Not far east of Ukiah, the market hub for Mendocino county and its California wine appellation, the great California Gold Rush changed the lives of thousands, enriched a few and settled a remote area of the state known for little more than ranching and agriculture. But during a recent visit to these vast valleys that are fed and watered by the Russian and Navarro rivers, I discovered a rush of another kind. The only minerals in this one, however, are in the finish of some of their excellent, and increasingly organic, wines from this previously unheralded appellation.

There are around fifty wineries producing hundreds of wines in this growing region. The first started making wine in the 1850s. It’s the end of California wine country; there’s very little action north of Ukiah. Yet few eastern consumers are even aware of or have consciously purchased a Mendocino (includes several smaller AVAs such as Redwood Valley, Anderson Valley and McDowell Valley) wine. You can be pretty sure of one thing, though. If you’re a regular wine drinker, you’ve tasted Mendocino fruit.

“For decades, growers here have been supplying fruit to Napa and Sonoma wineries to make some of their finest wines, “ said John Enquist, executive director of the Mendocino Winegrowers Alliance. “ So, you can’t blame them if they feel a little under-appreciated at times.” While Napa and Sonoma have taken most of the gold, and mounted a lot of marketing muscle to promote the fact, a significant amount of the fruit came down from the north. (Note: To label a wine “Napa” it need have only 75 percent of the county's fruit in its composition.)

Needless to say, the growers and vintners of the Mendocino Wine Growers Alliance decided it was time for a rush of their own. My visit to their 8th Annual “Wine Affair” in June uncovered two interesting ways they plan to create and market their own identity as a wine region to watch and sample.

In 2004, the first Coro (Chorus in Italian) Mendocino wines were introduced at the June Mendocino Wine Affair to positive reviews by the wine press. These were the first wines distinctive to a region with blending parameters in the U.S. Each winery personalizes and creates its own blend based on the protocol, and all wines must be priced at $35 per bottle. The first release came from winemakers well known from the area including Greg Graziano (Graziano Wines), Casey Hartlip (Eaglepoint Ranch), Fred Nickel (Brutocao), Sally Ottoson (Pacific Star Winery), Dennis Patton (Golden) and Bob Swain (Parducci). At this year’s release, of the 2003 vintage of Coro, there were eleven wines to taste, including entries from Fetzer, McNab Ridge, McDowell Valley and Oracle. There is also a formal review process by a panel before the wine may be released as a Coro.

What we found were new and interesting layers of fruit and flavor that ranged far beyond a typical tasting of California Zins, many of which are too high in alcohol, too big and tannic to suit my tastes. And these wines certainly pair better with food. I loved them. So interesting and each had a distinctive personality—just what the protocol proposed. There’s some bad news though: you won’t find them in your favorite Atlanta wine shop. These are very limited production wines, some as small as 90 cases. You can buy them (supplies pending) at the wineries. But, if they are registered to be shipped into Georgia, you can also legally order them through each winery’s wine club or tasting room, which is your best shot. They will never make it to east coast distribution. I might add they all sell out every year.

To sort out the differences and technicalities of organic and biodynamic farming and winemaking, I turned to winemaker Robert Blue with Bonterra Vineyards, which is certified in both farming disciplines. For an exclusive interview and vineyard tour, I left Hopland early in the morning for a scenic drive north and west to Bonterra on the historic McNab ranch, home to a large settlement of Native Americans thousands of years ago and also home to the famous McNab sheep dog breed.
Bob worked with Paul Doland and Dennis Martin at “Fetzer University” before being named winemaker at Bonterra and is now one of the most recognized winemakers in the organic community.

Bob first pointed out the not-so-subtle differences between the two. A wine farm may be organic, but that doesn’t make it biodynamic—it’s a separate certification, and much more rigorous. But a bio farm must be organic as well. Neither means the wine is made in an organically certified winery facility, which Bonterra is. This is yet another process to becoming a bio-certified winery. All of this is overseen by various regulatory bodies that do regular inspections. The Fetzer family, former owners of Bonterra until it was purchased by Brown-Foreman, became interested in self-sustaining (organic) farming early on. (They remain in the area with several new projects in the works since selling.)

“It [organic farming] is all really about self sufficiency and using what you have on the property,” Blue said. “The biodynamic part gets a lot more complicated though. What with burying chicken manure, fertilizing at night, observing the moon phase, etc., many growers are just not going to do all that. But we have made a commitment here and we will stick with it.” The winery plans to begin putting the biodynamic notation on the label along with “organically grown,” one of the few wineries to do so.

Does it make the wine taste better? That you must judge for yourself. Bonterra is an excellent product, so it’s hard to say. I think it does add something—clarity of flavor, a freshness that is difficult to describe. Also, like buying organic produce, you feel better about what you’re putting in your body. Maybe that alone is enough!

In any case, it’s a great excuse to visit one of California’s most diverse and interesting winemaking regions and the spectacular northern coast.