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I am excited by everyone's recommendations. Esterlina requests apointments for tastings and I have contacted them. The list of wineries so far sound great. Our trip next month will be greatly enhanced by all your advice. Thank you so much! We don't leave for our driving trip from Thousand Oaks to Mendocino until mid Jan. so I will continue checking for new postings.
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Goldeneye was acquired by Duckhorn a few years ago. They only produce Pinot Noir. The wines are very good; the staff is well-trained and gracious; and tasting wine on the back patio, where the view is as stunning as any in the wine country, was, on a beautiful early Septmeber afternoon, an experience always to be remembered. Highly recommended.
Although we did not get to Lazy Creek, we met the owner (Josh Chnadler) at the Wine Shop in Mendocino. He is a very down to earth guy, who makes very good wine. We were able to taste some of their wines at the store. Great Pinot Noir. We brought a bottle to dinner that night at Moose Cafe (our best meal in Mendocino, highly recommended), and shared it with the waitress and chef, who loved it. I also liked the Pinot Blanc. I believe the New York Times has rated Lazy Creek's Gewurtztraminer the best in America.
The Wine Shop is a real find. It is the Mendocino branch of a Healdsburg store, run by Dan Reed. Great selection of Mendocino area wines, along with hard to find wines from other areas of the state. We purchased some French wines also. Dan has strong opinions, (which I think is good), is very knowledgeable, and asked us to join the sales tastings that winereies were doing at the store that day.
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Carrie 218
Dec 6, 2006 12:23 PM
Concur with the Anderson valley suggestions and add Handley to the list -- great Syrah and Rieslings for not much money.
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My recommendations from this post have not changed:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/85445
There are two main clusters of wineries in Mendocino County: those in the Anderson Valley and those near Hopland. You could theoretically do both on the same day, but I'd suggest choosing one or the other. I prefer Anderson Valley since the cooler climate produces sparklings, Alsatian varieties, and Pinot Noirs that appeal more to me. The Hopland cluster specializes in warmer climate grapes like Syrah and Zinfandel. Assuming you're driving to Mendocino from somewhere to the south, Anderson Valley also lies on the more direct route to Mendocino; Hopland is a small detour.
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