Mar 28

Mar 28 36 hours in Mendocino, Califonia

One of my favorite weekend getaways from San Francisco is driving north towards Mendocino. It’s one of the most beautiful drives and there is so much to do! Aside from the more well known attractions along the way, such as Point Reyes and Mount Tam, there’s also an african animal preserve called the Bryan B Preserve and several beautiful wineries in Anderson Valley. Anderson Valley is where the redwood trees meet the Mendocino Coast. Unlike Napa, it still retains the charm of lesser visited vineyards where you will be one of the few tasting the wines. This weekend, we were invited to tour a few vineyards so we made a fun weekend out of it!

Leave Friday night

Depending on whether you are a morning person or a night owl, head out from San Francisco for the 2 and half hour drive north.

Stay at The Madrones, it’s one of the cutest hotels around and Stone and Embers, the onsite restaurant, makes delicious wood fired pizza.

The Madrones also have a tasting room, serving delicious Smith Story wine. It's a great place to grab a glass of wine before pizza!

Saturday: Wine Tasting Day

Stop 1: Domain Anderson

Domain Anderson, part of the Champagne Louis Roederer group, makes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. When the Roederer Family visited Anderson Valley in the 1980s, they were attracted to the cool climate and well-drained soils. The proximity to the ocean and geography allows for the evening fog to seep through the valleys, which is perfect for grapes they grow, which are exclusively Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. It helps them mature slowly on the vines.

Roederer Estate also practices organic and biodynamic farming, tracking the grape maturity and harvesting according to the Lunar calendar. As a wine consumer, I never knew about the painstaking process behind growing grapes and making wine so I love coming to vineyards to learn more. These sustainable practices help ensure that the land will continue to be fruitful for the years to come.

Winemaker Darrin Low grew up right in Healdsburg and is incredibly knowledgable. During the tasting, it was so fun to be able to ask Darrin what flavors he tasted and see if I could taste similar notes. While I love Pinots, I don’t think that my palate is anywhere near as sophisticated as Darrin's.

The wines are aged in carefully selected French Oak Barrels. The pinot noir and chardonnay wines are aged for 16 and 12 months, respectively, to fully develop aromas and refine structure. As the wines develop and mature, they can be blended in separate barrel lots to help develop their character. This attentive barrel aging process – known as élevage – results in wines that are rich and naturally complex.

Stop 2 - Roederer Estate (home to my favorite sparkling rosé)

My all time favorite sparkling rose is made right here in Anderson Valley at the Roederer Estate. We first discovered Roederer when a close friend came to visit from Montreal. He and his wife are bubbly enthusiasts, so he convinced us that the 3 hr drive was worth it.

Roederer Estate is part of the Champagne Louis Roederer family. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, their claim to fame product is Cristal champagne, which I’m sure you know if you grew up listening to 90’s rappers talk about popping bottles of Cristal. Anyways, I love coming here to taste their Reserves and buying magnum bottles of their Sparkling Rose, my go to. I know that it looks like I'm just finding any reason to buy a bigger bottle of sparkling rosé, which is partially true, but the wine is actually better! A magnum has twice the volume of a standard bottle but the same neck size, so each bottle’s air content is the same, which means it matures slower and produces a more complex taste! See, bigger is better in this case

Arnaud Weyrich is the current winemaker at Roederer Estate and we were fortunate to have a private tasting with him.

Sunday - Feed Giraffes at Bryan B Preserve

I made reservations about a week ago for the 9:30 am tour because I didn't want to get home too late on a Sunday. Also, who knew that California coastal climates would be suitable for African animals? I had no idea!

A couple decided to buy some land and begin a conservation effort for endangered African animals. It’s not exactly a zoo, but hundred of acres where the wild animals are allowed to roam and breed. They have zebras, antelope, and giraffes! You can book a tour online and you can also stay on the grounds in one of the cottages.

Zoologists conduct daily tours and take you around to feed the animals.

Zebras are funny animals. They actually have a pretty mean streak and each species has a unique stripe pattern.

And, last but not least, the star of the show — giraffes! I was so excited to feed the giraffes. They have incredibly long tongues and they love sweet potatoes.

We weren't allowed to pet them because they are still wild animals but it was so hard to resist the urge!

Here's a clip that I shared on my Insta stories.

This is one of my favorite ways to spend my weekends — partially becuase of how much I love beautiful long drives through nature. There are so many cute stops to pop off along the way so I’m sure I’ll be back to explore more.