Eastern Mendocino in the upper reaches of the Russian River Valley had a huge geographical advantage over the Anderson Valley in the 1800s — easier access to Sonoma and the San Francisco Bay. With no mountains to cross and the Russian River to help with transport, the area quickly tapped into the agricultural boom that gripped Sonoma County in the mid-1800s and also into the resulting immigration. Mendocino County was one of the first 27 counties to be approved by the fledgling California State Legislature in 1850 but for almost a decade was administered by the more heavily populated Sonoma County.

The fertile river valley was rapidly planted with orchards, pastureland, and vineyards of hops and wine grapes, all to help supply the burgeoning populations further south. The local Native American tribe called, who called themselves “Yokaya”, or “people of the deep valley”, succumbed to the inevitable displacement as the valley was settled by farmers and ranchers, leaving behind only their name. Its spelling was changed to Ukiah and is now the name of Mendocino's administrative capital.

The status of the region as agricultural supplier to Sonoma also became a millstone. Although Mendocino was flush with Italian immigrants who knew how to manage vineyards and make wine, the grapes were more often than not sold to wineries elsewhere or made into cheap jug wines. As a result, this became an important satellite grape growing region but not a widely recognized wine producing region, a pattern still evident to some extent today. Eastern Mendocino accounts for about two thirds of the 16,000 acres of vineyard acreage in Mendocino County yet is home to just a couple of dozen wineries.

A big factor in the eventual rise of Mendocino as a serious wine making region in the late 20th Century was the juggernaut of Fetzer Vineyards, arguably one of the most successful winery ventures in California and certainly the most successful in Mendocino. Established in the 1950s, the winery planted hundreds of acres of vineyards in Eastern Mendocino over the subsequent decades, was instrumental in getting several regional appellations approved, and helped transform sleepy Hopland into the the slightly less sleepy wine destination it is today.

Fetzer was sold to the multinational Brown-Forman group in the early 1990s and the winery’s lavish hospitality facilities near Hopland were closed in 2006 but many members of the extended Fetzer family, flush with buyout cash, have gone on to establish new wineries in the region and continue the family’s legacy. It’s often argued that without the support and marketing clout that Fetzer gave (and still gives) this region, many of today’s small Mendocino wineries might not exist.

While the wine industry struggled Mendocino became famous for a new wave of immigrants, the urban refugees and hippies of the counter culture, many of whom settled in the Eastern part of the state. The earth-friendly culture they imported is still evident today and helped spur the organic farming practices that Mendocino has become famous for, both in the wine industry and the the wider agricultural sector.

The Wines

For much if its history, Eastern Mendocino never got much recognition for the grapes it supplied to wineries further south or the bulk wines it shipped in anonymous bottles to markets far away. Some critics have argued that this part of Mendocino doesn’t deserve recognition because the wines lack individuality and a true sense of place. However, the level of innovation show by wine growers experimenting with unusual Italian and Rhone varietals, and the long commitment to organic farming practices — something that other wine regions only recently started to follow — make this in many ways as noteworthy a contributor to California’s wine heritage as any other.

It’s true that there’s no specific varietal for which this area is particularly known. You’re as likely to taste undistinguished (albeit cheap) Cabernet or Merlot as anything that screams “Mendocino!” If you were to pick a type of wine that is made particular well here, however, it would probably be one of the Rhône varietals – Syrah or Grenache, for example. Indeed, some wineries specialize in nothing but Rhône-style wines. Redwood Valley Zinfandels are also fairly distinctive, taking on an earthier profile in the cooler climate.

It’s perhaps hard to pin down a type of wine to this area because of the patchwork of appellations and growing regions, an indication that there’s no one particular set of growing conditions unique to the region. In terms of the number of wineries they support, each appellation is also small, some ridiculously so, which means few have gained the sort of fame that appellations have in the Napa Valley, for example.

The Redwood Valley AVA north of Ukiah is the biggest and arguably the best known, as much due to the influence of Fezter’s hundreds of acres of vineyards as for the small wineries that operate there today. At the other end of the spectrum is the McDowell Valley AVA, the playground of just one winery – McDowell Valley Vineyards – but source of some good Rhône varietals.

Beyond the few gems you’re as likely to be wowed by low prices and organic credentials as by taste sensations. That’s perhaps why the Mendocino Winegrowers Alliance has kicked up its marketing effort in recent years, aware that the Anderson Valley has started to steal the Mendocino limelight. One of the most successful new marketing drives has been the Coro Mendocino collaboration that has enabled both small and large wineries in the region to finally create a wine totally unique to the region. Just to prove the Fetzer factor continues to influence the wine industry here, the Coro program was the brainchild of Paul Dolan, former president of Fetzer Vineyards.

[Back to top]