I attended the 6/10/14 Taste of Mendocino and wrote a report for the Grape-Nutz.com website. A portion of the report is below – there are more comments on the event, more photos, and tasting notes on over 80 wines from more than 25 producers here:
Taste of Mendocino – 6th Annual Tasting, 6/10/14
Report on the 6th Annual Taste of Mendocino, presented by Mendocino Winegrowers, Inc. and Visit Mendocino County on Tuesday, June 10th, 2014, at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio of San Francisco, California. The event features an extensive tasting of wines sourced from vineyards throughout Mendocino County.
Mendocino Winegrowers, Inc. supplanted the old Mendocino Winegrape & Wine Commission in late 2012. The non-profit organization is made up of Mendocino vintners and winegrape growers, and it seeks to “promote the premium quality of our grapes and wines, and direct further interest toward our special part of the world.” Visit Mendocino County is the official travel and tourism organization of Mendocino County, offering information to visitors and working with county businesses to help promote awareness of the area’s attractions and support for tourism.
Mendocino County promotes itself as “America’s Greenest Wine Region.” The county features the nation’s first organic winery (Frey Vineyards), first solar-powered winery (McDowell Valley Vineyards), first carbon-neutral winery (Parducci), first 100% “off-grid” winery (Philo Ridge), California’s largest certified organic grape grower (Fetzer), and the nation’s largest producer of organic wine (Bonterra). 24% of Mendocino’s winegrapes are grown in certified organic or biodynamic vineyards – one of the leaders in the country. The county’s wine history goes back to the 1850s, when the first vineyards were planted, and the first Mendocino County winery was established in 1879. Today, the county includes ten separate AVAs, and is home to over 90 bonded wineries and over 16,000 acres planted among nearly 350 vineyards.
Overall Impressions
This was my third time at the Taste of Mendocino event. It was held during the afternoon and early evening, with the early afternoon portion open to trade and media and the late afternoon and evening portion open to the general public as well. This was the second year that the event was held at the Golden Gate Club at the San Francisco Presidio, a handsome building that started as the enlisted men’s service club when it was built in 1949. Winery tables were arranged in two large rooms of the building, which boasts spectacular views of San Francisco Bay.
Over 30 wineries poured at this year’s Taste of Mendocino. The event attracts a strong and representative group of vintners from the county. I missed seeing a few very good producers who didn’t pour this year, including Baxter, Elke, and Witching Stick, but there was still a fine line-up of wineries who participated. This is a unique event meant to showcase the best of Mendocino County, bringing together not only wineries but representatives from many other businesses as well. Tables at the event also included a distiller, coffee company, a number of other food purveyors and growers (I sampled a few delicious snacks throughout the afternoon), visitor agencies, area attractions, and other vendors and businesses – a great showcase for the diversity of Mendocino County.
One wine-related table this year is worthy of special mention. Highlighting the 10th anniversary of the Coro Mendocino program, the table featured “Coro Mendocino” wines from a number of producers. The first appellation-specific wine produced in the United States, these bottlings share common packaging, an identical price, and a similar Zinfandel-based blend meant to express the distinctive character of the county’s fruit. The participating wineries – 10 producers made “Coro Mendocino” wines in 2010 – must use a blend that includes between 40% and 70% Zinfandel, aged for a minimum of one year in 25% to 75% new oak plus a minimum of one more year in bottle prior to release. There are other requirements with acceptable ranges of alcohol, acidity, pH, and other elements with which the wines must comply, and there is also a rigorous series of blind-tasting peer reviews that each wine must pass before it can be released. Some fine wines have been produced over the years under the Coro Mendocino program. It’s a fascinating concept and as far as I know, still the only program of its kind in the country.
As I have found in previous years, Taste of Mendocino is an ideal way to try wines from both cooler coastal areas and the warmer inland wine regions of the county at a single event. About half the winery tables I visited featured wines from Anderson Valley and nearby areas such as Mendocino Ridge and Yorkville Highlands, and half were from other parts of the county. There are still quite a few producers from Mendocino with whom I have limited experience (or none at all), and I managed to visit a good number of them during this tasting. I had recently been to the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, so I skipped over many Pinots from there that I had already tasted, though I enjoyed many other wines from Anderson Valley producers. And as is nearly always the case with tastings such as this, some producers included one or more wines made from fruit sourced outside Mendocino County – some of these wines were quite good but I did not include them in my list of Favorites.
As has been the case at past Taste of Mendocino events, my list of Favorites reflects the diversity of wines from Mendocino County, in terms of both wine regions and grape varieties. There are over a dozen kinds of varietal bottlings represented, plus several blends. White and Rosé wines from 2012 and 2013 showed especially well – strong across the board from various parts of the county. In addition to my main Favorites list, I included an “Others of Note” section for wines that were just a notch (or even a half-notch) below my other Favorites but still worthy of mention.
Several producers stood out at this year’s tasting, including Alder Springs, Drew, and Husch. Eric Demuth and Skylark also presented strong line-ups, though they included some wines made from non-Mendocino fruit in addition to their Mendocino bottlings. Golden’s lone wine – their “Coro Mendocino” – was a standout. One of the most fun things about attending a tasting such as this one is discovering new and promising wineries. Newer producers Campovida, Judson Hale, and Via all made strong impressions, and they all landed a wine on my list of Favorites.
Sara Donoso Rathbun of Via Cellars
Taste of Mendocino is a fun event, with much more to check out than just wineries. It presents a good overview of the county’s many attractions in an intimate and relaxed format. I found plenty of enjoyable wines, representing a broad range of varieties, styles, and price ranges. Taste of Mendocino continues to be a fine showcase for Mendocino County, and I’m looking forward to returning next year.
Favorites
Whites and Rosés
Row Five 2011 Alder Springs Vineyard Marsanne / Viognier (Alder Springs)
Balo 2012 Pinot Gris
Bink 2013 Randle Hill Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
Campovida 2103 Spirit Canyon Vineyard Arneis
Eric Demuth 2012 Demuth Vineyard Chardonnay
Drew 2013 Albariño
Handley 2012 Chardonnay
Husch 2013 Sauvignon Blanc
Lula 2013 Rosato
McFadden 2013 Gewürztraminer
Navarro 2012 “Première Reserve” Chardonnay
Skylark 2013 Orsi Vineyard Pinot Blanc
Via 2013 Rosé of Nebbiolo
Reds
Alder Springs 2012 Alder Springs Vineyard “Kinesis”
Drew 2012 Perli Vineyard Syrah
Edmeades 2011 Piffero Vineyard Zinfandel
Golden 2010 “Coro Mendocino”
Husch 2012 “Old Vines” Zinfandel
Judson Hale 2011 Walsh Ranch Pinot Noir
Tahto 2010 Johnson Vineyard Petite Sirah
Testa 2010 Charbono
Others of Note
Row Five 2011 Alder Springs Vineyard Pinot Noir (Alder Springs)
Il Cuoro 2012 Chardonnay
Husch 2012 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
McNab Ridge 2010 “Coro Mendocino”
Parducci 2010 “Coro Mendocino”
Skylark 2012 “Red Belly”
Via 2013 Tocai Friulano
