An Introduction to Anderson Valley: Masterclass
By Sommelier Corrina Strauss
Pour a glass of wine and join us for a 1-hour tour into the history of Anderson Valley and learn how we have become the incredible wine region we are today!
This spring, I was honored to be asked by the Anderson Valley Winegrowers to prepare the very first masterclass on this unique wine region. It was so exciting to research the history and meet many fascinating veterans from the Anderson Valley wine region, who have helped to make this appellation what it is today.
Some of those discussions were with:
- Allan Green- Founder of Greenwood Ridge Vineyards
- Evan Hufford- Advanced Sommelier & Opening Wine Director of three-Michelin star Single Thread Farms
- Glenn McGourty- UC Davis Researcher and historian of the Anderson Valley appellation
- John Scharffenberger- Founder of Scharffenberger Cellars
- Lulu McClellan- Second generation Handley Cellars
- Robert Pinoli- Fourth generation of the Pinoli family (who established the first Anderson Valley bonded winery), and now owns and operates the Skunk Train
- Thom Elkjer- Author, wine writer and local resident of Anderson Valley
Some highlights include:
Topless garden workers helped to plant some of the early Anderson Valley vineyards in the 1970s
Husch VineyardS was the first to plant Pinot Noir in 1971 to the Knoll Vineyard
7 wineries and 16 vineyards worked together to establish the Anderson Valley wine appellation as an AVA in 1983
The first sparkling wine in Anderson Valley was produced in 1981 by Scharffenberger Cellars, followed by:
- Handley Cellars in 1983
- Navarro Vineyards in 1988
- Roederer Estate in 1987
Pinot Noir boomed in Anderson Valley, increasing 550% between 1983 and 2018
Our average vineyard size is 27 acres, with a total of 90 acres (2,457 total acres under vine)
“…there is this magnetism that seems to draw everyone up there who makes great Pinot Noir. If I were to list the top 10 best Pinot Noir producers in the state I would bet that 9 of them would have Anderson Valley in their book in some way”
~ Sommelier Evan Hufford
~ By Sommelier Corrina Strauss
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