Anderson Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area  in western Mendocino County within the North Coast AVA in the state of California. It ranks with the top Pinot Noir regions in North America.

Terroir: Larry Walker (1997, p.39-41) describes the region as a narrow corridor, two miles wide and 20 miles long which follows the course of the Navarro river to the Pacific Ocean 15 miles (24 km) away at the western-most point of the valley’. Cutting laterally through the coastal range rather than lying between ridges, the west or “deep end” of the Anderson Valley is only a few miles from the cold Pacific Ocean, while the town of Boonville is some 20 miles to the east. Such unique geography results in a wide diurnal range, with daily high and low temperatures occasionally diverging 40 or 50 degrees. This enables Pinot Noir growers to keep acid development in line with sugar and flavour formation through long, warm Indian summers. It also makes for notable Gewurztraminer and Riesling, giving rise to the valley’s annual Alsatian festival. In eastern and ridge-top sites there is plenty of warmth to ripen Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The proximity of the Pacific Ocean to the west makes Anderson Valley one of California’s coolest wine regions, making it suitable for traditional method sparkling wines. 

Growing conditions: Willis ‘Tex’ Sawyer of Scharffenberger is quoted (by Larry Walker: 1997, p.39-41) as saying Anderson Valley has the same average annual temperature as Champagne, but we are at ten degrees further south. We get more sunlight which develops the flavour of the fruit,’

Soils: Willis ‘Tex’ Sawyer describes Anderson Valley’s soils as ‘deep alluvial, low fertility sandy loam’.

Getting there: Around a two and a half hour drive from San Francisco.

History: The early winemakers here in the 1950s were mainly doing so for home consumption or for their ‘bed and breakfast hideaways’ (Larry Walker: 1997, p.39-41). The mid-1970s saw the arrival of Ted Bennett and Barbara Kahn of Navarro. In the early 1980s ‘Anderson Valley was discovered by sparkling wine producers (Larry Walker: 1997, p.30).

White wines: Chardonnay. Gewurztraminer. Riesling.

Red wines: Pinot Noir.

Wineries

No certification: Handley Cellars. | Navarro Vineyards. | Roederer Estate. | Scharffenberger.

Contact: Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association.

Bibliography

Larry Walker, ‘Born again,’ Wine Magazine,August 1997, p.39-41