The newly revised edition of the Slow Wine Guide USA features an expanded and updated Mendocino County chapter
at the Slow Wine Guide USA 2025 reception at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center
in April (Photo by Karen Elowitt)
If you’re familiar with the concept of “slow food,” then the concept of “slow wine” should be a no-brainer. After all, grapes are an agricultural product like any other.
As with slow food, slow wine is all about vino that is made and grown with environmental sustainability and social responsibility in mind.
Slow Wine USA, which is part of the Slow Food USA organization, supports and promotes winemakers who work with respect for the environment, terroir and workforce. To help consumers make educated choices, they produce an annual guide called Slow Wine Guide USA.
With a guiding mission of “good, clean, and fair,” inclusion in the Slow Wine Guide USA requires wineries to grow the majority of their own grapes, to avoid use of synthetic fertilizers and herbicides, and to have a conscious and sustainable approach to the use of environmental resources. The 380 wineries in the book also meet other criteria, such as practicing biodiversity in the vineyard, demonstrating terroir-related values such as history and identity, and treating winery employees and surrounding communities fairly and cooperatively.
The Slow Wine Guide USA was first published in 2019 and has been through several editions since then. It is organized by state and region, and has always included a handful of wineries from Mendocino and Lake Counties. However, the most recent edition, which was released in 2025, features a greatly expanded “Mendocino & Other” section (which includes Lake County), acknowledging this region as a leader in sustainable wine production.
Redwood Valley-based wine writer Heidi Dickerson, editor of the local chapter of the book, was instrumental in ensuring that 25 wineries from the area were included – compared to only five in the previous edition.
“Mendocino County is one of the slowest – and most sustainably farmed – wine regions in the country,” Dickerson said. “I had a blast writing about as many as I could.”
To learn more about Slow Wine Guide USA 2025, including where to buy a copy, visit slowwineusa.com.
WHO’S INCLUDED:
- Alta Orsa, Hopland
- Artevino, Yorkville
- Barra of Mendocino, Redwood Valley
- Bee Hunter, Boonville
- Blue Quail/McFadden, Potter Valley
- Bonterra, Hopland
- Brashley, Philo
- Campovida, Hopland
- Cesar Toxqui, Redwood Valley
- Chance Creek, Redwood Valley
- Domaine Anderson, Philo
- Drew Family Wines, Elk
- Duncan Peak, Hopland
- Terra Savia/Ettore, Hopland
- Frey Vineyards, Redwood Valley
- Handley Cellars, Philo
- Lichen Estate, Boonville
- Mariah Vineyards, Manchester
- Mia Bea Wines, Redwood Valley
- Navarro Vineyards, Philo
- Pennyroyal, Boonville
- Powicana, Redwood Valley
- Shannon Family of Wines, Clearlake Oaks
- Testa Vineyards, Redwood Valley
- Trinafour, Ukiah
