Local Flavor   



Humboldt County's first residents hailed from the Yurok, Karuk, Wiyot, Chilula, Whilkut and Hupa tribes, among others. They settled on the coast and along the banks of the Trinity and Klamath rivers. The county was created in May 1853 and derives its name from Humboldt Bay, which was "discovered" by a sea otter hunting party in 1806 and rediscovered in 1849. Douglas Ottinger and Hans Buhne entered the bay in 1850 and named it in honor of naturalist and explorer Baron Alexander von Humboldt.

Del Norte County has been home to the Yurok and Tolowa peoples for thousands of years. Legendary explorer Jedediah Smith is credited with being the first non-native to enter the region, in 1828. Gold strikes on the Klamath and Smith Rivers in the 1850s led to the settlement of the county, which was created in March 1857. Its name, meaning "the north" is derived from its position in the northwest corner of the state.
Humboldt County, the new wine country?
What do you get when you cross an Arcata Police sergeant and an Arcata Fire captain? Well in this case, an up-and-coming, award-winning winery. Curtis Watkins and David Brown, owners of Curtis and David Winery, said they were college buddies at Humboldt State several years ago when they discovered their love for wine. Together they found a job as cellar rats for former Arcata winemaker Bob Marr of Marr Cellars. The highly coveted job amongst poor wine lovers with a sharp palate translates into a ‘will work for wine’ relationship that is imperative for small winemakers operating on even smaller budgets. “We did the scut work in exchange for knowledge,” Brown said, adding “and yeah, we got wine out of the deal, but it was more about learning (how to do it ourselves).” Marr Cellars later moved out of the area, and Brown and Watkins got regular day jobs but held onto their viticultural interests. Of their chosen careers Brown chuckled and said, “It’s kind of funny, we are also ski patrollers at Mount Shasta so we are the emergency services guys. We like to think of this as the public safety winery.” Why Humboldt? According to the state offices of Alcoholic Beverage Control, there are currently 20 bonded wineries in Humboldt County. But winery bonds are difficult to come by and for start-up ease, new businesses sometimes wait to get their own bond until they are more established and therefore work under another winery’s bond in the interim. As many as 28 wineries exist in the county. A sense of cooperation has emerged among new wineries that have only recently been popping up all over the area. There are a handful of longtime vintners, but Alcoholic Beverage Control statistics say that in 1990 there were only five bonded wineries, six in 1995 and 11 by 2002. Most of the local wineries buy grapes from Napa, Mendocino and Anderson Valley areas and bring the fruit by truck to Humboldt County to process. Brown said they spend between $30,000 and $40,000 per year on fruit from about six vineyards. The process is expensive and nerve-racking, especially if the grapes reach the picking point on the same day, at the same time in two different places. But the advantages for these Humboldt vintners are plentiful. One of the biggest boosts is that they can buy good quality fruits from old established vineyards without all the farming risks and without spending a million dollars per acre for prime grape growing properties. But probably one of the biggest boosts for local wineries is the year-round cool, humid weather. Big Napa wineries drop small fortunes on high-tech cooling systems and storage that local winemakers generally don’t have to spend a dime on. The cool weather slows the process and allows for better texture, color and according to Watkins, a “fuller extraction out of the grape skins.” Cabot Vineyards in Orleans has taken a different approach. Kimberly and John Cabot developed their own love of the land as organic farmers for area Farmer’s Markets. Kimberly — who professes that it is her husband who is the “winemaker extraordinaire” — said winemaking was something they just sort of fell into. The life of an organic farmer isn’t as romantic as it’s cracked up to be. Sure there is an abundance of fresh produce — but making a living on perishable products is tough when the market sales require a two-hour drive each way. With two or three trips to town each week, the Cabots found they were driving themselves silly. “We needed a value-added product because growing lettuce and broccoli and living in such a (remote) place seemed to be the opposite of growing a sustainable product,” she said. In 1998 the Cabots started out growing a small vineyard of organic grapes with the intention of selling to local wineries but had a change of heart. “We sold them the first year, but John got so attached to the grapes, he wanted to see it all the way through,” Kimberly said. “The nice thing about wine is if you don’t sell out, it doesn’t have to go to the compost bin — you can stick it back on the shelf.” Myers Flat winery Riverbend Cellars has been around since 1997 and winemaker Thomas Meager said he is making Cabernet, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Merlot, Rosé, Zinfandel and a Meritage. Riverbend Cellars also prides itself on being locally grown like Orleans, Willow Creek and Whitethorn vintners. Meager and his crew have taken the wine experience two steps further, offering customers a full-time tasting room and a fine-dining experience on-sight at The Groves. Local winery experiences run the gamut ranging from locally grown organic fruit and organic wineries, to locally processed Napa fruit and sparkling Mead. As new and longtime local vintners find their stride — this budding industry has people wondering if Humboldt is on its way up the food chain — gearing up to compete for its own wine country identity.