Step Back in Time with Anderson Valley
By: Courtney DeGraff
We Have Our Own Language
Boontling was a short-lived language spoken from 1880-1920 with the purpose to converse in the presence of “outsiders” often visiting from the Bay Area. It has left a mark, and you’ll notice “Fog-Eaters & Bright-lighters Welk” on one sign entering the valley. Bright-lighters refers to city folk from San Francisco and fog-eaters to the residents who live on the Mendocino Coast.
The Anderson Valley has always preferred that outsiders leave after visiting— a communal effort to preserve a calmer way of life. Many residents are the decedents of loggers or sheep ranchers. Some arrived here from the influx of “hippies” who fled the cities in the 1960s and 1970s. No matter how they arrived, there is a shared sentiment that you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.
With a scarcity of jobs- and even less real estate available- you live here either by simple chance or by knowing a local who tips you off when housing becomes available. Second generation locals often leave in pursuit of skills and higher education. If they return, it is often with a partner whom they “import” into the Anderson Valley.
The Anderson Valley Brewing Company has made the local lingo Boontling well known in beer lover circles, naming a few of their flagship brews from it: Poleeko Ale and Boont Amber Ale. They have a great disc golf course for anyone looking to kill a few hours.
The language has even made its mark on the wine region. The oldest part of the valley’s grape plantings begins in Philo and ends at the foot of the Navarro River Redwood forest, which quickly delivers you to the Mendocino Coast and the scenic route of Highway 1. This part of the Anderson Valley is known as the ‘Deep End’ and is the coolest grape growing region of the valley. It benefits from dense ocean fog rolling in from the nearby Pacific Coast, ensuring ideal cool climate grape growing conditions. One of the area’s oldest wineries, Navarro Vineyards, has a Deep End Blend Pinot Noir that has also helped fame the term and preserve the language.
Don’t Pass Us By
The only way into the Anderson Valley is through a barrier of hills and densely populated trees of redwood, coniferous, and pigmy forest along twisting roads that are not for the faint of heart. You can come north from Healdsburg via Cloverdale, northeast from Sea Ranch, south from Ukiah, and due west from the towns of Elk, Albion, Little River, Mendocino, and Fort Bragg.
Known as a pass-through destination, many often fly straight through only stopping for a coffee or bathroom break, or possibly a quick stop for bubbles produced by Roederer Estate, the domestic sparkling wine house of the famous Champagne Louis Roederer. Little do they know what else they are missing as they venture west, destination the coast.
Wines for the Refined Palate
With about half of the tasting rooms in the Anderson Valley still family-owned and operated, the chance of conversing with someone with a direct connection to the winemaking or history of the Valley is likely. This pairing of wine, history, and conversation is a combination that often creates lasting relationships with the Valley.
The wines of the Anderson Valley AVA are cool climate wines and often have a bit racier acidity and brighter fruit character. Pinot Noir is well established with varying clones from planting booms in the 1970s and 1980s, and it has proven to produce wines of elegance and earned notoriety. Chardonnay is growing in population for still wines and is well known for its use in the sparkling wines of the appellation. Alsatian varieties like Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris also have earned some international recognition.
For those interested in an experience remanence of a trip to the old world or Napa Valley in the 1970s, there is now a new destination. Anderson Valley has remained preserved and lacks tour buses, obtrusive art exhibitions within the vineyards, expansive tasting room, and winery facilities, and high tasting room fees.
The Valley has a style and prides itself on not being commercialized and for maintaining authenticity. For those looking to enjoy the spoils of how wine country used to be, Anderson Valley warmly awaits you.
~ Courtney DeGraff, Executive Director of the Anderson Valley Winegrowers
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