Once upon a time, Anderson Valley was something of a best-kept-secret when it came to refined, cooler-climate California Pinot Noir. These days, a lot more people know just how excellent the wines can be from this little out-of-the-way corner of southern Mendocino County. Despite this, few people actually make it up over the Yorkville Highlands and into this idyllic slice of Northern California wine country.

Here’s your chance to pay a visit. The weekend of June 13th, the valley is hosting its annual Pinot Noir Festival, a wonderfully laid-back celebration of what the valley has to offer in the way of red wine (plus a little sparkling and rosé, while we’re at it).

The event begins on Friday, June 12th, with a series of seminars on the technical aspects of growing Pinot Noir in the region, including presentations on smoke-taint research, salmon-habitat protection, and AI vineyard technology. Those talks will undoubtedly make everyone thirsty, so they will be followed in the afternoon by a tasting and discussion with the founding wineries that pioneered Pinot Noir in the valley. Then later that evening, a casual BBQ will make sure everyone is well-fed, while the Pinot flows freely.

Saturday features the main event, which kicks off with a sparkling-wine-and-caviar tasting for those who snagged the VIP tickets required to get in. Then at 11 AM, the grand tasting will feature more than 50 producers pouring their Pinot Noirs for any and all comers. It’s a wonderful event, with live music and tasty bites of food from local vendors. An intimate winemaker dinner, limited to 30 people, is on offer that evening as well.

As usual on Sunday, wineries throughout the valley will be throwing open-house tastings at their facilities, so anyone with a ticket to the weekend can drop in and taste some more.

This is a weekend worth attending for the wine alone, but when you combine it with the seminars and BBQ on Friday, a Saturday winemaker dinner, and some tasting room visits on Sunday, it turns into a delicious and informative immersion into one of California’s most interesting winegrowing regions.

I’ll see you there!

2026 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival
Grand Tasting – Saturday, June 13, 2026
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Scharffenberger Cellars
8501 Highway CA-128, Philo, CA 95466 (map)

Tickets for this event MUST be purchased in advance, and it will likely sell out within the next couple of weeks. The grand tasting tickets will run you $195, the seminar sessions on Friday cost $35, the historical talk and tasting runs $75, and the Friday night BBQ is $95. The winemaker dinner costs $195. If you want access to the bubbles and caviar on Saturday, that will run you an additional $135, or you can buy a combined ticket for $325. Check out all the combinations and individual options here.

Also, be aware that hotel rooms in Anderson Valley proper are few and far between. If you want to stay up there for the weekend, you’d best make arrangements right now. The roads in and out of the valley are winding and hard to drive even while sober, so please, please do not go taste a lot of wine and then think about driving home without a designated driver.