Now a destination in its own right, the Anderson Valley has developed into more than just a stopover for visitors on their way to the Pacific coast. And a good place to base yourself when exploring this northerly cool-climate wine region is the idyllic coastal town of Mendocino.
It was founded in 1851 but fell into economic decline with the dissipation of the logging industry, and didn’t really bounce back until the late 1950s, when it became a haven for artists.
Since then, Mendocino’s quaint charm has made it beloved by visitors near and far –a town frozen in time, thanks to much of it being on the National Register of Historic Places and many of its original buildings qualifying as California Historical Landmarks.
About 50km inland, in the Anderson Valley, development was slower. It wasn’t until the 1970s, more than a century after early settlers arrived here, that the first commercial
