Anderson Valley Wines:
Anyone up for some great Pinot Noir or Alsatian Whites?

A little north of Sonoma and Napa, in a sleepy valley, Anderson Valley wines grow. Their Pinot Noir wine is a well kept secret and I keep telling a friend of mine, to forget about opening a B&B in Napa, this is the place to do it.

First of all, you will pretty much have the place to yourself. When I arrived at 10AM at my first tasting room, they were too busy to give us a tour. Why? Because there were about eight people there. When was the last time you went to a tasting room in Napa or Sonoma and had less than 20 people there with you? Unless, it's Opus One, not even on a weekday in my memory.

Anderson Valley Wineries:

My favorites are:

Navarro Winery: Tasting is free, always popular with me, and there are 15 wines on the list but they may pour more for you. Spit buckets may not be out, but if you ask they will give you an ample mug. My favorite on their tasting list right now is their 2006 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir a la methode l'ancienne. Bought some for my cellar. Also love their table wines, the Navarrouge and the Edelzwicker. Great everyday drinking wines and reasonably priced.

Husch Vineyards: Tasting is free for up to six wines and these are the oldest Pinot Noir vines in Anderson Valley. Planted back in 1968, they have a little shack for a tasting room, but it's a beautiful shack. I didn't realize it was even a shack until I went outside and ate lunch at one of their picnic tables, underneath a grapevine canopy. Beware the yellow jackets though. Their Pinot Noir makes it worth it. The Pinot Noir Knoll was my favorite because it definitely offered up some terroir. My friend preferred their reserve Pinot. Either way, great wines, great friendly staff. My pourer was a former Boeing engineer who worked on the Mars landers. The ones that landed!

Brutocao Cellars: Tasting is free again and they have a list of too many wines to count. I liked the fact that they had a Super Tuscan type blend (didn't love it but not bad) and some Portuguese wines on their list. They also have a Zinfandel port and a Tawny port. If you didn't know Tawny ports consist of wine from 5 different grapes (Alvarelhao, Bastardo, Sausao, Tinta Cao and Touriga Fancesa). My favorite part about this winery is that if you join their wine club, you get a double magnum (that's right 3L) of your choice of four wines. One of the four wines is a gold medal winning Pinot. It was sold out when I went so go early in the year. Be prepared to order your first shipment too. You'll easily drop $150-$200. For anyone making wine, I also hear that they sell their grapes to home winemakers. I think we are going to give it a shot. If we use their grapes we'll be sure to let you know.

Philo Ridge Vineyards: Tasting is free, but a reservation is required because this winery is owned and operated by a husband and wife. The wife, Heather McKelvey, makes the wine and she makes some wonderful Pinot Noir. Great floral characteristics and a little bit of eucalyptus on the finish. Loved it! Might even be my favorite Pinot in the area. The other wine that I liked but they were sold out of is their Coro Mendocino wine. I put the requirements at the bottom of the page for any wine geeks out there. Preferred theirs to Brutocaos but I also spent 3 hours at their winery/house and went home with cucumbers. I might be a little biased. Also, they are off the grid (in fact the grid ends 2 miles before their property). So, if you would like to see some great old and new solar equipment this is the place to go. Their wine club delivers in January and May. If your on a bunch of lists where you receive wine in October and April, it makes them even more appealing.

Anderson Valley Lodging:

There are not many places to stay in the Anderson Valley, and personally I have only camped but here are some hotels first, campsites second.

Anderson Valley Inn: In Philo, they have six rooms and two are suites with a queen, single bed and kitchen. It has been called an inexpensive getaway in the Press Democrat, a popular local paper.

Anderson Creek Inn: Located in Boonville, this place makes me want to go back, right now. It's a bed and breakfast with 4 rooms from what I can tell and their sample menus made my mouth water.

Boonville Hotel: 10 beautiful rooms, and they offers everything from private entrance units, to suites, to simple rooms. From what I can tell, this is the largest hotel in the area. (Hope that helps you figure out that this is a small place that doesn't get many visitors.)

Anderson Valley Camping:

Hendy Woods State Park: This is where I stayed and they have camping cabins as well as campsites for tents and RVs. It's beautiful and right in the sequoias. There's a grove of old growth redwoods in the park and you can have a picnic right there. It's in the middle of the wineries. Most are west of it but within 5 miles and there are a few east of it, like Brutocao.

Paul M. Dimmick Campground: It only has 27 campsites, and is the furthest west. If you are going wine tasting, probably not the best choice. But if you want to hop between Fort Bragg and Anderson Valley, this is the place. It's gorgeous though and right in the middle of a ton of redwoods. Feels like you are still on the coast there.

Indian Creek County Park: Even smaller than Dimmick, with only 10 sites, this is the first campground you encounter headed west from the 101 highway. Looks nice enough, but definitely would recommend Hendy Woods for wine tasting.

Coro Mendocino Wine: Zinfandel to compose a minimum of 40% and a maximum of 70% of each Coro blend.

Zinfandel shall compromise dominant percentage of each Coro blend.

2nd Tier Varietals: Percentage of any ONE not to exceed Zinfandel as majority component and max of 5% out of vintage. Syrah, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Sangiovese, Grenache, Dolcetto, Charbono, Barbera, Primitivo.

Free Play: Up to 10% of total blend from any single or combination of vinifera source.

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