Growing in Parallel
The Impromptu Winemaker Network at Punchdown Cellars
by Holly Madrigal
Making wine is expensive and complex. Punchdown Cellars in Santa Rosa provides equipment and infrastructure that would otherwise be out of reach for a small winery. By using their space, winemakers don’t need to manage and maintain their own production facility, and can instead focus their talents on making excellent wine. Connecting with other small-scale winemakers in the process is a bonus.
Shalini Sekhar of Ottavino Wines is one of those winemakers. She’s a former music educator specializing in the piccolo, an Indian American woman who has always forged her own path. In 2005, she and her husband decided to move to California. “When we moved here I got to explore my love of wine,” Shalini shares. “I’m a lifelong student and I began working in a tasting room to continue to learn more about California wine.” At first the job served to satisfy a personal interest, but before long that interest ripened into genuine career ambitions. “I took a complete left turn and decided to study for real. I left my previous job and began interning with winemakers.”
Shalini continues, “When I took the blazer and the heels off from the front of the house a whole new world opened up. I worked a harvest and gave it a go. I really loved it.”
Shalini returned to school to study winemaking. After several internships, she took on the role of production manager at Copain Custom Crush, the precursor to Punchdown. “Working at custom crush facilities is about helping small wineries achieve their vision. That was a rapid education, dealing full time with other people’s logistics, schedules, and needs. It was a pretty intense job,” she remembers. While there she had her first child.
Shalini’s next chapter included working with small brands like Waits-Mast Family Cellars and Furthermore Pinot Noir. “I started making wine for a family in the Santa Cruz mountains,” Shalini continues. “Neely is a small estate winery, so I was the only one in the cellar for years before we finally hired an assistant winemaker. I had my second child while working there. And then navigating a global pandemic with two small children focused my interest. I had told myself I would never have my own label, but in that time I decided to do it anyway.”
Shalini bottled her first Grüner in 2020, a wine made with a white grape called Grüner Veltliner that is mostly grown in Austria. “I knew If I was going to make my own wine it would have to be different. My husband and I have a number of friends in Austria and I really enjoy it. So Grüner was the first wine I created for my own label.”
“My second wine is St. Laurent, which I describe as if a Pinot and Syrah had a baby. It has flavors of Morello cherry, that intense red fruit. You think it is going to be all fruit and tannins but it is actually quite balanced.”
“As a South Asian woman, people ask me what wine pairs well with Indian food. High alcohol wines can be abrasive when matched against the spiced flavors, but St. Laurent is softer with the intensity and so it does not overpower. It is a delicious complement.”
Creating her wines at Punchdown Cellars brought Shalini into contact with fellow winemaker Ashley Holland. The two quickly became friends, geeking out on gear and celebrating each other’s success. Ashley is the majority owner of Read Holland wines and the force behind three other winemaking projects: Summer Dreams, Brashley Vineyards, and Adonna Wines. She’s known for her intuitive style and deep dedication to craft—always experimenting, always learning.
Ashley originally wanted to be an equine vet. An accomplished equestrian athlete, she chose that career to continue working with animals, but after a couple of years in the program, she realized it wasn’t the right fit.
Luckily she had taken a winemaking class or two in college, and the creativity it required appealed to her. She had an opportunity to travel to New Zealand, working with Two Rivers in the Marlborough region. (She used part of her moving bonus to buy a rescue horse who remains with her to this day.)
“Dave Clouston [the Two Rivers winemaker] gave me an enormous amount of responsibility in the winery,” Ashley recalls. “He allowed me to figure many things out on my own. Together we tripled production. He used to say ‘wine knows when it’s loved.’”
During the 5 years she was there, Ashley developed an expertise in Sauvignon Blanc. She eventually returned to the U.S. to work with winemaking luminaries including Ryan Prichard and Bob Cabral—respected winemakers known for shaping Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Ashley’s winemaking style continues to evolve. She is chasing the perfect Sauvignon Blanc and also continuing to explore how to craft singular Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs. Currently she has three clients, whom she sees as friends and collaborators.
One of those is Donna Kato, and together they are working on a wine called Adonna. She explains the joy of using high-quality fruit by working closely with the farmer, allowing her to create the wines she wants. “With a collaboration like this one, you don’t need to use any winemaking tricks. The fruit speaks for itself.”
Ashley is now the majority owner of Read Holland, overseeing and crafting all the wine they produce. “Read Holland allows me to have my own creative expression of winemaking. I focus on old vines where the growers live on their properties. The vines are an extension of their backyard. I want to preserve pieces of California viticultural history.”
While there are more and more female winemakers coming up in the industry, female principals—those who own labels and run companies—are still rare. “We’re not the only ones,” Ashley says. “Erica Stancliff is here, and Diana Ferro—the assistant winemaker for Enfield Wine Co—works out of Punchdown.” An informal professional support network has evolved, providing a balanced mix of independence and peer input. “We all have different styles, make different kinds of wine. But you value their opinion and value their palates. We have each other’s backs.”
Shalini agrees. “Before working in this cellar I was always the only one: first-gen winemaker, Indian-American winemaker, female winemaker. But here I’m not the only one. We are a collection of individuals who have formed a community working together.”
Ottavino and Read Holland wines are available for purchase and taste at Disco Ranch.
Disco Ranch
14025 Highway 128, Boonville
(707) 901-5002 | discoranch.com
ottavinowines.com
readhollandwines.com
Shalini photos courtesy of Shalini Sekhar. Ashley photos and Read Holland wines photo by Mary Zeeble and courtesy of Ashley Holland.
Sustainably Delicious
Organic Wines by Terra Sávia
by Terry Ryder Sites
When I arrived at Terra Sávia Winery at 9:00 on a Monday morning, things were already bustling. Pallets of wine and olive oil were moved past the olive mill, through the tasting bar, under the art gallery, and into an adjacent storage area. I noticed a snappy looking vintage Porsche parked inside, while a large grandfather clock ticked nearby. As their website states, “There is a lot going on under this roof.” Current owners Jurg Fischer and his wife, Yvonne Hall, have a great love for everything living including people, animals, and plants.
As a reflection of this multifaceted love, Terra Sávia Winery is just one aspect of an operation that includes an olive oil mill, an animal sanctuary, a native plant nursery, and an art gallery. Their 65 acres are located in the Sanel Valley of Hopland. The winemaking operation includes two distinct labels: Terra Sávia and Ettore, and all the wines are organic, estate grown, and hand-harvested.
Resident winemaker, Sofia Rivier, is also the vineyard manager, and she explained how she has been privileged to work side-by-side with the two veteran winemakers who established these labels. Sofia chatted with me warmly as we headed to the Ettore House further back on the property for a tasting. As we drove, she filled me in on the recent history of the property, which was established by Jim Milone, a winemaker and previous owner of the property with four generations of family history in the area. Jim stayed on for a transition period with Sofia, and she has maintained his “Mendocino style” for the Terra Sávia label wines, incorporating a bold structure, sharp tannins, big mouth feel, and strong aging potential.
Wine has always been a big part of Sofia’s life. Her grandparents immigrated to Argentina from Switzerland to establish vineyards and a winery, one her father continues today. She decided to pursue a winemaking career in 2006, ultimately earning a degree in Agricultural Engineering in Argentina before moving to Switzerland. There she continued her education by adding a B.S. in Viticulture and Enology, followed by a Master of Life Sciences in Enology and Viticulture degree, which she completed in 2017. During her education, she used internships to balance out her academics with “boots on the ground” experience.
Sofia came to Terra Sávia through her acquaintance with Ettore Biraghi, an Italian man she met in Switzerland. Ettore was looking for someone to help with the new wines he was planning to make in California with Jurg and Yvonne. His Ettore wines married old world Italian winemaking to new technology, resulting in lighter, higher in acid, and very fruit forward wines. Ettore Chardonnay Pure, Ettore Chardonnay Reserve, Ettore Red, and Ettore Cabernet Signature are all organic wines. Ettore Chardonnay Zero and Ettore Merlot Zero go one step further by allowing only naturally occurring sulfites using a method called “Purovino,” which controls the hyperoxygenation of grapes, as well as a CIP (Clean in Place) process on all the equipment with ozone-enriched water, eliminating the need for any additional sulfites. For those wishing to avoid sulphites, the “zero” wines are a great pick. Sofia manages the developing Ettore wines day to day, with Ettore visiting from Europe every two months for a check-in.
The Ettore wine catalog states, “One hundred miles north of San Francisco in the timeless California frontier of Mendocino, wine finds a nuanced new expression seen nowhere else in the Golden State. In a vast expanse of wilderness that has for centuries captured the imagination of California’s farmers, environmentalists, winemakers, and mavericks alike. Terroir is the key to crafting wines of character and distinction and here. Ettore Biraghi brings old world Italian wine heritage to the new world in the pursuit of exceptional organic wines.”
Sofia’s Swiss grandfather originally considered settling in California instead of Argentina, so her new life in America feels a little like fulfilling a family dream. She oversees both of the developing wines as well as the grapes produced by the estate vineyards. Her work comes with a lot of responsibility, but she relishes the challenge. As a modern winemaker, Sofia takes advantage of new technology, utilizing computer analysis to gather and chart data. Yet she relies on the people who walk through the vineyards everyday for their insights and advice because, as she puts it, they “really know the grapes.”
Terra Sávia is a business owned, created, and managed almost entirely by immigrants. Jurg is from Switzerland, Yvonne from the Dominican Republic, Sofia from Argentina, and Ettore from Italy. Carlos, the olive oil manager, and Fernando, the “reader of plants,” are both from Mexico, as are many of the other staff. Together they’ve created a company that is multifaceted and dynamic, providing a multitude of benefits for the living people, plants, and creatures involved in and impacted by their work— which is exactly what Yvonne and Jurg had in mind when they created Terra Sávia in the first place.
Terra Sávia
14200 Mountain House Rd, Hopland
(707) 744-1114 | terrasavia.com
Tasting Room Hours: Mon -Sat 10am - 5pm, Sun 11am - 5pm
Families welcome. Pet-friendly.
Photo top left by Terry Ryder Sites. All other photos courtesy of Terra Sávia.
Tasting Time
Thoughts on How to Age White Wines
by Holly Madrigal
While undertaking a renovation project in my 150-year-old house, I came upon some intact magazines from the 1950s, brittle, covered in dust, and wedged between the studs. I have long heard stories of mythical vintages and treasures having sat forgotten only to emerge through happenstance to delight the finder. The previous owners had told me a story of how, when they were working on this old Victorian, they had found a bottle of red wine within the joists. They decanted that bottle and said it was quite good. Some time later, the couple who had owned the place a generation before stopped by and inquired about the wine, hoping to retrieve it, but too late!
Somehow the tales of aging wine always involved reds, so imagine my surprise when I learned that some white wines improve and develop over the years. I recently was fortunate to taste a 2010 Russian River Bernalillo that had matured into a deep golden hue. The flavors were deep, toasted, and rounded, altogether different from a younger glass.
To learn more about this world of white wine, I spoke with Wendy Lamer of the Disco Ranch wine shop in Boonville. The amount of viticultural knowledge in this proprietor’s head is staggering. “Yes,” she says, “people can and do age white wine, but it needs to be the right kind.” According to Wendy, white wine varietals like a white Burgundy, Riesling, Premier Cru, or Gershon Mont Ruche will improve over time. The higher the quality of wine, the longer it can last. “You can taste these wines young, and they may be good, but when you wait and let the flavors develop they can become something greater,” she adds. Wendy explains that aging a wine is typically three years or more. Those who want to “lay wines down” like to set aside a case to drink later, after they have matured, for a minimum of five to eight years. Three to five years will start to be the drinking window, but if you can wait you will be rewarded. Wines like the Premier Cru can be aged for seven to ten years, and the Grand Cru les Mon Ruche or Tar Mon Ruche can go as long as twenty-four years.
Wendy states that the traits of single vintage and high acidity can aid a good wine in maturing well over time. To begin with, the wine needs to be balanced—meaning, equal aspects of acids and sugars. “If it is not balanced to start, it will not be good later,” she asserts, continuing, “Napa Chardonnays, for example, don’t really age that well because they are manipulated. Malolactic acid is added because it is so hot there. But Riesling, if it’s dry, can age for ten years. If it is an Auscultatia or Bernausclatia, it can go for twenty years. They begin to develop those coveted petroleum flavors and notes that you want.” According to Wendy, Semillon and White Bordeaux age quite well. And Rioja, because the acidity is so high, can age for seven to ten years. “These wines deepen to a golden color and develop almond notes while retaining that acid. In 1976 the Germans made some of the most spectacular wines ever. They still taste fresh and young in 2024,” she adds.
For my first attempt at aging white wine, Wendy recommends a 2023 Riesling from Read Holland. This local winemaker, Ashley Holland, has no showroom and crafts relatively small batches. Instead, she showcases her vintages at Disco Ranch. “I am drinking the 2019 right now,” says Wendy. “So when she gets ready to switch vintages I will buy her last thirty cases. Then when the new wines start coming out, I bring out the older cases which are then perfectly ready.
The little bit of age develops the richness of flavor. This year she was written up in Food & Wine magazine as one of the twenty-five winemakers to watch. Decanter magazine has Ashley Holland as one of the top ten Pinot Noir winemakers of the past year. “She is on fire,” Wendy explains.
With red wine, you are judging for an integrated mix of aspects: fruit, acid, and tannin ratio. In reds, the tannins help them age, but with white wines, it’s the acidity or residual sugars that time matures. “Chenin Blanc ages well,” Wendy notes, as she pours a small glass. “GW Lussier Chenin Blanc out of Green Valley, Miramar Torres, and Iron Horse get most of their fruit from there. Forty-two-year-old vines, and even in one year it will taste different. You will get lanolin and some beeswax if you can wait longer. We sold out of this 2019 so quickly because people just went crazy for it. Even in a year, it will become more complex, richer, and rounder on the palate.”
The concept of aging white wine is a bit more commonplace when thinking of wine with bubbles. Bottles of champagne from decades ago grace tables for many a special occasion. “Champagnes age extremely well, like twenty years, easy. When you hear that they discovered a shipwreck and found a carton of champagne which tastes so fantastic, it is because it ages so well over time,” comments Wendy. Roederer Estate in Anderson Valley recently hosted a Library Tasting where they uncorked bottles from a twenty- year-old L ‘Ermitage, an in-person demonstration of how champagne can age deliciously.
When selecting a bottle of champagne (or sparkling wine, if not made in France) Wendy points out all the information listed on the label. France has an AOC Appellation Controlle designation with strict rules and standards. It describes a level of excellence that is tightly regulated. Premier Cru and Grande Cru varieties come out of that designation. For example, you can only harvest a particular amount of fruit from a given vineyard. When picking a champagne to age, Wendy suggests choosing a single vintage, meaning a wine from one particular harvest year (many wines are multiple-vintage wines).
The wine label is required to provide some details, such as the types of grape or wine and the creation and disgorgement dates. “That label is something you want to focus on,” says Wendy, holding a bottle of Roederer Grand Cru. “So, this bottle is a 2016 base wine with a disgorgement date of 2021, meaning that it had that time on the cork, which brings out all the flavors of brioche. It has been on the lees for four years.” Brioche literally means bread. Toasty notes and bread flavors that you can smell and taste will develop in that time. “The magnums taste better than the 750ml because they are often stored longer and left to evolve ... real champagne geeks want magnums,” she adds.
The logistics of aging wine should not dissuade the novice buyer. On the West Coast, most homes do not have cellars. Serious wine enthusiasts may purchase a EuroCave wine cabinet, which is a wine-specific refrigerator made for ideal temperature and humidity. Wine storage lockers have also become popular over the past few years. You need to be able to store the bottles for the long-term where they can be undisturbed. For short-term storage, a closet can work, ideally tiled, cool, and with minimal vibration. Some amount of temperature control is a must. “When I lived in Georgia, everyone has basements because of tornadoes,” Wendy explains. “My basement garage had these hollow cylinder blocks that I thought were perfect for wine storage. When we got a tornado warning, the neighborhood showed up because, unbeknownst to me, it was the neighborhood gathering place. When we got to the basement, they said ‘No, these are for people to hide in during a storm!’” Wendy had to make way, moving her wine storage to fit all her neighbors. She reflects that Georgia has a 67% humidity and 55-degree temperature in the basement, perfect—if you could discount the tornado part.
The aging of wine is, in essence, a gift to your (or somebody else’s) future self. It involves a level of delayed gratification and optimism for the future. You can be sure that I placed my own bottle of red wine, last year’s vintage from Absentee Wines, within the walls for future residents of this home. And I will set aside four bottles—not within the walls of my house but rather within a dark closet—to be revealed, like a treasure hunt scheduled for 2036. Seeing as that date feels as theoretical as 2025 once did, it will be an experiment in mindful forgetting. We shall see what time—and taste—develops.
Disco Ranch
14025 Highway 128, Boonville
(707) 901-5002 | discoranch.com
Holly Madrigal is a Mendocino County maven who loves to share the delights of our region. She’s fortunate to enjoy her meaningful work as the director of the Leadership Mendocino program and takes great joy in publishing this magazine.
White wine photo by Anastasiia Rozumna courtesy of Unsplash. Wine bottles photo by Holly Madrigal.
Alta Orsa
Humane Society’s Pet Food Banks Help Keep Pets in Homes
by Terry Ryder
When I get Martin Bernal-Hafner on the phone, he’s multitasking: answering my call, raking grapes out of harvest bins and onto sorting tables to remove stems and leaves, and giving workers instructions in English and Spanish. It’s only October 7, but it’s the last day of harvest, and also the last 100-degree day of the year—2024’s harvest season was hot and fast.
Martin is the winemaker and general manager at Alta Orsa Winery in Hopland. Formerly Topel Winery, it was purchased in 2018 by Roger Peng. Roger and Martin met at Locals, a co-op tasting room in Geyserville. Martin had spent the previous seven years working for Sebastopol- based Paul Hobbs Winery, first as an intern in Argentina and later in California, where he worked a variety of cellar and winemaking jobs. When Roger approached him about the potential to move to Mendocino, Martin was immediately keen. “I was ready to take more on, and it sounded like a really interesting project.”
They changed the name to Alta Orsa: “alta” meaning high and deep rooted, and “orsa” meaning beginning or undertaking. They wanted the name to reflect their own style of winemaking, characterized by a scientific and holistic approach that lets the terroir speak for itself. They kept other things the same—they didn’t replant the vineyard, and they rely on the institutional knowledge of vineyard and production manager, Ricardo Garcia, who has worked on the property for 24 years.
The property is a rugged 160-acre mountain parcel clinging to the hills west of Hopland above the Russian River, of which the vineyard comprises just eight acres, all farmed using regenerative organic practices which are “not certified, but fully in practice,” clarifies Martin. The high-density vineyard, planted in the 1980s, means that tractors can’t be used to till or mow between rows, and everything has to be hand-farmed and harvested. They use animals for grazing—a hallmark of regenerative organic agriculture—and use the barest minimum of organic sprays only when absolutely necessary, like to combat mildew. “We don’t really have pest problems,” says Martin. “Nature brings things into balance if you leave it alone. We take a very patient approach.”
Happily, 2024 was a good season. “For a mountain vineyard, we’re lucky to get two tons/acre, which is about what we got this year,” says Martin. He hasn’t finished those calculations since, in addition to managing the company and making the wine, he’s also the accountant, wine club and tasting room manager, and sole salesperson for the company. Says Martin, “There’s never a dull moment, which I like.”
Alta Orsa makes 10 wines—four under the Orsa label, and six under the Alta Orsa label. Most are estate wines, but several, including a Russian River Pinot Noir and an Alexander Valley Chardonnay, are made from grapes purchased from other vineyards, a common practice for wineries of any size. Mostly, they are known for their Cabernets. The 2019 Orsa Cabernet Sauvignon won a Double Gold medal at the 2024 Mendocino County Fair Wine Competition, and the 2020 Alta Orsa Estate Hillside Cuvée got a whopping 95 points from Wine Enthusiast magazine.
The vineyard has a unique flavor profile due to its steep terrain and tough shale and sandstone soil. “Our diverse topography means that each block of vines has a different expression,” explains Martin. “It’s fun as a winemaker to have all those flavor components—at blending time I have 20 variables to work with.” Most years, Martin makes a special wine using his favorite two barrels of Cabernet of the vintage. He calls it the Soil Series, and it tops out at 50 cases per year. It’s held for two years in the barrel and two additional years in the bottle before release, meaning that the 2020 vintage has only just been made available.
Alta Orsa is a small winery, producing just 1,200 cases per year. “We make a craft product, a true expression of this vineyard,” says Martin. “And because we’re small, we really get to know our customers. When you email the winery, I’m the one who responds. When you schedule a tasting, I’m usually the one who will walk the vineyard with you and take you to do barrel tastings. It’s a very personal experience.” Tastings must be scheduled in advance, and the tasting fee is waived with a wine purchase. Martin shares, “I love combining science, agriculture, and creativity in one job. I have many roles, but fundamentally, I see myself as winemaker.” He feels right at home on the Mendocino mountainside, which is fortunate as his career is destined to continue reaching new heights.
Alta Orsa Winery
PO Box 550, Hopland
(707) 540-4311 | orsawines.com
Photos courtesy of Alta Orsa Winery
Elizabeth Archer is an enthusiastic eater and promoter of the local food scene in Mendocino County. She and her husband run Carson and Bees, a beekeeping operation in Ukiah.
The Transgressive Joy of Tractors
by Gowan Batist
I have been farming for approaching 15 years, and before that work, I was a shop kid working in large industrial studios.
When I did metal fabrication for a living I wore ear protection, a particulate mask, a hair covering to keep it from burning or getting full of soot and particulate, or getting tangled in spinning hand pieces, eye protection with magnification lenses that could drop down over it, suction hoses at my hands, my elbows in support rests, and when working with valuable pieces, a lemel apron attached to the bench and clasped behind my back. It was like being in a space station.
I always wore earbud headphones under my bulky hearing protection.
At the time I was working in that intensely focused job, I was mourning the loss of my childhood best friend and first love, who had tragically died one early morning in the driving rain on Mendocino’s twisting roads. In order to do my job, I spent up to ten hours per day completely separated from other humans, unable to talk or hear, smothered in gear, with all our music and favorite audiobooks piped into my ears via headphones. Some days I cried literally all day while working, in the utter privacy of a loud and crowded shop. No one could see my face; I was unreachable.
Initially I found that work very freeing, but it went from cathartic to living burial very quickly. I became addicted to the weekends I spent volunteering on farms, with my hands in the dirt. The pure physicality and embodiment and ability to communicate was thrilling and grounding, and the immediate return between my actions and their obviously necessary result—food—cut through the existential floating and meaninglessness of grief. Is there any point to consciousness in a random and cruel world? I sure didn’t know, but I did know that the kids in the transitional housing program I gardened and cooked for would be hungry that day, the same as every day. The needs of the world of farming were understandable, immediate, and most importantly, able to be met. My own needs were none of those things.
Meeting a single practical need for another living being is a great antidote to the molecular drift of loss. On the farms I was increasingly involved in volunteering for, I could meet many dozens of them in a day, spreading water and compost for plants and food for humans behind me like the wake of a ship.
This is how my farming career started: a paradoxical crawling out of the grave into the dirt. It was also the mid ‘00s in Portland, Oregon, and farming was suddenly cool. The Omnivore’s Dilemma had been published, the French Laundry was popular, and it was suddenly fashionable to work in the fields, which shocked the hell out of me, having been decidedly uncool as a kid for doing all the same things. I realized a lot of the people working and volunteering had never done any of this before, and I had. I could save them hours of miserable effort with a small nudge, just by sharing a trick my grandpa had taught me as a small child. They appreciated this, and I soaked up feeling valuable in a new way.
Of course, because I was already a shop kid and had some experience with heavy equipment, when I stopped volunteering and actually made the jump to farm employee, I got put on tractors right away. There was a huge social, cultural, class, and usually racial difference between the long-time farm hands and the crews of idealistic volunteers on the farms I was on, and entering the heavy equipment world dropped me solidly into the farm hands’ camp.
My early teachers were maliciously disinterested in having a girl on their crew. For my first experience on one farm, I was put on a tractor so old all the symbols had long worn off the clutch. It was put in gear, and as the old farmhand stepped off it, he told me I had 500 row feet to learn to shift and turn. I learned fast out of spite and defiance and felt bitterly vindicated by their grudging respect.
Heavy equipment became another way that I was entombed in my work, with all vulnerable forms of information intake covered or filtered. I loved it. It felt good in the way that smashing bottles feels good. Like scratching a mosquito bite feels good. Like gossip. Toxic, powerful, transgressive, addictive—liberating as a fairly small person with hand injuries. On a tractor I weigh 7500 pounds of hydraulic powered metal. I can do anything. And no one can come near me.
Sure, I had male employees interact with the tractor shop for me because I was tired of being disrespected, condescended to, and ripped off, but when I was actually on the machine, it was a great equalizer.
I loved the roar, and I loved the feel of the work and its attendant smells and textures. Hydraulic oil and dust remind me of my grandpa. They feel safe and homey, even as I intellectually know they are dangerous. My Gramps loved me deeply and he taught me the things he thought would help me in life. He also collapsed every one of his vertebrae and had to support his chin in his hand, elbow propped on the dinner table, in order to sit up in his later years. He worked with dangerous tools and they hurt him, and he was in pain a lot as an old man.
The fact that I was using this tool to do what I consider to be objective good—clearing invasive brush, making compost, growing food—doesn’t mean that the tool itself is good. It’s powerful. It runs on the condensed blood of eons. Its skeleton is the same as the earth’s, torn loose and forged into a tool we can wear like a dress to dance in, but it’s not good. Purity, wholesome moral goodness, and fun don’t always go together.
In the last year, I spent much, much less time on the tractor. I was warned that being pregnant was not safe on the tractor. The one time I saddled up to move some wood chips, very slowly, across a flat field, my mom came running outside yelling at me. “You’re going to bounce that baby right out!” We hired an amazing operator who I’m very grateful for, but I have since had people assume that I never have been on a tractor myself.
I was reminded of Good Husbandry, Kristin Kimball’s book about her farming journey in which, after she was taken out of the field by having children, people assumed she’d never farmed at all. Interns even scoffed when it was mentioned. My face burned the entire way through those passages with a rage and grief that was finally being articulated in another woman’s words about farming.
As a butch woman, we have no cultural cache once we retire. Old men get to be oracular fonts of wisdom about farming long after their knees and eardrums have been consumed by their work. As a woman, the moment you are sidelined, aged out, injured, or caught in a growth area, your whole past competency is nullified. You have to carry the totality of your experience into every moment, and any weakness is holistically and immediately applied to the past, present, and future. I have even seen women do this to each other. A young intern spoke disdainfully about a woman who wrote a book about farming despite the fact that she “… only did the accounting and office work.” The author was elderly by the time she wrote her book, running the business after a long career in the field. She had made her bones by any stretch of the imagination in any field—if she had been a man. Because she was no longer in the field herself, her decades of experience were sneered at, presumed to be a fraud.
Today, my baby was entertained by our squad of farm grandmas while I covered for our tractor operator, who was out of town. Though I had done the specific job at hand for a decade, after a break filled with months of body-breaking and mind-altering child rearing, I was awkward and jerky when I first started the tractor. It felt uncomfortable, like shoes a size too big on rocky ground, slipping where I expected it to hold.
When I settled into the machine, started wearing it, everything changed. I felt the same thrum of power and connection and extension of will. The same smooth burn like a good whiskey. The same knowledge that this tool, while so powerful and so useful, is also a type of power that disconnects, that pollutes even with our fancy diesel particulate filter and efficient hydrostatic transmission, so different from the dinosaurs I was raised on. It’s still a tool that is the exact opposite of the tending tasks I spend my days doing now.
I can feel the sneer now, the disavowal of my competency, since my life isn’t on a tractor every day anymore. That’s okay. If the youngsters stick with it—which most don’t—they will understand someday.
Ultimately, I’m less and less interested in forcing patriarchy to respect me in the limited conditional ways it will as a woman in the trades. I’m less in love with the acetylene burn of heavy equipment and its paradoxically destructive creative potential. I recognize my attraction to it as part of my cultural indoctrination, and the way the tractor freed me from the limitations of my body as a diesel-soaked bandage on a wound I was avoiding—the work of healing.
I’m grateful for these skills and the work they can create. I don’t regret the time I spent on tractors, and I will use them in the future when appropriate. However, I’m no longer attached to being defined by them. I want to work, most of the time, with my mouth, ears, and eyes open and uncovered, my feet on the soil, and in the realm of human connection.
Gowan Batist of Fortunate Farm is a Post-Industrial Pastoralist following sheep around the skeleton of a boom town. She is seldom seen, but sometimes glimpsed with a baby on her back, propagating native plants, spinning wool, hand shearing sheep, or meal prepping baby food with local bulk food via the MendoLake Food Hub.
Embracing Sustainability
Sarah Wuethrich of Maggy Hawk Wines
by Emily Pickral
Sarah Wuethrich stands at the helm of Maggy Hawk Wines, yet she didn’t come from a wine-drinking background or have any prior experience in winemaking before attending U.C. Davis. Her unexpected journey into the world of wine began her freshman year, sparked by her father’s newfound hobby of crafting wines at home. Sarah enrolled in an introductory winemaking class on a whim, unaware that it was a decision that would ultimately shape the rest of her career.
Sarah graduated with a degree in Viticulture and Enology in 2001, then honed her technical winemaking knowledge in both large-scale production and boutique settings at Sonoma County wineries like St. Francis and Lambert Bridge. In 2010, Sarah’s journey led her to Copain Wines as Assistant Winemaker, where her passion for cool-climate wines and minimal-intervention winemaking flourished. Seven years later, she assumed the lead winemaker role at Maggy Hawk—a winery owned by Jackson Family Wines (JFW) and synonymous with exceptional cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as distinctive White Pinot Noir and Petite Naturelle wines.
Sarah believes that great wines begin with healthy vineyards. One of her most ambitious projects has been a collaboration with U.C. Davis, partially funded by JFW, to study the impact of regenerative farming practices on wine quality. Wine grapes are sensitive crops and susceptible to subtle changes in temperature and precipitation, making them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Regenerative agriculture, which uses holistic farming and grazing practices to strengthen soil health and crop productivity, may help grape vines become more resilient to changing climate conditions. This research might eventually increase the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices in other vineyards. “We’ve already seen positive changes,” says Sarah. “Improved water holding capacity in the soils, healthier and more resilient vines, and the ability to produce wines with substance and character—wines that leave a lasting impression.”
Sarah has spearheaded the integration of regenerative farming techniques across many JFW properties, including Maggy Hawk’s vineyards, as part of their Rooted for Good initiative. “Regenerative farming isn’t just about improving soil health,” Sarah explains, “it’s about fostering a thriving ecosystem around our vines. By avoiding pesticides, we encourage greater biological diversity in the soil, maintain cleaner water, and support a variety of plants and wildlife. These elements contribute to natural fertility and pest control, ensuring the longevity of our land for future generations.”
Terroir refers to the unique soil and climate conditions present for each vineyard block, as well as the weather conditions during a particular growing season, and well-crafted wines allow the natural terroir that produced its fruit to shine. With this goal in mind, Sarah works closely with veteran vineyard manager Mario Espinoza, employing meticulous farming practices like caring for the vines by hand and on a case-by-case basis. Maggy Hawk has transitioned to full no-till farming, which was previously implemented only in blocks with steep slopes to prevent erosion. Sarah’s fine-tuning techniques throughout the growing season ensure that each vintage embodies the vineyard’s distinct narrative, aiming for a very light touch once the grapes reach the winery.
In the world of cool-climate Pinot Noir, Sarah Wuethrich is a name to watch. Her efforts have earned industry accolades, including the North Bay Business Journal’s Women in Wine Excellence in Winemaking and Sustainability Awards. Yet, reflecting on her career, Sarah remains humble. “I can’t say that I’ve mastered anything—and I never really want to. I consider myself a lifelong student of winemaking,” she says. Currently, she is focused on enhancing her skills in the vineyard and implementing regenerative farming practices across more of JFW’s properties. She is also expanding her business knowledge through the Sonoma State Global Executive Wine MBA program, from which she will graduate next spring. “I view winemaking as a lifelong learning process,” she says. “Each vintage presents new challenges and opportunities to refine my craft.”
Sarah’s work is not just her career—it’s a passion rooted in a commitment to quality, creativity, and environmental stewardship. This enthusiasm is evident in her Instagram video updates from the vineyard and the lab, where she shares what’s happening in the farming or winemaking process at the moment. Friendly, clear, and engaging, the videos can snag the attention of wine lovers at any level, providing interesting insights into Sarah’s work while also capturing her affection for the area.
“Maggy Hawk is my love letter to Anderson Valley,” shares Sarah. Whether you find her in the lab, the cellar, or the foggy vineyards of the Anderson Valley’s Deep End (the northwest portion that is closest to the coast), Sarah will continue to craft wines that narrate the land’s story, reflecting her deep-rooted passion and unwavering commitment to sustainability.
Maggy Hawk
9001 Highway 128, Philo
(707) 901-9040 | maggyhawk.com
Open Thurs - Mon 10:30am - 4:00pm
Photos courtesy of Maggy Hawk
Emily Pickral, a Master Sommelier since 2013 and the 19th woman in the world to earn the title, has over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing for importers, distributors, and California wineries. Emily now serves as the Priority Activation Director for Jackson Family Wines.
Husch Vineyards
48 Years of No-Till Grape Growing
by Zac Robinson
You can always learn something from your neighbors. At Husch, we learned that we could grow Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer by learning from our next door neighbor, Edmeades, who had planted those varietals in 1964. Sometimes, however, the lesson is to avoid a neighbor’s mistakes. In 1976, Vineyard Manager Al White witnessed another neighbor’s devastating hillside erosion which essentially shut down that vineyard. The loss of topsoil exposed irrigation lines, and those lines were then destroyed by the tractors. Hoping to avoid a similar experience, White decided to make a big change at Husch.
For grapes and most other crops, the standard farming practice involves plowing or discing the soil several times each year. Every pass with the disc destroys the top layer of the soil and leaves it vulnerable to erosion. For White, the alternative seemed easy—simply stop discing at Husch. With that simple decision in 1976, the discing tractor was parked for good, and Husch began a nearly 50-year journey to rebuild soils and explore a no-till vision of agriculture before the concept was widely known, let alone adopted. There were no neighbors to guide us, nor was there a regenerative farming community to turn to for support—the term “regenerative” wasn’t even invented until the 1980s. We believe Husch was the first vineyard to take this step in California.
Even though the neighbors advised otherwise, claiming “you have to disc the soil,” we soon saw benefits from our experiment. Most importantly, we stabilized hillside soils. When the big El Niño storms of the early 1980s pummeled Anderson Valley, the hillsides at Husch held firm. Other benefits emerged as well. We realized we could farm with fewer insecticides. In 2008, we parked our “spray rig” and haven’t used it since. Our theory is that our no-till grasses harbor a wide variety of insect species, maintaining a better balance of insect populations in the vineyard. (We do use the 2000-year-old technique of applying sulfur dust to control mildew in the vineyard.)
In the past decade, regenerative agriculture has started to build a formal methodology. The core tenet is the promotion of practices that rebuild the soil to its historic fertility. No-till methods are strongly endorsed. Animal grazing is encouraged. Chemical inputs are discouraged. The techniques apply to all kinds of crops, and the movement has an international following. This year even Hollywood is involved, with the release of the documentary Common Ground, which advocates for a radical transformation of agriculture.
Locally, winegrape farmers have always understood some of the basics of regenerative farming. Nearly 100% of vineyards will rest their fields for a year—a process known as fallowing—to allow soils to rest before replanting with winegrapes. Similarly, many local vineyards are experimenting with reduced tillage, a half-way solution that opens the door to a full no-till transition.
In 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture visited Husch to help calibrate a “healthy soils” checklist they were developing. We measured soil compaction (low), organic content (high), and the number of earthworms in a shovel scoop of soil. The draft survey has options for 0, 2, 4, or 6 earthworms. We laughed as we counted into the teens and added our own checkbox to the form: 20+. Worms love the dirt at Husch.
We have found other unexpected dividends from our farming practices. The vines at Husch have an unusual longevity, perhaps due to the improved mycorrhizal diversity that comes with our regenerative approach. Whatever the reason, Husch continues to make sought-after wine from our Knoll block of Pinot Noir. At 53 years old, this block is an anomaly in modern viticulture.
The question of fertilizer is most interesting to us right now. We never adopted the imported compost approach that is so common with organic or younger regenerative farms. The vineyard doesn’t seem to need it, and some science might explain why. As the grasses in our vineyard grow and die, they build the carbon content of the soil. This carbon has its own biological cycles including mineralization— when the organic compounds release nitrogen compounds into the soil. The grapevines use this natural fertilizer during their growth cycle in the spring. Every year that we don’t till results in more carbon added into the soils, leading to more nitrogen. We still supplement our vines with soluble nitrogen pushed through our drip system (a process known as fertigation), but our needs are decreasing over time. Of course, the sheep in the vineyard help boost soil nitrogen with their own “contributions.”
Another benefit, and perhaps the most important, is starting to come into view. Climate scientists are speculating that regenerative agriculture can sequester meaningful amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The science on this point is tentative and complicated, but we are excited to know that this amazing benefit is being studied.
Part of the fun of our regenerative experiment is that we’ve redefined our thinking. At first we thought no-till was simply letting the weeds grow. Then we dropped the word “weeds” and called our vineyard floor a “permanent cover crop.” The next evolution came when friends knowledgeable about California native grasses visited and pointed out some exciting finds: native coastal grasses are growing in the rows at Husch. So we no longer have “weeds” at Husch—we have “native grasses.”
Farming is a voyage in life-long learning, and we realize that the regenerative techniques at Husch have room for improvement. Can we use less water? Can we nudge the fertilizer equation to zero inputs? Can we grow better fruit for winemaking with less intensive agriculture? Regenerative techniques help us push the envelope of these fundamental farming questions. It’s gratifying to know we can continue to produce outstanding wines while improving soil health, reducing erosion, and increasing the property’s carbon storage capacity. With benefits like those, the discing tractor will continue to remain in retirement for a very long time.
Husch Vineyards
4400 Hwy 128, Philo
(800) 554-8724 | huschvineyards.com
Tasting room open daily 10am - 5pm
Zac Robinson, along with his sister Amanda and family, is the third generation to grow grapes and craft wine at Anderson Valley’s Husch Vineyards.
Photos courtesy of Husch Vineyards
Noyo Harbor Inn Bitters
In-House Elixirs Make Mixology Magic
by Holly Madrigal
Laura mixing a Lilac Empress
The lounge area at Noyo Harbor Inn is filled with warmth, Art Deco walls surrounding an intimate bar that keeps the fog at bay. The sounds of the harbor are dimmed by noises of laughter and tinkling china from the dining room, and the drinks that come forth are a cut above. Bar manager, Laura Spradlin, has let her creativity shape the unique drinks served here, and the public has taken notice.
Laura has developed a line of specialty bitters for the Noyo Harbor Inn. “Bitters are an aromatic flavoring agent made by infusing roots, bark, fruit peeling, seeds, spices, herbs, flowers, and botanicals—all steeped in high-proof alcohol. Bitters are used to heighten taste. They help balance out cocktails, making them more complex, giving them a more complete flavor profile that adds depth and character, “ she shares.
Laura continues, “Serious bar programs these days are now listing house made bitters on their menu. Bitters go back for centuries, originally used medicinally to cure many ailments.” While creating her bitters, she selects ingredients that she feels will enhance the seasonal cocktails showcased on the menu. Like a composer or artist, she combines the notes to create a symphony of taste and smell.
Completely self-taught, Laura spent 30 years at the Albion River Inn developing her mixology craft. When she became the bar manager at Noyo Harbor Inn, her focus on unique seasonal flavors fit right in with the high-quality yet approachable fine dining offerings coming from the kitchen. As the cocktail movement has progressed in recent years, Laura has learned and adapted her drinks. She notes, “We have a Dirty Chai Martini and we have an Espresso Martini that both use our Coffee Pecan Bitters,” which she creates by combining Elijah Craig Bourbon and organic locally roasted coffee beans from Thanksgiving Coffee, adding different kinds of roots that bring out the bitter element. “They are so concentrated that you only need a few drops. It will transform your cocktail and make it truly unique and authentic.“
As a mixologist, Laura has elevated the bar menu at Noyo Harbor Inn. One year, she wanted to make a special spring offering for Mother’s Day. She decided to create a Lilac Martini called “Lilac Empress,” using Empress 1908 Purple gin. The color of this particular gin is truly beautiful, and Laura created a house-made Lilac Liqueur and house-made bitters to compose this gorgeous drink. “I reached out to everyone I knew to harvest the teeny edible purple blooms from their yards,” Laura remembers. “I drove around town in my car looking for lilac bushes and knocking on doors trying to obtain enough to create my concoctions. Lilacs only appear for a few weeks in March and they fade fast.“ The floral smell in the kitchen must have been intoxicating, and the resulting purple drink topped with dried lilacs was a huge success.
Laura also wanted to bring the house Bloody Mary up a notch. She created a bitters addition with a mixture of various hot peppers, chiles, limes, molasses, barks, and herbs steeped and infused with high grain alcohol for several weeks. “I was originally going to use ghost peppers but I didn’t want heat to overwhelm the drink. Balance and nuance are very important,” adds Laura. She also infuses her vodka with herbs to give added depth of flavor to the end result. “Customers tell me this is the best Bloody Mary they have ever had.”
One of her signature drinks is the seasonal Candy Cap Old Fashioned, which has bitters made with special mushrooms naturally foraged on the Mendocino Coast. Describing the flavor of the Candy Cap is challenging—it makes me think of apple pie spices, maple syrup, and vanilla. (There is good reason that Candy Cap mushroom ice cream is one of the favorites at Cowlicks scoop shop in town.) Laura added to that flavor some black walnut and gentian, which tastes almost like a nocino. The addition of bitters raises the humble Old Fashioned to something sublime.
These flavor additions are not only restricted to alcoholic beverages. Laura has elevated the coffee bar as well. The Vanilla Rose latte, for example, uses a simple syrup that has been infused with rose petals from the Noyo Harbor Inn kitchen garden. “What we are trying to do here is to show nuance and layers of balance when building a drink,“ Laura smiles. You can let your inner mixologist out to play by purchasing a selection of the bitters for sale in the inn’s lobby to elevate your home-made concoctions. Or, just stop by the cozy bar above Noyo Harbor and have her mix one for you.
HarborView Bistro & Bar at Noyo Harbor Inn
500 Casa Del Noyo, Fort Bragg
707-961-8000 | noyoharborinn.com
Breakfast/lunch Wed - Mon 9am - 2pm
Happy Hour 2pm – 5:30pm (food at 3pm)
Photos by Brendan McGuigan, courtesy of Noyo Harbor Inn.
The Story of Mendocino Wines
Mendocino Roots & Ridges 10 Years Later
by Torrey Douglass
Mendocino County doesn’t do anything by the book. It’s a county full of mavericks, eccentrics, visionaries—people who look at how things are usually done and think, “Ok, but what if we …?” The area is nothing if not unconventional, a tendency that is revealed all over the county, even in its long history of grape growing and winemaking.
It was quite a cast of characters who farmed the first grapes in Mendocino County. This history was captured in writer Heidi Cusick Dickerson’s book, Mendocino Roots & Ridges: Wine Notes from America’s Greenest Wine Region, published in 2012 by Mendocino County Museum. In it, Cusick Dickerson tells the story of the Italian families who settled along the benchlands of the Russian River in and near Redwood Valley in the 1890s and early 1900s, families who started iconic Mendocino County wineries like Barra, Testa, Graziano, and Parducci.
The late John Parducci was known locally as “Mr. Mendocino.” His inherited and dogged persistence in the industry began with his grandfather Adolph’s immigration from Tuscany to rural Ukiah, where he planted grapes just as Prohibition began. John helped his grandpa by accompanying those wine grapes by train to the East Coast for “altar” wine, and by constructing 20,000 gallon wine tanks from redwood. In his 80s, after selling the Parducci brand, John partnered with his own grandson, Rich, to start McNab Ridge Winery.
The late Charlie Barra was another local wine legend. Referred to as the “Godfather” of Mendocino grape growing, Charlie traced his Italian roots to his grandparents who came from the Piedmont in Italy, where both worked in vineyards. In 1945, while still in high school, Charlie leased a vineyard, convinced his principal to let him go to school half a day during harvest, then proceeded to sell his grapes and make three times more than the principal was paid! The next year, the bottom fell out of the grape market.
“I got a lesson in farming,” was the philosophy that drove Charlie and Barra winery and vineyards since then. Charlie and his wife, Martha, have always been devotees of organic grapes. One of Charlie’s favorite quips was “We grow grapes the same way we always did. Now they call it organic.”
Greg Graziano is among Mendocino County’s wine luminaries as well. He is known as the fellow who “never met a varietal he didn’t like,” especially if that varietal is Italian. His grandparents came from Italy in 1918, and they too, shipped their grapes back east. Today, Graziano sources grapes from his vineyards as well as small growers. “I love the family traditions of the old growers, and I find their prices to be fair, which allows me to price my wine fairly.”
Maria Testa Martinson, whose immigrant forebears established Testa Vineyards in 1912, decided to make wine from those vineyards in the old Italian style. Her benchmark wines are called simply Black and White, “just like [the wine] my Nonno made from the grapes he grew,” says Maria.
This group of industrious, ambitious grape growers and winemakers set the stage for the groundbreaking wine businesses Mendocino County is known for today. Since the publication of Mendocino Roots and Ridges, an additional thousand acres of grapes are grown organically in the region. In total, one third of all wine grapes grown in the county are organic, making Mendocino County the top producer of organic grapes in the state.
This should not be a surprise considering the area’s history of firsts in ecologically friendly grape and wine production. Mendocino County is home to Frey Vineyards, the first all organic, then Demeter Certified Biodynamic winery, and Bonterra, the world’s first carbon neutral winery. Every year, an increasing number of industry leaders from our county are recognized for organic grape growing and sustainable business and winery practices.
A key player who made Mendocino County synonymous with sustainability is Fetzer, who declared a zero waste policy in the 1990s for all used paper, cardboard, and metal. They also began composting grapes stems, seeds, and skins. Their 2006 solar installation was one of the industry’s largest solar panel arrays. Today, Masut, owned by third generation Fetzer family members Jake and Ben Fetzer, continues the organic practice for their estate grown Pinot Noir.
The region’s agricultural enterprises are hardly restricted to grape growing. Fruit, vegetables, and livestock are grown by farmers and ranchers throughout the county—including some wineries. A chapter entitled “Lamb Mowers, Turkeys and Other Vineyard Creatures” talks about Chance Creek Vineyards in Redwood Valley, where “owner-winemaker Lou Bock, bundled in a heavy coat and baseball cap, has been seen walking between his rows of sauvignon blanc surrounded by wooly ewes and a bevy of lambs” mowing weeds between the vines. Sheep are also in use at both Pennyroyal and Navarro Vineyards in Anderson Valley, and the chapter is illustrated with a photo of Pennyroyal proprietor, Sarah Bennett, with her sheep.
McFadden, a beautiful, solar powered, all-organic ranch in Potter Valley, produces a variety of wines, from sparkling to dessert, as well as garlic braids, herb blends, ranch grown beef, and holiday bay wreaths. At Terra Savia in Hopland, also a producer of sparkling wine, rose, and still wines, you’ll find an assortment of extraordinary Olivino olive oils (the lemon is not to be missed). The commercial olive press is in the modern industrial tasting room, where special meals take place throughout the year, hosted by proprietor Yvonne Hall and winemaker Jim Milone.
Since its publication in 2012, some of the wineries profiled in Mendocino Roots & Ridges have ceased operation, yet their stories endure and continue to be worth telling. Both the book’s author and its photographer moved to Mendocino County in the 1970s, and spent much of the intervening four decades writing about and photographing vintners, grape growers, and vineyards across the county. They have legit local bona fides as well. Tom Liden, originally from New York City, built his own house on a steep slope off Comptche-Ukiah Road. He worked as the Executive Director of the Mendocino County Vintners Association and pursued photography, reflecting gratitude when he shares, “I love the place where I live and that I am able to give back through my photographs.” In appreciation for Liden’s work, Mendocino County bestowed him with a “Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Arts.
Since moving to the county, Cusick Dickerson operated several local businesses including a restaurant, deli, and catering. She taught cooking classes for the college and was the director of the college culinary arts program on the coast, all the while writing a food column for the coast papers and articles for many publications around the country. She even authored several cookbooks, including Soul & Spice: African Cooking in the Americas and The International Pantry Cookbook.
The pair’s appreciation for Mendocino County’s wine world comes through loud and clear in the pages of Mendocino Roots & Ridges, capturing the area’s off-the-beaten-path ethos, intriguing personalities, and trailblazing accomplishments. If you want fascinating tales and interesting insights into how local wine started and has evolved, you could do no better than picking up a copy for yourself.
Purchase Mendocino Roots and Ridges locally at Mendocino Book Company in Ukiah and Gallery Bookshop in Mendocino.
Torrey Douglass is a web and graphic designer living in Boonville. Her life’s joys include reading by the fire, cooking something delicious, and drinking good coffee with a friend.
Photo by Tom Liden
Fish Friendly Farming
Reducing Erosion and Sediment in Our Rivers
by Barbara Barielle
Fish Friendly Farming (FFF) has a nice ring to it. It sounds like good sense—guidelines for how farmers, vintners, and everyone working in agriculture should approach the use of land so that they respect waterways, watersheds, rivers, and oceans in ways that allow the fish to thrive.
Thanks to both the implementation of FFF in Anderson Valley and Mendocino County and the willingness of farmers to adhere to its guidelines, the Navarro River is the one remaining tributary in California that still has Coho Salmon. Though plentiful in Oregon and Washington, the Coho in California are considered extremely endangered (California has other salmonid fish varieties like Steelhead and King).
The Fish Friendly Farming program was written by Laurel Marcus in 1999, and she continues to lead the program’s efforts today. Although originally written for the Russian River watershed, the plan was adapted to the Navarro and Gualala rivers as growers expressed interest. It was soon followed by a specific program for the Napa River watershed that was heartily adopted by the Napa County Grapegrowers with an over 95% participation level.
Anderson Valley is close to 80% participation and growing. Wineries and growers that have actively sought to farm in fish-friendly ways are big proponents, and continue to look for ways to enhance their practices to reduce and even eliminate run-off into waterways. And while many observers may believe that pesticides and fertilizers—or even cow manure—are the culprits bringing unfriendly elements into our streams and rivers, it is actually the remnants of another industry altogether—timber.
While less than 15% of the land in the Navarro River Watershed is comprised of vineyards, there were 35 working timber mills at the height of the lumber industry in Mendocino County. To get to the redwoods that were their focus, roads were cut into forestry areas for the passage of trucks. Once the trees had been removed, these temporary dirt roads were abandoned, leaving unfinished, unmanicured cuts across the land. Over time, these roads deteriorated, and silt and sediment flowed into waterways in the Navarro River Watershed.
Wineries and grape growers have a greater interest in keeping their lands intact and preserving healthy soils for the future, yet they still are plagued by these raw cut roads that criss-cross many of their properties. The FFF practices are a result of input from an advisory committee that included grapegrowers, representatives from government agencies, and environmental groups to produce a workbook of Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) and a Farm Conservation Plan Template.
In Anderson Valley, several wineries were early adopters and continue to employ fish-friendly practices as their wineries and related farming expand. Zac Robinson, manager of historic Husch Vineyards, currently owns two properties in the FFF program totaling about 80 acres of land and 40 acres of grapes. Husch implemented the program in 2000. “We like the FFF program because it puts a focus on choices and tradeoffs inherent with farming. It triggers thoughtful conversations—and sometimes debates—about the ‘right’ choices,” says Robinson.
“One FFF focus is on erosion,” continues Robinson. “Since we were no-till for decades, at the time we thought we had this issue solved 100%. But FFF reminded us about our ranch roads and culverts, and educated us on modern approaches to reduce erosion from these sources. We added water bars to our roads, built new culverts, and started the routine maintenance that is an important part of erosion control.”
Robinson points out that during the March 2023 downpours at Husch—which was one of the wettest 15-minute periods he has seen—soils held firm under the strain of massive runoff. It is also worth mentioning that the vineyards at Husch are seeing a golden age in terms of consistent quality and yield. Lots of factors contribute, but Robinson thinks it is fair to say that the FFF farm plan is part of the winning formula.
Director of Vineyards for Roederer Estate, Robert Gibson, also adheres to FFF at the winery’s massive ranch. “We have 620 acres of vines, 1280 acres overall, and all are certified FFF. I started certifying our ranches back in 2008,” says Gibson. “Some of the main things we did to assure compliance was grass filtration strips on all borders around the vineyard, ensuring that energy dissipators were installed on any culverts that may have erosion potential during large storms.”
Roederer also checks all drop inlets on drainage areas throughout the vineyard before the winter rains, keeping them clean and ensuring they have erosion prevention supplies on hand for possible emergency repairs. “It forced me to have a specific vineyard plan in place, and this review process made us more aware of any potential issues for the future,” says Gibson. “Annual photo monitoring is done and is essential to show progress in problem areas and document all the good work that we, as stewards of the land, are already doing.”
Sarah Cahn Bennett speaks with authority on Fish Friendly Farming as the manager of her parents’ historic ranch, Navarro Vineyards, as well as her own Pennyroyal Farm, where she raises goats, sheep, and grapevines. “Navarro Vineyards was one of the first ranches that Laurel certified. We certified the entire ranch, 910 acres (of which 110 acres are planted) sometime in early 2000,” says Bennett. “Pennyroyal, I believe, was certified when we planted the vineyard in 2008, but again we certified the entire ranch.”
Having written BMPs that everyone can go back to and use as a checklist is always great, she explains. “For both the ranches, there was a history of erosion. Navarro ranch was logged in the 1950, and most of the current roads were logging skid roads with many wash out points and ‘Humboldt crossings’ across the larger stream gullies.” Bennett continues, “Much of Pennyroyal’s Robinson Creek bank was stabilized with old cars and trash. So many of the improvements we saw were with improving the drainage systems around our roads and streams. We added a lot of rocks to disperse the energy of the water at the end of culverts. One of the larger projects we did with FFF wasworking on outsloping a half-mile road and eliminating some problem ditches. This road has required very little maintenance and has been a major improvement to the original road that was there.”
Bennett feels that having a FFF plan is incredibly helpful in a number of ways. “The plan does a great job of mapping and documenting your inventory and practices. As we have trained new vineyard managers or ranch managers, the maps all put us on the same page, and doing the certification and photo documentation turns their focus to erosion issues not only in the vineyard but around the entire ranch. The documentation has also helped us work with operators and other agencies to get funding for improvements to stream crossings and bank stabilizations with other agencies.”
Bennett continues, “I believe in regenerative agriculture and carbon farming. Both of our ranches also have carbon farm plans [CFP]. Although both plans are pretty similar, FFF is more about monitoring and CFP is more about current practice and identifying goals. But they both really have a lot of the same goals—improving monitoring and awareness of issues, documentation of progress or issues, and working with farmers on ways to improve their land.”
As these Anderson Valley farmers have discovered, Fish Friendly Farming is not only the right way to do things to protect and enhance watersheds, but it is relatively straightforward and has a lasting effect on the health of vineyards and surrounding ecosystems. It is not the only solution to the challenges involved in reducing harms inflicted on the environment by mainstream agricultural practices, but it is an important step in that direction.
Learn more about Anderson Valley wine, vineyards, and wineries at AVWines.com.
Barbara Barrielle is a freelance wine and travel writer as well as a film producer. She is also the press contact for Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association and can be reached at press@avwa.com. Follow her @barbarabarrielletravels.
Photo by Linda MacElwee
Bergin-Sipila Vineyards
A Winemaking Partnership Rooted in a Love of the Land
by D.H. Shook
We live in a world of accelerated transformation. From social mores to weather patterns, the winds of change are upon us. Some of these changes are exciting and some are unsettling. It is natural, in times such as these, to cast about for points of reliability, a solid place to plant one’s feet. Redtail Ranch, owned and operated by John and Marbry Sipila, is a living example of how to do just that—by putting down roots (both the plant and family kinds), building, and being a part of a community. A community doesn’t just happen. It is built over time through actions and homespun traditions. It is built through sticking with a thing through thick and thin.
You could say that both of John Sipila’s grandfathers came to Fort Bragg in search of solid ground. In the 1880s, one of John’s grandfathers jumped ship in Fort Bragg and joined the Finnish community there. His other grandfather arrived in San Francisco from Croatia, by way of Ellis Island, on April 17, 1906. The next day, the great San Francisco earthquake hit, and the day after that, he began walking from San Francisco all the way up to Fort Bragg.
Similarly inspired to find a place to call his own, John moved his young family to Redtail Ranch in 1975 and began homesteading. John, a third generation Mendonesian, chuckles about the Back to the Land movement of the ’70s, saying, “I had always lived on the land, so I couldn’t go back since I was already there.” Redtail Ranch, perched on the south-facing slope in the hills of Mendocino County between Leggett and Laytonville, is where John chose to put down his roots. He and his sons cleared the manzanita and planted an orchard that, decades later, boasts 20 varieties of apples, as well as pears, cherries, and figs. This is where Sips, the Sipilas’ fresh pressed, frozen apple juice comes from.
Marbry Sipila, John’s wife, brought a passionate love of gardening with her to the ranch, as well as a deep devotion to her community. These two interests coalesced when Marbry and a few friends decided to establish a farmers market in Laytonville back in the late 1980s. Marbry explains, “First of all, I love gardening. I wasn’t looking at ‘market gardening.’ This was a way to put our surplus fruits and vegetables to good use. The more farmers can grow and sell locally, the more food security we have.” John chimes in, “One thing we all have in common is we all eat food. A farmers market is one of the most basic connections to a community that we can have.” Marbry served as market manager for many years, selling her garden’s bounty as well as the popular Sips apple juice.
Amazing apple juice is not the only elixir from Redtail Ranch that will delight your palate. One of the crowning jewels of the property is the award-winning Bergin-Sipila Winery, 100% off-grid and organic.
John (foreground) working in the vineyard at Redtail Ranch
Winemaker David Bergin
John and Marbry found the thought of home grown grapes too tempting to pass up. At first the idea was to just be able to eat delicious, sun-ripened grapes, but they had friends who were making wine, so they started considering possibilities. John and his sons carved the first vineyard out of the rugged hillside almost 30 years ago. They planted 300 Syrah vines to start with, then added several more vineyards over the years, including Zinfandel and Tempranillo, as well as more Syrah.
They decided to partner with David Bergin, an established Mendocino micro winemaker who was trained in winemaking at U.C. Davis and had made wine with fruit from his own vineyard for years. He belonged to a collective of other passionate amateurs making their own wines for personal use, and together the group explored the world of winemaking. With David’s winemaking expertise and the Sipilas’ farming skills, they had all they needed, and Bergin-Sipila Winery was born.
The first bottled wines were ready for market in 2011 and included fruit from David’s personal Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard. Both the 2017 Syrah and the 2017 Tempranillo wines won medals at the prestigious Mendocino County Wine Competition. The vineyards were once certified organic, but the certification process has been shelved, though the practices remain organic and even include biodynamic preparations. Today an average 300 cases of wine are produced annually by the winery.
The grapes are hand picked and taken to the winery, where they are destemmed and the fermenting process is started. “Some winemakers add sulfites at this stage, but with our regular monitoring process, we find that there are enough native yeasts present to avoid that. We do add some sulfites later but are committed to keeping the level as low as possible,” explains Marbry. The wines are then racked three to four times in oak barrels during the fermentation process.
When talking with the Sipilas, the word nature keeps popping up. “We will see what nature brings, and do the best we can’’ seems to be the motto at Redtail Ranch. As a farmer, it is impossible to tell what the seasons will bring. It could be a late frost, a smoke filled summer, or a bumper crop with the best grapes ever. The dance between winemaker, farmer, and nature is a tradition as old as our history. It endures because there is such pleasure in a fine bottle of wine. In the end, being a part of traditions allows us to find common ground, the best foundation for building community.
Find Bergin-Sipila wines at the Laytonville farmers market, Fort Bragg farmers market summer through fall, and various locations in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties. Learn more at BerginSipilaVineyards.com.
Photo header provided by Clara Shook. Photos of John and David are courtesy of Bergin-Sipila.
A long-time Mendonesian, Deborah Shook lives in a cottage on the edge of the forest. She takes pleasure playing in her garden and tackling a culinary challenge.
The Italian Roots of Hopland Wine
Before, After, and (a Little Bit) During Prohibition
by Lisa Ludwigsen
Hopland is a small town on Highway 101 in southern Mendocino County where drivers are forced to slow down, usually on their way to somewhere else. The town hosts tasting rooms, a few restaurants, a charming Victorian hotel, an olive mill, and a couple of gas stations. With a population of fewer than 700 people, a collection of homes fills a small grid of neighborhood streets to the west of the highway. Hopland doesn’t draw in most folks as they whip by, but local businesses are attempting to change that. It is worth a stop or weekend stay to explore the area that lies just a short distance from the Bay Area.
Looking a little deeper, beyond the blur for most passersby, one can discover a rich history of native Pomo people. The convulsions of Mexican, Spanish, and Gold Rush occupations on Native peoples and lands gave way in the mid- to late-1800s to a flood of Italian immigrants who had been driven from home by failing crops, poor environmental conditions, and natural disasters. They were lured far away by the promise of workable land and a new life in idyllic northern California, which shared a similar Mediterranean climate. They carved out a place in the nascent days of ranching and farming in Mendocino County, dating back before 1859 when the town of Sanel, as Hopland was originally known, was officially founded. That original name, Sanel, was related to the Pomo word for sweathouse.
Descendants of those hard-working Italian families continue to shape the economy and culture of the area, contributing to its agricultural heritage, and, in the world of wine where French varietals take center stage, giving Italian wines a respectable place on the table.
Jim Milone is a fourth generation Hoplander. Jim’s families, the Rosettis and Milonis, immigrated from Italy to Hopland in the late 1800s. Their ranch was diversified by raising chickens and sheep, and farming prunes, walnuts, pears, and hops provided a steady living. Grapes were in the mix, too.
Jim shared great stories of his grandparents and great-grandparents in Hopland: “My grandfather, Vincenzo, was a decorated war hero in World War I, having survived a suicide squad in Italy. He left the military—as in, walked away—and came to Hopland to work at the Valley Oaks poultry ranch, which is now Campo Vida. He also put his military demolition experience to use by blowing up old walnut orchards in the area.”
Jim’s maternal great-grandfather, Achille Rosetti, was a winemaker from Geneva who immigrated to Napa and then to Hopland. Not much is known of his story except that he was an orphan who subsequently fathered eight children. His oldest daughter, Mary, was Jim’s mother.
When the 18th Amendment was signed into law in 1918 and went into full effect in 1920, Prohibition slammed down on the entire country, including the tiny hamlet of Hopland. The ensuing 13 years halted legal wine and beer production and eventually put a damper on the illegal operations that proliferated in and around the area. “During Prohibition, my grandfather would hide up in the hills whenever the Feds showed up to raid his ranch,” said Jim. “Eventually, he grew tired of the hassle and stopped making wine.”
Achille Rosetti wasn’t alone. When Prohibition ended in 1933, virtually all wine production in and around Hopland had ceased. Hops were almost done, too, since they were used solely for flavoring and preserving beer. There was still ranching and farming to be done, and the growing community thrived, taking care of themselves and each other. But wine did not begin commercial production again until 45 years after Prohibition ended.
Milone’s family story parallels the development in and around Hopland. Jim’s father, Frank, was born in 1925 and returned to the family farm after serving in World War II. He built a hop kiln in Hopland and worked the fields with a horse. A lot changed during Frank’s 97 years. He knew every aspect of farm operations and stayed abreast of the rapidly changing innovations and mechanizations of farming. Everyone pitched in to keep the farm going. “These were incredibly hard-working people, men and women alike,” said Jim. “They took just a half day off each week.” Diversified farming kept them going. As a high schooler in the 1970s, Jim resented going home to farm chores after school when friends were skateboarding or hanging out. “I learned to work hard just like the rest of the family.”
Commercial wine production was revived in 1976, when Jim and his friend, Greg Graziano, descendant of another Italian immigrant family with wine-making roots, decided to start a winery in Hopland. The collaboration of these two local young men, fresh out of college, was key in resurrecting and expanding the wine businesses in and around Hopland and beyond.
The two young friends brought together three plots of grapes from family members totaling over 100 acres, and their first wine was produced in 1977. Jim said, “We worked our butts off during that time. The great thing is that every job I’ve had since then has been easy.”
Those first plantings included the popular varietals of Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Zinfandel. As time went on, they branched out and cultivated wines of their shared Italian heritage. Greg’s family had also immigrated from Italy to Mendocino County before Prohibition. Vincenzo and Angela Graziano purchased 100 acres in Calpella, north of Hopland, in 1918, just before Prohibition took effect. When your livelihood is suddenly illegal, times are especially tough. They made it work through some creative endeavors. “The bootleg wine still equipment can be found on our family property to this day,” shared Greg.
Greg has spent over 45 years carrying on his lineage in Italian winemaking through his company, the Graziano Family of Wines, which includes brands Enotria, Monte Volpe, Graziano, and Saint Gregory. He remains committed to building awareness and appreciation for Italian wines. “Italian varietals make fabulous wine,” said Greg. “It can be argued that Italian wines are more interesting than many of the French wines proliferating the market. The acidity and tannin structure pair exceptionally well with food.”
Greg also credits his hard-working parents, grandparents, and extended family with his tenacity and success. His daughter, Alexandra, is moving into leadership of the Graziano Family of Wines, representing the fourth generation of Mendocino County wine-growing for the Grazianos.
Forty-five years after their first vintage, Greg and Jim have solidified their legacy as leaders in Mendocino County wine production. In Hopland, remnants of those early days remain in the form of the hop kiln Frank and Vincenzo Milone built, the ranches, and vineyards planted by Jim and his family. The Hopland Cemetery, which is undergoing a renovation, holds the final resting place of some of those early pioneers.
Italian wines produced in Mendocino County are often overlooked in favor of wines made in the flashier regions to the south. But vinophiles are missing out if they don’t give Graziano Family wines and other local options a try. Enjoying Mendocino wines not only introduces a person to a prolific area producing an impressive variety of world-class wines, but it also ties the drinker to the long history and inimitable spirit of the families who have been creating them for over 100 years.
Graziano Family of Wines Tasting Room
13275 South Hwy 101, Suite #1, Hopland
(707) 744-8466 | grazianofamilyofwines.com
Open daily 10am-5pm
Photos licensed by Historical Society of Mendocino County Photograph Collection, Ukiah, CA. Accession #09189, #09349, and #04562
Lisa Ludwigsen is a writer and marketer working with food, farms, and family small businesses. She has worked in organic agriculture, natural foods, and environmental education for over 20 years.
Not Just for New Year’s
Locally Produced Sparkling Wines Are an Every Day Delight
by Lisa Ludwigsen
These days, sparkling wine has moved from a special occasion indulgence to an everyday player in the mix of modern cocktails, especially in northern California, where vintners are producing a wide selection of appealing and often affordable bubbles. While Napa and Sonoma are typically touted for their sparkling wines, Mendocino County’s fine selections certainly hold their own among their splashier counterparts to the south.
Sparkling wines are close, if not identical, to their counterparts made in France, yet the name Champagne can only be used for wine made in that region. Everything else must be labeled sparkling wine.
There is a sparkling style for most every palate and occasion, from French-style L’Ermitage to Brut Rouge, Cuvée Brut, Blanc de Blanc, Blanc de Noir, Crémant, and Pétillant Naturel. Mendocino growers create their own unique blends using a variety of grapes, including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, French Colombard, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and others. Each producer utilizes their individual style and terroir to imbue their product with its own special character. It’s worth venturing out to try them all!
Whatever your preference, wineries in every region in Mendocino County offer first-rate sparkling. From the premier Roederer and Scharffenberger in Anderson Valley, to the certified organic, very dry Blanc de Blanc at Terra Sávia in Hopland, to the 100% estate-grown Brut natural style at Rivino, sparkling enthusiasts and novices will enjoy making their way through the wide selection offered by talented local producers. There are simply too many to mention here.
Ever wondered where all those bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass come from? To put it simply, once grapes have been fermented to create wine, a second fermentation takes place that creates the bubbles. The young wine is bottled, then a small amount of yeast and sugar are added to each bottle to create the second fermentation. (Less expensive sparkling styles, like Prosecco, use stainless steel tanks for the second fermentation.) As the yeast eats the sugar, the resulting carbon dioxide is contained within the bottle, creating the bubbles. The bottles are left alone for a period of time, anywhere from nine months to five years or even longer. Important steps include racking—storing the bottles upside down and turning them regularly—and opening each bottle to quickly remove the spent yeast which can cloud the final product. Labor intensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely!
An interesting trend in sparkling wine is called Pét-Nat. Short for the French Pétillant Naturel, Pét-Nat roughly translates to “naturally sparkling.” In short, Pét-Nat is created by trapping the carbon dioxide created during the first fermentation, when the grapes are being transformed into wine. These wines are slightly unpredictable. They are lower in alcohol and lighter in flavor. They may have remnants of the original yeasts, resulting in some cloudiness, and the bubbles may be softer and fewer. The word “funky” is often used to describe them. They are a popular and fun addition to the menu of sparkling wines. Mendocino County producers of Pét-Nat include Fathers + Daughters winery in Philo and Powicana Winery in Redwood Valley, among a few other local wineries.
Sparkling wine enthusiasts should mark their calendars for the Mendocino County Sparkling Wine Festival, which will take place in April 2023 at Terra Sávia winery. Last year’s event featured 10 producers, all from Mendocino County.
Those teeny, tiny bubbles tickle the nose and ignite the imagination. Pop open a bottle of sparkling wine and get the party started, even if it’s a party of two. Begin a meal out with a single glass and set the tone for a lovely meal. It’s a wonderful development in the world of wine that sparkling wines are no longer relegated to the special occasion. Life is short. Enjoy sparkling wine whenever you can.
Just a Few of Mendocino County’s Sparkling Wine Producers
(in no particular order)
Fathers + Daughters
FandDCellars.com
Terra Sávia
TerraSavia.com
McFadden Vineyards
BlueQuail.com
Nelson Family Vineyards
NelsonFamilyVineyards.com
Roederer Estate
RoedererEstate.com
Scharffenberger Cellars
ScharffenbergerCellars.com
Pennyroyal Farm
PennyroyalFarm.com
Navarro Vineyards
NavarroWine.com
Handley Cellars
HandleyCellars.com
Long Meadow Ranch
LongMeadowRanch.com
Saracina
Saracina.com
Top image courtesy of Pexels.
Discovery You Can Taste
Minus Tide Makes Wine with a Coastal, Community Focus
by Thom Elkjer
When the moon pulls the ocean farthest from shore, the result is known as a “minus tide,” because nature is revealing, not concealing. Tide pools, kelp gardens, shellfish colonies, and other wonders appear and delight us. Minus Tide Wines recreates that experience in a glass, revealing the flavors of hidden vineyards tucked into expressive microclimates in Mendocino County—from sun-baked inland valleys to wind-blown coastal ridges.
Minus Tide’s founders were college students when they met in the coastal town of San Luis Obispo in 2007. Kyle Jeffrey and Brad Jonas were studying winemaking and wine-growing, while Miriam Pitt was studying tourism and wine marketing. Though they dreamed of launching a winery one day, they parted ways at graduation, keeping in touch while becoming professionals in their fields. One fateful day in 2017, they met for lunch at the Inn at School-house Creek near Mendocino village where Brad grew up. “We walked in with our old dream of launching a winery,” he recalls, “but this time we came out with a plan.”
They based their winery in Anderson Valley, where Brad and Miriam lived together, hosting Kyle on his frequent visits from San Francisco or Los Angeles, where he was honing his skills in wine sales. Without deep pockets or their own vineyards, they scoured Mendocino for great grapes at affordable prices, rented space at Toulouse Vineyards to make their wine, and then focused sales on local outlets and restaurants in the Bay Area and L.A.
The Minus Tide philosophy is about finding choice vineyards, not vinifying specific grape varieties. The lesser-known Carignan variety was an early hit, coming from the inland area of Feliz Creek. It makes both red wine and rosé. Syrah, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir soon joined the lineup, sourced from vineyards on the western ridges above Anderson Valley. Flavors are ripe yet alcohols are refreshingly low. The winery tends to cellar its reds longer than other producers, so the wine is more integrated and refined on release.
Production is still small at under 1,000 cases, yet Minus Tide has quickly gained an outsized reputation among local restaurants and wine sellers. “It’s our top-selling wine brand,” says Wendy Lamer, proprietor of Boonville gourmet retailer Disco Ranch. “The wine is great on its own and amazing with food.” Major wine critics are now spreading the word, recommending the wines to international audiences.
Surviving, let alone succeeding, as a small winery is more easily said than done, but Minus Tide’s team brings optimism, energy, and strong alignment to their shared passion. “We all agreed that being part of the local food and wine community was important to us,” Miriam explains. “Obviously we need to sell far and wide, but we wanted our friends, visitors, and local businesses to be able to taste and pour our wines.”
The founders also aligned around the foundation of their enterprise: exceptional vineyards. “We want to have so much confidence in the grapes we get that we can do one of the hardest things for a winemaker—which is doing very little,” Kyle explains. “That’s why we focus on vineyards where the flavors and balance are grown right into the fruit.”
That light-touch winemaking Kyle refers to is evident in the wines, which offer the silky textures and bright acids that make wine a natural match for food. These qualities explain why so many Mendocino restaurants offer Minus Tide wines: the Carignan rosé, for example, pairs as well with a robust carnitas tostada as it does with a delicately poached fish. Restaurants also appreciate the responsive service from the winery. “We don’t have a tasting room,” Miriam points out, “so we go out of our way to keep our local purveyors well stocked.”
All this hard work and hustle takes time, which is why people are routinely surprised to discover that all three founders have day jobs. Kyle is winemaker for San Francis-co-based Woods Beer & Wine Co., Brad is assistant winemaker at Toulouse Vineyards in Philo, and Miriam—who designed and illustrated the wine labels—works for Berkeley-based J.A.M. Public Relations.
“We give up personal time for Minus Tide,” Kyle admits, “but this is how we express ourselves artistically. This is how we show people how great the wine from Mendocino can be.” The team also believes that they don’t need to own a lot of infrastructure if they have a strong, supportive community. “We have great relation-ships with our growers,” Brad says. “We are so fortunate and grateful that we can make our wine at Toulouse. Our suppliers and customers really want us to succeed. The word of mouth has been incredible.”
Like healthy grapevines, the Minus Tide team has continued to sink deeper roots. Brad and Miriam married up on Navarro Ridge in 2019 and bought a house in Boonville in 2021. Their son, Luca, will celebrate his first birthday in November. Kyle can be spotted playing disc golf with friends and pouring at local events. With every passing month, more people discover the meaning of “minus tide” from the winery that lives up to its name.
Find out more at MinusTideWines.com.
Photos by Mary Zeeble.
Thom Elkjer has been writing and teaching about wine for more than 25 years. He wrote this story under a loggia in Boonville shaded by Muscat vines.
Fog Bottle Shop
Where Orange is the New White
by Devin Myers
Orange wine is not new. It has been around for more than 9,000 years. In olden times, though, it was just called . . . wine. Crafted from white fruit like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, or Chenin Blanc, the skins and even some of the stems are left in during the fermentation process. This adds healthy wild bacteria and yeasts which contribute to range, depth, and complexity of flavors, and the individual nature of the skins imparts beautiful hues.
Though orange wine may have fallen out of fashion in the West when some wine makers started monocropping or adding interventions like sulfites, sugars, or egg whites, it never fell out of favor in its places of origin, places like Georgia, Slovenia, and Italy. Recently, it has enjoyed a resurgence in America, largely due to the thirst for a greater diversity and newness of wine flavors.
Fog Bottle Shop focuses on what we drink and where it comes from. In the same way that people like to buy produce from farms, farmers markets, and farm stands, this shop is about supporting the smallest of the small, focusing on those winemakers who grow all their own fruit organically, biodynamically, with no additives, so it is just about the grapes.
Winemakers who are also farmers, and who grow all their own grapes, make up less than 1% of the industry. The ethos of the shop is first and foremost to support and hold up those people who are doing that—friends, family, friends of friends, and locals in the area. The secondary focus follows wines from a particular thread of coastally oriented vineyards across the world: Australia, New Zealand, the coast of California, the coast of Mexico and Baja, and the European coastal growers in Catalunya, Italy, Sardinia, and Sicily.
It is a highly curated shop, and everything here is fantastic. Take the Caesura Sparkling Viognier, for example—a local sparkling wine fermented with fruit skin contact, made by Caleb Leisure, who is considered by many to be one of the best American wine makers specializing in natural wines. He farms his fruit in Yorkville and makes his wine in Cloverdale, using giant clay vessels which he imported from the country of Georgia. Known as queveries, these are built traditionally by a few families of tenth-generation potters from Georgia, where orange wine was first made.
Another star of the wine shop is Chill Pill, a Chenin Blanc from Subject to Change Wine Company out of the Deanda Vineyard in Redwood Valley. This wine is a good expression of classic orange wine, with that stunning color, a taste which is a blend of very tropical, savory, and herbal flavors, and a very fun label.
Fog Bottle Shop has these and many other interesting and delicious wines from around the world. Located in the heart of Mendocino Village, their selections offer tastes of both local and faraway sun drenched vineyards. Stop by for your own taste of orange wine—or, as we call it, just wine.
Fog Bottle Shop at Fog Eater Café
45104 Main Street, Mendocino
(707) 397-1806 | FogEaterCafe.com
The Root of the Matter
Strictly Vineyards on Growing Grapes without Glysophate
by Torrey Douglass
“When it comes to grapes grown in Anderson Valley and Mendocino County, each grape has been touched at least once by someone’s hands,” remarked Travis Foote, General Manager of Strictly Vineyards, a vineyard management company located just outside of Boonville. “It’s not a hands-off approach, especially here in AV, where wines aren’t mass produced through industrial farming.” Grape growing, regardless of vineyard size, is a complex and intensive endeavor, and Strictly Vineyards helps farmers, vineyard owners, and wineries navigate the profusion of challenges that await anyone brave (or foolish?) enough to try their hand at it.
By his own admission, Travis “fell into” vineyard management as a career. After college at Penn State, he came to California to help his aunt and uncle open their new winery and tasting room, Balo Vineyards. He planned wine flights, set up the payment system, and got all the necessary details organized for the tasting room to open in May of 2012. Then, mission accomplished, he headed back east to Philadelphia. But once winter rolled around, he found himself reconsidering his choices. Anderson Valley offered less snow and more sun–and more wine, so he turned around and came back, settling in Boonville and taking on the manager position for Balo’s Vineyard.
Travis was completely new to the field (hah!), and there was a lot to do and even more to learn. He tapped into the valley’s community of grape growers and winemakers, reaching out to experts like Paul Ardzrooni, Norman Kobler, and Jason Drew with his questions. “They were very generous with their time,” he remembers, “and they’re still supportive to this day.” His expertise grew as he learned on the job, and soon he was approached to manage other vineyards. Not long after, Strictly Vineyards was formed to provide vineyard management services such as feasibility studies, new vineyard installation, and ongoing care and maintenance.
According to Travis, the whole winemaking process requires more sweat and effort than folks assume. “A lot of people don’t realize how intensive it is. They go into a store and buy a bottle of wine and assume [it comes out of] a romantic lifestyle. Yet from the farming, to the winemaking, to the selling, it’s a much more intensive process than it looks and not as romantic as it seems.” Still, despite the hard work, he prefers the vineyard to the office, reflecting on how gratifying it is to see something through, from the start of the growing season to harvest. “You can hold something in your hand that you’ve helped to grow, something tangible,” Travis shared. “It can be challenging, and every year’s different. No year is the same, whether you’re dealing with smoke, wildfire, or drought.”
Regardless of the year’s challenges, weed control is a perennial and indispensable part of maintaining a vineyard’s health and vitality. Opportunistic, tough, and aggressive, weeds hoard the water and nutrients that would otherwise nourish the grapes, resulting in lower yields and weaker vines. And with other challenges to address, from finding enough workers to kinks in the supply chain making bottles pricey and hard to find, it’s not surprising that vineyard owners are tempted by the convenience of the one-and-done weed killer, glyphosate.
The most widely used herbicide in the world, glyphosate was developed by the agrochemical company, Monsanto, in 1974. It’s the main ingredient in their weed-killing farm and garden product, Roundup, which is known as a broadspectrum herbicide, meaning it kills all plants rather than targeting specific species. Glyphosate, aided by other chemical components in Roundup, is sprayed onto a plant’s leaves, where it is absorbed into the plant’s vascular system and travels throughout the plant, including down into its roots. The formula interrupts the production of the biochemical components of proteins that are required for growth, causing the plant to die all the way down to its roots and making regrowth impossible.
On the surface this seems like an elegant solution—apply it once in the spring, the encroaching weeds die, and weed control is achieved for another growing season. But there is a different story taking place beneath the soil. Research by Robert Kremer of the University of Missouri has found that glyphosate, typically entering soil through spray application or released from the roots of treated plants, can be carried along waterways to neighboring fields and watersheds. The herbicide also sticks around, persisting in the soil more than four years after its last application.
A study by Environmental Science and Research International compared the effects of chemical and mechanical weed control methods on grapevines. The results showed that glyphosate decreases root mycorrhization—the symbiotic relationship between a vine and the beneficial fungi attached to its roots. In root mycorrhization, the fungi transmit nutrients from the soil into the plant in exchange for sugar produced by the plant through photosynthesis. This relationship allows the fungi to survive underground on the roots, while enabling the vines greater access to the soil’s nutrients. This and other studies have shown that using glyphosate decreases the nutrient content of the final harvest, partly due to its impairment of the mycorrhization process.
While glyphosate weed killers like Roundup reduce the nutrients in grapes, they add another component: the glyphosate itself. A 2019 study of beer and wine by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found measurable levels of glyphosate in all five Northern California wines it tested—including two that were certified organic. The safety questions around glyphosate seem a little more personal when we’re unwittingly welcoming it into our bodies via that sip of syrah. Mice studies have linked consistent glyphosate exposure to liver disease, and in 2018 a jury decisively concluded that Roundup caused a Vallejo school district groundskeeper to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma when the backpack container he was carrying broke and drenched his back in the formula.
Yet when product safety questions arise, Monsanto points to EPA reports that Roundup poses no risks to humans when used properly. Those claims are less than convincing when put into context by Carey Gillam’s book Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science. A journalist and research director at public health advocacy group U.S. Right to Know, Carey Gillam included Monsanto’s own internal documents in her book, demonstrating how, time and again, the EPA’s assertions that Roundup posed a cancer risk and should come with health warning labels were shut down by the political pressure the multi-billion dollar company brought to bear.
Fortunately there is a glufosinate-based alternative that is considerably less harmful—this is the approach Strictly Vineyards encourages its clients to adopt. It’s a “broadcast burn down” application, killing the plants on which it lands down to the soil–but not under it. Says Travis, “Its price is on par with glyphosate, and it has a shorter half-life than Roundup and other glyphosate products. Also, it’s contact, rather than systemic, so it does not travel into the root system of the plants it is targeting. If the application is timed correctly, it’s only needed once a year.” Glufosinate cannot be described as benign–it’s an herbicide, after all–and should always be handled with care. But it is not considered a cancer risk, and it is significantly less detrimental to the environment. So for conventionally farmed vineyards, it’s a better option
In a county that markets itself as “America’s Greenest Wine Region,” leaving glyphosate behind makes sense. Grape growing and winemaking is a significant part of the local economy. Jeopardizing that through short-term solutions that cause long-term harm threatens Mendocino County’s future resilience. Reflecting on Anderson Valley in particular, Travis said, “It’s a different climate here than Napa, Sonoma, even Ukiah Valley. We’re 15 degrees cooler and get more rain. We’re perfectly positioned to grow world class pinot noir, and produce some of the best wines in California.” For that to continue into the future, it’s essential to protect the health of our harvests, soil, and water. And for that we must understand the consequences of choices made in the vineyard—both above and below the ground.
Strictly Vineyards (707) 684-9277 | StrictlyVineyards.com
Saracina Winery
Geeking Out with Winemaker Alex MacGregor
story and photos by Ree Slocum
Alex MacGregor embarked upon a lifetime of wine exploration after graduating with a business degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Twenty of those years have been spent at Saracina Vineyards near Hopland, creating wines with owners John Fetzer and Patty Rock. They dry farm the vineyard, focusing on interesting varieties and old vine varietals.
From the get-go, MacGregor’s passion for the craft and Fetzer’s extensive connections among regional wineries granted him access to other vineyards in the area. “I got to taste everybody’s vineyard,” MacGregor said. He sampled their wines, bought and harvested their grapes, and crafted his own distinctive wines for the Saracina label as well as his own, Trinafour Cellars.
Three years ago, Saracina was purchased by Marc Taub, a third generation importer who was named Wine Star Person of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Alex has gained a reputation for producing some of the finest limited production wines in the county and beyond, to such a degree that Taub sees MacGregor as “… the treasure that came with the property.” And it’s a truly stunning property, with rolling hills dotted with oaks, glittering ponds, and, of course, those dry-farmed vineyards.
MacGregor and I sat in Saracina’s bright and airy tasting room tucked at the foot of an oak-topped vineyard hillside. We sampled wines while he talked about each, as well as the wider world of winemaking.
We sat down at a table in front of four wine glasses; a notepad, tasting menu, and pen; a plate with crackers and soft cheese; and, of course, a collection of wines from Saracina’s latest release. “We’re going to have a little snack and taste current releases. The snack is a breakfast Brie with honey comb. It’s delicious with this newly bottled first release 2019 Anderson Valley Chardonnay from Valley Foothills. This got 17 months on oak and it’s made with native yeast and native malolactic.” Thus was my curiosity piqued.
MacGregor then dives deep into the technical details, clearly his happy place. “Primary fermentation is yeast converting sugar into ethanol, with CO2 as a byproduct. Almost all red wines go through a secondary fermentation, where malic acid is bacterially metabolized to form lactic acid. It’s softer, increases the pH, and also gives the wine microbial stability,” he explained.
He then went into detail about the native malolactic acid: “Ninety to 99% of the world’s red wines go through [a secondary] malolactic fermentation, but not all white wines go through malolactic. None of the low pH or aromatic, snappy white wines go through it, but chardonnay is a real candidate for it.” One of the by-products of the fermentation is diacetyl, which gives it “that buttery aroma—like movie popcorn,” he laughed.
“Bottom line is, this Chardonnay went through malolactic fermentation with native malo. We don’t inoculate the wines in the winery for malolactic. It’s in barrels, in our hoses. It’s in our skin. It’s on the floors. It’s in the drains. It’s a house-strain, for sure. It’s a very low diacetyl producer, so you’ll notice the wine is not super buttery.”
And the taste of the Anderson Valley Chardonnay paired beautifully with the rich breakfast Brie with honey. The smooth and unassuming bouquet of flavors were yummy from start to finish which, I think, belied the youth of the 2019 Chardonnay. This was later confirmed when Alex said, “We’re crafting these wines so they’re drinkable right away.”
To further convey the intricacies of winemaking and wine tasting, MacGregor explained, “The idea is to have two wines that are completely different in style.” So we compared the 2019 Valley Foothills Chardonnay and the 2020 Unoaked Chardonnay from Saracina’s original Sun Dial Ranch vineyard, planted in 1981. “They’re the same grape variety and they’re 20 miles apart from each other. The 2020 is pretty straight forward. Super cold fermentation. That’s what captures all of those esters you like [the fruity aromas]. It takes a month to go dry.” He continued, “It’s crisp like a Granny Smith apple and naked with no malolactic influence. It’s done with cultured yeast, no oak, no malo. It’s full of those peach and pear and stone fruit esters and they’re very fleeting. They will dissipate in time, so drink it early for the fruitness. But if you’re looking for more nuance, secondary and tertiary compounds—the leathers, the darker red fruits, and earth and dust—then you wait. The 2018 version of Unoaked Chard is delicious right now.”
MacGregor then moved to the red blend, Winter’s Edge. The grape varieties are from Casa Verde vineyard in Redwood Valley, owned by viticulturist Peter Chevalier. According to MacGregor, Chevalier “is the top viticulturist in Northern California,” a pro farmer who likes to find and resuscitate old vineyards like Casa Verde. “These are now 76-year-old vines. Winter’s Edge is a field blend. It’s head pruned, dry farmed, CCOF Certified and is a mix of carignan, grenache, might be a little bit of old vine cabernet, and French Colombard. The wine has high acid. It’s not super tannic. It has the acidity and pH of a white wine. It’s tart: pomegranate and cranberryish and bone dry.”
The Winter’s Edge Blend is an excellent accompaniment to earthy and savory winter meals. Says MacGregor, “This wine pairs well with chicken and anything with mushrooms—a mushroom tart, a ragout, or just mushrooms sautéed on toast with parsley and butter would be good with it.”
Our conversation ranged wide, illuminating fascinating facts about the process of winemaking. MacGregor described how “stirring the lees” with a stainless-steel paddle agitates the sediment in the tank or barrel, releasing a protein that binds tannins to improve the wine’s “mouth feel.” He explained that adding chicken egg whites—their own—to wines coalesces with the sediments in the wine, clarifying and stabilizing it while making the sediments easier to remove. And he went on to break down how adding some stems to pinot noir helps shift the pH, giving a “fatter mouth feel,” adding more longevity along with a bit of tannin. That tannin “adds to the structure of the wine,” and “you get a little bit more mid-palate.” To see if grape stems are ripe enough to add, you can chew on one right in the field to taste if the tannins are ready.
When we step back to consider the big picture, MacGregor reflects that this past year has been a rough one for farmers. “My yields have been tragic this year because of the drought. It was hot, no water, and a tiny, tiny crop. This vineyard [Charlie Sawyer’s vineyard off of Redemeyer Road outside of Ukiah] typically yields six tons. We got 1.9 tons of it this year,” MacGregor said. I asked, “How much are you going to bottle?” His response: “Not enough!”
He added, “We’re going to have enough [zinfandel] for the tasting room. I have enough chard to go into the broad market and maybe sauv blanc with half the markets we’re usually in. Rosé, half, too. So not great. We just won’t have as much. But we’ll sell more direct, so our profitability will increase.” MacGregor seems to have adopted the view held by Saracina’s previous owner, John Fetzer. He reminisces how “John had a very farming attitude about it. ‘That’s farming. You take your lumps farming,’ he’d say.”
Despite these challenges, it helps that Saracina is in the unique position of having enough water, thanks to a high-water table, dry farming methods, and a savvy winemaker. They’re planting new vines and will continue dry farming. As a Certified California Sustainable Vineyard and Winery, they embrace a number of climate- and environmentally-friendly measures, safeguarding the property’s 140-year-old olive trees, tending its vegetable gardens and bee hives, and keeping a protective eye on the variety of bird and wild animal life that cohabitate there. The wine cave, dug out of solid rock, naturally cools bottles that would otherwise need a more energy-guzzling storage solution. All told, Saracina is situated within a breathtaking landscape with a talented team producing delicious handcrafted, limited production wines. For wine lovers, particularly those partial to Mendocino County, consider it essential for your tasting travel plans.
Saracina Winery
11684 South Highway 101, Hopland
(707) 670-0199 | Saracina.com
Ree Slocum is a fine art freelance photographer and writer who calls the edge of the wilds in Mendocino County “home.” She takes pleasure living with bird song, the breathing fog, and wildlife’s cast of characters when not on assignments. See her work at ReeSlocumPhotography.com.
Roma's Vineyard
A California Couple Returns from Alaska to Pursue Pinot Perfection
by Torrey Douglass
“I was a bird born without wings,” muses Dean Carrell as he leans back in his dining room chair while scratching his grey beard. “I always wanted to fly.”
Born in Bakersfield in 1940, Dean grew up in Tivy Valley in the Sierra Foothills, right at the mouth of the Kings River. He liked to sit on the riverbank and study the red-tailed hawks, pondering how a creature heavier than air could stay aloft. He says, “I was the worst student in the world—I always wanted to be outdoors.” As a result, he left school early and worked as a heavy equipment operator, always wondering how he could join those hawks up in the sky.
At first, Dean thought becoming an airline pilot was the purview of the well-educated and well-to-do. Then one day he found a magazine article about a prospector named McClintock who was exploring Venuzuela. He discovered gold in a remote mountain crevice—so remote that returning on foot to retrieve more of the bounty was unthinkable. Instead McClintock hired a pilot by the name of James Angel—an adventurer who was credited with “discovering” the world’s highest waterfall, also in Venezuela. Angel pushed the limits of his tiny plane to return McClintock to the cache of gold. He skillfully landed on a high plateau, and the first payload they brought home allowed him to purchase a bigger and more powerful plane. Reading about the pair’s adventure sparked Dean’s determination to learn to fly.
Newly inspired, Dean was careful with his money and saved up for a Cessna 180, hiring a pilot to teach him how to fly as soon as he’d purchased it. At the time, a minimum of 40 hours of flight time was required to earn a pilot’s license, but Dean’s instructor recommended him to the FAA with just 30 hours under his belt—possibly because Dean used his own plane for the lessons, depriving the instructor of plane rental income that usually boosted the lesson fees.
So it came to be that in 1967, Dean took to the California skies and headed to Alaska, a mythic place where there was plenty of outdoors to go around. Once there, he flew folks out into the wilds to hunt and fish, gained air experience, earned additional certifications, and ultimately started his own charter business, Alaska Travel Air. It was situated off of Lake Hood on the Anchorage International Airport—the only seaplane base with a control tower in existence.
There were other guide services in the area, including one which Suzi Arago and her then-husband owned and operated. Whenever clients wanted to cross the mountain range by small plane rather than taking the more standard route by commercial airline, there was only one man in the area “crazy enough to do it”—Dean Carrell of Alaska Travel Air. He landed planes on land, water, and glaciers; he threaded them through narrow mountain passes that required sideways maneuvering to come through unscathed; and he had too many close calls to count. He claims it was a combination of luck, God’s grace, and expertise that allowed him, time after time, to “save the bacon.”
Dean and Suzi were friends for years until a time came when they were each unattached and could become closer. They opened a fishing lodge in 1982, welcoming guests who sought the trout and salmon that blessed Alaska’s lakes and rivers. Two years later, they married and sold the charter business, though Dean continued to fly lodge guests into the bush.
The lodge was a family affair, with Dean’s mother Roma in the kitchen cooking for guests. Before long, Dean and Suzi welcomed a daughter, Jeri, and later a baby boy, Ben, into the world. On nights Dean was expected home, Suzi would wait anxiously for the growl of his plane in the sky, not able to rest easy until he was back on the ground. The lodge was the epicenter of their lives for seven years, and Dean’s plane allowed them to introduce guests to the stunning Alaskan wilderness, be they hunters, fish catchers, photographers, or thrill seekers. What was for many a once-in-a-lifetime adventure was their daily bread-and-butter.
But eventually the time came when a change was needed. Between their two little ones, Suzi’s anxiety, and Dean’s understanding that “the nine lives of a bush pilot get lived up after a while,” they decided to move back to California. In 1989 they left the lodge in the capable hands of family members and moved to Suzi’s childhood town, Mill Valley, to figure out what would come next.
Part of the appeal of Mill Valley was the opportunity to live near Suzi’s family. They socialized frequently, gatherings enlivened by Napa Valley wines—wines that were still somewhat new on the wider wine scene and thus still seen as irreverent upstarts. Dean and Suzi were instantly enamored with the variety, depth, and subtleties of California wines, and Pinot Noir topped the list of their favorites. Dean had found his new calling and, with Suzi’s support, they decided to devote their next chapter to the farming and making of Pinot Noir.
The years that followed saw Dean and Suzi combing the Northern California region for the right property to grow Pinot Noir. Besides Mill Valley, they lived in Calistoga and Dry Creek, but until a friend introduced them to Anderson Valley, they had never found a consistently excellent Pinot. In 1990, they purchased 120 acres of Anderson Valley ridgetop, a property that boasted 50 acres of prime vineyard land.
They planted grapes and named the vineyard after Dean’s mother, Roma. The vineyard grows Pinot Noir grapes exclusively, fruit that becomes Roma’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, Rosé, and Mistelle. Mistelle is a port-style wine made from Pinot grapes that stay on the vine past ripeness and into raisining, a phase also called noble rot. “I let it go as long as possible before the bears take them,” shares Dean. The fermentation phase ceases when the wine is moved to stainless steel tanks, at which point they add a premium high alcohol grape distillate from Wine Secrets in Sebastopol. This distillate adds special aromatics and minerality, and is the last step before bottling. The result is a sweet, intense, fruity dessert wine that is the perfect finale to an enticing meal.
Dean subscribes to a couple of truisms common among winemakers. One is “A good wine is made in the vineyard.” As such, he heartily eschews winemaking shortcuts like chaptalization (adding sugar during winemaking to boost fermentation of low-sugar grapes) or “watering back” (adding water to reduce alcohol levels and increase volume). He also agrees with the idea that the best wine is made from grapes that suffer. Dean dry farms their vines to force the roots deep into the ground to find water. This practice builds resistance to disease and allows the fruit to pick up nuance from the soil.
Ultimately, Dean wants low yield, high quality harvests that have more concentrated flavors. He uses 100% new French oak barrels, scoffing at wine enthusiasts who deride wines that are “too oaky.” Dean notes that the most expensive wines available are fermented in 100% new French oak barrels. At up to $1,000 each, those barrels “take the profit out of the process,” and he believes those who deride their use are looking at budgets rather than product quality. And for Dean, quality always wins.
So while this second career probably won’t fill their wallet, it most definitely fills their hearts. “Our profit is our way of life,” he concludes, and, looking around, it’s hard to disagree. Their home sits high above Anderson Valley, with expansive views that encompass meadows, vineyards, and forests stretching below them into the valley, then rising again on the far side where layers of distant ridges cradle the ocean fog. To get any higher would require Dean to renew his pilot’s license.
The opposite side of their Spanish-style home looks out over Roma’s Vineyard and the smaller, densely forested Indian Creek valley behind that. Suzi shares, “I wake up in the morning and I look out, and this is what I see. Even a rainy day is a good day. The wine is just the frosting on the cake. It enhances our life.”
“We like to make a wine we know people will enjoy drinking and will enjoy with us,” adds Dean. These days he manages his six acres of grapes with very little outside help. “Producing a top wine takes all of my ambition and all of my interest. Some pilots fly until their very last day. I had so much flying in Alaska, I fulfilled every dream I had: glacier landings, float landings—I became a master of them all. I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging, but I wanted to master every aspect of bush flying so I could do it with confidence.” After 25 years in the cockpit, his itch to take to the skies is well and truly scratched. He’s happy to keep his feet on the ground where he can devote his time and energy into grape growing and winemaking.
Future plans include welcoming small groups up to the property one Sunday afternoon a month, where guests can taste wines, walk in the vineyard, and take in the views. In the meantime, Dean works on a new winemaking building and tends the vineyard. Pilots can be a hard-headed bunch, refusing to comply with gravity’s mandates. Dean applies the same stubborn determination to making exceptional wines—living, working, and toasting the good life up on the ridgetop where he’s closest to the sky.
Purchase wine from Roma’s Vineyard and learn about upcoming events at RomasVineyard.com.
Photos courtesy of Roma’s Vineyard
Weatherborne
Aviation-Inspired Wine
by Cris Carter
You might not want to sit next to me on a plane. I won’t be closing the shade so you can watch The Office without glare on your screen. I booked the window seat on purpose. I will be studying the curve of Horseshoe Bend, the timbered slopes of the Coastal Range and the maze of freeways in the LA Basin. From thirty-thousand feet, the world feels small and fragile. That vertical perspective is nothing to turn away from. Better to plant your face firmly on the glass and regain your sense of awe from hurtling through the troposphere at close to Mach speed.
My flight path to Anderson Valley was full of long layovers and maybe a few missed connections. I have worked in wine from Southern California to Oregon to New Zealand and back to Cali. Traveling gives one a breadth of experience that shapes how the world is viewed—you know, seeing the forest, not just the trees. My family bought thirty acres of abandoned apple trees and wild grasses in 2015. While we still don’t have a tractor, and our fences still need to be mended, we have started working on our farm. We have planted dozens of fruit trees, including heritage cider apples and perry pears, for future fermentation products. We still need to get some goats and sheep, still need to clear out some poison oak and blackberries, but we have a dream, and isn’t that what California is really about?
I believe that regenerative agriculture is the path forward for California’s farmland. With a warming climate and less rainfall being the new pattern, you will be hearing a lot more about dry farmed grapes! I understand that a lot of people don’t want to see another vineyard in Anderson Valley. Fine, but let me tell you, apples and sheep don’t pay the property taxes anymore in Mendocino, let alone support families easily. Farmers need to add value to their products if they want to survive. Whether that’s growing grapes to make wine, or offering guest stays in a working apple orchard, farmland will only stay farmland by making economic sense.
I’m not an expert in restorative or regenerative farming, but luckily the practices are simple: avoid monocultures, include wild areas, increase biodiversity, care for your soil, and don’t poison your well. Weatherborne has only purchased organic grapes (not all third-party certified) since 2018 and will continue doing so. I believe we need to start planning for a warmer future, so I focus on Grenache, which could do well in Anderson Valley in the coming decades. I still love Pinot and still make it, but it’s nice to do something different. I make my wines with care, intervening only when absolutely necessary.
As a small business owner, I wear many hats, from accounting to deliveries to the actual winemaking. But I find the most joy in pouring a nice glass of wine for new guests and seeing their eyes light up when that first delicious sip hits their tongues. I hope one day I can be behind the bar, but for now we have a nice shady patio and a sunny picnic area.
Wine is wonderful because you can travel the world in a glass, on your porch by yourself or at your table with dear friends. The stories contained in those ounces are stories of joy, of pain, of successes and defeats. Wine is real, or at least it should be. Yes, there are tank farms of industrial juice shipped around the world like any other commodity. Perhaps there is a place for those mass market wines, but that’s not why I’ve spent twenty years in the wine industry.
Alternatively, I don’t aspire to be on the glossy cover of a wine magazine with a glass up to my nose, expounding about a quest to make the “best wine in the world.” I want to make good, grounded wines that provide pleasure and have a sense of place—wines that speak in a steady voice, neither mumbling nor shouting out their own virtues.
So, while I always aim to please, when you fly next, remember to bring your sunglasses—I’ll be keeping that window shade open.
Weatherborne Wine Corp
weatherborne.com | Instagram: Weatherborne | (707) 684-5299
Tasting room: 8750 Philo School Rd., Philo
Open Fri–Sat 12pm–5pm / Sun 11pm–4pm / by appointment
Cris Carter was born to an airline family in Santa Barbara, moved around the States, and then studied Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis, where he graduated in 2002.
Bonterra
An Example for the World Rooted in Mendocino Traditions
by Elizabeth Archer
Mendocino County is geographically enormous, but its agriculture businesses tend to be on the small side—diverse vegetable farms of an acre or less, estate wineries, and now boutique cannabis growers—whose distribution is limited to locals and lucky outsiders.
Bonterra Organic Vineyards is one of the exceptions, with widespread name recognition and distribution of half a million cases via major retailers in all 50 states and 20 countries. This size and scale provide the strength to commit to something that is already familiar in Mendocino but relatively new in the winemaking world: biodynamic certification.
Founded by the Fetzer family, Bonterra has been committed to sustainability for decades. Its first certified organic wines debuted in 1993. The Fetzer family are well known as local pioneers in organic and biodynamic farming, alongside other notable families like the Freys. Stewarded today by Chile’s Viña Concha y Toro, a global leader in winegrowing sustainability, Bonterra continues its commitment to sustainability as part of the Fetzer Vineyards portfolio.
“Sustainability is embedded in Mendocino grape growing, more so than any other California county that I know,” says Sebastian Donoso, a member of Bonterra’s winemaking team. “Sustainable practices are part of what make Mendocino County wines so exceptional.” Donoso was born in Santiago, Chile, and moved to the US at the age of 14. He graduated from Fresno State’s enology program in 2007. He started his career at Saracina in 2008, where he was introduced to organic farming, and continued his career at Campovida, where he started their winemaking program, before moving to Bonterra in 2017.
All of Bonterra’s 930 acres are certified organic, and 419 of those are also certified Biodynamic by Demeter USA. To officially convert land from organic to biodynamic takes about a year, depending on how quickly livestock can be incorporated and 10% of the land set aside for riparian areas. Otherwise, organic certification must be earned first, which takes about three years. Donoso and Director of Winemaking for Bonterra, Jeff Cichocki, work together with Director of Vineyard Operations, Joseph Brinkley, to determine which vineyard blocks to convert to biodynamic.
Biodynamic practices go above and beyond organic requirements, prioritizing not only healthy crops but also a healthy ecosystem. At Bonterra this includes the use of cover crops, animal grazing, integrated pest management, and wildlife inclusion. Almost half of Bonterra’s acreage is conserved in its natural state, including more than 50 acres of riparian habitat along the Russian River.
There are two classes of Biodynamic certification for wineries. The first prohibits the addition of anything except sulfur and allows winemakers to label their bottles as “Biodynamic Wine.” The second—which is how Bonterra and the vast majority of all Biodynamic winemakers operate—gives winemakers more flexibility, allowing organic additives such as yeast and tartaric acid, and carries a “made with Biodynamic grapes” label.
Biodynamic certification is still quite rare. There are fewer than 1,000 such wineries in the world. But according to Donoso, “There is a growing market for these special wines, as consumers learn more about the beneficial practices used on the farm and in the winery. Our aim is to share these wines with those eager to explore and learn more.”
There’s a reason that Biodynamic wine can cost more than conventional wine: in addition to being rare, Biodynamic wines take time to make. At Bonterra, each vineyard block is fermented and aged separately, and then Cichocki and Donoso work barrel to barrel to assemble the blend that best expresses the vineyard site as a whole. Says Donoso, “If we have to skip a year for our single-vineyard wines from Biodynamic grapes because we don’t feel the result would be a pure expression of the ranch, we skip it. We could make thousands of cases of Biodynamic wine, but we choose to produce fewer single-vineyard expressions to maintain their unique sense of place.” Any remaining wine appears in Bonterra’s organic lineup, which means that the average bottle at Trader Joe’s or Costco may contain at least a portion of Biodynamic grapes, at an accessible price.
Bonterra’s line of wines made with Biodynamic grapes comprises three blends made on three ranches. The Butler and McNab ranches produce 250 cases each of red blends called, appropriately, The McNab and The Butler. The Blue Heron Ranch produces 500 cases of chardonnay called The Roost, named after the blue herons who nest in the protected oak grove. These cases are mostly sold online to consumers in the U.S., and to restaurants and high-end wine shops.
“We don’t have to convince anybody in Mendocino of the merits of what we’re doing,” says Donoso. “It’s a lifestyle for a lot of people here.” But thanks to its size and reach, Bonterra is setting an example for how to make great wines while also stewarding the land, which other wineries around the state and globe can follow.
Bonterra is not open to the public and does not operate tasting rooms. Its biodynamic wines can be purchased online at bonterra.com.
Elizabeth Archer is a local food and farm enthusiast. She and her husband own and operate Carson and Bees, an inland-Mendocino-based beekeeping business, and she volunteers with the Good Farm Fund.
Elkfield Wines
by Jane Khoury
If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be back in my hometown of Ukiah making wine, I probably would have laughed. In those years away, I found my passion for winemaking and viticulture, and moreover the health benefits from it. But is all wine created equal?
Growing up on an organic vineyard, I knew exactly the type of wine that I wanted to make—wine that has extraordinary health benefits with minimal interventions. When I started this journey, I sought to find the balance between the land and the vines by transitioning the vineyard to biodynamic practices, exceeding the standards and regulations of organic farming.
Biodynamic farming has been proven to restore the normal antioxidant production of plants, which in turn increases the nutritional value of the fruit! It avoids all herbicides, insecticides, synthetic fertilizers, and, ultimately, relies on the health of the soil. In conventional farming, the soil is depleted of minerals such as potassium, magnesium, sodium, calcium, and iron. With the focus on soil health, natural minerals are able to be incorporated into the fruit, allowing them to be more absorbable and usable by the body, naturally enhancing its function. A true healthy wine starts in the vineyard with a focus on organic and biodynamic management.
Biodynamic wine is even more beneficial since it’s made free of artificial interventions such as color, yeast, and additional winemaking enhancing strategies. Instead, biodynamic wine is created with indigenous yeast that naturally flourishes in the vineyard and concentrates on the fruit. As a result, biodynamic wine is filled with greater amounts of the gene longevity and anti-aging compounds such as resveratrol and flavonoids. Higher amounts of procyanidins are also found, which lessens your risk of heart disease while helping lower cholesterol, protecting against stroke and metabolic syndrome. It can be difficult to find wineries that make biodynamic wine. Luckily for Mendocino County, a new winery is certified biodynamic: Elkfield Wines!
When I started Elkfield Wines, I was determined for our wine to be an expression of our vineyards, with minimal interventions and zero additives, allowing our wines to fully express our viticulture practice, micro-climates, and terroirs. Every vine is delicately crafted with intention and precision, creating extraordinary components that are used in the architecture of Elkfield’s red and white wines.
As winemaker, I carefully tailor my winemaking techniques and implementations to the personality of each vintage and lot, beginning with organic and biodynamically certified estate grapes. The wine ferments using native yeast, while being closely monitored and fully expressing the biodynamic practices. With new world fruit and old-world winemaking, every wine is full of expression and unlike any wine you’ve tasted before.
Now, as you go to your local store to purchase wine, whether it is Elkfield Wines or another wonderful choice, I hope you use the following tools to help you choose the wine that is healthiest for you. Always look to see where the grapes are sourced. Are they grown organically or biodynamically? Most wineries that use organic or biodynamic grapes will state that they do. It is also important to see if they are certified, as certification by an independent third party means that there is a standard and a list of guidelines which need to be followed to continue certification. Grapes that are grown organically but not certified are able to use additional measures to their growing cycle if need be. Next, how do they make the wine? Are they free of interventions? By interventions we are looking for words such as enzyme, acid additions, adding color, or even adding sugar. It might be difficult to find these answers, but any winery that doesn’t use interventions will proudly say so on their website or label. Sulfur, too, can be seen as an additive, though low amounts of sulfur in wine allow for the wine to age and be drinkable in a year or more. Personally, I always look for a wine that has a little sulfur in it so that I am able to enjoy it in the future, not just immediately.
Finally, I leave you with this: Antioxidants, naturally found in wine and amplified by our Biodynamic farming, help keep our immune systems healthy. With all the stress we are facing these days, it is so important that we take advantage of natural immune boosters when we can. Wine is an enjoyable way to do so. Cheers!
Elkfield Wines
7801 East Hwy 20, Ukiah, CA 95482 | www.elkfieldwines.com
Tastings are by appointment only. Email info@elkfieldwines.com to book an appointment. Find Elkfield wines at Ukiah Natural Foods Coop or Mariposa Market.
Jane Khoury obtained her Bachelor of Science in Viticulture and Enology from the University of California, Davis, and a Masters of Business Administration in Wine Business from Sonoma State University. Jane pursues winemaking and regenerative agriculture while being an Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse.
Growing Up Organic
Yorkville Cellars Specializes in Uncommon Wines with Respect for the Planet
by Dawn Emery Ballantine
As a serious bookworm and a lover of mysteries, one might think I’d be a fan of surprises. Sadly, I am not! Those chocolate boxes with unidentified centers fill me with dread, never knowing what I might be about to bite into. I would rather go without, thanks all the same. But receiving Yorkville Cellars’ latest email broke that long-entrenched pattern with a click of the mouse. Perhaps the COVID-19 shutdown played a role and we’re all thirsty for something out of the ordinary, but their recent promotion, “Celebrate the 4th of July with Special Pricing on Mystery Cases,” had my wallet out in a hot second and has been something lovely--and mysterious--to come home to after a hard day’s work these past weeks.
Mendocino County is bountiful with great wineries, and the Anderson Valley area is arguably a shining star in the firmament. Traveling via Highway 128 West from Highway 101, the first tasting room and the gateway to Anderson Valley is Yorkville Cellars, whose vineyards are part of the Yorkville Highlands American Viticultural Association (AVA). There could hardly be a more fruitful beginning to one’s area wine exploration. Indeed, Deborah and Edward Wallo first discovered and fell in love with the now-Yorkville Cellars site while on their own wine journey inspired by a Sunset magazine article in the early 1980s.
The gates to Yorkville Cellars open along the vineyard-fronted highway, and driving through the vines toward the beautiful redwood tasting room is just the beginning of an immersive experience. Since they first purchased the property in 1984—with structures only half-built and a few acres of aged and neglected sauvignon blanc— Deborah and Edward have been very hands-on and clear about their vision. Their vineyards are located at the headwaters of Dry Creek and Rancheria Creek, so they felt called to be “guardians of the watershed,” minimizing any damage or contamination from chemicals and run-off. They were also raising three children and wanted a healthy environment for them. So Yorkville Cellars became one of the first vineyards in Mendocino County dedicated to organic vineyard and winemaking practices. Though the decision to operate under organic certification was a simple one, it has not always been easy in practice.
Deborah muses that “ . . . we have so much more knowledge now . . . we’ve grown up with it [organic farming].” But in the beginning, all the work was manual, and she likens it to maintaining “an enormous backyard.” They had to hand hoe and weed (wild blackberry is still their biggest pest), use push-mowers, and apply natural fertilizers such as fish emulsion by hand (the memory of that particular odor is one that lingers years later). These days, there is irrigation tubing which can handle the load of organic fertilizers and other nutrients which are necessary to maintain the vines at their peak, not to mention newer, more mechanized mowing and weeding options, though a fair bit is still by-hand only. As Deborah says, “Our wines are made in the vineyard,” so they continue to use primarily old-world methods to craft their luscious vintages, with minimal intervention in the winery.
Yorkville Cellars farms thirty-one acres comprising two estate, organic vineyards, CCOF-certified since 1986, and holding designation as a Certified California Sustainable Vineyard. They are one of few wineries outside of Bordeaux, France to grow all six of the “noble reds”: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Carménère (a quite rare grape thought to be extinct in France but which found new life in the hills of Chile—and now Yorkville). They also cultivate two of the Bordeaux whites—Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. They produce and bottle each of these as single-varietal wines, enabling their customers to clearly enjoy and explore the distinctions between them. Deborah reports that Yorkville is very similar to the Bordeaux region in terms of climate, most specifically heat and rainfall, and this has been one of the reasons for their success with these particular grape varietals.
The hotter highlands, where Randle Hill Vineyard is situated, and the cooler lowlands, occupied by Rennie Vineyard, provide them with multiple microclimates, which enable them to support this wide variety of grapes. All of them have largely flourished here and allow Yorkville Cellars to produce a broad range of wines, some of which are very hard to come by outside of France. Of local wineries, only Navarro Vineyards
in the Anderson Valley AVA comes close to the sheer assortment of wines produced.
Deborah explains that the diversity of vines spreads out both the risk of pest infestation or crop failure as well as the timing of harvest, the latter often stretching out over six weeks instead of the more typical 2-3 day push. Each variety has its own peculiarities and issues, but good canopy management addresses the bulk of them. Deborah notes that the vines are aging, as this is their 26th year. They are becoming less productive and require more attention to keep the vines strong, and some years there is not enough fruit to bottle a particular vintage.
In addition to their regular bottlings, Yorkville Cellars creates some surprises from time to time. Amber Folly, first bottled by them in 2013, is an “orange wine” that dates back at least 5,000 years in winemaking history and is as established as red or white wines. Deborah and Edward began reading about these wines in 2009-2010. A very old style which originated in Georgia on the slopes of the South Caucasus—“the cradle of wine,” semillon wine grapes are harvested and all the skins are left on after crush for the fermentation process, creating the deep golden color. The grapes are fully fermented in open-top bins to capture wild indigenous yeasts. The ancient Georgian technique involves burying the fermented grapes in kveri clay pots, covering them with soil and leaving them in the ground over the winter. Yorkville Cellars prefers to blend the old-style technique with newer trends, mixing the “murkier” traditional result with clearer wines for a happy combination of the ancient and new.
The winemakers first attempted a Sweet Malbec in 2006. Fermentation is stopped earlier than is typical for red wines, leaving more sugar in the grape. It is then slow-fermented in a cold tank, with fermentation stopped when the sugar is at 6%. This creates a lovely wine, somewhat sweeter than usual but in no way cloying. I inadvertently put a bottle in the refrigerator (mistaking it for a rosé), but after a long, hot day of work, it was amazingly refreshing.
In 2013, they produced a Malbec/Petit Verdot blend, unique to them because they had grafted both varietals onto the same vine. The grapes were harvested and fermented separately, blended together, then barrel-aged for 3 years prior to bottling. They have also crafted both a Sparkling Malbec and a Sparkling Petit Verdot, most recently bottled in 2016. And they create their famous gold-medal wine, Richard the Lion-Heart, which is a blend of all six of the noble red Bordeaux varietals, mixed at various percentages based on the vintage and aged for 21 months in French oak barrels. This unique, limited production wine is so popular that the best way to obtain it is by purchasing the “futures” for next year’s release.
A happy customer of Yorkville Cellars for nearly 20 years, I look forward to receiving their newsy emails, especially when accompanied by one of their occasional specials. My personal favorite is their End of Prohibition sale in early November—no mysteries there, just a wide selection of their wines at half price with $1 shipping. Join the list on their website, where you’ll also find more in-depth information about the crafting of these special wines. You will also be treated to some lovely prose, such as: “While so much is on pause for so many right now, we invite you to have faith in the lesson of the vine, while enjoying the lesson of wine. Pull out the good vintages, the good memories, and revisit them. And know that the vine promises there will be more to come. And when this worldwide winter is over we will grow and flourish and enjoy our time in the sun all the more.”
Everything about the wines produced by Yorkville Cellars reflects the bounty and abundance of their organic vineyards, carefully nurtured through the years. Visit the tasting room (appointment only during COVID), where the sheer knowledge and friendliness of the owners and long-time staff create a singular tasting experience. Let yourself drink in the variety and depth of flavor embodied in their wines, making your own bright memories.
Yorkville Cellars | 25701 Highway 128, Yorkville
707- 894-9177 | YorkvilleCellars.com
Currently open for tasting and curbside pickup by appointment. Order online for shipping or pickup.
Dawn Emery Ballantine lives in Anderson Valley where she curates and sells books at Hedgehog Books, edits this magazine, and finds that she can enjoy a surprise, particularly if it’s a great bottle of wine.
Pandemic or No, Smith Story Keeps Hustling
by Torrey Douglass
It’s not easy running a small business during a pandemic, especially a winery run largely on creativity and grit. But daunting challenges are nothing new for owners Alison Smith-Story and Eric Story. As Alison is quick to point out, their winery is their living, not a vanity project—a reference to the scrappy beginnings and ongoing challenges for this family-run winery that put everything on the line to chase their dreams.
A peek into Smith Story reveals a kaleidoscope of unusual pairings. California and Texas. Kickstarter and the wine biz. Instagram and antiques. Irreverent seriousness and candid optimism. And, of course, dogs and socks.
It all started when Texas-born Alison moved to the California Bay Area so she could be closer to wine country. She found work as a wine buyer and marketing manager for K&L Wine Merchants, and it was there that she met coworker and California native Eric, a wine buyer specializing in wines from Germany, France, Greece, and Austria. Alison and Eric connected over their shared passions—wine and travel—and the two would escape the city on weekends, often to Anderson Valley, to discover new wines. Eric was no stranger to the valley, where he’d been coming for years to seek out unique vintages during his time off. He had even assisted with a vineyard planting that grew fruit for Husch Vineyards.
The two eloped to Hawaii in 2013. They’d already decided to take the leap into building their own wine business, and had most of the details figured out—except for what to call the venture. As they traced their combined names in the Hawaiian sand, that last piece fell into place. They returned home and got to work launching their new brand.
While the pair had big dreams for their future wine business, their budget was more of the shoestring variety, leading them to create a kickstarter campaign called “Farmers First” in the fall of 2014. Prioritizing family farms is a natural fit for Smith Story. Their wines are crafted in the Old World style, where the hard work is done in the vineyard to produce optimal fruit, and the winemaker’s job is to unveil those flavors with minimal manipulation. The campaign raised $26,000 in a month and made Smith Story America’s first crowd-funded winery.
A self-described workaholic, 2014 was also the year Alison started Socks for Sandwich. Lord Sandwich, an 80 pound goldendoodle, is a gentle giant who, even on all fours, is taller than your average toddler. Like his humans, Lord Sandwich is a busy guy, serving as the (fuzzy) face of the nonprofit which collects donations of socks for those in need and entertaining his 70,000 followers on Instagram—many of whom helped out with the kickstarter campaign.
True to their values, the newlyweds used the kickstarter funds to buy fruit from small family farms throughout Sonoma and Anderson Valley, and the first Smith Story wines were released in the spring of 2015. For production infrastructure, they turned to Grand Cru Custom Crush, a Windsor facility used collectively by small craft wineries for both winemaking and bottling, and home to an on-site tasting room where the delicious results are poured for the public.
The first years were a roller coaster of hard work and heartbreak. Navigating permits and TTB compliance, getting the e-commerce system in place, building their audience through their mailing list, social media, and wine events—the tsunami of details involved in running a winery led to more than a few sleepless nights. And not everyone in their wine industry circle was supportive of the new venture, with some dismissing it as inconsequential, while others felt threatened by perceived competition. Seismic life changes can show a person who their true friends are, and the winery’s periodic blog posts often express heartfelt thanks to those who’ve stuck with them through thick times and thin.
Tight budgets leave little room for error, yet Smith Story has survived and grown in an unforgiving industry by combining fantastic wines with unflagging customer engagement. They publish blog posts, send newsy emails, and remain active on Instagram and Twitter, all with a tone of lighthearted sass and gratitude, throwing in a warts-and-all honesty about the ups and downs of their business as well as a healthy dose of humor. “I can be fun because the wine is so good,” recognizes Alison. It clearly resonates with their customers. “When I send an email out to 5,000 people, usually a couple hundred write back,” she shares.
This robust customer engagement has paid dividends now that shelter-in-place orders have put the kibosh on in-person visits to their tasting room. Located in The Madrones complex just outside of Philo, the tasting room opened in 2017 and sells Smith Story wines, merch, vintage treasures Alison picks up in thrift stores, and an excellent line of quality teas. It all contributes to the welcoming atmosphere—no austere minimalism here—and when you throw in a friendly goldendoodle the size of a Shetland pony, it makes a visit to Smith Story a somewhat weird and wonderful experience. Thanks to diligent online efforts, many visitors walk in as “old friends newly met.” In fact, Alison readily cites meeting and connecting with people as her favorite part of running Smith Story. “Wine lovers who love dogs tend to be great people,” she observes. “That’s our audience.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, all that face-to-face time with customers disappeared. The timing was terrible (though really, is there ever a good time for a pandemic?). A January San Francisco Chronicle article had listed Smith Story as one of the 52 top wineries to visit in 2020, causing a welcome spike in tasting room traffic that promptly dried up once shelter-in-place orders were issued. The situation called for a double helping of Smith Story’s trademark grit and creativity, and Eric and Alison delivered by hosting some of the first online wine tastings in the business. Their initial attempt involved some technical glitches and was a bit of a disaster, yet true to form Alison copped to the “hot mess” in a blog post with her usual candor and humor, vowing to do better next time. And they did, hosting a “breakfast for dinner” wine tasting via Zoom that featured dishes prepared by their new neighbor across the patio, the restaurant Wickson.
Besides the online wine tastings, Alison and Eric have been making free porch deliveries in the Bay Area on a weekly basis. What could be better than a case of wine delivered to your doorstep when you’re stuck at home? There’s curbside pickup available at the tasting room for locals, and website orders continue to come in as well. “In a way, Smith Story was built for this,” says Alison. “Since we didn’t have a tasting room for our first few years, we had to rely on online sales.”
Those online sales are up an impressive 400%, success directly attributable to all the hard work they’ve put into this family collaboration. It brings to mind a many-armed diety, its different hands pouring wine, posting to Instagram, tracking shipments, writing a blog, offering a clean pair of socks, and, of course, petting a certain goldendoodle named Lord Sandwich.
Keep up with Smith Story on instagram @SmithStoryWines, @SandwichTheDoodle, and
@SmithStorySundries. Purchase wine at SmithStoryWineCellars.com. When time allows, visit the tasting room at The Madrones, 9000 Hwy 128 in Philo.
Is Now the Time for Canned Wine?
by Holly Madrigal
The click-pop-fizz of opening a can is not the sound one would usually associate with fine wine. But rules are meant to be broken, and a whole crop of wineries are throwing caution to the wind and filling cans with their high-quality vintages. Much like the twist-off cap versus cork controversy of the early two thousands, innovation stirs things up, and into this maelstrom steps Allan Green of Anderson Valley. With 45 years in the industry as a winemaker and grape grower at Greenwood Ridge Vineyards, Allan helped to found the Mendocino Wine Competition in 1979. So it was not a huge leap to launch another first—The International Canned Wine Competition, held at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in Boonville.
Since 1980, Allan has curated a personal collection of over 1,400 wine cans. In fact, in 2015, he had the Guiness Book of World Records biggest wine can collection of 450 cans. Says Green, “Originally, I was a beer can collector. The first wine cans I collected were from other beer can collectors who didn’t want them. So, I switched to collecting wine in cans . . . Back in the 1930s, some wineries tried selling in cans, but it never caught on.” According to Allan, in the 1980s every major supermarket chain in England had its own brand of wine in cans. Now many high-quality wineries are giving it a go.
Turns out there are many reasons to consider drinking your favorite wine from a can. Cans of wine can be easily packed for campouts and adventures, and they can be crushed to a smaller size for pack-out. Their smaller size—usually equal to 375 ml—also reduces waste. (You might be surprised to learn this size is equivalent to half of a bottle.) Some wineries prefer the narrower but taller cans which hold 250 ml, roughly a glass and a half of wine and a good option for those who don’t want to quaff an entire half-bottle.
Advancements in canning technology have made the storage method more appealing from the producer perspective. Says Green, “I probably would have tried it at Greenwood Ridge, back when I owned it, but the technology just wasn’t there yet.” But thanks to changes in portable canning machines, wineries can now put relatively small craft batches into cans. In addition, the environmental impact of transportation is lower because cans are easier to package and lighter to ship. All of this innovation has increased the canned vino options, which are now available in well stocked markets, by mail, and in tasting rooms. Mendocino County has a few wineries selling their vintages in cans—including Bonterra Organic Vineyards and Graziano Family of Wines. Green is sure that more will join the fray.
One wine writer provides an insider tip for this new trend: pour the canned wine into a glass. Packaging wine in cans is all well and good, but the drinking experience is heightened when sipped from a glass. This allows the bouquet to develop, and aromatics are a huge part of wine enjoyment.
The first International Canned Wine Competition convened in July 2019 and had more than 200 entries from multiple regions of California, Oregon, Spain, Michigan, Australia, and Argentina, to name a few. Panels of judges, professionals from the wine world, scored and rated in categories of red, white, rosé, sparkling, carbonated, and spritzers. When the dust had settled, two wines from Napa Valley took the best in show—Insomnia Pinot Noir and a 2017 Riesling from Sans Wine Co. Archer Roose Bubbly from Veneto won a gold medal. Benmarl Winery of New York scored a number of Best in Class honors. Local photographer and competition panel moderator Tom Liden says, “The wines were surprisingly good, and I was very impressed with the amount of varietal selection and broad international representation. All the judges seemed to be impressed as well.” Plans are already underway for the 2nd annual competition, which will build on the foundation created in 2019. Mark your calendars for July 22, 2020 at the Boonville Fairgrounds.
Interest in this unorthodox way to package wine has only increased over time. Those wanting to picnic outdoors, take wine on a trip or to a concert now have a delicious, travel-worthy option. And next time you hear that click-pop, think of it as the sound of innovation and get ready to enjoy some stellar Mendocino County wine.
For information on the upcoming 2020 International Canned Wine Competition, or for the full list of winners from 2019, see cannedwinecompetition.com. Check your local store, restaurant (Princess Seafood sells wine only in cans), or tasting room for availability.
Holly Madrigal is a Mendocino County maven who loves to share the delights of our region. She’s the director of Leadership Mendocino and takes great joy in publishing this magazine.
Photo courtesy of Allan Green.