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Mushroom Madness in Mendocino

Fly Amanita (poisonous) mushroom, Mendocino Mushroom, Wine and Beer Festival, Nov 3 – 12

Chanterelle growing on a Mendocino forest floor

Mushrooms, 3,000 varieties of them, will be hunted, discussed, tasted and feted at Mendocino County’s 19th Annual Mushroom Wine and Beer Festival, Nov. 3 – 12. It is the world’s largest mushroom festival.

What makes Mendocino County such a great mushroom foraging area? “It’s the trees,” says Eric Schramm who will be leading a hike from Jughandle Creek Farm on Nov. 12, one of many walks, talks, cooking classes, concerts, rides and hunts focused on learning more about Mendocino mushrooms.

Mendocino’s forests are populated with many evergreen and deciduous trees whose fallen leaves and needles cultivate a broad variety of spores.

For the fall color spotter, Mendocino County’s forest are speckled with autumn color from: (orange) black oak, (yellow) bigleaf maple, (orange-yellow) valley oak, (yellow) white alder, (red-purple) creek dogwood, (gold-orange) various willows, (yellow) California buckeye, (burgundy) choke cherry, (yellow) Oregon ash, (chartreuse) vine maple, (gold) black cottonwood, (red) Klamath plum and all those mushrooms.

Schramm notes that the detritus deposited on the forest floor by certain trees, combined  with Mendocino’s moist coastal climate, nourishes the abundant growth of fungi. It is tree species that leads foragers to prized mushrooms. Chanterelle grow beneath Douglas fir, black trumpet below tan oak and porcini underneath shore pine.

“The annual haul is nothing short of historic,” writes Visit Mendocino, and the response is that mushrooms make just about every great Mendocino menu. Mendocino’s wine makers and brewers find inventive ways to pair their makings with nature’s bounty in endlessly tantalizing ways, making Mendocino the go-to destination for mushroom lovers.

3,000 mushroom varieties grow in Mendocino County. 500 are edible.

Mushrooms are not just good to eat (that is, the 500 edible varieties growing in Mendocino County), but they’re also wonderful to photograph, as seen in the slider across the top of our site.

Schramm says not only is it just plain fun to go mushroom hunting, but festival goers learn a lot about the medicinal, spiritual, culinary, scientific and emotional benefits of mushrooms, stating, “Mushrooms are the wave of the future. We’re just starting to understand their many uses as tools in bioremediation to naturally clean the Earth.”

So, here’s a rundown of some of the fungi fest’s favorites. CLICK HERE for links to them:

  • Daily – Mushroom Hunt Ride, Ricochet Ridge Ranch, Ft. Bragg.
  • Daily – Live Mushroom Exhibit, Ford House Museum, Mendocino.
  • Nov. 3 – Wild Mushroom and Winemaker Dinner, MacCallum House Inn and Graziano.
  • Nov. 3 – 5 – Mushroom Exploration Tours, Stanford Inn, Mendocino.
  • Nov. 4 – Mushroom Foraging at UC Hopland Research and Extension Center.
  • Nov. 4 – Guitarist Alex de Grassi, UC Hopland Research and Extension Center.
  • Nov. 3 – Coro Winemaker Dinner at the Golden Pig.
  • Nov. 4 – Afternoon Tea at Glendeven Inn with mushroom tea sandwiches.
  • Nov. 4 – Mad Fritz Brewing Co. at the Bewildered Pig.
  • Nov. 5 – Bars, Bordellos and Mushrooms, Kelley House, Mendocino.
  • Nov. 5 – Mycellium in Art & History, Mendocino Art Center.
  • Nov. 5 – Ravens Restaurant medicinal mushroom breakfast.
  • Nov. 5 – Pennyroyal Farm mushroom brunch.
  • Nov. 5 – Foray with Mario Abreu (for beginning foragers), Ft. Bragg.
  • Nov. 7 – Blue Collar Winemaker Dinner at Cucina Verona.
  • Nov. 8 – Barra of Mendocino Winemaker Dinner at Crush.
  • Nov. 8 – Wild Fish Winemaker Dinner.
  • Nov. 10 – Little River Inn Mushroom and Belgian Beer Dinner.
  • Nov. 11 – Mushrooms at the Mendocino Coast Bontanical Gardens, Ft. Bragg.
  • Nov. 11 – Mushroom Foray and Cooking Class at Jade Court, Ft. Bragg.
  • Nov. 11 – Maple Creek Winery/Artevino Mushroom Hike & Forage.
  • Nov. 11 – Saracina Mushroom Foraging and Gourmet Luncheon.
  • Nov. 11 – Jaxon Keys Winemaker Dinner.
  • Nov. 11 – Yamakiri Winery and Ravens Restaurant Mushroom and Winemaker Dinner.
  • Nov. 11 – Campovida Winemaker Dinner.
  • Nov. 12 – Fungi Finale – A Walk on the Wild Side with Eric Schramm, Caspar.
  • Ongoing Excursions/Tours as Posted – Skunk Train, Point Arena Lighthouse, B. Bryan Preserve (endangered African hoof stock).

During November, 25 hotel properties in Mendocino County are offering special packages. Follow the above link to them.

 

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