Wine Country Fall
I absolutely love this time of year in Napa Valley and Sonoma.
The weather is turning here. Leaves are turning colors. The vines take on that spindly character where the leafless canes hang down, heaving, and you can see their form. The chill right now is verifiable, but not too bracing that you are terribly cold if you take a walk in the morning, work in an early round of golf or just stand on a hillside and look down at a Valley of vines cleansed and retreating.
At most wineries the end is in sight too. Maybe they are waiting on some Syrah or Cabernet, but most everything else is crushed and pressed. it means that if you are in the production side of the wine industry you are starting to think about your winter vacation to someplace warm or someplace exotic. It’s just now that there is time and space to consider the upcoming holidays, how they will be organized, who is worth seeing and avoiding and how to arrange it all.
It really comes down to reflection this time of year. The landscape, the slowing of the harvest, the end of the year. The shorter days. The cooler mornings and evenings. Everything lends itself to reflection.
Fall is a spectacular time to visit Napa Valley and Sonoma for all the reasons listed above. November in particular is perfect. Much of the Harvest crowds are gone, there may not be much rain, the sun still shines bright, yet you can dig deep into your warmer stash of clothes and get comfortable visiting the wineries, restaurants, villages and what not.
And of course, the restaurants and home chefs bring out their fall menus this time of year. That means more cassoulet and stews for me!
I LOVE this time of year.
This is a nice article Tom, reflecting the sigh of relief that most of us are feeling now, and the sense of appreciation that we all should feel about living amongst the vines that tie or lives to the land. In the words of the great Andre Tchelistcheff- “The time when nature puts on her prettiest dress”