TravelAwaits
May.15.2021
Highway 101 in Mendocino County, California, parallels the Russian River and passes through land settled by Italian immigrants with names like Parducci, Barra, Graziano, and Testa. Their legacy lives on in the 100-year-old vineyards that populate the area. There are wineries still run by the fourth- and fifth-generation heirs who grew up on this land with winemaking in their blood.
The best way to experience these incredible wines is to follow the Coro Mendocino Wine Trail. Coro Mendocino is the first wine to set strict parameters distinctive to its region in the United States. Honoring the “Old Italian” field blends, each Coro wine starts with Zinfandel a minimum of 40 percent and then blended for up to nine named varietals. Another unique feature is that winemakers must go through four blind tastings to be worthy of the Coro Label. These tastings are infamous in the area for being brutal, but with the input of fellow winemakers, the results are a bet
(Courtesy of Saracina Vineyards)
Campovida
Set on a beautiful farm, you could easily lose an entire afternoon at Campovida. A truly rustic retreat, you ll find vineyards, lush gardens, chickens, and bocce courts. The winery produces a diverse array of organic and biodynamically farmed wines including several grape varieties you d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere in California like arneis, dolcetto, and nero d avola, all Italian natives. Cozy up for a tasting at a picnic table, or book the garden tasting for something more private. The latter comes with a picnic basket of wines and snacks for a totally contactless experience in the garden or under the shade of a gorgeous and towering oak.