Calistoga and Mendocino -
We are visiting these 2 areas of California. Can anyone recommend a few wineries out of the many in the area that stand out for a visit. Thanks.
Attknee
Apr 15, 2007 10:50AM
4 Replies so Far
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Mendocino (Anderson Valley): Navarro, GoldenEye, Lazy Creek, Husch, Roederer, Fife, Topel..... to name just a few.
Calistoga: If you are not familiar with the area you should be aware that Calistoga is at the North end of the Napa Valley, just minutes from dozens of the best wineries in the state. The list of possible visits would be very long. A few with shorter drives from there might be Chateau Montelena, Clos Pegase, Frank Family, Twomey, Zahtila, Schramsberg. But really, you have all of the North valley to choose from.
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I went to Mendocino a few years ago and had a really nice experience at the Lazy Creek Winery on 128. The winery is a little hard to find due to a very small sign that leads you up a windy dirt road. The tasting area is a corner of the large barn where they store all the wine. It was really interesting for me to try young wine right out of the barrel and then compare it with aged versions.The people who run that winery have a passion for what they do and are willing to share their knowledge happily even with novices like me.
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That small sign is a tradition that carries over from the previous owners who identified the spot with only a white mailbox lettered with the name of the owners of 25 years before them. It is reportedly the second oldest winery in the area. Josh and MaryBeth Chandler have owned Lazy Creek for several years now. We happened upon them just a few weeks after they bought the place and have been fans ever since.
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Local Calistoga veteran wine-taster here. You'll find lots of listings/descriptions of Calistoga wineries on the San Francisco Bay Area Board. Do a search. Include Bennett Lane and Schramsberg (both in Calistoga).
You may be interested to know that between Calistoga and Mendo are the northern
Sonoma County wineries (Sonoma is also a city in southern Sonoma county but far away from northern Sonoma County, just so you know.) Do additional searches on the regions of Alexander Valley, Healdsburg, Dry Creek Valley, Westside Road, Russian River, and more.
The standout wineries in each wine district/region can be found in the searches. All the info is already here -- just do a little digging and you'll find it. Good luck and have fun.
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