A little rain, hopes for more
This week we had a few days of rain. A few good soaks, puddle jumps, cozy evenings, and bejeweled plants. As we kick off the pruning season… a few photos from out and about this week:
Ocean Drive Along Highway 1 in Sonoma County
A Memorial Day ocean drive along Highway 1 in Sonoma County.
So many things were different this Memorial Day weekend. It definitely felt more somber with shelter-in-place orders. Its purpose also felt more glaringly obvious as we support brave healthcare professionals on the front line of our current enemy - COVID 19.
Every year when the weather warms up, the rains stop, and the roads dry up, we usually head to the coast in Sonoma County regularly to enjoy the mega sand box, calming sounds of crashing waves, hope of a whale siting, and the familiar cool, salty breeze. The change of scenery and perspective feels like a true adventure. With the parks still closed to encourage social distancing, we decide we would just drive by, take a look, and soak up the awesome Pacific views.
In Sonoma County, Highway 1 follows the coast for 56 miles (SF Chronicle). We focused on the stretch from the port town of Bodega Bay (Hitchcock’s The Birds, anyone?) to the delta where the Russian River meets the sea. For more history on the region, check the Sonoma County’s Coastal History.
In terms of wines and vines, the salty, cool air is vital to our micro-climate growing regions of the Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley AVAs. Along with the foggy marine layer, the cloudy blanket that rolls inland and covers the sky in the evening, and rolls back out to sea in the morning, comes a daily cooling. This break in temperature gives the wine-grape-producing vines a much deserved and desired break. As the vines rest, the grapes maintain their flavor-balancing acidity. Cheers to that!
Here are some photos from our ocean drive.
September = California Wine Month
Note - this post was originally published 09.11.2014
It's official. The governer decreed it: September 2014 is California Wine Month. Not every September, just this one as an effort to boost morale and let tourists know that we're still here and we still have lovely grapes to harvest and wines to pour and sell.
Governor Brown includes a history of the wine industry in this State (and we thought he'd talk about economic impact): http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18686
Below are a couple photos we took this week of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes ripening in the afternoon sun in St. Helena. Cheers!
Rain Drops
Note - this post was originally published 1/30/2014.
It rained. .. a little. January is usually the wettest month of the year. This year we are in a governor-declared drought emergency.
In the image above, Napa and Sonoma Counties (North Bay) are in extreme drought. There’s only one more drought level higher. But it rained, just enough to get the roads wet and slippery and hang the mountains and valleys in the clouds.
My husband was out taping vines despite the consistent rain drops. We tape the new vines to the trellis (the tape is green in the photos below) to train the vines to grow straight and encourage more fruit production. We also tape older vines to the wires of the trellis to support them, so when they bear fruit the vines can hold up their own weight.
I had the opportunity to take a trip up Spring Mountain, which straddles Sonoma and Napa counties as part of the Mayacama range. I brought my camera, hoping I might get up above the clouds far enough to take a nice photo for you, but no luck. I could barely see where my car was parked. As I came back down the mountain, I did see seven deer and three turkeys. Only a little water and life is slowly returning.
The cool cloudy weather inspired warm comforting soup for dinner:
“Broccoli and Potato Soup
1 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs olive oil
½ white onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into coins
1 bay leaf
3 Russet potatoes, peeled, washed, and chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
4 cups vegetable broth (I used boiling water and added two boullion cubes to the soup)
Over medium-high heat, melt the butter and oil together in a large pot. Add onions, garlic, and carrot. Stir to mix with oil, but then allow to cook 4 minutes over medium heat – want the onions to start to become translucent, not burn. Add bay leaf, potatoes, broccoli, and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. That’s it!
Adapated from this recipe I found online.”
The City
This past week I had an opportunity to go to the City. Back East, that meant a trip to New York to play tourist, shop, check out a new art exhibit, or smile at the Rockefeller Christmas tree. Here, we live in the North Bay; our city is San Francisco.
My reasons for the day trip were personal, but wine being our way of life, it and the weather (the ever relevant agricultural topic) came up in conversation. As we walked along the streets and talked, I was reminded of some of the history of the City, specifically how recently it became significant and the effects of the Gold Rush. Gold was discovered in California in early 1848, just before the US took over California from Mexico. Needless to say, news of gold got out, making San Francisco an instant hub. Many of the immigrants that came at that time headed north and without success at gold panning, planted grapes and started making wine. Helping to create the wine regions we enjoy today.
If you make it to the city, there are definite wine benefits = selection (think wine shops and restaurant lists). The city being the center of commerce, you can often find wines that just aren’t available up here in the country. We live at the source, enjoy the life style and have an opportunity to “eat/drink local.” But in the city you can travel the world at dinner.
Photos from San Francisco:
(note: this post was originally published 01/25/2014)
