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Mendocino’s Premiere Pinot Noir Wine Region

The Wines ofAnderson Valley

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No.79

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Table of ContentsIntroductionAcknowledgementsAnderson Valley Geography The Sub-RegionsRecent HistoryThe New GenerationThe VineyardsPinot Noir StylesMarketingWinery Profiles and Tasting Notes Annexes Navarro River Watershed Main Vineyards of Anderson Valley

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IntroductionAnderson Valley is one of California’s premier wine regions. Located 125 miles north of San Francisco in the southwest corner of Mendocino County, it offers a cool climate and attractive vineyard lands surrounded by steep forested slopes and terraces for producing high quality wine, especially Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Isolated and sparsely populated, there is still a wild charm about the valley, and people have a love of grape growing and respect for the land. Despite its attractiveness as a wine growing region, Anderson Valley’s wine industry is relatively small consisting of just 2,500 planted acres and 90 vineyards. About 60 wineries use Anderson Valley grapes including those that have a presence in the valley

and those from outside the valley that produce and market wines with an AVA appellation.

In this our 79th wine report, the International Wine Review provides an in-depth examination of Anderson Valley and its wines. We begin with an analysis of the geography, climate and soils of this special cool-climate growing area and its subregions. Although it is a small region, Anderson Valley is diverse with many distinct subregions and meso-climates. These account in part for the different styles of the wines produced in the valley, although, as we discuss, winemaking also plays a key role.

Since the late 1980s, Anderson Valley has experienced dramatic changes as a wine growing region. These changes accelerated with the arrival of the French Champagne producer Roederer Estate. Recognizing Anderson Valley’s exciting potential to produce world class sparkling wine, it purchased 580 acres of prime vineyard land and introduced new and improved methods of wine production. It also drew attention to the valley as a premier site for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In subsequent years, there have been many local and outside investors, especially from Sonoma County and Napa Valley, who have been attracted to the valley and established roots to produce wine alongside the valley’s traditional winery pioneers like Navarro, Husch, Handley, Edmeades and others. In addition to these new investors, the Valley has attracted a new generation of talented growers and winemakers who are following in the footsteps of the region’s pioneers to craft new and exciting wines of outstanding quality.

Viticulture in Anderson Valley has experienced noteworthy improvements. These improvements are the result of lessons learned over the years in growing grapes in the valley and through the introduction of new and improved vineyard management techniques by outside growers and by local vineyard management companies. The report examines changes in the valley’s vineyard over time and highlights some of the shakers and movers in the Valley’s

Acknowledgements.We would like to thank the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association for its collaboration and support of this report, and in particular its Executive Director Courtney DeGraff. Genni Ardzrooni, Gillian Handelman, Glen McGourty, Norman Kobler, Arnaud Weyrich, Jason Drew, Sarah Wuethrich, Stephane Vivier, and Mark Greenspan were especially helpful in providing information on the wine industry of Anderson Valley and commenting on drafts of the report. Paul Ardzrooni helped us understand the viticultural advances in the valley where his company has played a major role. Doug Ross provided valuable research assistance in compiling this report. Any errors of fact are those of the authors. We would also like to thank the many wineries both local and from outside the valley that provided samples of their Anderson Valley wines. No region we can think of has so many outstanding wineries interested in producing top quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

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viticulture. In the Annex we provide a guide to the major vineyards of Anderson Valley and the wineries that source fruit from them.

In the final section, we profile the wineries producing wines from the valley and provide tasting notes and rating of their wines. While the main focus of our tastings was on Pinot Noir, we also tasted Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Syrah and other wines. We also reflect on the styles of Anderson Valley wines and the extent to which they reflect the sub regions from which they are sourced.

Anderson Valley is a magnificent wine growing region and we hope that the report conveys our enthusiasm for the wines and the many dedicated wine professionals who are working there.

Anderson Valley Geography

Anderson Valley is one of twelve American Viticultural Areas (AVA) in Mendocino County. Located in the southern region of the county 100 miles north of San Francisco, it has a total area of 57,600 acres. The Anderson Valley AVA ranges in elevation from 30 feet above sea level to more than 2,000 feet and offers a cooling maritime influence, dramatic geological contours with high mountains on both sides of the valley, steep hills, alluvial terraces, rocky soils and a mixed forest of classic Coastal Redwoods, oak and Douglas fir trees. The exact boundaries described in the original AVA petition, approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in 1983, remain unchanged. The valley has a sparsely dispersed population with three principal towns—Boonville, Philo, and Navarro.

The Anderson Valley AVA generally lies along the watershed of the Navarro River which flows northwest to the Pacific Ocean and is crisscrossed by its main tributaries: Rancheria, Anderson, Indian, and Soda. The main population centers are on Highway 128 and located where these creeks merge with the Navarro River: Boonville is on Anderson Creek, Philo on Indian Creek, and Navarro on Soda Creek. Approximately 80 percent of all vineyard acreage in Anderson Valley lies within half a mile of Highway 128.

The Navarro River watershed has a drainage area of 315 square miles and drains to the Pacific Ocean about ten miles south of the city of Mendocino. The watershed is primarily (70 percent) forested with twenty percent in rangeland and five percent actively farmed, including vineyards.

ClimateCooled by marine air, Anderson Valley’s climate is temperate. The Pacific fog plays a dominant role in the climate of the valley. Following the path of the Navarro River from the Pacific, the fog drifts in and blankets the valley with low hanging cool air, making for cooler-than-normal inland microclimates. The marine air and fog influence begin to be felt at around two or three o’clock in the afternoon. Vineyards in these areas are planted with cool-climate varieties mainly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as Gewürztraminer and Riesling. At higher elevations in Anderson Valley and nearby Mendocino Ridges beyond the fog’s reach, warmer pockets of lands can be planted with warmer climate varieties like Zinfandel, Syrah and Bordeaux varieties.

Towards the coast the summers are cool and moist with more fog than the interior, while further east Anderson Valley is somewhat warmer. As a rule of thumb, daytime temperatures increase and nighttime temperatures decrease by about 1°F per mile as one proceeds southeast from Navarro. Daytime highs also decrease with elevation; the tops of the ridges being up to 10° lower than the valley floor. Growing Degree Days (GDD) for the growing season increase as one moves up valley from Navarro to Philo and Boonville. In 2019 the average GDD for the valley was about 2,550.

The appellation’s unique geography results in daily high and low temperatures that can diverge by 50+ degrees in Boonville. The diurnal variation decreases with rise in elevation; at the top of the ridges it is about 20 degrees. The valley is classified as Region 1 and 2 on the UC Davis Heat accumulation scale. In contrast, the Ukiah area about 15 miles to the northeast of the valley is classified as Region 3.

Rainfall in the Anderson Valley varies by location within the valley and by year, averaging 42 inches in 2019 but just 27 inches in 2018. The amount of rain depends on exposure and elevation, rising to an average 75+ inches per year in the western ridges above the valley floor. Most of the rainfall comes in the period from November through March. Rainfall captured by irrigation ponds is critical to the success of viticulture in Anderson Valley in the absence of adequate groundwater from subsurface aquifers.

Mendocino AVA Map

Previous Wine ReportsIssues 1-15 are available at www.iwinereview.com Issue 16 Oregon Pinot Noir Issue 17 Sauvignon of the Loire Issue 18 Wines of Navarra Issue 19 Wines of Greece: Assyrtiko and Santorini Issue 20 The Santa Lucia Highlands Issue 21 The Chilean Wine Revolution Issue 22 Grapes and Wines of the Western Loire Issue 23 Ribera del Duero Revisited Issue 24 The New Wines of Portugal Double IssueIssue 25 The Wines of Austria Issue 26 The Diverse Wines of Argentina Double IssueIssue 27 Sweet and Dessert Wines of the WorldIssue 28 The Wines of PrioratIssue 29 The Wines of Monterey CountyIssue 30 The Wines of South Africa Double IssueIssue 31 Brunello di MontalcinoIssue 32 The New Wines of IsraelIssue 33 The Wines of Paso RoblesIssue 34 Champagne RevisitedIssue 35 The Wines of SoaveSpecial Report South African Chenin BlancIssue 36 The Wines of Santa BarbaraIssue 37 The Wines of SicilyIssue 38 The Wines of Washington StateIssue 39 The World of GrenacheSpecial Report The Wines of MontefalcoIssue 40 Rosé Champagne and Sparkling WineSpecial Report The Exciting Sparkling Wines of South AfricaIssue 41 The Amarones of ValpolicellaIssue 42 The Wines of CataloniaIssue 43 The Wines of Rioja—A New LookIssue 44 The Wines of Sonoma CountyIssue 45 Virginia Wine Comes of AgeIssue 46 Special Report: The Best of SoaveIssue 47 Special Report: The Best of TuscanyIssue 48 The Wines of Los CarnerosIssue 49 Special Report: The Best of SpainIssue 50 The Wines of ChablisIssue 51 Special Report: Best Indigenous Wines of SicilyIssue 52 Special Report: The Best of SherryIssue 53 American Sparkling WineIssue 54 The Wines of Mount VeederIssue 55 Wines of South Africa: White Blends and Old VinesIssue 56 Chianti Classico: Exciting TimesIssue 57 Tannat and Other Wines of UruguayIssue 58 Beaujolais in TransitionIssue 59 Wines of the Piedmont: RoeroIssue 60 Chile’s Premium Wine RevolutionIssue 61 California Zinfandel: A New LookIssue 62 Paso Robles: Cabernet Sauvigion & Other Bordeaux VarietiesIssue 63 The Wines of Friuli: Collio’s Elegant WhitesIssue 64 Selections for the New Year: The Best Wines Tasted in 2017Issue 65 The Vines and Wines of LodiIssue 66 The World of RoséIssue 67 The Wines of BulgariaIssue 68 Austrian Wine: Diverse Terroir, Exceptional QualityIssue 69 The Wines of the Finger LakesIssue 70 The Rocks District: America’s Unique TerroirIssue 71 Washington State RevisitedIssue 72 The Wines of MarylandIssue 73 The Wines of New JerseyIssue 74 Pennsylvania Wine: Fifty Years of ProgressIssue 75 Virginia Wine: Moving ForwardIssue 77 The Wines of North CarolinaIssue 78 Champagne: Diversity and ChangeThese reports are available online at www.iwinereview.com