Founded in 1970 McDowell Valley Vineyards sits in the southeastern corner of Mendocino County, in essence between the mountains and the famed Russian River Valley.  While that means the soil is constructed differently than it is in the RRV, the climate is much the same.

Over 300 acres are currently planted and while the makeup of those plantings has changed over the 100 years of continuous cultivation that’s been going on at McDowell Valley Vineyards, in the early part of the 21st century things have settled in quite a bit, at least in terms of the grapes being planted and cultivated on site.

To start, the focus has slowly shifted to Rhone varietals, but then the economic collapse of 2008 hit McDowell Valley Vineyards hard.  It’s another unfortunate aspect of Mendocino County grape growing, when things go poorly for the overall wine economy, growers outside of Napa Valley, Sonoma and other well known areas are hit disproportionately hard.

While McDowell Valley Vineyards is currently closed as a winery itself, fruit is still being farmed and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a comeback of sorts for both the vineyard, as well as the folks behind it in the near future.  For this wine of the month club that started in those tough times, I hope they can pull off a revitalization.