Oakville Grocery in December Driving north on Highway 29 in Oakville, you’ll see the historic Oakville Grocery established in 1881. It looks particularly beautiful in December. The vines are bare in Oakville, and this brings the Oakville Grocery into full view. The Oakville Grocery was refurbished a few years ago after it had been purchased … Read more
Art and Wine Country There are many wineries where wine country travelers can view “Art in the Wine Country.” The Clos Pegase Winery in the Napa Valley, in this photo, is just one. However, it is one of our favorites for these reasons. First and foremost, the architecture, which is a Postmodern design. It is … Read more
Anderson Valley Wine Country Are you a wine country buff? If so, you must take a trip to the quiet and serene Anderson Valley. This view is one of many stunning scenes along Highway 128 as it heads towards the Pacific Coast. There are actually two wine country regions along this stretch of Highway 128. … Read more
Margot Patterson Doss Vineyard Walk at Foppiano Vineyards How many of you are veteran readers of the San Francisco Chronicle? For 30 consecutive years, beginning in 1961, Margot Patterson Doss wrote her walking tour of San Francisco column in the Sunday paper. The Foppiano winery in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County has honored … Read more
Cover crops in the vineyards It is cover crop time in the wine country. During the late Fall and into the Winter, the vines drop their leaves and the rain falls. Now is the time to observe the variety of cover crops growing between the vines in vineyards throughout California’s wine regions. What are cover … Read more
Tasting at Duckhorn Vineyards On a rainy but lovely day, we trekked over to Lodi Lane for a tasting at Duckhorn Vineyards. The Duckhorn Vineyards tasting room is located in a beautiful Victorian building, with spacious inside and outside seating. The tasting fee at Duckhorn is $30 a person. That may seem high, but we … Read more
Secret Winery in Carneros, Truchard Vineyards Why is Truchard Vineyards a secret winery in Carneros? The Truchard winery is off the beaten path located on Old Sonoma Road. Most travelers have no reason to venture along this backroad that leads from the Carneros Highway into the town of Napa. Secondly, the winery produces 20,000 cases of … Read more
Plymouth wine country Is Plymouth wine country the new Napa Valley? For sure it is not! It is a unique wine country with a character all its own. For the most part, Plymouth wine country has many small family-owned wineries. A few “big boys” have recently arrived like Turley and Andis, but this wine area … Read more
View Fall Colors in St. Helena Now through the end of November, and perhaps into early December, there are wonderous Fall colors in St. Helena. I shot the photo above while taking a walk through vineyards near Deer Park Road at Highway 29 in St. Helena. I hike from there in and out of vineyards … Read more
Bistro Don Giovanni for lunch After a tour and tasting at Truchard Vineyards in Carneros on Thursday, we headed down to Bistro Don Giovanni for lunch. The Bistro is located near the town of Napa, just off Highway 29 on Howard Lane. Bistro Don Giovanni has been a fixture on the Napa Valley restaurant scene … Read more