Handley Cellars

Handley Cellars is both an Anderson Valley pioneer estate and a landmark in California women's winemaking history. Milla Handley — who trained at UC Davis and worked in Napa Valley before returning to her family's Anderson Valley roots — established Handley Cellars in 1982 as one of the first California wineries owned and operated by a woman winemaker. The 40-year Philo Highway 128 estate has been the heart of the Anderson Valley's tasting room culture since before the region had any critical reputation.

The estate produces organically farmed Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and méthode champenoise sparkling wine from Anderson Valley sources that reflect Milla's conviction that the morning fog and afternoon warmth of the Navarro River corridor produces wines of genuine elegance and food-first restraint. The Gewürztraminer in particular — dry, floral, and showing the Alsatian character that the Anderson Valley's cool, sheltered terrain consistently produces — is one of the most reliably excellent and honestly priced expressions of this variety available in California.

The daily walk-in tasting with complimentary or very low-cost access, dogs welcome, families comfortable, and picnic grounds reflects the Handley tradition of genuine and barrier-free hospitality that has made the Philo estate one of the Anderson Valley's most beloved wine destinations for four decades.