Jerry M.
Yelp
I've been visiting the Anderson Valley since the early 1980s. Back then there was Navarro, Handley, Husch, and (once upon a time) Edmeades -- a label long gone but still remembered.
Then Allan Green built Greenwood Ridge Winery/Vineyards on the Ridge above Anderson Valley, and hosted for 30 years the California Wine Tasting Championships, which I entered many times as a "single" and several times with my wife, Brenda.
Then John Scharffenberger established his winery, with the tasting room in the same small cottage you find today. He made a name for himself and for the Anderson Valley as a viticultural area that could produce fine quality sparkling wines. I stopped there many times to savor the flavor notes and the soft, yeasty aroma of the wine.
John sold the business, and founded the chocolate company in Berkeley, which still bears his name. Scharffenberger Cellars became Pacific Echo -- go figure. The wines were every bit as good, perhaps better.
We became members of the "Flying Cork Club", and I kept half a dozen bottles of Vintage Brut Reserve (if I remember correctly), and enjoyed them for special occasions and holidays.
Tex Sawyer has been the winemaker from the beginning (I believe), and continues to be the steady hand and studied taster who continues to oversee the making of the wines, now under the control of French corporate vintner, Maisons Marques and Domaines, whose most famous label is, of course Louis Roederer of Champagne, and the brand Cristal.
This story would not be complete without mentioning Roederer's own Anderson Valley transplant, Roederer Estate just a bit West of Scharffenberger's tiny building.
But Scharffenberger continues to have it's own vineyards, and own unique tastes driven by Mr. Sawyer's hand. I've been told the two organizations may share some resources, but ultimately they have individual tastes and "noses".
I'd be happy if Tex or someone else at Scharffenberger wants to correct some of my facts or suggest that my opinions may be a little wide of the mark.
Clearly, the Valley is a much different place than it once was. Sheep and apples dominated the farmland when I first began my regular visits. There are still apple orchards, or course, and some sheep, but vineyards and wineries are the dominant economic engine in the Anderson Valley today.