Region Description:
Anderson Valley is an AVA inside Mendocino County. Scouts for Louis Roederer of Champagne were searching California to find a place with weather as dismal as Roeder's home in north eastern France. The valley consists of a brushy area carved by the Navarro River that gains steady elevation as it moves inland. Sheep and apples were the prime agricultural focus in the area before vines were introduced to the area in the 1970's. A few promising Gewurztraminers have come from the valley, otherwise the main grapes of the hilly area are chardonnay and pinot noir. Besides single variety wines, the traditional method sparkling wines have been hailed as some of America's best to date.
