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North America · Follow the place
Mendocino County
Coastal valleys, inland hills and family vineyards give Mendocino several wine stories. Start with the county, then follow the smaller places and the people working in them.
The wine-coloured dot marks a general location, not legal vineyard boundaries.
A wider view to put the region in context. Both maps face north.
First, find your bearings
Where are we?
Mendocino County lies on California’s North Coast, north of Sonoma County. The coastal town of Mendocino is not the centre of every vineyard story: Ukiah, Hopland, Redwood Valley and Anderson Valley provide other reference points. Our maps show approximate locations and coastline, not county or AVA boundaries.
Choose a closer regional view.
Anderson Valley →
Marine influence, Pinot Noir, aromatic whites and Husch.
Redwood Valley →
Inland vineyards, heritage grapes and the Graziano connection.
From the place to the glass
Start with these conversations.
A coastal and cool-valley route
Anderson Valley brings Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, aromatic whites and sparkling wines into the conversation. Follow the smaller origin before assigning a county-wide style.
An inland and heritage-vine route
Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane connect with older vineyard traditions. Italian grape growing and today’s experimentation add further strands to the county story.
Chenin Blanc deserves attention
Husch provides a documented Mendocino Chenin Blanc example. Its winery is in Anderson Valley, but the wine’s stated appellation must be read separately from the winery address.
Look a little closer
A region has places within it.
Anderson Valley
Our companion guide follows the valley around Boonville, Philo and Navarro, with Husch as a producer connection. This is one part of the county, rather than another name for all Mendocino wine.
Redwood Valley and the inland landscape
Redwood Valley provides a second companion guide and a route into the Graziano family story. Ukiah and Hopland also help locate the inland vineyard and tasting-room landscape.
More names to investigate
Potter Valley, Yorkville Highlands and other AVAs add further geographical detail. Use the official TTB list and map explorer for recognised origins; this introductory collection is a route into that wider landscape.
A name with a story
What the label can tell you.
Mendocino County is a county appellation name; Mendocino is also the name of a separately delimited American Viticultural Area. They should not be treated as identical boundaries. Anderson Valley and Redwood Valley are named AVAs within the broader Mendocino AVA. Geographical origin does not by itself specify the grapes or cellar method.
A small Cork Dork discovery
Let the map join the tasting.
Choose a Husch wine sheet and a Graziano wine description. Record the exact origin on each, then locate the relevant valley and the producer’s address separately. Which facts describe where the grapes grew, and which describe where the wine was made or tasted?
Small pours, your own words, and no marks for impressive vocabulary.
Where shall we wander next?
Follow a grape, wine or place.
Behind this introduction
Editorial sources checked 25 October 2026. Maps use public-domain Natural Earth data. Regional markers are approximate; no legal appellation boundary is implied.