California Dreamin’ From Carmel to Mendocino

August 19, 2022 – Car Week is certainly a very visual reminder of what makes the Monterey Peninsula so exceedingly attractive. It seems like everybody in the freaking world has managed to land here. We’re darn lucky, with the preponderance of great wineries and restaurants, not to mention golf, packed into a pretty compact area. 

Seeing a recent post by Wild Fish about their new botanical cocktails, like Elderflower Pimm’s Cup with stone fruit from Stackhouse Brothers Orchards and their Spicy Watermelon Margarita with organic watermelon from Spade & Plow Farm and chili peppers from Borba Family Farms, reminded me of their original location up in Little River, on the Mendocino Coast. We drove by it on a recent trip to visit friends in Albion, it was such a sweet spot.

It also reminded me of how vastly different harvest conditions are depending on location. Yesterday, I was in Livermore for the Blessing of the Grapes, a great harvest tradition, but hardly anyone was picking grapes yet. In Sonoma and Carneros, they’ve been picking for sparkling for the last week or more. Megan Bell of Margins not only picked Sangiovese from Mesa del Sol this week, she got Verdejo from Paicines, and a load of Chenin Blanc is due in forthwith from Lodi. Pinot Noir from the Makjavich Vineyard in Happy Valley comes in next week. I hear Caraccioli already picked for sparkling at Escolle. 

Up in Mendocino, they usually pick sparkling grapes the first or second week of August at the latest: think Roederer and Sharffenberger. This year, they are running at least two weeks behind. Some places are even father back in the caboose section of the harvest train. Blame global warming, which is magnifying intense high pressure systems in the desert southwest that drive the heat inland. But with a low over the Pacific, the heat doesn’t make it to the coast. At the same time, there has been a strong northwesterly breeze that causes cold water to upwell in the ocean, keeping strong fog banks in place. 

It was shocking to see vineyards at one end of the Anderson Valley that were only 10% through veraison, while the area of the Valley nearest Boonville, was almost completely turned to purple. 

Speaking of Boonville, here’s a couple of great reasons to head north in September: first, the annual Mendocino County Fair and Apple Show, featuring a rodeo, sheep dog trials, classic car show, canned foods and baked goods display, floral and photography exhibits, 4-H and FFA livestock showings, plus a parade. “Follow the Thread” from animal to fabric at California Wood & Fiber Festival, held in the Wool Pavilion, with spinning and weaving demos. We’ve even watched sheep shearing there: no room for error, unless you want the bleat beat out of you. There’s also a Gold medal wine tasting of all the gold medal winners from the Mendocino Wine Competition. The fair runs from September 23—25, 2022, at the Boonville fairgrounds. It’s a trip back in time, and there are apples galore, as the Anderson Valley has always been a massive fruit orchard, slowly shared with vines. Kind of like Pleasant Valley in Corralitos.

Having recently judged the Mendocino Wine Competition in August, I can absolutely recommend all of the winners:

• Best of Show Sparkling Wine – Boujée (by Rivino Winery) 2018 Estate Blanc de Blancs, Mendocino
• Charlie Barra Award / Best of Show White Wine – Rivino Winery 2021 Estate Viognier, Mendocino
• Best of Show Rosé Wine – Yokayo 2021 Pinot Noir Rose’, Mendocino
• John Parducci Award / Best of Show Red Wine – Foursight Wines 2019 “Paraboll” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley
• Best of Show Dessert – Husch Vineyards 2021 Late Harvest Gewurztraminer, Anderson Valley

Rivino Winery was a big winner this year, with all their entries receiving medals, and Yokayo Wine Company also scored well with all their entries scoring gold or better. I loved their 2020 Barbera. All the results are at www.mendowine.com.

As you’d expect, there’s a lot of Pinot Noir in the Anderson Valley. We tasted 30 entries from vintages 2018—2020. They ranged from ragged edge to utterly elegant. That 2019 Foursight Wines “Paraboll” Pinot Noir made by winemaker Joe Webb, is the real deal: deeply fruited, silky and racy.  Built to last. 

Other Best of Class reds that caught my fancy were the 2017 Rivino Cabernet Franc, the 2019 McNab Ridge Merlot, 2017 Handley Cellars Syrah from Kazmet Vineyard, 2019 Barra Petite Sirah and 2020 Charlie’s Girasole Red Blend, also from Barra. 

There’s an embarrassment of riches here in the white wine category as well, including a fabulous Arneis from Graziano, Gruner Veltliner from Navarro, 2021 Pennyroyal Sauv Blanc and 2020 Meyers Family Elke Vineyards Chardonnay. One of the most intriguing white blends was the NV Artevino “Buckin’ Blanco.” This was edgy, floral, tropical stuff made from two hyrid varietals, Symphony and Flora, plus Chardonnay, by winemaker, Tom Rodriguez. My panel really applauded how it went completely off the beaten track. In some ways, it’s the perfect metaphor for Mendocino. 

Which leads me to the second really great reason to consider heading to the North Coast in September, when the grapes and apples are coming in and the warm summer days melt into crimson peach evenings.

L’Auberge Carmel, Farmhouse Inn in Russian River and The Inn at Newport Ranch north of Ft. Bragg have teamed up on a California Dreaming package that gets you 10% off on stays at two of the inns and 15% off if you book all three. 

Having been to two out of three, I must rave about Inn at Newport Ranch, for its wildly breathtaking setting, spread out over two thousand acres of raw land that encompasses seven microclimates. From the relative “safety” (quotes used generously) of a quad piloted by a highly skilled navigator with nerves of steel, we ploughed through thick tufts of wet clumpy grass, waved at grazing cattle who came bounding towards us (cows are way more curious than cats), scattered herds of unsuspecting deer, gazed down on the remnants of logging ghost towns, peered intently for whale spouts on the horizon and then descended into dark primitive forest with ferns the size of trees, all in a downpour and shrouded by mists. That was February 2019: they actually get rain up there. 

We whisked along ancient creekbeds, watching birds of prey diving from moss laden snags for fish in the streams below, absolutely mesmerized by the waterfalls all around us. It felt like some exotic far away land that was completely surreal. When we realized we were running low on battery power, (ugh, I just hate reality sometimes), we forded through the thickening mud and made our way back to our room at the Inn, which had two delightful bedrooms and baths, and a tiny kitchen, with huge whole redwood trees as internal support beams. Soaking wet, we stripped off our waterproof gear on the outer deck, just as the sun came out, shining a suggestive spotlight on our awaiting hot tub. Usually I have trouble with hot tub covers, but the motivation factor was really high, and pretty soon we had settled in with a bottle of Mendocino wine, watching the glistening surf play footsie with all the jagged rocks that jeered at many a past logging schooner just a few hundred yards away. We never wanted that moment to end, as the sun played parlor tricks through the holes in the headlands, turning the grasses to something Zale’s only wishes they could capture. Exhausted but starving, we then had the most amazing dinner at the enchanting Inn, where you can host huge dinner parties at their humongous log table in a private dining room, or just cozy up to the gorgeous carved fireplace. Every little detail here has a story. And yes, they do weddings. And whatever else your heart desires. 

Hard to imagine two finer bookends—and contrasts—than the refined and civilized L’Auberge Carmel and the “out there” rustic charm of The Inn at Newport Ranch.