for me when I need bubbly at the last minute. But this is Wine-Searcher and while QPR matters, most of you would probably have a better bottle even if it's triple the price, right?
L'Ermitage is Roederer Estate's tête de cuvée, and it comes in both Brut and Brut Rosé. Our first bottle of this was corked and unpleasant, but the second was outstanding, with a nice character of fresh wild strawberries and brioche, with a hint of Sherry. In terms of high-end QPR, this is the company that makes Cristal in France. Instead of expensive California bubbly, think of it as reasonably priced Cristal.
2017 Navarro Vineyards Anderson Valley Dry Gewürztraminer
Navarro might be THE insider winery for Californians. Founders Ted Bennett and Deborah Cahn not only were early arrivals in Anderson Valley, planting their vineyard in 1975; they also figured out early that the best economic path to sustainability means selling your wine direct to consumers. Most of Navarro's wines sell at their tasting room or through their large mailing list. But it's not a small winery: it makes 40,000 cases per year, including good Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling.
The wine for which Navarro is most known among enophile fans is Gewurztraminer, and with apologies to Stony Hill, it's the best in California. For me this might be the most iconic wine in Mendocino County, because it's really hard to make good Gewurz and Navarro pulls it off every year. It's well-balanced, with lime fruit underpinning the grapes' characteristic rose petal and spice notes. You drink like a Californian when you have this with Chinese takeout (but only if it's regional Chinese.)
2017 McNab Niemi Vineyard Mendocino County French Colombard
In 1999 John Parducci bought McNab Ridge Winery and put his grandson Rich in charge of winemaking. But the more interesting story of this wine (sorry Rich) is the grape variety.
You have had French Colombard without knowing it, especially when you were younger. But, you protest, I've never seen it on a wine label! That's because it's usually hidden in white blends in both California – where it is the second-most planted white grape – and Bordeaux. It also plays a small role in Cognac and Armagnac, giving floral notes to complement more acidic and neutral Ugni Blanc. John Parducci was an advocate: he made his first varietal French Colombard in 1945 and Parducci always made it when he was in charge.
This is a lovely single vineyard version from dry farmed, head pruned grapes. It's lively, with a pretty floral nose and nice mango fruit on the palate. It's slightly off-dry, which makes it perfect with spicy food.
2017 Bonterra Mendocino County Rosé
Mendocino County is the epicenter of US biodynamic and organic winemaking, and not just by small companies. That was the vision of the Fetzer family, who proved that good, cheap supermarket wines could be grown organically. But Fetzer was bought by spirits company Brown Forman in 1992, and the makers of Jack Daniel's quickly backed away from growing everything organically, because for a whiskey maker that's crazy talk. Brown Forman created an offshoot brand, Bonterra, for organic grapes.
Chilean wine company Concha y Toro bought Fetzer and its offshoots in 2011. Since then, something interesting has happened: Bonterra is growing much faster than Fetzer. The Fetzers were right: there IS a market for supermarket wines made from organically grown grapes. It took a wine company owning the brand again to prove it. This is a typical Bonterra wine: it's light and fruity, with mild cherry flavor. You can feel good about drinking it.
2016 Anthill Farms Baker Ranch Vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
The proprietors of Anthill Farms are three former cellar rats who met while they were working together at Williams-Selyem. They are based in Healdsburg but they work with a lot of Anderson Valley fruit. For northern Sonoma Pinot makers, this is common, as the grape knows no county lines.
Baker Ranch soils have a high mineral content and are unusually alkaline for California. The Baker family is well respected among Pinot winemakers for their meticulous farming.
This is a light and beautiful wine with elegant mouthfeel, restrained cherry fruit and hints of Christmas spices, and notes of forest floor in the aroma. It's lovely to drink, and despite the stunningly low alcohol percentage this wine is not a philosophical statement, as it's objectively delicious.
2016 Drew Wendling Vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Winemaker Jason Drew has been locally influential since moving to Mendocino from Santa Barbara County in 2005. Drew's winemaking is fairly simple, as he uses whole clusters, native yeast, and does not fine or filter. He aims for elegance: for grace over power. Drew has an estate vineyard now, but most of his wines are made from purchased fruit. Sometimes he makes different wines from the same vineyards for other clients.
This is the first vintage he has made from Wendling Vineyard, which was planted in 2010. It's nicely balanced and the fruit tastes darker than some of his other wines, which often wind up on the red fruit end of the spectrum. The mouthfeel is lovely and the finish seems to go on and on. Like a lot of Drew wines, it speaks quietly but if you pay attention it holds your interest.
2017 Handley Anderson Valley Pinot Gris
Any modern history of Mendocino County winemaking should include Milla Handley. Women running a wine business are not unusual now, but that was not true in 1982 when she started her winery in Anderson Valley. She helped build Anderson Valley into a visitors' destination with her winery's collection of tribal African art. Handley was a visionary both by making terroir-driven wines – eschewing over-oaking and other flashy techniques – and her personal way of selling them. Handley has stepped back from the winemaking but the wines still represent her ethos.
It's important to represent Alsatian varieties in any Mendocino case. Anderson Valley has an annual Alsace festival, as the foggy, cool summers allow these grapes to prosper.
This is a delightfully spicy, slightly off-dry wine with nice pear and citrus fruit and good balance. Handley is still one of the better producers of Pinot Gris in California.
2015 Copain Les Voisins Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Mendocino County is a blend of large and small wine companies, sometimes in the same bottle. This is an example. Copain winemaker Wells Guthrie was making light, elegant Pinot Noirs long before it was cool in California. In 2016 he sold his brand to Jackson Family Wines, which is trying to corner the market on artisanal but scalable West Coast Pinot Noir; it owns four such brands in Oregon, four in Sonoma County, four in Santa Barbara County and three (including this one) in Mendocino.
I decided to include this wine to represent the uncertainty of such partnerships. Guthrie made it and it's delightful: well-balanced with nice dried cherry fruit, floral and wild blueberry notes in the aroma, and excellent length. Copain has long been a favorite wine of San Francisco sommeliers, and it's easy to see why, because this wine is delicious on its own and would go well with many foods.
But Guthrie left Copain in August. The new winemaker, Ryan Zepaltas, was assistant winemaker to Adam Lee at Siduri (also now owned by Jackson Family) for many years. I always liked Zepaltas' tiny production personal-project Pinot Noirs, so I look forward to tasting the 2018 Copain wines in a few years. Mendocino County always gives you something to look forward to.
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