This past weekend we made a last minute decision to drive to the Mendocino Coast to take advantage of the long holiday weekend.  It’s the farthest north we’ve been in California so far.  It’s a small, tight-knit community.  We’ve been told that locals can sometimes act snobbish toward visitors, but our experience was absolutely contrary.  In fact, these were some of the most open, friendly people we’ve met.

THURSDAY – The Drive, The Dinner

It’s about 3.5 hours from SF to Fort Bragg.  We hit some traffic on Hwy 101 up until about Healdsburg.  Once we turned off onto Hwy 128, we pretty much had the road to ourselves.  Like many roads in Northern CA, it’s windy and scenic. It breaks my heart that I can’t post all of the amazing pictures we took along the way, but here are a few:

The climate changes fairly dramatically as you approach the coast – this time of year is foggy, and the coastal redwoods are impressive.

Look, Mom! No hands!

When we rolled into town, we went straight to Mendocino Village for dinner.  It’s a charming little downtown, and Zagat had a good rating for The Moosse Inn Cafe.

We had a few really good pinots – Scherrer from Russian River and Navarro from Mendocino.  The highlight of dinner for me was the appetizer, Chicken Liver Pate with pickled onions, apples and crostini.  Goodness gracious, this was such an unusual dish for me, and I haven’t enjoyed eating anything so much in a long time.

I ordered the Flatiron steak, which came on a bed of grilled green onions and sweet potato wedges. Lea got the Rigatoni with tomatoes, zuchini and eggplant.  Jared had the Australian lamb with a Mediterranean twist.  His was a little disappointing, so they brought out a complimentary Belgian chocolate dessert, which JP promises he can make even better.  I hope so!

Some other off-premise bebidas we had this day were the Hammer IPA from Redhook Brewery.  This beer has a great frothy head and a true IPA flavor.  Jared also brought along a Joseph Twomey wine – Pepik, 2008 Tasmanian Pinot Noir.  This bottle comes from the Northern wine growing region in Tasmania, which means it had to come a long way to cross these lips, and I’m sooo glad it did.  High marks!

FRIDAY – Big River, Glass Beach, Russian Gulch Waterfall, Pacific Star Winery, V’Canto Restaurant & Bar

Friday morning we got up and went down to Big River beach for a surf.  The surf wasn’t ready, but it was a beautiful walk along the beach where the ocean flows right into the river. And we met some friendly pups, too!

Lilly

Hannah

Since the waves weren’t cooperating, we went up to Glass Beach (a former landfill that was cleaned-up, but left behind tons of sea glass).  And look who we saw!  A little harbor seal pup!  This little guy was just starving for attention.  (Note: If you run into one of these seals, be careful not to touch them or the oils from your hands will leave an odor on the seal, and the mother will reject it.)

This was a pretty quick stop, so we decided to check-out the Russian Gulch Waterfall.  This trip was about 5 miles by bike from the park entrance, and another 1.4 miles by foot, round trip. This was our first time with our bikes on a dirt trail and they handled great!  The pine needles along the path made for a soft ride, and a brisk hike to the waterfall was what I needed to finally wake me up!  Apparently this waterfall flows quite a bit stronger in the spring time after the thaw, but I’m always impressed by water.  Especially when it falls.

After this trip, it was time for lunch!  We found it at Headlands Coffee Shop in Fort Bragg.  I tried to wait, but decided to try one of the local brews – Red Seal Ale.

Next, we went to check-out a winery that our server, Mischa, had recommended the night before.  Pacific Star Winery.  We’ve seen a few wineries before, but this one really stands out!  Our charismatic tasting room host and boyfriend to the winemaker, Marcus, had a mind that ran faster than his mouth, which was just another plus to this unique winery.  Here are a couple fun facts about Pacific Star – it’s the only winery located on a fault that was named after the winery; salt from the ocean air develops on the barrels, which draws water from the barrels and accelerates evaporation; only winery in California located on the coast.  One more nugget – What really brought us to PacStar initially was a quest for the Charbono, a grape we’ve never heard of, which they use in a number of their wines.  It turns out, the Charbono is an old Italian blending grape, which is now only grown in Mendocino and Napa (80 acres total).

Coolest wine aerator ever!

After we tasted everything they had to pour, we opened a bottle of Dad’s Daily Red and went down to the cliffs to check-out the views.  Once the tasting room closed, Marcus came down to have a glass of red with us, and Sally, the winemaker, came down with a heaping glass of chardonnay a short while later.  Here are two people who know how to enjoy life, and do so in good company!  We ended up leaving 2.5 hours after the tasting room closed that night, and I can’t wait for our next visit!

Jared, Lea, Marcus, Sally, Brian

Sally told us that she’s seen Gray Whales, Orcas and Great White Sharks (lots of ’em) from where we were standing.  You’ll have to check-out more pictures on our Picasa album.  She also suggested we try V’Canto for dinner, so we did!  Low and behold, her ex was there.  How do we know that?  Because it’s a small town and we were knee deep in the gossip after just a day!  See what I mean about being accepted?  No snobbery in this town.  So yeah, back to dinner.  Food was pretty good, but the wine menu was the hero.  They had some of the best prices we’ve seen.  We landed a bottle of the ’07 Seghesio Zinfandel.  It was like drinking a thin jam – I mean that in a good way!  Lea’s new favorite, in fact.

Finally, we ended the night with a night cap at the bar, listening to some live music.  Sally told us to request “Josie.”  So we did!  I had an Eel River IPA from Scotia, CA.  I can’t honestly say that I remember much about it, but I bet it was pretty good.  Not that these are exactly ‘value-add’ shots, but here are some pictures of the place.

SATURDAY – Morning Surf, Salmon BBQ, Mendocino Wineries

To celebrate our Nation’s independence, we got up bright and early Saturday morning and went for a morning surf at Seaside Beach.  What a BEAUTIFUL beach!  Complete with big rock structures just off the coast, and crystal clear water, with just a tint of blue, all the way out to the break.  This water is like nothing I’ve seen in San Diego or between Santa Cruz and San Francisco where the water is more brown with flecks of gold.   The other difference…I’ve never been so concerned about sharks, but after our conversation with Sally just the day before about Great White Sharks being “all over,” it was suddenly on my mind.  Ah well, lived to tell about it and a picture to prove it.

After a quick shower we road our bikes down S Shore Harbor to the World’s Largest Salmon BBQ!  Don’t believe it’s the World’s Largest Salmon BBQ?  Check out the sign (below).  This event was put together to support Salmon Fisheries in Northern California – this information can also be seen on the sign (below).  The meat was a little dry, but it had a unique smokey flavor that was worth the trip.  And the corn was surprisingly tasty, but no corn can hold a flame to Don W’s.

Lea was the only one to have seconds (hence the two fingers below)…and ice cream!

We grabbed a beer (Blue Star – light beer with a creamy finish) and went to check out the grills.  There were about 6 or 8 permanent grills built into the ground, and the grillers couldn’t be friendlier.  One girl offered up some homemade salmon dip on a cracker that she was munching on.  Now that kind of thing just doesn’t happen in the city.

On the way home that afternoon we stopped by a few of the local wineries located on Hwy 128 that had been recommended to us by most of the people we had asked.  Our first stop was Greenwood Ridge Winery.  Most of the bottles have a dragon emblem, which tied back to a dragon fountain that had been given to the owners of the winery by Frank Lloyd Wright.  They were really fond of that dragon.  They had a Chardonnay that was especially creamy, and two really good Rieslings (one late harvest).  AND, we finally learned how to open a bottle with an osso!

Our next stop was Scharffenberger.   You may also recognize this name on the label of your favorite chocolate bar.  Unfortunately, the sparkling wine and chocolate bars are no longer affiliated – different owners.  Not that it really matters, but now you know.  Our favorites:

• Blanc de blanc (1% residual sugar)
• Rose (1% residual sugar)
• Extra Dry (2% residual sugar)

Less splendid was the Cremant.  Creamy.

Tip:  The more residual sugar a wine has, the sweeter it is.  Really?!  Well, yes.  And just so you know, Extra Dry is sweeter than Brut (as in, brutally dry).  Remember that.

Now…for the shining star and utter surprise of the trip…Maple Creek Winery.  Oh, do promise you’ll visit this winery if you’re ever fortunate enough to visit this beautiful place.  This was the most remote of all the tasting rooms, located on 180 acres and crowded with deer and wild boar.  And the most genuine tasting room host of all time.  And they were playing Johnny Cash when we walked in.  Seriously?  Seriously.

Shawn (or is it Sean?), is a man you need to meet.  This dude is living the endless summer.  And the wines are Legit.  If you like Pinot, try the Zin.  If you like Zin, try the Pinot.  Tastes like they mixed-up the labels, but he swears they got it right.  They got something right, either way.

Notables include:

• Buckin’ Bronco
• Stainless Steel fermented Chardonnay – Stainless steel makes the wine taste more crisp and fruity, as opposed to oaky and buttery
• Symphony – Estate wine; Grenache Gris and Muscat
• ’07 Chardonnay was just awarded 91 pts – Congratulations!  (A little creamy for my taste).

Other fun facts:

• The owner designed the label for each wine
• The tasting room is exactly 100 miles from the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge
• While many wineries have a dog, this one has three!

Lucy, Sherrif & Elwood

 

Did you guess the word of the day?