This week we explore Mendocino County, California. Mendocino County is an appellation that makes wine from grapes grown mostly in Mendocino County, California and is a part of the larger North Coast AVA to the west of Lake County. Mendocino County is huge, covering 2.4 million acres and almost 19,000 acres have is grapevines, which accounts for about 1% of the land use in the county.
In this week’s episode we discuss:
- History of wine in the region
- AVAs of Mendocino County
- What makes this place so special (aka climate)
- Grapes grown
Wine Recommendations
Roederer Estate Brut NV – priced around $24. This wine was aged a minimum of two years on the yeast and that aging is apparent in the nose with aromas of toast, pear, minerality and golden delicious apples. It has medium plus acidity so it’s a great pairing with food like sushi, cheese, appetizers or potato chips (one of our favorite pairings). It’s light, clean, and crisp with flavors of green apple skins, lime, and white lily. It was amazing and sadly, we only purchased one bottle.
Toad Hollow Vineyards Chardonnay 2016 – priced around $14. This is 100% unoaked Chardonnay with a very light nose of melon like honeydew, mango and some minerality. It has a medium acidity and medium body with flavors of melon, mango, and green apple skins. This wine isn’t the oaked CA Chardonnay style that we’ve come to expect but it’s also not Burgundy; it’s kind of its own thing. We thought it was light and crisp with a pleasant finish – inviting you to sip this wine over and over again.
If you tuned into the news, you know about the fires devastating parts of the North Coast including areas of Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino County. The Community Foundation of Mendocino County has set up a fund to provide disaster relief and recovery services in the aftermath of the wildfire that is affecting that part of California. You can go to their website to donate.
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