Continuing their Mendocino family’s winemaking tradition is so important to Jacob and Benjamin Fetzer they added the words “third generation” to their Masut wine label and their business cards.Their grandfather Barney Fetzer was one of Mendocino County’s trailblazing vintners and the two brothers grew up on the Fetzer family’s Redwood Valley “home” ranch. Now Jake, 29, and Ben, 30, make… Read the rest

World Class Brandy. Unlike a visit to wineries this time of the year, which are relatively quiet and chilly, at the Germain-Robin Alambic Distillery in Redwood Valley the first sensation is heat. “It’s warm in here from September through December and cold in January,” says Joe Corley who is responsible for distilling locally raised wine into cognac-style brandy. Germain-Robin brandy… Read the rest

Living the Dream. In 2002 Jeff Hansen discovered a vineyard that produces extraordinary Pinot Noir grapes a dozen miles from the Mendocino coast. He decided it was time to realize a long-held dream. “I was looking for a place to make wine I wanted to drink and sell it directly through a tasting room,” says Hansen, winemaker-proprietor of Lula Cellars.… Read the rest

The Guntly Story. Surrounded in his comfortable living room by family photos, hunting trophies and other memorabilia, Buck Guntly talks about his family’s long tenure in Mendocino County. His Cold Creek Ranch covers 4,000 acres from Highway 20 to Potter Valley. The vineyard on this ranch is more than 30 years old but his family’s first vineyard is at the… Read the rest

Dempel Ranch Vineyards and Grapevine Nursery. On the ranch where he was born, Bob Dempel of Dempel Farming Company raises grapevines. He grows grapes for wine, but also half of his hillside vineyard/nursery is devoted to the continuation of noteworthy grapevines. When I met him at his Hopland vineyard off Highway 101, six workers were clipping long canes from Gewurztraminer… Read the rest

Mendocino Wine Touts Scottish Heritage. Paying homage to his Scottish ancestry, Alex MacGregor launched Trinafour Cellars. Echoing that tribute, he makes his wine with heritage Mendocino grapes from Redwood Valley. Trinafour wines sport a red and blue family tartan and recognition of MacGregor’s ancestral home near Perthshire, Scotland. I met MacGregor for an interview at Patrona restaurant in Ukiah over… Read the rest

Gustatory Gala. Hopland Passport makes me hungry. In addition to tasting wine with roots in France and Italy, wood-fired pizza, tri-tip and lamb sliders, exquisite finger foods, Hawaiian luau fare and chocolate truffles are just the the first course. Add amazing music and art and the upcoming Hopland Passport on Saturday April 30 and Sunday May 1 is the place… Read the rest

Mendocino Wine Service: Seminars with the Pros. You may notice new and improved wine service in some of Mendocino County’s restaurants from Ukiah to the coast the next time you dine out. Thirty-four local restaurant servers recently took part in the first Mendocino Professional Wine Service Certificate Program hosted by the Mendocino Winegrape and Wine Commission (MWWC). “I wish I… Read the rest

Reverence for the Old Ways. I won’t say that John Chiarito should have been born in another time or place, even though he could have been. When I met Chiarito (pronounced kee-a-ree-tow) at his winery in Talmage, I was immediately struck by love of the best of the old Italian ways. “My family came to this country from southern Italy.… Read the rest

Honoring land and history. Wiley Vineyards straddles a naturally sculpted ridgetop above the fog line ten miles from the Pacific Ocean. Encircled by conifer covered ridges the former homestead exemplifies the beauty and is part of the recent winegrowing history of Anderson Valley. For Brad Wiley, proprietor of nearly two hundred acres of forest, pasture, with vineyards and fruit trees,… Read the rest

Husch Vineyards: Home Sweet Husch. Having just reread what I wrote in 1997 about Husch Vineyards in my book “Mendocino: the Ultimate Winery Guide,” I could easily cut and paste it right into this column–with a few additions. Still demure and understated with a reliable reputation for some of the most consistent quality wines in the industry, there have been… Read the rest

“Intuition and observation are a big part of farming,” says Tim Norgard, a hands-on farmer with 100 acres of pears and 130 acres of grapes on three ranches in Ukiah Valley. He has just come in from working outside on a hot afternoon. His wife Alexis, vivacious and a natural hostess, pours tall glasses of ice water. Born and raised… Read the rest