Hello and Happy Friday! Trust you had a good week. Today I’d like to share pics of our favorite wine trail in Northern California – Anderson Valley in Mendocino County.

About Anderson Valley

It’s kind of out of the way, not really a popular destination like Napa and Sonoma, but it’s getting its share of fame lately. Known for their pinot noirs, this wine region has phenomenal wines at reasonable prices. The hot valley with the cool ocean breezes from the Pacific Ocean make it perfect for delicious pinot grapes. Anderson Valley is a wonderful place if you like a relaxed wine-tasting experience.

Check out these blue skies!

We’ve been going here for over 30 years!

Always loved Anderson Valley’s low-key wine tasting experience, and the not so crowded tasting rooms. But even around here things they are a changing. When we went this fall, the tasting rooms had become more “upscale” and some big name Napa wine families have set up tasting rooms here.

Special bonus is driving past redwood forests and beautiful scenery

It’s a winding road on Hwy 128 from Sonoma to get to Anderson Valley, but there are pockets that are beautiful with majestic redwoods hugging the road. We always stop off the road here and breath in the fresh pine air – it’s truly magical.

Cute little towns on the way

You also pass through cute little towns that have small cafes and wine tasting rooms that cater to passing by tourists. We stopped at Booneville at this pop up pizza place for delicious wood fired pizza, tomato soup, local cheese with olive tepenade and delicious parmesan polenta in marinara sauce.

Pace yourself or share a glass 🥂

The wineries here do generous pours! When you’re tasting over six wines at each winery and the generous amount they pour – it’s a lot of wine. So pace yourself, make sure to eat beforehand, and limit yourself to two-three wineries. Or do what we do – We always share tastings. And it goes without saying drink responsibly and drive safely.

Wine tasting over two days

I know it’s hard to do wine tasting over two days if you aren’t staying locally, but since we were staying at Sea Ranch for the week we decided to do some wineries on our way up to SR and some on the way back – even though it was a detour on the way home. But the scenery and the wine is so worth the drive.

Champagne Cellars here too 🍾

There are a few champagne tasting rooms here too. Scharfenberger, Roeder Estate and more. Lately I’ve enjoyed champagne tasting at wineries rather than picking up a random bottle at the store.

Wine is subjective but here are a few of our favorite wineries 🍷🥂🍾

Golden Eye

Probably our most favorite winery in Anderson Valley. Their tasting room is beautiful, their gardens spectacular, the vineyards drool worthy, and their wines – oh my! Phenomenal!

The vineyards

The flower raised beds

The landscape

Our second favorite winery – Husch Vineyards

We’ve been coming to this winery for decades. You know what? They have the same tasting room – a little barn for all this time – so rustic and so charming!

One of the wines they were serving was called blaze – named after the color of the pinkish red rose growing on their barn 🌹.

These folks give tastings of over 12 wines!

And they have their own vineyard Gewurztraminer grape juice – non alcoholic that is soooo delicious!

Maple Creek and Artevino Wine

This little winery has also been in the valley for decades. A low key winery with solid good wine. We love their wine labels! The owner who is an artist designed these beautiful labels.

Scharffenberger and Roeder Estate Champagne Cellars 🍾 🥂

Both these wineries give tasting of a variety of different styles of champagne.

Meyer Family Cellars

This winery focused on just port for decades. Then on this trip they were offering tastings of six wines made locally. Say what? I guess when you have grape vineyards you might as well dapple in all types of wine. Why settle for just one – port? We do love their port 🍷.

New Discoveries TwoMey and Phillips Hill

Two new wineries that we discovered on this trip were Twomey and Phillips Hill. Both had outstanding wine!

Interesting titbit on Phillips Hill

I absolutely loved this winery. Their wines were superb! In fact their pinots were delicious and their chardonnay outstanding!

The barista pouring the wine as it turns out is from Burgundy, France. She informed us that she is an intern here in the U.S. for one year. I asked her if she was interning to learn about wine making. Guess what? She explained that she was here to improve her english. Our world has truly become a global economy. Even in Burgundy, sommeliers come from all over the world to purchase wine – its to your advantage to speak english really well to sell your wines.

Other mainstays in the valley

Other mainstays in the valley are Navarro Vineyards and Domaine Anderson, among so many more wineries that can be found in neighboring towns here.

That’s a look at our fall wine tasting experience in Anderson Valley. I hope you enjoyed the beautiful scenery and discovered a few new wine labels – you might come across them at your local wine shop 🍷.

Happy Weekend Everyone!