Star This!

Wine Tasting and Whale Watching on the Mendocino Coast

Pacific Star Winery Mendocino

With all the wine in California, you’d think it would be super easy to name a winery located right on the ocean. Um…?! Okay, we’ve got one! And it’s worth starring for a visit.

Wine taste and whale watch at Pacific Star Winery on the Mendocino Coast

Pacific Star Winery is 12 miles north of Fort Bragg on the Mendocino Coast, just far enough off the beaten path that many folks don’t discover it. But it’s on the map for more reasons than interesting wines like Charbono, Brunello, and Dad’s Daily Red. There are whales to be spotted, too!

Wine taste and whale watch at Pacific Star Winery on the Mendocino Coast

While the tasting room itself doesn’t have an ocean view, the expansive bluffside picnic grounds overlooking the coast have big ocean views. It’s some top-notch outdoor seating, pairing your winetasting ($10 for 6) with whale watching (compliments of nature). Buy a bottle to enjoy with a picnic here, or just kick back with a glass of your favorite in one of the Adirondacks.

Pacific Star Winery, 33000 N. Hwy. 1 (at mile marker 73.58), Fort Bragg; 707-964-1155. Check the website for upcoming closure dates (for example, January 30–31). No dogs.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Field of Light at Sensorio in Paso Robles

    Light This Way

    Hidden in the bucolic hills of Paso Robles lies one of the greatest light shows on earth. The lighted art exhibition, Sensorio, is as if the rainbow magic of the aurora borealis was plucked from the sky and planted in the fields.

    View
  2. Surfboards and tents for shade are set up on the beach at Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area in the Swim Lagoon Area

    Switchbacks and Swimming Holes

    Hike hard, play hard! This 7-mile out-and-back in Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area is a great workout with payoff vistas and a relaxing post-hike picnic and dip in the water.

    View
  3. Hike the Rainbow

    Catch all the colors of a rainbow at Calero County Park on this 10-mile hike currently showcasing the season’s best blooms.

    View
  4. Serene Las Gallinas

    A serene stroll alongside marshland, passing ponds and grasses frilled in seasonal wildflowers, with Mount Tam a beacon in the background … how nice. As part of the esteemed Bay Trail, San Rafael’s Las Gallinas Valley Birding Loop and Wildlife Ponds comprises about 3.5 miles of wide-open trail.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. A woman on a hiking trail with huge open space and yellow flowers around her at Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks

    Going Wildwood

    Consider this your invitation to get a little untamed. In just one walk through Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks, you can chase the sound of a cascading waterfall, duck into a shadowy cave, and soak in big hillside vistas. The mostly flat 4.25-mile loop makes wild feel wonderfully accessible.

    View
  2. Two women on e-bikes at Cass Vineyard and Winery near Paso Robles

    Eat, Drink, E-bike!

    No offense to charcuterie but sometimes you want a full meal while tasting world-class wine. And Paso Robles knows this better than perhaps any other wine region in California. Case in point: Cass Vineyard and Winery, where you can eat, drink, and e-bike!

    View
  3. Jurupa Jamboree

    If you like a short hike with a side of adventure, try the Jurupa Hills North Trail in Martin Tudor Jurupa Hills Regional Park.

    View
  4. Sponsored

    Weekend in Reno Tahoe

    Weekend plans? Reno Tahoe! Just a few hours by car or a short flight away, Reno Tahoe springs to the moment with great ways to combine adventure and relaxation in its beautiful mountains-meets-desert setting.

    View