Brendan McGuigan's Profile 
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I live up in Northern California, in the small seaside town of Mendocino. I'm surrounded by some fabulous AVAs, and take full advantage of that (especially our fabulous Pinot Noirs and the rare-but-great Riesling). I'm a web designer and writer by trade, and a wine drinker more by association, although I do try to marry the two when possible. I'm all about promoting my amazing county and its spectacular wines, helping to awaken people to this region. We've been a bit overshadowed by our neighbors Napa and Sonoma, but I think we have some real contenders up here, as well as a truly astonishing organic wine movement. Come visit! We'll drink together!
Web site: www.vinomendocino.com/
Location: Mendocino, CA, United States
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Recent Reviews & Comments
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2004 Meyer Family Syrah
(2009-10-02 01:30:52 UTC)
2004 Meyer Family Syrah
91/100
I absolutely adore this wine – I'm not a huge port fan, so I had stayed away from Meyer Family, but when I finally tasted their 2002 Syrah a couple of years ago, I knew I had found a good thing.
I go back year after year, and it is currently our by-the-glass Syrah. It's a great value, and I could drink it almost every night.
Very dark, with nice bright acid, great blueberry throughout, a bit of raspberry, and nice vanilla, with cinnamon spicing it all up. Chewy as heck, and the finish lingers wonderfully even at this age, although I think it has another five or six years of really good aging before it hits its prime.
I'm at Yorkville Cellars in Yorkville.
Cheers,
Erica
It's a great place to live- I'm in the Anderson Valley and can't believe my good fortune.
2005 Clairborne and Churchill Gewurztraminer
(2007-08-10 08:26:35 UTC)
2005 Clairborne and Churchill Gewurztraminer
82/100
This wine came on a bit flat and weak to me. Some honeysuckle and fruit on the nose, but the taste failed to follow through at all. Major pass.
Brendan, My sincere thanks for the info. We can't wait to get up to Mendocino and get to work on your suggestions :) Looking foreward to visiting your web site in July. Again, Thanks
Brendan
commented on Nick & Anne Martinez’s profile:
Hi you two! You won't regret choosing Mendocino as a destination for wine, I can guarantee you that. We have some truly fascinating, astounding wines, and some of the nicest wine-makers you'll ever meet.
It looks like you're big fans of Zins, so I'll recommend a few of my favorite wineries on the 128 corridor that I think have great tasting experiences as well, and most of which have strong Zin offerings.
First is Navarro Vineyards. Probably one of my favorite wineries, they have a beautiful tasting room with a friendly staff. I personally love their Riesling (during the summer especially, this will really hit the spot), but they have a great Zin as well (WS 92, I believe). If you like dessert wines at all, their late harvest Gewurz and Rieslings are exceptional. Their PN is a fairly sturdy offering, although nothing that will wow you. And for any children in the group, they make fantastic red and white grape juices from their Pinot and Gewurz grapes, respectively.
Right next door is Greenwood Ridge, which also has a Zin offering, but again, you'll mostly want to play with their whites.
There are only a few places in Mendocino that really focus in on Zins. Unfortunately, most of the strongest (Carol Shelton and Edmeades, for example) don't have tours or a tasting room.
But Claudia Springs winery is an interesting little visit, with quite a few Zin offerings. Their tasting room is smack dab in Booneville, so you can grab a bite to eat at Loren's Cafe after you're done tasting, for a bit of local culture.
If you like PN at all, you'd be remiss to skip Goldeneye. They're right across the highway from Navarro and Greenwood Ridge, and have a wide range of truly interesting, really drinkable PNs.
Breggo is another interesting winery that just opened up in Booneville (they source all their grapes currently). They have a lot of style, a lot of edge, and put out some really interesting wines -- and are just great people to boot.
While in Mendocino, it might well be worth checking out some of our organic and biodynamic wineries -- something the region is fairly famous for. Maple Creek Winery is a tiny little affair (12 acres) run by Linda Stutz and Tom Rodrigues, that operates organically and puts out some fun wines (Chard and Merlot primarily, I believe). Both Navarro and Greenwood Ridge are organic, of course. And if you get over the hill towards Ukiah, Frey Vineyards is both biodynamic and organic -- and Paul is quite a character. You'll need to make an appointment to do a tasting with them, but if you're at all interested in biodynamic growing, this is a place to visit, no doubt.
There are more, but those are my top picks! Before you head out in September, you should check out my pet project, VinoMendocino (http://www.vinomendocino.com/), which should be live near the end of July -- it'll let you get detailed information on all the wines and wineries of the county, and search by a range of criteria, as well as having interviews with some of the more eccentric local producers (and we have our share!).
Hope that helps!
Brendan
commented on 
I would love to participate in a virtual tasting at some point, for those of us who have a rough time making it to the wonderful meets. Let us know four wines you're going to do in advance, and do a live stream episode we can all taste along with and share our feelings via the wonder of the intertubes. Loving the idea of interactive wine. Loving the new assimilation.
Brendan
commented on
Great to see someone so passionate about wine taking hold of the reins here. Very excited about Cork'd becoming an even more active, even more revolutionary force in the world of wine. Congratulations, Gary! Ya basta!
Andrew Bohi
Monica Bennion
K_is_for_Kate
Dina Nishioka
Billions Bliss
Jared Hackler
(2009-09-22 16:39:53 UTC)
Brendan commented on
Erica kane’s profile: