It’s just a little more than two weeks away, but if there’s any way you could swing the trip, it would be sooo worth your while.
“It” is the 13th annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, presented by the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association in California’s Mendocino County. The festival is scheduled for May 14-16 all over the bucolic valley.
The Anderson Valley has been described as “a hidden treasure of pastoral beauty, colorful history, and bountiful food and drink.” It’s all of that and more, as Highway 128 leads visitors through the towns of Yorkville, Boonville, Philo and Navarro – past grazing sheep, orchards, vineyards and rolling hills studded with venerable oak trees.
Mild weather and rich soil make the valley an excellent region for agriculture, as growers produce an abundance of vegetables and other fruits in addition to winegrapes.
During the Pinot Noir Festival, that single variety is the focus, with more than 40 different Anderson Valley renditions to be featured.
The weekend includes educational seminars, a grand tasting, winemaker dinners and winery open houses.
Mendocino County musicians will provide the perfect soundscape for the grand tasting, at which a silent auction will be staged to benefit local charities.
If you love Pinot Noir or want to learn more about it, this is the festival for you. Ticket information is available online at avwines.com or by calling 707-895-WINE.
