Springtime in Wine Country

Hi - The last two weekends, Jan and I have made auto trips through the California wine country, specifically Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley. The primary motivation for doing this is that we are having a spectacular spring. Because of an above average rainfall season, the entire countryside is brilliant green. In addition, the acacia trees are blooming with their masses of yellow blossoms. Also there is a variety of non-bearing pear tree that is common in the area and they are blooming with masses of pure white blossoms. And, there is a small tree (I don't know what it is) that blooms with pink blossoms. And where ever there are vineyards, which is almost everywhere, the vineyard managers let wild mustard grow as ground cover and it blooms with bright yellow blossoms. So, you have the visual impact of rows of dormant vines with a solid mass of yellow in between each row. It is quite spectacular! We get all of these blooming events every year, but we don't usually get all of them at the same time. I'm sorry I didn't think to take a camera so I could capture some of it for you. If you want to see wine country at is its best, early spring and late fall are the best times. In the fall, after the grapes are picked, the grape leaves turn yellow and then gold and then bright red. Depending on the year, it can be quite awesome. This usually happens in late September or early October.

Just wanted to share.

Bob