Mendocino Wineries: Goldeneye
The Napa Valley Duckhorn Vineyard is Goldeneyed in Mendocino County
May 28, 2007
When a wine-maker seeks a challenge, they turn to pinot noir. It is one of the hardest wines to make well, but when it succeeds it is one of the finest tastes in the world. 'A good pinot noir is like an orgasm,' one wine-maker once said. 'It's hard to describe but you know when you've had one.'
Dan and Margaret Duckhorn founded their Napa Valley Duckhorn Vineyards in 1976. They decided to concentrate on classic Bordeaux varietals, especially merlot after their first crop in 1978, long before merlot became the ubiquitous taste that it is today.
Seeking a new challenge they began in 1990 to look for a place in Mendocino where they could produce the best pinot noir, one of the grapes which grows well in this region north of Napa Valley. It took the Duckhorns six years of experimenting with grapes from the Russian River, Sonoma, Carneros and Anderson Valley appellations before deciding that the Anderson Valley produced the grapes they would need.
The Duckhorns opened the 80-acre Goldeneye winery in the Anderson Valley in 1996. The name maintained their duck theme, as the winery is on the migratory path of the common Goldeneye duck. At Goldeneye they had one aim, as determined to reach their goal as are the migratory ducks passing through. At Goldeneye the Duckhorns wanted to produce the perfect pinot noir, as distinctive and as special as their Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot had become.
In 1997 the new vineyard produced an experimental 375 cases of pinot. It wasn't until March 2000 that the wine-makers were happy enough with the quality and extent of their production to announce their first vintage.
Today in addition to the Goldeneye Pinot Noir, the winery also produces a sister wine known as Migration. This is made from the grapes that remain when the finest quality ones have been selected to go into the Goldeneye wine. Migration is a more medium-bodied wine, for those wine-lovers who find a full-on pinot noir too much for their palate. A full-on pinot noir is of course what pinot lovers seek, and at Goldeneye they can find it as the winery has been chosen as one of the best pinot noir wineries in California by Wine Spectator magazine.
Whether that praise can be justified, visitors can judge for themselves at the Goldeneye Tasting Room. Take Highway 128 towards Mendocino, and the Goldeneye winery is five miles past the town of Boonville, on the left side of the road.
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Visitor Information
The winery is open daily 11-4 with tastings (small fee) and picnic facilities but no vineyard tours
9200 Route 128, Philo
Tel: (707) 895 3202; toll-free (800) 208 0438
For further information email Goldeneye by clicking here.
Check the Goldeneye website here.
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To read about the Roederer Estate vineyard in Mendocino County, making sparkling wines, click here.
To read about the Frey Vineyards organic winery in Mendocino County, click here.
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