My first visit left me overwhelmed with how vast wine country is and how far it extends. Many find themselves wasting time by not routing their winery visits correctly which shortens the time enjoying the very reason you are there. We will make the most of your time, whether it's for one day or ten. You could spend weeks there and still find more to experience, or worse, find out that the places you were looking forward to visiting are booked and unable to accommodate you.
California's "Wine Country" runs as far south as RiversideCounty to the northern part of Mendocino. The Traveling Grape focuses on the Napa County & Sonoma appellations. Because even these two areas are quite vast, we will schedule your time for an enjoyable stay; allowing you time to dine at the many fine restaurants, visit museums & historical attractions and even do some shopping in the local stores.
Napa/Sonoma is about an hour drive from each of the closest airports, San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK) or Sacramento (SMF). Napa is in Northern California at the northeastern tip of the San FranciscoBay. Sonoma is to the west of Napa & North of LakeCounty. Napa is the largest of all the valleys, about 30 miles long and can range from 1 to 5 miles wide. Although NapaValley only makes 4% of the wine produced in California, the quality of the wine has made California wines famous throughout the world.
NAPA: Originally home to the Wappo Native American Tribe; it wasn't until 1831 when George Yount planted the first grapevines. By 1891 there were a little over 600 vineyards throughout the valley due to the demand brought on by the wealth of post-Gold Rush in San Francisco. Prohibition closed almost every winery in Napa. The ones that made it provided sacramental wine for churches or as medicine. The others were replaced by prune & walnut orchards.
Eighteen years after the repeal of Prohibition, Stony Hill built the first winery in 1955. It is still in existence today and produces excellent white wine. It wasn't for another 12 years later that you would see another new winery open its doors, the famous Robert Mondavi winery in Oakville. Napa was rediscovered and since then more than 300 wineries have been built in the area.
If you have not seen the movie "Bottle Shock" yet, go watch it prior to your trip. The most famous of the prestigious wine tastings in France is the backdrop for this movie. On May 24, 1976, in celebration of the American Bicentennial, Stephen Spurrier (a French wine merchant) conducted a blind tasting out of curiosity about how the American wines would fair against the French wines. Nine highly respected French judges were mortified & shocked when NapaValley's wine won 6 of 11 tastings. The top white wine was from Chateau Montelena; a 1973 Chardonnay made by Mike Grgich out of Napa. The top red wine was a 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon from Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. The wine world would never be the same.
SONOMA: SonomaValley is rich in history. The town of Sonoma began in 1823 when the missionary Padre Jose Altimira found the perfect place to call home. Here he planted several thousand grape vines at the northernmost end of the mission. In 1836 Sonoma was turned from a mission town to a Mexican style pueblo by the Mexican Governor Mariano Vallejo. Downtown Sonoma Square is an eight acre park and the largest of its kind in California. At its center is the SonomaCity Hall. Today you will find lots of activity & be delighted with the charming shops, restaurants, historic hotels & landmarks, gourmet stops and the Sonoma Cheese Factory. Also, in our opinion, one of the best pomegranate martinis at Mary’s Pizza Shack! The Plaza is a great place to relax for a picnic with your newly discovered wines; and home for many fun events. Every Tuesday in the spring & summer you will find the locals relaxing on the lawn listing to live music for the Farmer’s Market. Buena Vista is the oldest winery in Sonoma and an historic landmark. Opened in 1857, it was founded by the “Father of California Wine” Count Agoston Haraszthy. In 1861 he was commissioned by the state of California to study viticulture in Europe. He returned to Sonoma the following year with cuttings from grape vines from France, Italy & Spain. He is credited with first promoting the concept that fine wines should be produced in SonomaCounty. Today Buena Vista owns 1,000 acres of vineyards in the Carneros region of Somona & Napa, more acres than any other winery. Just a short way up the road is the 2nd oldest winery, Gundlach Bundchu, just 3 months younger. They produce 16 varietals on 350 acres of vineyards. Here you will find a great picnic area. Sebastiani Vineyards is another grand old winery in Sonoma from 1904. Recently they have reduced their wine production concentrating on higher quality wines. Today you will find 12 appellations within SonomaCounty as well as the Ranch to novelist Jack London. Approximately 133,000 tons of grapes are produced on nearly 60,000 acres of land. There are over 150 wineries in Sonoma, over half less than 20 years old. Many here are small, family-owned wineries (“boutique” or “garage” wineries).
WEATHER:
Wine Country is beautiful all year long, just a little different feel from Spring when the grapes are beginning to grow to the Fall when the valley if full of activity & the wonderful smells of "Crush". The cooling fog and sea breezes make the ideal climate for growing grapes. Summers are hot, with July & August being the hottest months at around 100. In the winter months, December, January and February, it rains, but not a lot. It’s not unusual to have temperatures in the 70s and 80s around Christmas. These winter months are the quietest times to visit and easy to get a room at a great rate. The best part of visiting this time of year is you will get individual attention you just can’t receive during the busy Summer & Fall months. You may even be able to get reservations at The French Laundry. Personally, there is never a bad time to visit.
SEASONS: WINTER: Vines are dormat so time for machinery maintenance, frost control systems in place, weed control many times with “ground cover” (Mustard or Clover is often used to control weeds & provide nutrients to the soil) as well as vineyard development. “Pruning” takes place which leaves behind the trunk of the vine. SPRING: New vines are planted and wrapped in white tubes to train & protect the vines. The buds will start to appear in the spring. Wind Machines are put in place as well as overhead sprinklers for irrigations and “orchard heaters” to help protect against frost. SUMMER: New shoots appear & vines begin to flower. Shoots that are too long are often pruned so that fewer grapes appear, resulting in higher quality wine. Because moisture can lead to mildew, some leaves are cut off to increase grapes exposure to the sun as well as increase air circulation. This is when berries will begin to appear, grow & swell. Berry sampling is done often. The summer heat contributes to the sugar levels in the grapes as well as decreasing the acid. The grapes will approach full maturity near the end of summer. FALL: This is called “Harvest” or “Crush” and a fun but busy time to visit. Grapes are picked and crushed. Some wineries have their own facilities but many hire equipment brought in by large trucks to do the crush where the juice is then fermented into wine. “Crush” usually begins in August and goes through October. The first grapes picked are those for Sparkling wine because these grapes need to have lower sugar levels and higher acids. Chardonnay & Sauvignon Blanc grapes are thinner skinned and usually picked early. Cabernet Sauvignon are thicker and the last to be picked.
