This might be something to bemoan: there’s wireless internet in Boonville now. Cell service, too. And fancy schmancy wine tasting rooms, with real tasting bars, not barrels and boards, and merchandise to boot. What’s the world coming to? Hopefully, it’s coming to the Anderson Valley before it becomes completely yuppified. Oops, too late.
But seriously, here is still a place to escape the rat race of the Bay Area, or any other rat-riddled race in which you may be trapped. As you head into “town,” your cares will melt away, literally, if it’s during the summer. But you must stay. It’s the antidote for citification.
The Boonville Hotel is a paragon of inefficiency, but it is also an oasis, haphazard as it might be, in the middle of what still can be classified as the boonies. So don’t complain, unless, of course, you want coffee much before 9am on a Saturday. It is not run by Germans. No way. But when the coffee is brewed and ready, along with breakfast of fresh berries. Brown Cow yogurt, granola from the Moosewood Bakery across the street and most excellent scones, you will thank your lucky stars you landed here, in this quaint and tidy place, overflowing with good intentions and a library of real, honest to goodness books that don’t require an e-reader.
If you can, get rooms # 1 or 2 in the summer: they have the best cross-ventilation, as there is no A/C and temps can easily reach 100 in the summer. Thankfully, there are heaters to combat the winter chill. Rooms 3 thru 5 are best for fall and winter.
Dinner here is a must at least once, and sit outside. The food is lovingly prepared from locally sourced ingredients and if you leave hungry, it’s your own damned fault. The other great place to eat is Laurens, or if you like simpler fare, there is Alicia’s, essentially a diner. Libby’s in nearby Philo has the best authentic Mexican food you will find north of San Francisco.
Wine flows from every nook and cranny. The Hotel has a fine selection, and you can stumble across the street to visit two of the town’s three tasting rooms. Begin with Londer, where the Pinots and Kent Ritchie Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast, are first rate. Consulting winemaker, Amy Hiller, is knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Get a jar of Shirlee’s homemade jam: just like you remember from the good old days, because they are still alive and well here.
That’s one of the themes running through this timeless town, well echoed in the Foursight tasting room, where four generations of the Charles family culminated in the winery that makes excellent Gewurztraminer and first rate Pinot Noir, all in the restrained style that once marked the character of the varietal. For the first time in the 34 year history of the Mendocino Wine Competition, a Navarro or Handley Riesling or Gewurztraminer did not make it to the finals: instead, those honors went to Bonterra Riesling and Foursight’s Gewurztraminer. Paradigms are shifting.
Zina Hyde Cunningham is a pleasant experience owing to the dynamite personality of Chenoa, the tasting room manager. The Lake County wines show promise. The Russian River ones, not so much. Go for the Barbera or Malbec. A 2009 Anderson Valley Pinot is on the way to save the day.
Breggo Cellars will tempt with an impressive ram-on-the-label lineup: the Pinot Gris is like icy daggers, sharp and swift. A true wakeup call. The Savoy Vineyard Pinot is succulent: the Anderson Valley 2008 Pinot, from 5 different valley vineyards, is smokey stuff. Think campfire fare to pair. The 2007 Syrah is peppery-paradise. Makes you want lamb. They happen to be everywhere you turn in this golden hilled, vine and apple orchard-studded bastion of boonieness.
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