If you decide to visit the two Mendocinos, here are my suggestions for getting and staying there, dining and tasting.
Anderson Valley
 
Anderson Valley is about 2 1/2 hours from San Francisco via Highway 101 north to Highway 128 which meanders northwest along the Navarro River through spectacular redwoods to the coast.  The 27 wineries are easy to visit being concentrated on either side of the highway from Booneville to Navarro.  The list of wineries and map are located on the Anderson Valley Winegrower’s website at www.avwines.com
A good time to visit Anderson …

From the first building to be erected in the Napa Valley in 1848, the downtown area of the city of Napa grew rapidly over the following three decades to support the growing commerce arising from the abundance of grains and grapes grown in the fertile valley, and increasing tourism.  Even in the 1870’s, Napa Valley had become a popular weekend or permanent retreat for San Franciscans attracted to the beautiful scenery, mild climate, medicinal springs and convenience to the metropolis.  Visitors would take one of the daily steamboats …

For those of you touring Napa Valley wine country, it’s sometimes nice to spend one day in one place, without a car, but still get the complete food and wine experience.  There are others of you visiting San Francisco who only have a day or two to spend in wine country.  Downtown Napa has more than 20 tasting rooms, wine bars and wine lounges to get a taste of Napa Valley wines, at your convenience.  While the local wine tasting rooms owned by Napa Valley wine producers pour their own …

Napa Valley isn’t just about food and wine, it’s also about the arts.  In Downtown Napa, one can have it all, and without a car.  Napa’s music and arts history is not new either, it began in 1880 with the opening of the Napa Opera House on Main Street, which still stands today as an historic landmark and as a performance venue.  In Downtown Napa, one can enjoy music at several classic venues as well as enjoy art from the street or the gallery.
The Music Scene
The art deco Uptown Theatre …

Downtown Napa has a range of accommodations ranging from international resort chains to boutique hotels to historic inns in landmarked districts, so you are bound to find something that suits your interests.
On Main Street at the Historic Napa Mill is the jewel of Downtown Napa hotels, the Napa River Inn.  It is made up of three buildings, each with its own character, with the Embarcadero and Plaza Buildings right on the river.  The restoration of the historic landmark and surrounding properties in 2000 by Harry Price marked the beginning of …

Downtown Napa, as the Gateway to the Napa Valley, has a wide range of casual and fine dining to meet every palate and occasion.  There is also a variety of specialty food purveyors, farmers’ markets, bakery/cafes and even take-out that feature what Napa Valley does best, serve up local, fresh and sustainably grown food that is vibrant with flavor.
Reservations Recommended
For serious dining, you don’t need to go up-valley to experience a range of world-class cuisine from French at Michelin star La Toque in the Oxbow District to southern Italian at …

Since most visitors to Napa Valley come for the great food and wine, why not learn how Napa Valley cooks and take the knowledge home for a lifetime?  Here are a couple of ideas to to round out your food and wine adventure.
Dinners
Susie Pope, co-proprietor of Cedar Gables Inn, used to run a culinary school in Los Gatos, where her husband worked in high tech.  It was natural that when they renovated the kitchen, that they make a spacious, professional kitchen that guests would feel welcome in.  They offer cooking …

Some of the most popular food wines today are the mostly dry, aromatic whites such as gewurztraminer, pinot gris, pinot blanc, riesling and muscat.  These rich and balanced aromatic whites pair so well with our California, Mediterranean and ethnic foods. 
Once the province of Alsace France, these grapes are now grown around the world.  One of the leading wine regions in the US for these aromatic whites is the Anderson Valley, a 15-mile long, 2,000 acre appellation in Mendocino County that straddles the Navarro River as it heads northwest towards the …

More than a century before Napa Valley became an official American Viticultural Area in 1981, the St. Helena Star wrote:  “If any grape growing region in California deserves to be called a well-defined district, it is Howell Mountain.”
For those of us who are used to Napa Valley’s easy traverses up Highway 29 or Silverado Trail, it’s difficult to imagine that in the 1870’s, hearty European immigrants were establishing homesteads 1,800 feet and above in the mountains high above Saint Helena, ascending on dirt roads and facing harsh winters.  But pioneers like Jean …

The Mendocino Winegrape & Wine Commission calls itself “America’s greenest wine region” with good reason.  28% of its 20,000 acres of vineyard are certified organic or biodynamic, 400% more than any other US wine region.  Mendocino’s green culture did not emerge in response to recent consumer demand, it began that way organically and when you visit Mendocino you will understand why.  
One of the many reasons why I love Mendocino is that it seems to be locked in time in the 1960′s and 70′s, where guys still wear long hair and beards and the radio always plays …