One top Mendocino winery is Husch Vineyards, the oldest winery in Anderson Valley. Husch goes back to the early 1970s, and it's since changed ownership and modernized, but it's still family-owned and rustic.
Husch Winery's 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of minority barrel-fermented grapes and majority steel tank-fermented. It's thus a crisp wine with a soft mouthfeel; lemongrass and citrus tickle the nose, and citrus and fennel are sensed on the palate.
Or try Husch's 2004 Pinot Noir Knoll, displaying aromas of rum, cherry, cedar, rose, and cloves, and flavors of sweet red fruit and cola. The fruit came from a sandstone and shale outcropping, overlooking the Navarro River.
Come and visit our Anderson Valley vineyards. It is just a 2 1/2-hour drive from San Francisco. Traveling northwest from Cloverdale on Highway 128, the scenery varies from old apple orchards and sheep country to rich vineyards and redwood groves. The tasting room is just 5 miles beyond Philo. Our tasting room is still unadorned rustic. It was originally a farm animal/grain storage building. A deck, back door and window have been added but it has kept its warm and cozy feeling.
Bring your lunch and relax with a picnic on the deck or at a table under one of the many grape arbors. And, of course, spend a little time sipping Husch wine and sampling the new releases.