September 12, 2025 – For anyone who has been to Mendocino it’s apparent that the physical distance from “civilization” is accompanied by an equivalent distance from medical care. That’s one of the reasons Winesong! was invented.
Now in its 40th year, Winesong! is a fundraiser for the Mendocino Coast Hospital Foundation, and is a fabulous excuse for doctors all across the country to come and enjoy the amazing scenery, the lovely accommodations, drink great wine and bid on some pretty sweet auction items.
At the Friday afternoon Pinot Celebration event that precedes the main event on Saturday, I poured some Santa Cruz Mountains wines for attendees at the Little River Inn, where the food was wonderful and the company even better.
It’s hard to beat pouring —and tasting – Pinot Noir in its many forms with the Pacific as a backdrop. I loved the 2016 Husch Knoll Vineyard Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley), the 2021 Furthermore Nevina Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and the 2014 Boisset Pinot Noir Blanc that my friend Ellen Springwater (whose nametag read, Elizabeth Drinkwater, a humorous product of trying to use AI that totally failed) was pouring, and so many others.
It was a great discovery process in such a mellow setting with the gleaming ocean and a jazz ensemble weaving the vibe together, and my good friends Bob and Susan, and Holger and Tiffany bringing me great examples of wines they had just discovered. I must say I loved pouring the new release of Kings Mountain Vineyards 2024 Boathouse Rosé of Pinot Noir, a huge hit with the crowd for its lovely texture and complexity, and the decidedly coniferous 2023 Madson Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir, as examples of our unique terroir.
The next day, we headed to Winesong! to take in the amazing festivities. The best part is the setting: the Mendocino Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg, a meandering forested glade that is punctuated by some of the most stunning gardens possible in a coastal environment.
Every year I’ve been, the food has been noteworthy and more varied than any other wine and food event besides Pebble Beach Food and Wine, but it has none of the crowds and it’s held in out in the open, with small tables pouring wine, beer, booze, sparkling water, kombucha and cocktails, and food vendors making everything from pizza to pastries, scones to sushi, cashews to cupcakes, with mounds of fresh baked bread and fantastic cheeses, cauldrons of clam chowder and stew, and some truly fantastic fried shrimp. Four kinds of bratwurst, including a Beyond Meat version that fooled our crack sausage lover, were available as snacks or sandwiches, and we were already up to HERE, if you know what I mean.
Everywhere you strolled, no matter which direction, there was food, booze and music: Seriously, can it get any better? I think not. Even the volunteers are in abundance and so helpful, including providing rides for people with mobility issues.
There is no more congenial, multi-layered and ever surprising event than Winesong! It’s where I first saw Narsai David in his element, serving his amazing food and cajoling everyone with his trademark charm in the backdrop of the utterly spectacular rose garden.
What I took away this year was that the wineries that are still going strong have a great set of offerings at modest price points, and they stick to quality because that’s what their customers count on.
Top of the list is Graziano Family of Wines, in business for almost 50 years and making the same amazing wines for which we joined the wine club 30 years ago. Their Chenin Blanc is exemplary, with a lovely mouthfeel from neutral barrels, and winemaker Greg Graziano explained that he’s been consistently making it longer than anyone in CA. At $18, the same price point as his excellent Italian style Pinot Grigio, it’s an incredibly sustainable offering. Same for his Barbera: juicy, lithe as a panther and as satisfying a red as you will find that can dent a plate of meatballs sub or a hunk of lasagna.
Husch is also in that category: fabulous wines for over 50 years and price points that make you want to buy a case instead of run for the weeds (or weed, as many have done as their incomes have shrunk). Kudos here to the 2024 Husch Gewurztraminer, which they were pouring at Winesong! and which has done exceptionally well in wine competitions this year. A better breakfast drink would be hard to imagine except for the sparkling.
So we’ll end this with a shoutout to Handley Cellars for their absolutely delightful 2019 Blanc de Blancs sparkling, a continuation of founder Milla Handley’s dedication to bottling the finest fruit she could wrest from her Deep End Vineyard at the edge of the Navarro forest.
And big props to Roederer for their most excellent 2021 Clark Road Pinot Noir-based sparkling, and their 2020 Apple Alley Chardonnay-based sparkling—which are two of my favorite well-priced wines from this utterly transformative sparkling house in Philo. Thanks to the largesse and vision of their French owners, they were also pouring their 100-point 2019 L’Hermitage Brut and their equally impressive Brut Rosé sparkling: nobody does that at events, except at Winesong!
Be there next year. Mendocino is calling.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
