Mendocino, Part 3 of 4

Thursday October 1

Mendocino County might seem a random choice for a vacation, but we had an ulterior motive: to taste its unique version of Pinot Noir, one of our favorite grapes. When I was young and just learning wine in the DC area, I tasted the Mendocino reds available on the East Coast. These were big reds made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah. I quickly moved on to less bold reds, Pinot Noir primarily, and Mendocino slipped from my mind. But in the intervening decades, Mendocino has built a reputation for Pinot Noir, stoking my curiosity. To satisfy that curiosity requires visiting in person: the boutique producers whose wines interest me are so small they have no distribution.

We set out to become educated.

Mendocino Wine Haul

We drove inland along Highway 128 into Boonville, the heart of the Anderson Valley, to taste wine, have lunch, and perhaps to stay for dinner. On the way, we made a planned stop at Hendy Woods State Park to walk through a grove of Coast Redwoods. Arrow-straight limbless trunks line the winding highway, but it is hard to appreciate their enormity without stopping. When I stop to see redwoods, I never fail to come away impressed.

As we exited the car at Hendy Woods, several small Columbia Black-tailed Deer bounded away from us, bouncing on all four feet as they headed for thicker brush along the Navarro River. The scene reminded us of our days in the Willamette Valley, where we watched the same deer bound through thickets of Sword Ferns. Here too were entire thickets of the large ferns that we used to grow in pots on our porch.

Sword Ferns, a Reminder of the Willamette Valley

Redwood Sprout

Hugging a Relatively Small Redwood

Ann, Tiny, Against a Large Redwood

Redwood Foliage, Instantly Recognizable

After Hendy Woods, we quickly left the dark redwoods behind in favor of a familiar California sight: open terrain studded with California Live Oaks, the hillsides and valley floor planted to vines. From Philo into Boonville, the vines were bare of fruit and already turning golden, some splashed with red. The highway continued past winery after winery, some such as Navarro, Husch, Merry Edwards, Scharffenberger, and Roederer Estate, familiar to many wine aficionados. 

We did not stop. With such focused palates, we prefer not to taste through the gamut of offerings from individual wineries. Rather, we like to visit with wine professionals who can curate tastings to our palates, who can offer wines across a spectrum of wineries.

Enter Wendy Lamer at Disco Ranch in Boonville. She runs a tiny wine and provisions shop, complete with disco ball, right in Boonville. Several sources pointed us to her shop as a place where we could discuss our palates and find wines to suit.

Outside her shop, we were assaulted by a wave of brutal heat that we were not expecting. At the coast, it was a foggy and chilly 58F; it was warmer but pleasant under the redwoods on the Big Hendy Loop trail. Nothing could have prepared us for 95F in the blazing sun. The differences in temperature just a few miles apart were shocking, yet they explain why a compact area can grow both cool climate Pinot Noir and heat-loving Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wendy Lamer Pours Pinot for Us to Taste

Wendy helped us discover that our preferences lean less toward wines from the Anderson Valley AVA and more toward those from nearby locations such as Mendocino Ridge and Comptche. We also learned that Mendocino Ridge is the only non-contiguous wine-growing region in the country. The AVA only includes land above 1,200 feet—the upper parts of the hills form little islands in the sky. We also enjoyed wines from the so-called Deep End of the valley, the part closest to and most influenced by the cold ocean air.

Heretofore, I had not cared for wines made with whole cluster fermentation—fermenting the entire cluster of grapes, stems and all, rather than removing the stems before fermentation. I was surprised to learn that many wines that I enjoyed most had significant proportions of whole cluster fermentation, some made entirely from whole clusters.

Her shop offers grab-and-go food items from a cooler as well as tapas that she assembles. We grabbed several items and a bottle of wine and persuaded her to let us sit at her tiny tasting counter to eat. People usually eat outside on the patio, but not in 95F heat. She provided us with plates, cutting boards, and everything we needed to have a nice lunch.

We bought four bottles of wine, one for lunch and three to take back to the B&B. Besides the Read Holland we had at lunch, we purchased Oxlee Graham Mabel’s Pinot Noir Mendocino County "Alder Springs Vineyard" 2022, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir Anderson Valley "Nash Mill Vineyard" 2024, and our favorite of this group, Lussier Pinot Noir Anderson Valley "Roma’s Vineyard" 2023. We would have loved to take some home with us, but we were not going to check our bags on the flight home.

Lunch: Smoked Duck Breast, 'nduja, Cheeses, Crackers and
Read Holland Pinot Noir Anderson Valley "Deep End" 2023

After lunch, although we had thoughts of seeking out more wines, the heat had done us in and we needed relief. We retraced our route going from brutal heat in Boonville to foggy cool weather at the coast.

Ann elected to stay at the B&B while I decided to walk the entire trail around the Mendocino headlands, beyond Goat Island and back. I shot photographs as I saw them. 

Mourning Dove Called as I was Leaving the B&B

Red Cestrum at Our B&B
Blooms Look Like Nicotiana (Tobacco)

California Honeysuckle Berries

Female Anna's Hummingbird Posed for Me

My First Black Phoebe
They are Everywhere Along the Mendocino Coast

Vee of Brown Pelicans Flew Right Over Me

And Landed Not Far Away

Ravens are All Over Mendocino
This One Investigates a Twist-Off Bottle Cap

A Sea Arch at Mendocino Headlands State Park
Fog Starting to Roll In

On My Return
Presbyterian Church Steeple Looms out of the Fog

Fog Completely Rolled In
Looking Toward Big River Beach

Once I made my way around toward Goat Island, the fog really started to accumulate in the west and slide toward town. By the time I got back to the B&B, everything was completely socked in. While it was not the vibrant sun of earlier in the day, it provided some of the best and moodiest photos of the trip.

Because of the chilly fog, we had a bottle of wine, salame, and cheese in the warmth of our room. We turned in early.