Mendocino Ridge: regional profile and the wines to buy

Winemakers Steve Alden of Murder Ridge and Dan Dooling of Mariah Vineyards maintained a strict code of silence as they petitioned for the creation of the Mendocino Ridge AVA – the first and only American appellation with a non-contiguous boundary.

In the 1990s, a cabal of vintners pushing to create the neighbouring Yorkville Highlands AVA wanted to include the ridgetops farmed by Alden and Dooling in their petition. Leveraging old newspaper and magazine articles to establish precedent, they proved the in-land meadows and valleys of Yorkville Highlands differed in terroir and climate from their timber-type, coastal ridgetop sites.

Their covert efforts paid off. On 26 December 1997, there were no objections during the commenting period and Mendocino Ridge achieved AVA status.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of 19 wines from Mendocino Ridge

In American Wine, Jancis Robinson MW and Linda Murphy describe Mendocino Ridge as an ‘utter oddity of an AVA’. A closer look reveals it’s more unique than odd given its unorthodox boundaries, and perhaps misunderstood because of its remoteness.

Originally part of the North Coast and Mendocino County AVAs, it is the harbinger of a small, but growing faction of grape growers who see its rugged, unruly and treacherous terrain as the frontier of a special coastal terroir capable of producing an eminently graceful and ageworthy style of northern California wine – for both whites and reds.

The remoteness and rough terrain make it hard to manage winery operations within the AVA boundaries. Just four grower-producers brave it. These include Baxter Winery, Drew, Phillips Hill Winery and Mariah Vineyards & Winery. Many other notable producers purchase grapes and make wines elsewhere (see fact box below).

While Zinfandel was king for more than a century, the pendulum today swings toward Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which command higher prices and also produce better wines.

For the most part, Mendocino Ridge Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel wines show a pale to medium hue, which belies the rich textures and layers of fruit beneath. The Chardonnays are crisp, mineral and bright, though some vintners, including Alden, are toying with riper styles.

The best examples take advantage of the longer sunlight hours above the fog line and offer vivid natural acidity and robust tannins. ‘And can age a very long time’, asserts Drew Wines’ Jason Drew.

An archipelago of vineyards

The Mendocino Ridge AVA is a collection of 24 ridgetops, stretching across 106,189ha, spanning 58km long and 24km wide. The AVA’s non-contiguous boundary, however, is the result of a distinct elevation technicality: only vineyards at or above 366m (1,200ft) fall within the boundaries of the AVA, which amounts to 35,400ha – roughly 2% of the entire area. Vines above the line are typically bathed in long sunlight hours and Pacific Ocean wind currents; vineyards planted below are mostly shrouded in oceanic fog.

In their petition, Dooling and Alden described the Mendocino Ridge sites as ‘cool, sun-soaked islands in the sky’. And although ‘islands in the sky’ conjures a brilliant visualisation, the oft-used nickname has been trademarked by Dooling’s daughter Nicole and son-in-law Michael Frey. So, Alden has taken to describing the AVA as a ‘vineyard archipelago’.

Whether islands or archipelagos, just 607ha to 809ha are plantable. Today, the best estimate is that just over 101ha are currently under vine and most fall within 12km to 17km of the Pacific Ocean.

Compared to other high-elevation AVAs like Fort Ross-Seaview, West Sonoma Coast or the Santa Cruz Mountains, oceanic influence on the Mendocino Ridge AVA is distinct. ‘The ridges turn toward the ocean,’ says Drew, ‘allowing for more direct wind and fog flow.’

The neighbouring cool Sonoma Coast and Sonoma County, and warmer Anderson Valley AVAs contain a mix of alluvial soil deposits, fertile valley floor soils and Goldridge series soils, whereas the ancient peaks of Mendocino Ridge are heavily wooded, and the soils are uniquely timber-type, weathered and dominated by gravelly loam, sandstone and shale.

From Italy to Burgundy

Italian settlers first came to the region in the 1800s, drawn to the intractable, harsh land for its abundance of tannin-rich tanbark which was used for tanning leather. They brought with them Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet, Carignan, Muscat, Palomino and Malvasia vines. Zinfandel in particular thrived, due in part to higher annual rainfall and excellent drainage.

The names of the Italian immigrant families are etched into the region’s history, most obvious along Fish Rock Road on Signal Ridge – one of three primary roads crisscrossing the AVA; the others are Mountain View and Greenwood Road. All three lead due west from Highway 128 towards the coast. Fish Rock Road, in the southern portion of the AVA, became the hotbed of homesteader activity in the 1800s where the Ciapusci, Gianoli, Perli and Zeni families first planted Zinfandel.

Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, Edmeades Winery ‘helped keep those heritage Zinfandel vineyards in business’, recalls Dooling. But by the 1980s ‘Pinot Noir was blowing up in Anderson Valley’.

In the early 2000s, betting on Zinfandel proved a miscalculation for some newcomers, like Roger Scommegna, owner of Signal Ridge Vineyard, who had trouble ripening it. After a decade of replants, fires and wildlife intrusions, Scommegna was discouraged. But bit by bit he found inspiration in the Signal Ridge Pinot Noir wines produced by Jamie Kutch (Kutch Wines), Derek Rohlffs (Bravium Wines), Josh Phelps (Coil Wines) and Joanna Wells, his current winemaker. ‘It took 16 years to become an overnight success,’ Scommegna jokes.

The only way is up

For David Milner, winemaker for Donelan Wines, the Pinot Noir he buys from Perli Vineyards proves that ‘Mendocino Ridge is in a league of its own,’ due to ‘steady ripening above the inversion layer, soil composition, [and vines] surrounded by conifers.’

Winemaker Peter Seghesio of Journeyman Wine, formerly of Zinfandel icon Seghesio Family Vineyards, told Alden that Mendocino Ridge is ‘Pinot country’, capable of producing ‘potentially richer wines with more structure’, so long as the tannins are properly managed.

Vintners are rightfully getting bullish on the quality and complexity of their wines. With the average price of a Pinot Noir here about $60 (£48) and Signal Ridge Vineyard selling its top cuvée for $149 (£120), there’s nowhere to go but up – even when you’re at the ridgetop.

Mendocino Ridge at a glance

Appellation established 1997

Total AVA area The only non-contiguous American AVA; a collection of 24 ridgetops spread across more than 106,000ha. The approved grape-growing area of the AVA is restricted to the coastal ridges rising above 366m (1,200ft), which amounts to some 35,400ha, of which an estimated 607ha to 809ha are suitable for grape growing.

Current plantings about 101ha

Producers 29

Vineyard altitude 366m to 835m

Key varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel

Soils Well-draining gravelly loam, sandstone, mudstone and shale

Climate Coastal, with a long growing season, cool, breezy summers and cold, wet winters.

Average yearly temperatures 9.4°C to 24°C

Average annual rainfall 1,000mm-2,500mm.

Noteworthy vineyards DuPratt, Fashauer, Manchester Ridge, Perli, Valenti, Signal Ridge, Sky High Ranch

Notable producers Arista, Arnot-Roberts, Auteur, Baxter, Cartograph, Coil Wines, Darling Wines, Drew, Donelan, Donkey & Goat, Edmeades, ENA Winemakers, Journeyman, La Rochelle, Las Jaras, Kutch, Mariah Vineyards, Minus Tide, Murder Ridge, Signal Ridge Vineyard, Trailmarker Wine Co, Turley, Twelve Eleven, Newton, Neal Family Vineyards, Unturned Stone, Wentworth, WindChaster, Witching Stick.

Mendocino Ridge: a guide to recent vintages

2021 Great, though low yields. Warm and dry, trending cool toward harvest. Reds and whites boast good flavour concentration without excessive alcohol. Tannins are firm and balanced. Drink 2023-2033.

2020 Warm, dry, low-yielding vintage. An early harvest was a boon for Chardonnay. Then, fires broke out on 17 August, with varying degrees of smoke impact. Many opted not to bottle; of those that did, quality is high. Drink 2022-2030.

2019 An excellent vintage. Perfect weather at fruit set, mild, moderate temperatures throughout the growing season, with no heat spikes. Wines are complex and ageworthy. Drink 2023-2035.

2018 Ageworthy vintage. Cool temperatures and a long growing season resulted in wines with fresh acidity and firm tannins. Hallmark bottlings offer lower alcohols, impressive aromatics and big flavours. Drink 2022-2035

Mendocino Ridge: five producers to know

Drew

In 2004, Jason and Molly Drew purchased their 19.7ha Faîte De Mer estate at 381m on Greenwood Ridge – the closest site in the AVA to the ocean. They didn’t plant vines until 2011, and their first estate wine debuted in 2014 (they’d been making wine from purchased grapes since 2000). Jason, who has worked at Chalone, Navarro, Luna and Babcock, is a clone fanatic. He has a makeshift nursery of Hyde and Montrachet scion wood, and meticulously selects for dominant features in his Dijon, Wente, Calera, Swan and Mount Eden clones. They produce Chardonnay, Albariño, Viognier, Syrah and Pinot Noir, with plans to plant Gamay and Chenin Blanc. From 2013 to 2019, Drew leased and farmed Valenti Ranch, but stepped away to focus on his own wines, which exhibit crystalline, pure, precise flavours with deep concentration and intensity.

Mariah Vineyards

In 1979, Dan and Vicki Dooling bought 36.5ha atop a 731m mountain and bought some Zinfandel vines. In 1983 they contracted Jed Steele at Edmeades to make the wine and by 1991 they’d established Mariah Vineyard and partnered with Brown-Forman to take over production. For 16 years the Doolings leased the name ‘Mariah’ and their grapes to the drinks giant. Meanwhile, Dan worked with Steve Alden of Perli Vineyards and Murder Ridge to write the petition that, in 1997, established the Mendocino Ridge AVA. In 2010 Brown-Forman relinquished all rights of Mariah back to the Doolings. Today Vicki makes their Zinfandels while Eglantine Chauffour (of Ena Winemakers) and Alberto Bianchi (of Newton Vineyard) produce the Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Dan and Vicki’s son-in-law Michael Frey heads up their regenerative agriculture programme and in 2021 Mariah became the Savory Institute’s first global Land to Market vineyard.

Perli Vineyards and Murder Ridge

In 1989, photojournalist Steve Alden began managing the 1,173ha timber ranch his grandfather had bought in the 1950s. Seeing the potential, he planted Zinfandel vines in 1994 and named it Alden Ranch. In 2004, Steve and his brother John, a co-owner, renamed it Perli Vineyards and established five blocks: Potato Patch, Perli, Murder Ridge, Steve’s Ridge and Hogpen. Today, Perli is one of the top sites in the Mendocino Ridge AVA. In 2013, Alden debuted his Murder Ridge label: rich, mineral-bright Chardonnay; concentrated, structured Pinots; and opulent Zinfandel and Syrahs. Bryan Kvamme, former winemaker at Martinelli Winery, consults on the reds; Lisa Bishop Forbes, formerly of Chalk Hill and Dry Creek, consults on the whites.

Signal Ridge Vineyard

At age 38, flush with ‘monopoly money’ after selling a company that merged into Realtor.com, Roger Scommegna bought 16ha atop the 835m Signal Ridge in 1999. With 7.6 plantable hectares, the original Zinfandel is gone in favour of Burgundian varieties. ‘There’s a real rustic elegance to the wines of these ridgetop vineyards,’ says winemaker and viticulturist Joanna Wells. A former associate winemaker for Kutch Wines, Wells also worked under Jamie Kutch at Signal Ridge from 2015 to 2018. She’s currently grafting Signal Ridge vines over to heritage California selections of Mt Eden, Hyde and original Old Wente clones. Today, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes – mostly dry-farmed to organic specifications – yield pure, pristine, finesse-driven wines. A grower and producer to watch.

Wentworth Vineyard & Ranch

Self-taught winemaker Mark Wentworth studied at St Andrews University in Scotland and passed on a career in pharmaceutical advertising in favour of working at breweries and small dairy and cattle farms in Vermont and Maine. He fled to California to ‘chase my vision of small-scale viticulture’. In 2015, he and wife Katie planted 4.6ha of vines on a 24ha property next to Drew wines. Jason Drew became Mark’s winemaking mentor, helping him make the first Wentworth wine in 2018. By 2019, Mark was making everything himself, from organically farmed Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner and Pinot Noir. The wines strike a balance of impressive concentration, lightness and complex structure.

Mendocino Ridge: 19 wines to try from this unique AVA

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