A neighbor recently expressed a desire to do some wine tasting outside our familiar Oregon wine regions, but has no stomach or pocketbook for taking an airplane to visit wineries.

His yen spawned my recollection that a much underrated wine region lies just below the Oregon border.  California’s Mendocino county.  Here, just below far northern California’s redwood forests, among rolling hills washed by marine air on the Pacific’s edge , you’ll find 37 winery tasting rooms…with only a couple of exceptions, small volume operations with hand-crafted vintages and an overall rural, regional atmosphere in distinct contrast to the wine soaked tourism lures of Sonoma and Napa  only a short drive south.

Approaching from Oregon, take Hwy. 199 from Grants Pass into California and thence to the coast and Hwy 101 which leads through the Redwoods National Park to the historic lumber and fishing port of Eureka. and thence inland for more Redwood forests before hitting state Hwy 1, taking you back to the coast and south to Fort Bragg,  where the Mendocino winery visiting loop begins with a drive inland on Hwy. 20, winding through forest to Hwy 101 at Willits. (Map)  Now you head south to leave lumbering for vine country.  The Ukiah-Redwood valley has a handful of small winery tasting facilities, plus Parducci , a nationally-distributed brand notable for excellent quality at economical prices for a wide range of red and white varietals.  South of Ukiah comes Hopland, a quaint village with tasting room storefronts, and just east of town the county’s most lavish wine-oriented attraction, Fetzer Vineyards’ hospitality center, surrounded by manicured organic display gardens.

North to rare varietals

Just south of Hopland, Hwy 128 takes you back north into the Anderson Valley wine region.  A pair of modest tasting rooms grace the town of Yorkville and then you’ll reach some true rareties.in Boonville.  This town of 400 still shows its 19th century roots, not the least of which is the unique local language “boontling”, resembling no local lingo anywhere else and is perpetuated as a visitor attraction (an “ab chaser,” for instance, is not that gaunt but muscled freak selling exercises on your TV screen, it is a  resident of the coast just west of Boonville and derived from “abalone chaser”).  Downtown Boonville boasts the products of three tiny wineries, dispensed from a single tasting room.  Red varietals are this group’s focus and the proximity of their vineyards to ocean air allows production of excellent Pinot Noir.  Our choice for our neighbor to return with, however, was Claudia Springs Zinfandel (perhaps because bringing California Pinot Noir into the true land of Pinot would be sacreligious!).

North from Boonville into a cluster of Anderson Valley vintners, your progress can be halted at no less than nine small winery tasting facilities along the highway.  We directed our proxy traveler to a pair of winery premises offering varietal rareities not found at your neighborhood wine merchant’s.  Carignane is a European (France & Spain) red wine grape generally used overseas for blending with less assertive varietals, since pure Carignane is quite acidic and tannic , unless, as is the case with Mendocino’s Husch 
Vineyards’ product, it is nurtured from very old growth vines.  In that case, it is a ‘big’ red capable of rivaling Italy’s better Barolos as a companion to your next grilled beef splurge.

Our final find

At the northern terminus of a Mendocino wine loop excursion, Handley Cellars near the metropolis of Philo attracted our attention for producing Pinot Meuniere, a black grape cousin of Pinot Noir used for Champagne blending in France.  Minute quantities of this grape have been grown in Oregon for this same purpose.  However, as “Papa Pinot”, Oregon wine pioneer David Lett, has proven to us, the grape can create a pleasing quaff all on its own…lighter than Cab, somewhat sharper than Pinot Noir.

Continuing northward, Hwy 128 rejoins Hwy 1 for some great coastal scenery and a visit to the deliberately quaint (recreating New England) burg of Mendocino, thence to Fort Bragg and back to Oregon.

California wine tourism has been dominated since the 1960’s by Napa and Sonoma, with these regions’ close proximity to San Francisco.  Oregonians, familiar with the general rusticity and personal flavor of most of our state’s winery facilities, will find comfort in most of Mendocino’s offerings and also enjoy touches of wild seacoast and dense redwood forests to boot.

© 2002 Oregon Magazine  Most of the photos are links to additional info.