Road Trip Day Three: Mendocino and Meow

We skipped out on what would have probably been an awesome breakfast, but after the lassitude that followed the waffles and massage of yesterday we decided to get an earlier start and check out Mendocino. It was kind of sleepy in the morning, enshrouded in a lovely Pacific mist. And what a hippie town! At 9:00 in the morning the marijuana smoke was wafting from several storefronts. (Ok, it was closer to 10:00.) At one such establishment I purchased a handbag-of-sorts for Natalie’s upcoming birthday. It was constructed of a recycled seat belt and tire. It’s actually quite useful and she’ll love it. The town also had a fair number of useless souvenir and candy shops, and plenty of tourists to patronize them. The heart of this community though, resides in the venerable Victorian homes, not all of them bed-and-breakfasts either. I loved walking past and looking at the lovingly tended English gardens. The Mendocino motto should be: “Yes, we have time for all of this – and you don’t!” The post office was from another era too. I mailed postcards to Delia and Andrew. (Stay dressed, young man!) We breakfasted on wheatgrass smoothies and some kind of dense brown muffin of twigs and underbrush (!?), and were also able to find satisfying lattes before resuming our adventure.

The staggering beauty of the Pacific Coast Highway makes for the ideal road trip, and led to our discovery of Pacific Star Winery (www.pacificstarwinery.com) north of Ft. Bragg. We had never heard of it, but there wasn’t a lot else going on, aside from the fabulous scenery, and after all - finding wineries is why we are here. And what a pleasant find! An old stone and redwood barn welcomed us to the cellar/tasting room. Here, we felt we were in the middle of it all – and we were. One worker was labeling bottles as we tasted. We met winemaker Sally Ottoson, who is rightly proud of the wines she has created. Some are not typical of what we’ve found in Napa and Sonoma and it’s worth the trip just to try them. Carignane (I love saying that!) is a product of old vines and history, and one of their most coveted wines. The Charbono is a rare find, the grape was nearly extinct due to the difficulty in growing it, but its popularity is definitely on the rebound now. And for everyday drinking, try Dad’s Daily Red. (What a great name! And Sally’s dad is still kicking – and sipping - at age 84.) Michael loves the Coro, a “Mendocino mélange” of zinfandel and nine other varietals. Sally’s viognier is a new favorite of mine, and I enjoyed seeing the tasting room staff patiently explain its pronunciation to some visitors from Utah who had never been to a winery before. (!)

I was very impressed with Sally and the winery she had created. Her attention to quality and detail reminded me of me. Fabrics, button plackets and grapes have more in common than I thought, and meeting Sally reaffirmed that I am on the right track with Red House.

It was time to go, but a cat in residence there decided to be my friend and would not leave me alone - even after I left the tasting room to feed handfuls of clover to some grateful sheep. No pampered indoor kitty, this was a Winery Cat. I’ve seen a few of these in my touring. So as not to have to survive on wine from the pour bucket, they lie in wait for assorted vermin and the occasional dish of proffered kibble. They sometimes show the scars of fights with other cats (or perhaps rats bigger than themselves) to retain the title of Winery Cat. Now and then, everyone just gets along, as you see multiple cats lolling around the grounds and the tasting rooms. This one may have wanted a vacation as he attempted to get in our car. I escaped his claws, but think I might have left with a few of his fleas. Not only that, my hands were gummy with the saliva of overzealous, clover-starved sheep. Yuck. I needed a shower, but it's back on the road with the magnificent redwoods ahead!