Hopland Wine Country Getaway

We spent a few days recently exploring the town of Hopland and the surrounding wine country region. We tasted wine, played Bocce Ball, dined, and picnicked in this wine country hideway.

Wine Tasting in Hopland

Sip Mendocino, McFadden Vineyards, Graziano Family Wines, Jeriko Estate

A good place to start wine tasting in Hopland is the wine tasting room and wine shop called Sip Mendocino. Owner Bernadette Bryne has over 100 different Mendocino County wines available in her shop for purchase and 18 wines available for tasting. Discover boutique wine labels such as Naughty Boy, Saracina, Patianna, and Oracle Oaks Winery.  Don’t forget to clip the coupon in our newsletter, good for a Two-For-One tasting at Sip Mendocino.

Guniness McFadden has been a grape grower for over 30 years in Mendocino County and recently began producing his own wine under the McFadden label. Stop in the McFadden tasting room and try wines made from organically grown vines. Next door to McFadden is the Graziano Family Wines tasting room. Gregory Graziano is one of the area's top winemakers and does wine consulting for several Mendocino wineries. Just a couple of miles north of downtown Hopland is the Jeriko Estate winery with a beautiful tasting room and picnic area. The winery’s vineyards are organically grown and certified.

Bocce Ball Fun at Brutacao Schoolhouse Plaza

The Brutacao Schoolhouse Plaza owned and operated by Brutacao Winery has six beautifully maintained Bocce Ball courts. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays evenings, during the warm months, locals participate in a Bocce Ball league. During the day, the courts are usually unoccupied so wine tasters can play a round of this fun, competitive and easy to play sport. This year we decided to play our annual Booce Ball tournament here at the Brutacao Schoolhouse Plaza.  These courts are official size and meticulously manicured. We usually pick a different winery each year to host our tournament, but we had so much fun here that we are likely to return to these courts each year.

We had seven couples (teams) play in a double elimination tournament. One of the advantages of playing at Brutocao is the six Bocce courts. We used two courts for the tournament and the other courts were completely open for practice or for others to use. Not only are the Bocce facilities spectacular but the Crushed Grape Grille is available for lunch and dinner and is equipped with a full bar. You can sit outside and play Bocce, sip wine, and eat to your delight. What better way to enjoy a day in wine country?

Lodging in Hopland

There are two hotels in Hopland, the Hopland Inn and Lawson’s Station. Both hotels are open but currently up for sale and we hope someone is interested in keeping these hotels open. Without the Hopland Inn and Lawson’s Station, visitors would have to head to Ukiah for the closest lodging. The Hopland Inn is historic and has a great deal of charm. Lawson’s Station is new and has modern accommodations and amenities. We prefer the charm of the Hopland Inn.

Dining in Hopland

Both the Hopland Inn and Lawson’s Station have recently closed their restaurants. This is unfortunate and that leaves the Crushed Grape Grille as the only gourmet restaurant in town.  Groups can still use the hotels for catered events such as wedding receptions. For breakfast snacks, coffee, and deli lunches, try Cheesecake Mama's.

We outline our list of top wineries to visit on our Mendocino County wine region, the Hopland Wine Trail and the Anderson Wine Trail. The Mendocino Winegrower's Alliance has a brochure with a map detailing all the wineries and the various wine AVA's in Mendocino County.