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Explore Pinot Gris in Mendocino County AVA |
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The Mendocino County AVA starts some 100 miles north of San Francisco. This is perfect CaliforniaWineOnline.com territory since it is largely unexplored by many wine lovers. Mendocino is an absolutely spectacular region with the Pacific Ocean crashing against high bluffs in the west, redwood forests, vineyards adorning mountain ridges and fog shrouded valleys. Mendocino County AVA has the privilege to have some of the most unique sub-AVAs in all of North America from the "Islands in the Sky" of the Mendocino Ridge AVA to the smallest of all AVAs, the six acre Dos Rios AVA. Mendocino County is highly diverse with coastal influences, mountaintops, river valleys, and inland regions that have either Mediterranean like climates or like Northern Europe. Mendocino has the distinction of being the leader of certified organically grown grapes world wide.
There are various routes north from San Francisco, most notably Highways 1 and 101. Highway 1 is the famous coastal highway which winds along spectacular ocean bluffs. This is not the quick route but it is the WOW! route. Pack your motion sickness pills. Highway 101, beautiful in its own right, becomes zippy once passed Santa Rosa. This is the road to take if you have time constraints.
A few keystrokes is another way to explore Mendocino County - from the comfort of your chair. Look through this site for all it has to offer.
Pinot Gris is the same thing as the Italian Pinot Grigio. It is a sweet, somewhat acidic white wine with melon, lemon and pear fruit flavors; a somewhat floral, honey bouquet and almond, vanilla and smoke oak character. Though it is a relative newcomer to California it is gaining some favor over Chardonnay. Pinot Gris is a clone of the Pinot Noir grape and this is why the berries are various shades of reddish/purple although the juice is pale. The wine is straw colored. Like it's parent, the grape prefers cooler climates although in California it is also grown in some warmer regions. Pinot Gris goes well with light pasta, seafood, crackers and cheese. Because of its relative acidity, avoid citrus or tomato based foods. The wine loses some of its acidity when it is grown in the warmer Napa, Carneros. Examine the label to make the best.
How Great Pinot Gris is Created - Terroir
Pinot Gris has found a greater and greater foothold in California but it generally has not made its way into Mendocino.
Pinot Gris and Food Pairings
Pinot Gris goes well with light pasta, seafood, crackers and cheese. Because of its relative acidity, avoid citrus or tomato based foods.
Create Your Own Tour
Explore one region or sample the highlights of several. Find links in the navigation bar to the left to move back and forth between the different Mendocino County AVA regions where Pinot Gris is grown or visit different varietals. Stay tuned as, over time, we will provide more information for you to fine tune your exploration.
These pages will provide the tools for you to create your own self guided tour. Your exploration can focus on one region or follow a route to sample the highlights of several. Not all wineries have a great Pinot Gris focus those that do are listed in black and those that don't are listed in lighter colors. Find links in the navigation bar to the left to move back and forth between the California AVA regions where Pinot Gris is grown. Those will take you to pages that list all of their sub AVAs with lists of wineries and links to additional information about food, lodging and area highlights. Stay tuned as, over time, we will provide additional first hand information to give you more finely honed information for your own use.
Click on the Mendocino County sub-AVA links in the navigation bar on the left to go down the page to explore the AVAs listed in the table below. The Navigation bar provides links to vineyard and winery associations and Chambers of Commerce. These will direct you to information about area restaurants, lodging and local highlights.
California American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)
American Viticultural Areas are unique legally designated grape growing areas that are defined by the ATF. These regions are most often defined by their topography, soil types, climate and sometimes historical relevance. Below are the AVAs for Mendocino County.
| Mendocino Ridge | Mendocino |
| Anderson Valley | Redwood Valley |
| Potter Valley | Cole Ranch |
| McDowell Valley | Yorkville Highlands |
| Dos Rios |
Source vs Out Source
Traditionally, most of Mendocino County's grapes were sent to other regions throughout the state, called out sourcing. In recent years, more and more vineyards in the County are using their grapes to produce wines for their own labels. In some of the tables below we have listed the wineries from other California AVA's that produce wines from 100% of the grapes originating from Mendocino single vineyard sources.
Interpreting the Codes
In the AVA winery tables below you will find codes at the end of many of the winery listings. These will provide information about the source of the grapes used in their wines. The interpretation of these codes are as follows:
Wineries that offer wines from which the majority of their grapes come from a specific AVA outside of that region will list the AVA name on the wine bottle label. We indicate this by: OS=Out Sourced. We will often include a code for the specific AVA: MR=Mendocino Ridge, etc. Single Vineyard wines are sometimes but not always the same thing as estate wines. Often wineries will make wines from 100% of the grapes from another vineyard and this is indicated by SV=Single Vineyard. Technically, the ES designation means the wine is produced at that winery from 100% of their own grapes. RE=Reserve Wine and this indicates a special edition produced by the winery. The letters above can be combined in different ways, for example SV+OS=Single Vineyard+Out Sourced from another region. OV=Old Vine.
| ES=Estate | SV=Single Vineyard | OS=Out Sourced | SV+OS=Single Vineyard+Out Sourced | OV=Old Vine | RE=Reserve |
| MR = Mendocino Ridge | M = Mendocino | AV = Anderson Valley | RV = Redwood Valley | PV = Potter Valley |
| CR = Cole Ranch | McDV = McDowell Valley | YH = Yorkville Highlands | DR = Dos Rios | MC = Mendocino County |
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The lists below show only those wineries that produce or offer Pinot Gris. Click on the Cabernet Sauvignon logo above to go to The Mendocino County Cabernet Sauvignon page to see the complete list of wineries in the region.
***A functioning website is the criteria for winery/vineyard inclusion in the lists below.***
Mendocino Ridge AVA is unique among viticultural areas. This AVA is contained within the Mendocino County and it overlaps some with Anderson Valley but only those vineyards at an elevation of 1,200 feet in this mountainous region qualify for the AVA designation. This region has relative closeness to the cool Pacific Ocean and the fog that rolls through the valleys at night. The 1,200 foot elevation puts Mendocino Ridge vineyards well above the valley fog line. Two hundred fifty thousand acres surround these privileged vineyards but only seventy five of those are at or above 1,200 feet. This creates a unique, noncontiguous region that is popularly known as "Islands in the Sky."
Zinfandel is the primary grape grown.
| Drew Wines | PO Box 313, Elk CA 95432; Phone: 707.877.1771; Fax: 707.877.1772; email: info@DrewWines.com; website: www.drewines.com. OS |
| Edmeades Estate Winery | 5500 Highway 128; Philo CA 95466; Phone: 800.994.2454; Fax: 707.895.3237; email: info@eadmeades.com; website: www.edmeades.com. ES, OS |
| Greenwood Ridge Vineyards | 5501 Highway 128, Philo CA 95466; Phone: 707.895.2002; Fax: 707.l895.2001; email: everybody@greenwoodridge.com; website: www.greenwoodridge.com. |
The Mendocino AVA is located far inland, roughly two hours north of San Francisco (via Highway 101) at elevations between 500 to 3000 feet. This is a mountainous region bisected by the Russian River which creates distinctive microclimates. The higher elevations are composed of sandstone lifted from the ocean floor and igneous rock. The valleys are composed of alluvial soils laid down by the Russian River and its tributaries as well as soil washed down from higher elevations.
No Pinot Gris is grown in Mendocino. Those wineries offing this wine source the grapes from other regions.
| Monte Volpe | 13251 S Highway 101, Suite 3; Hopland CA 95449; Phone: 707.744.1396; Fax: 707.744.1338; email: info@grazianofamilyofwines.com; website: www.grazianofamilyofwines.com. Open daily 10-5. OS |
| Parducci Wine Cellars | (Ukiah Winery) 501 Parducci Road, Ukiah CA 95482; Phone: 707.463.5350, 888.362.9463 (WINE); Fax: 707.462.7260; email: tastingroom@parducci.com; website: www.mendocinowineco.com. Mendocino Tasting Room: 45070 Main Street, Mendocino CA 95460; Phone: 800.860.3347; Fax: 707.937.6193; email: tastingroom@mendocinowineco.com. OS |
Anderson Valley is formed by the Navarro River as it cuts its way through the coastal ranges to the ocean - a major influence on the climate of the region. The days are warm and sunny offset by nighttime and morning fog that rolls up the river. Pinot Noir is king in Anderson Valley followed by Chardonnay and several German varietals. This is one of California's premium sparkling wine regions.
It may be that Pinot Gris is making inroads against Chardonnay in much of California but it has yet to filter into Anderson Valley. No Pinot Gris is produced here.
| Breggo Cellars | 11001 Highway 128 (PO Box 601), Philo CA 95466; Phone: 707.895.9589; email: doug@breggo.com; website: www.breggo.com. Open daily 10-6. OS |
Redwood Valley shares a border with Potter Valley and is located north of Lake Mendocino. It follows the Russian River for 12 miles at an elevation of 750 to 1,500 feet above sea level. This contributes to a slightly cooler climate overall. Despite the relative coolness of the region, microclimates allow for a wide selection of varietals to thrive. Among those are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Merlot, Pinot Noir, a number of Italian varietals and more. The predominantly red, iron rich soils of the Redwood Valley yield rich, full bodied wines.
Pinot Gris is not produced in the Redwood Valley.
The Potter Valley AVA is the next door neighbor, east of Redwood Valley AVA. There are around 1,000 acres of vines in the region but those grapes are out sourced to wineries throughout California. We have decided that we will track down and list wineries that offer 100% Potter Valley Wine so this will be an ever expanding table. Stay tuned. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel are among the grape varietals grown in Potter Valley
| Sunset Cellars | 123 4th Avenue, San Francisco CA 94122; Phone: 415.566.2910, 510.521.9490; Fax: 415.566.8782; email: sales@sunsetcellars.com; website: www.sunsetcellars.com. SV |
Cole Ranch is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Riesling. The AVA's soils are predominantly clay, loam and silt. No Pinot Gris is produced at Cole Ranch
McDowell Valley is about three and a half miles long and about one mile wide. It sits at 1000 feet in the Mayacamas Mountains and McDowell Creek drains into the Russian River in the west. This is a 330 acre single vineyard AVA. The soils are a mix of alluvium, gravel and clay. Summers, here in the southeastern portion of Mendocino County, are dry and warm with plenty of sun making this a prime region for Zinfandel and Rhone Varietals. Cabernet Sauvignon is not produced in McDowell Valley
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Yorkville Highlands, in the south central portion of Mendocino County is favored with moderate temperatures and a long growing season. The elevation is above 800 feet to about 1,950feet. Highway 128 divides the area that is marked by terrace like structures. Thin gravelly well drained soils.
Dos Rios, another tiny (all of six acres!), single vineyard AVA in in northern Mendocino County and overlooks the middle fork of the Eel River. This is a brand new viticultural region and was approved in November of 2005.
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Explore Pinot Gris in the Mendocino County AVA. Click on the links below to learn more about Pinot Gris in those AVAs.