Marvelous Mendocino

John Parducci

In the early days of my eager exploration of different wines and wine regions, I thought of Mendocino as an afterthought, a not-too-serious place for wine on the western side of the northern California foothills. 

Then, I met John Parduccci, one of the last of the winemaking farmers, from Mendocino County, who told me about the value and soul of wine long before it became fashionable in the early 1970s. 

Parducci didn't suffer fools gladly.  He was gruff and impatient with pretenders, especially  those who loudly claimed that Mendocino wine was somehow inferior to the wine of Napa Valley.  

In those days, Anderson Valley, a wine mecca on the west edge of Mendocino County, was not as well known as Ukiah, the location of Parducci Wine Cellars.  But I was curious about Anderson Valley wine, so while Parducci poured me one of his latest releases, at the rustic tasting bar in Parducci Cellar's first public tasting room, I asked him about Anderson Valley. 

He deflected my question, steering the conversation back to Ukiah and the vineyards Parducci farmed in that part of the county.  As an early teenager, Parducci worked the family vineyards on an old tractor, causing stress to his back, that showed up later in life.

John Parducci was a proud defender of Mendocino wine and he wanted America's wine drinkers to know about the wines.  

Parducci passed away in 2014, but he would have been happy to know that today Mendocino has a dozen AVAs and produces a range of wines, from Cabernet Sauvignon to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to Gewurztraminer. 

Anderson Valley is arguably Mendocino's marquee wine region. The western end of the valley opens to the Pacific Ocean, allowing cool breezes to moderate the ripening of richly textured Pinot Noir and crisp flavor-packed white wines like Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay. 

Anderson Valley wineries of note include Greenwood Ridge Vineyards, Navarro Vineyard, Goldeneye, Handley Cellars and Husch Vineyard. In 1982, Anderson Valley got a significant boost with the introduction of Roederer Estate sparkling wines,   owned by Roederer Champagne.

East of Anderson Valley, the growing climate is better suited to Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  The Highway 101 corridor between Hopland and Ukiah is home to Fetzer Bonterra, Brutocao Cellars, Graziano Family and Milano Hopland.  

Paul Dolan, former Fetzer winemaker, promoted sustainable winemaking.  He helped  convert the Fetzer operation to organic and then biodynamic grape growing. Later, he  revamped the Parducci brand to green grape growing and winemaking, at the Mendocino Wine Company location north of Ukiah. 

At the northern end of Mendocino is Redwood Valley,  where the Fetzer family settled before branching out around Mendocino and nearby Lake counties.  Barney Fetzer led his large family in establishing the area for award winning  Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. 

Yorkville Highlands is on the twisting county road out of Cloverdale heading to the ocean, with Yorkville Cellars and Wattlecreek Vineyard, among the highland's few wineries. 

Further west is Mendocino Ridge with its high altitude vineyards in the Coast Range. Once a part of Anderson Valley, the  Mendo Ridge Riesling and Gewurztraminer show the same intense varietal character.

In a word, Mendocino is "marvelous" for the variety of wines it offers the wine consumer: cool climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Anderson Valley to Cabernet Sauvignon from the warmer interior Ukiah and Redwood Valley. 

 

Next post: Loire Valley

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