Mendocino AVA

The coverall AVA in Mendocino county includes the more specific Anderson Valley, Yorkville Highlands, Mendocino Ridge, McDowell Valley, and Potter Valley AVAs, as well as the county’s most substantial vineyard plantings along the Russian River course from Redwood valley southward through Ukiah to Hopland and on south into Sonoma county’s Alexander Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc have been reliable in the large zone along the Russian River. Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from third-generation Italian–American growers on the benchlands can reach great heights in the hands of an artisan wine maker. Fetzer and its sibling Bonterra, whose grapes are grown organically, are the dominant wineries by size; Frey is notable as a producer of organic wine, from grape to bottle.