Going to Mendocino soon and wanted to stop at 1-2 wineries along highway 128.
Any suggestions? I love the Pinot from this area.
TIA
There are so many to choose from! In my most recent trip up there I really liked Golden Eye and Handley. They offer very different (but lovely) tasting experiences and a good range of what AV wines have to offer. I really enjoyed Pennyroyal’s cheese tasting as a change of pace (the wines they paired the cheeses with were ok too).
+1 for Handley.
Baxter, Drew, Foursight would be my picks for Pinot, and Handley would be good too. For more all-around wine choices (with good Pinots too), consider Navarro and Husch.
In case you’re interested, here are some Grape-Nutz notes from a brief visit to Anderson Valley (as well as Yorkville Highlands and Mendocino Ridge) last summer - Part 2 covers Anderson Valley though Part 1 includes a visit to Drew:
Mendocino County Wine Tour - August 2017 - Part 1
Mendocino County Wine Tour - August 2017 - Part 2
Agree with all the above.
Navarro is very friendly and the wines worth double what they charge.
Roederer is a wonderful stop, as well, for some bubbles. Plus, lots of mags to shop for if you are so inclined.
Have a great time!
Navarro is a great visit.
Navarro is great fun for their wonderful variety of whites, especially gewurtztraminer and rieslings. I wouldn’t call it a prime target for Pinot, though. Foursight & Baxter are teeny operations, make excellent wines, and you usually get to taste with the winemaker. Though I love Drew’s wines, the tasting experience has always left me cold.
Toulouse Vineyards.
Goldeneye
Oh, how I miss Londer…
Thanks for all the input.
Philips Hill, Navarro, Husch, Goldeneye, Roederer and Toulouse are all direct customers of mine.
Old guard Navarro, Handley and Husch. All must stops when in the area. Had a great visit to Toulouse last summer. Anyone have any recent reports on Greenwood Ridge after their sale?
We had great tastings at Baxter (blown away by their Oppenlander Pinot) and Drew last year!
Roederer Estate was fun and has a nice view. Toulouse didn’t impress me that much.
For sparklers both Roederer and Scharffenberger are fun to taste at. The former is well set up, kind of corporate, the latter is small cute and very friendly. Both make nice sparkling wines at very low prices. The picnic tables in the garden at Scharffenberger are a great place to enjoy a bag lunch.
One more I forgot to mention: Balo was very good too, definitely worth a visit
FWIW, when I went to Roederer 15 years ago they were very unpleasant. But I assume those people are gone by now.
The guy at Navarro was great.
Good call on Balo - forgot about them and I shouldn’t have. Another I should have mentioned is Smith Story - their tasting room is in the same complex as Drew, in Philo. Stone & Embers is a terrific spot for pizza in the same complex.
Should also note that Pennyroyal Farm has some excellent Sauvignon Blanc plus very good Pinot, and it’s a great place to pick up artisan cheese produced right there. Plus it’s conveniently located a short distance from Anderson Valley Brewing - always a must-stop for me in the area!
For 1-2 stops for Pinot Noir, I`d pick Foursight and Drew. Be sure to connect with Joe Webb at the former and Jason Drew at the latter.
For a good time as already suggested, Navarro. For bubbly, as already suggested Roederer and Scharffenberger.
Enjoy
If you plan to stop by let me know in advance and Ill make sure to be in the tasting room. I would be happy to barrel taste, take a walk in the vineyard, and/or open up a library wine for any and all Berserkers headed thru. All good suggestions, and thanks to those who recommended us.
Londer brand might be gone but the Paraboll is not! Im still producing it here at Foursight. It was the biggest, richest, most famous PN we made at Londer and I bought the trademark so I could continue to produce and bottle it in the same style. At last years Alsace Varietals festival I poured 10 older vintages of Londer “Bone” Dry Gewürztraminer from my cellar, great wines and very educational for the attendees.
I think they have now released the wines under Wilson family direction. As told to me in the tasting room a few days back “Big wines in the Wilson signature style”. That is definitely not how I wold have described Allans red wines of the past.
Coming up in a few weeks is the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, 3 days of AV Pinot fun, food, and education. May 18-20 and now with onsite lodging https://www.avwines.com/pinot-noir-festival
Foursight was our best tasting by far this weekend…The funniest EVER tasting is ALWAYS at Lula…wine is pretty good too…
Tagging this for my own trip in July. Joe—I didn’t know you were still keeping Paraboll alive—has always been one of my faves!