The Mendocino County Wine Region includes Lake County and is located above San Francisco on the northern California Coast and served by San Francisco and Oakland International Airports. Find delicately spiced Gewiurztraminer and lightly leafy Sauvignon to big, meaty Cabernets and Zinfandels.

Mendocino is an approved American Viticultural Area with 275,200 acres. The total area planted to vineyards is 15,500 acres. About 4,400 acres are planted to Chardonnay, 1,900 acres to Pinot Noir, and 2,500 acres to Cabernet Sauvignon. Approximately 25 percent of the total vineyard acreage in Mendocino County is certified organic. Of the 10 distinct winegrowing regions within Mendocino County, eight are official American Viticultural Areas, and the remaining two are proposed viticultural areas. There are 56 wineries and over 250 growers harvesting approximately 56,000 winegrape tons, representing about two percent of the state’s wine tonnage.

Located directly north of Sonoma County and about 90 miles north of San Francisco, the Mendocino wine region is bounded by California’s Coastal Mountain Range, the Pacific Ocean and the great northern redwood forests. A mountainous region, it is part of the seismically active Coast Range and is also the place where the San Andreas Fault reaches the ocean. Almost 60 percent of the county is blanketed with coniferous forests. Most of the vineyards are located in the inland valleys in the south and east areas of the region. The vineyards growing white wine grape varieties are located on flood plains and alluvium along the Navarro and Russian Rivers. Most of the red varieties are grown on the bench lands above.