Anderson Valley's Baxter Winery is a small premium wine producer of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and some hard-to-find varieties. Usually when planning my wine travels I like to include a variety of wineries, ranging from boutique to large scale producers. I chose to include this small boutique winery because their wines consistently get good reviews. Given its vineyard is located on Anderson Valley's coastal ridge top, they have a tasting room in Philo. So on one September weekend off we went to Baxter's Tasting Room. It just perfect for experiencing the magic of Anderson Valley wine country.
Baxter Winery, Anderson Valley is located just north of Sonoma County, about a two-and-a-half hour drive from San Francisco or Napa, and roughly 30-45 minutes from Healdsburg. Their website provides the following description of Baxter's approach to wine making:
"Now in his seventeenth year of Baxter wines, Phillip Baxter studied winemaking at UC Davis before spending a six month internship at a winery in Burgundy, France. There he contributed to wines from 33 different vineyards from village to grand cru wines, ranging from Pommard to Gevrey-Chambertin. This experience heavily influenced Phillip’s approach to winemaking - he learnt traditional methods that he continues to use to this day.
Another shaping influence in Phillip’s career is his veteran winemaker father, who he worked alongside for many years and who originally inspired him to enter the winemaking field.
Baxter wines are truly made by Phillip’s own hand, with traditional French cellar techniques such as: a five day cold soak; slow wild yeast fermentation; punchdowns done by hand; a gentle basket press and an extra long aging regime with minimal intervention. We age our wines in 100% neutral French oak barrels to ensure the vineyard and fruit is the focus, not the oak. Our fruit is always hand-harvested and often fermented partial whole-cluster. The craftsmanship and quality shows through in the finished wines.
Phillip met his English wife, Claire, during his university days when they were both studying for a year abroad at the University of Grenoble, France. Their’s is a long winding love story, starting in Grenoble and culminating in their marriage in the Napa Valley in 2010 when Claire subsequently joined the business. They live on the rural ridge top at Baxter Winery and have two young children. Claire works from the winery office running the business alongside Phillip, as well as overseeing the wine club and tasting room, which were her early initiatives. "
They produce 2000 cases of single vineyard wines (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and some hard-to-find varieties), that are consistently gain excellent reviews. As previously noted their wines are produced using traditional techniques, with neutral oak and wild yeast.
We began with the two white wines.
The white wines were:
Next, the two red wines were:
It was a pleasant tasting, and I picked a bottle of my favorite to go. That September weekend was just perfect for experiencing some Anderson Valley wine magic. I look forward to tasting more of their wines in the future.
Anderson Valley Wine Country
For visitors to Anderson Valley here is a brief overview of the wines from this area. The Mendocino wine region is part of the larger North Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA), one of the largest and diverse wine regions in California. In 2004 Mendocino County voted to become the first county in the United States to become GMO free. This effort was supported by the wineries in the region. It is also important to note that 25% of Mendocino County's wine production is organic, making the county the largest producer of organic wine in California. With the addition of the Anderson Valley AVA in 2017, Mendocino County is now home to 12 AVAs. Anderson Valley AVA petitioned to become an AVA in 1982.The Anderson Valley is known for its (1) organic and sustainable wineries, and (2) world class Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Alsatian-style varietal wines. Anderson Valley’s four most widely planted grape varietals are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling. Given Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay do so well here, the Anderson Valley is an ideal place to explore California sparkling wines. Roederer’s Anderson Valley wineries (Roederer Estate and Scharffenberger Cellars) farm about half of all the valley’s vineyard acreage for sparkling wine. Beyond finding a special sense of peacefulness in Mendocino County's Anderson Valley, Roederer has obviously discovered something unique here for producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Those looking to visit a variety of Anderson Valley wineries, ranging from boutique to large scale producers, might want to add one or more of Roederer's three Anderson Valley wineries. Besides Roederer’s wineries (Roederer Estate and Scharffenberger Cellars), which are sparkling wine producers, their Domaine Anderson specializes in still wines, making it distinct for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. During our last visit we included:
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| Anderson Valley, Mendocino County © Spaswinefood |
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| Toulouse Vineyards & Winery, Anderson Valley © Spaswinefood |
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| Boonville, Mendocino County © Spaswinefood |
