On our third day in the wine country, we tried the wineries in the Anderson Valley in Mendocino. I had never been to this part of California before and enjoyed the wine tasting experience very much. None of the wineries we visited were as beautiful as those we’ve been to in Napa, Sonoma and even the Russian River, but they were nice, friendly and relaxing experiences.
We started at Yorkville Cellars a small family winery that sells organic wines. It’s run by an English lady and it’s been there since 1986. They mostly sell at the winery, local shops and restaurants. We’d had organic wines before and had not been particularly impressed by them, so Yorkville pleasantly surprised us. The tasting room itself was small but featured a veranda with picnic tables and a view of the vineyards. They had a very friendly black lab greeting you. Tasting was complimentary and they gave us good sized pours.
We started with the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc ($16), which was a nice drinking and table wine, not too sweet. Mike disliked their Eleanor of Aquitaine wine ($25), but I felt that it was quite pleasant, a little bit bitter but with hints of oakiness. I also found their 2006 Rosé de Franc ($18) to be a good summer wine, fruity and somewhat complex. Their 2004 Cabernet Franc ($20) was light on tanins and an easy to drink wine. Mike really liked the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon ($25), which I found tanic but not too oaky. I thought their 2003 Richard the Lion Heart cab ($34) but I liked their 2001 ($40) better. It was more balanced and had hints of brandy. At the end we ended up buying a bottle of the 2001 Cab, which we hadn’t tasted, on Mike’s theory that if he liked the 2003, he’d like the 2001 better. We’ll see how it is when we open it.
The next stop was Meyer Family Cellars, which had been recommended by people at two different wineries. The winery was pretty cute, a wood cabin-style building with a nice garden and picnic tables outside. Mike spent quite a bit of time observing the plump bees go crazy over the flowers. Inside, it has a plain wood tasting room and a small shop. The winery is also somewhat new and makes only syrahs and ports. Until recently it bought all of its syrah grapes from Sonoma County, as they didn’t have any Syrah in the Yorkville area. They have now planted some and have 12 local vineyards they buy from.
We started with the 2002 Sonoma County Meyer Family Syrah ($25), which was nice and full bodied. I also liked their 2003 Mendocino County Meyer Family Syrah ($30) which had been released only 4 months before.
Their 10 year Meyer Family Port comes from Lodi, and Mike thought it was very nice. For some reason it reminded him of creme de cassis. The port should go well with chocolate.
After lunch, we headed to Breggo, a simple, very small but well appointed winery. It’s very new and its unique tasting room offers hats, jewelry and wraps for sale - don’t ask me why. There is a $5 tasting fee, refunded with purchase, for which you get to taste 6 wines.
It’s still a very new operation, and they don’t get many people stopping by - so you may want to give them a try for full bodied wines.
We started with the 2006 Wiley Vineyard Pinot Gris ($22). It was quite sweet and fruity, so much so that I wouldn’t be able to drink too much of it. But it was pleasant for a short sip. The 2006 Anderson Valley Gewurztraminer was almost as sweet as the pinot gris, but not quite. I still wouldn’t be able to drink too much of it, however. The 2006 Ferrington Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc ($22) comes from the coolest and most moderate vineyard of the valley. It was sweet, full bodied and with a nice finish. Their 2005 Anderson Valley Rosé ($18) is less sweet and floral, while their 2005 Savoy Vineyard Chardonnay ($35) is buttery, complex and neither sweet nor dry. I liked it. Finally, their 2005 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($35) had a nice fragrance. It was very well balanced with oaky undertones.
Our next stop was Goldeneye Winery, which turned out to be our best winery experience in the Anderson Valley. It looks like a regular house from the outside and it has a lovely porch. Inside, it’s also set up like a house, with a living room area and a sturdy table with dining room chairs. The best part is the patio outside, set up with a myriad of tables under umbrellas, all with a view of their garden. They serve you at the table, and it’s an extremely pleasant tasting experience.
They offer two choices for tasting, their regular tasting of 3 wines for $5, or 5 wines, including their more expensive bottles, for $10. You can share a tasting, and I’d recommend that you do it as these are *very* generous pours. Tastings come with a complimentary little plate of crackers, cheese and raisins.
Goldeneye is the Pinot Noir operation of a Napa company.
We started with their 2006 Anderson Valley Migration Vin Gris ($20). It was fruity, moderately sweet, medium bodied and pleasant. A very good summer wine. This was followed (all in different glasses) by their 2005 Anderson Valley Migration ($32), which had an oaky fragrance and after taste. It was medium bodied and nice to sip. It would go well with light food. Their 2004 Anderson Valley Goldeneye ($52) was a hearty wine that I liked drinking. Their 2004 Narrows Valley Goldeneye ($70) was not significantly better than the one before, though it was smoother. It had a long finish and the taste lingered in your mouth leaving you with hints of spice. The 2004 Confluence Vineyard Goldeneye ($70) was also very smooth and easy to drink, and I would pair it with any non-tomatoish savory food.
In all, our experience was great and I’d surely return.
Next stop was Scharffenberger Cellars, a mostly sparkling wine operation. It was started by the same person who started Scharffenberger chocolate, but he is no longer associated with it. It’s a modest winery, with patio seating and a simple tasting counter. There is a $3 tasting fee and they give you generous pours.
In case you are reading this right after I post it, I should clarify that I don’t have the list of wines I tasted with me - only my numbered notes on them. When I get the list I’ll include the names.
The first sparkling wine had hints of apple juice. It was on the sweet side, and was very easy to drink. It would please anyone who likes sweet wines. The second one had about the same amount of sweetness, but was perhaps less smooth. Again it was easy to drink, and I liked it. The third also had notes of apple juice, it was creamier and had fewer bubbles than most sparkling wines. The fourth was fruity, smokey and smooth, while the fifth was very light, smooth and balanced. The sixth wine was still young, and it needs a full hour decanting before you can truly enjoy it. It had a medium body, was balanced and easy to drink. Finally, the last wine was only released 6 weeks ago. It had hints of tobacco and a smooth finish. I liked it.
Navarro Winery had been mentioned and recommended to us several times. It has a pretty large production and it sells wines at a myriad of restaurants throughout California (as shown by their much outdated list - it included restaurants that had closed years ago). It was very popular and it was very busy when we got there. They sell 80% of their wines from the tasting room, however. I’m not surprised as the wines were more reasonably priced than at other wineries. I liked most of them, but bear in mind that by this time I was pretty tipsy.
The tasting room itself is small and crowded, but they have picnic grounds outside. They specialize in dry Alsatian style white wines and Pinot Noir. Tasting is complimentary.
They have a very long list of wines that you can try, clearly it’d be too much for a person to taste them all (specially given that the pours are quite generous), so the following are only a few of those available.
I started by the 2005 Muscat Blanc ($18). It was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, fruity and reminiscent of a light Muscat. Mike, who loves Muscats, thought it was just OK. The 2006 Pinot Grigio ($16) was also nice, sweet and easy to drink. I liked it. I found the 2005 Gewurztraminer to have a crisp start and a sweet finish, a good balance. The 2006 Edelzwicker was a mixture of Pinot Gris, Riesling and other wines. It was simple and undemanding. I liked it. The 2005 Navarro Rouge is a pizza and pasta wine. It’s dry, easy to drink with a good finish. It changes every year, however. Finally, the 2005 Muscat Blanc ($59 for a 750 ml bottle) was delicious, sweet and balanced. Mike loved it. I preferred the 2005 White Reisling ($59 for a 750ml bottle, $29 for a 375 ml bottle). It was a bit too sweet for my taste, but I liked it anyway. Someone suggested that you could pour it as a syrup on ice cream. We did buy a small bottle of this, and I will report how it was when I drink it without so much alcohol in my system.
Despite the fact that it was definitely time to quit, we had to visit Roederer Estate, which produces Mike’s favorite sparkling wines. The winery is nice, there are ample views of the vineyards from the very large tasting room. When we visited, we were the only people there so we got to talk to the wine server, who herself works in their producing operations (the first non-French person to do so). It was pretty enlightening.
The first sparkling wine we tasted was the Brut MV, a multi-vintage wine that is quite popular, they produce 75,000 cases a year. It’s very nice, with a good balance and I liked it. The Brut Rosé NV was also nice, complex yet non-challenging. It’d go well with food. I don’t really have notes on the two L’Ermitage champagnes (one brut, another rosé), but I know that Mike liked them a lot. He actually bought a bottle of the Roederer Estate L'Ermitage ($45). He also bought a bottle of a Syrah they produce, I don’t have notes on it.
Finally (and did I mention Mike was driving but seldom tasting?), we went to Handley Cellars. I loved that winery, the owner loves to travel and she had brought “souvenirs” from her travels. These included Asian statues, a marvelous set of Thai elephant chairs and table, Latin American tapestries and a myriad of other stuff. It reminded me of how I decorate my home, but it was more stylish. Check it out. Tastings are complimentary.
Once again I was fond of the wines here, and once again I wouldn’t completely trust my judgement on them (not that you will anyway). I started with the 2005 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($30). It was full bodied, sweet with a good amount of tannins, a red meat wine. The 2004 Redwood Valley Zinfandel ($20) comes from north of Ukiah, as the Anderson Valley is too cool for big reds. It wasn’t as complex as the pinot, but it was easy to drink and I think it would go with lighter meats. I liked it. The 2004 Ranch House Red ($13) was a very easy to drink wine that would go well with hearty food.
And that was that, the end of my Anderson Valley excursion and the end of our wine country vacation (we still had a couple of days left on the California coast, but there would be no further wine tasting for us).