In Northern California, traveling up highway 101, you pass many small towns. Many of them are nondescript. But every now and then, you recognize a familiar name. It gives one a sense of deja-vu to distinguish a name and see a cluster of houses nestled amongst hills and the occasional plot of land covered with vineyard. This is how I felt as I passed the little city of Ukiah in Mendocino County. This area of Northern California, just south of the giant Redwood forests, has a completely different atmosphere than the more popular, lower, sunnier Napa and Sonoma valleys. It produces many amazing wines, but due to its distance from any large city and lack of young Stanford-educated marketers, Mendocino wines are much less notorious, and consequently, more affordable.Driving north from Ukiah, there is a smattering of wineries as the Pacific Coast highway climbs into the forests. One winery, in a strange, hexagonal building beside the highway, caught my attention one late-morning. Stopping by, I was pleased with their large assortment of wines and pleasing ambiance. This winery, known as Girasole Vineyards, had one wine for which I was particularly fond. Their zinfandel, of the old, full-skinned, red variety, is delightful to the senses – more so than almost any other zinfandel. The aroma is soft, smooth, slightly fruity, with a subtle hint of oak. The first sip settles just as velvety on the tongue as the scent on the nostrils. A mouthful brings a warm sweetness and pleasant, light spiciness with a minor bitterness in the aftertaste. The wine is clean, smooth, and healthy – possibly attributable to the fact that, as the winery boasts, its wines are made with organic grapes. If you find yourself in Mendocino County, stop at Girasole vineyards. If you are looking for the Zinfandel, find the bottle with the bright yellow label covered in sunflowers, and enjoy this relaxing wine.
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