First visited Philips Hills' cozy cottage next to a market. They now charge a nominal $5 tasting fee to discourage people who just want to drink w/o buying anything but will waive the fee for "serious" oenophiles" (whether they buy or not). This isn't snobbery -- just a reasonable business practice.
A fun winery to visit during Hopland's Passport event (once in spring and once in fall each year) when it opens up and gives space to local craftspeople.
They also make olive oil and process it for others.
Fourth generation Mendocino wine family - these people know what they are doing.
Dos Rios wines are grown on river canyon terraced vineyards at 1200 feet elevation in poor, fast draining soil. Here, cool nights and warm afternoons are accompanied by persistent wind. Hand picked fruit and ferment in 250-gallon open top tanks before barrel aging Vin De Tevis wines upwards of 39 months.
Saracina wine production focuses on Sauvignon Blanc, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir, Roussanne, Syrah, and Zinfandel grapes for their historical significance in Mendocino County and for the tremendous potential they have to produce world-class wines. By sourcing from the extreme meso-climates and soil types in Mendocino County -- from the foggy coastal zones of Anderson Valley to the mountaintop high above the Ukiah Valley, down to the day-time warmth of the inland valleys -- Saracina Vineyards is able to create more stylish and inherently interesting wines.
This is the place if you like the wines of Bordeaux, individually and collectively. And when I mean Bordeaux, I mean the varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. They actually had two of the white Bordeaux grapes, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion. CARMENERE!!!
With only 50 acres is California, Yorkville Cellars has 2 of them. Its pretty much gone in France and now Its all about Chile. Its an incredible wine with such vibrancy and juicy feel.
Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery is one of the closest, if not the closest winery to the ocean in all of California. From the vineyard you can see the breaking surf and the misty silhouettes of Bodega Head and Pt. Reyes far below. The vineyard’s high elevation above the coastal fog and its proximity to the ocean provide a gentle, sunny and temperate climate that has proved to be very favorable for the slow and even ripening of Burgundian varietals.
As you take a walk through the vineyard with Charlie Barra, you’ll find yourself surrounded by 60 year old, craggily, grapevines that resemble the sunbaked hands of Charlie that has nurtured them. These hearty, twisted vines, located on the bench lands at the headwaters of the Russian River in Redwood Valley, CA, are the source of the superior organic fruit that goes into each bottle of wine.
THE GRAZIANO FAMILY OF WINES HOPLAND TASTING ROOM. The tasting room is much smaller and more intimate than most found in the more commercial areas of California’s wine country, but in it are served as many as thirty premium wines under four distinct labels: Saint Gregory for Pinots, Monte Volpe for central and southern Italy and the Friuli region in the northeast, Enotria, specializing in the heritage of the Piedmont region of northwest Italy, and Graziano, which produces the heritage grapes of Mendocino, many of which are from head-pruned, Old Vine vineyards. All wines here are always open for sampling and there is never a tasting fee. In addition to an amazing array of hand-crafted artisan white, rose and red wines
Drew remains committed to small lot Pinot Noir and Syrah on California's northern far coastal edge. Including Mendocino Ridge, Anderson Valley and the Yorkville Highlands. OPEN Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat , Sun and Monday from 11 to 5pm.
Maple Creek Winery, Ranch and Vineyards is the dream of Vintner's Tom Rodrigues and Linda Stutz. Tom and Linda work to combine their passions of Art and Wine. Maple Creek Ranch boasts 180 acres, 7 springs, natural gardens and fruit orchards. We have edible mushrooms and wild boar and wildlife and an abundance of fresh food and water on this land. Creek Winery is "off the beaten path" situated 1/2 mile up a paved road. It is a beautiful drive past the vineyards and into the hills of Southern Mendocino. The tasting room is open daily from 10:30-5, although during the winter, the hours may be shortened. It is possible that if you arrive in the winter months, you may see a "honk for wine" sign. If that's the case, Tom or Linda will arrive shortly to open for your private tasting.
