View of Carneros Vineyards on Las Amigas Road
Carneros is all about growing cool climate grapes especially Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This wine country photo was taken on a secret back road in Carneros. The road is Las Amigas Road. Read more about this beautiful and hidden back road. See how to get there and a few wineries you can visit for tasting delicious Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Sonoma Valley Wineries
Sonoma Valley or as many call it, the Valley of the Moon is the location of many styles of wineries and tasting rooms. The wineries stretch from the town of Sonoma north along Highway 12, Arnold Drive, and Dunbar Road to the end of the valley. Here in Glen Ellen, you get an idea of the number of wineries and where they are located. See our favorites here: Glen Ellen Wine Trail and the Highway 12 Wine Trail.
Navarro Vineyards in the cool climate Anderson Valley
Above is the beautiful Anderson Valley located in Mendocino County. Between the small towns of Boonville and Navarro on Highway 128 is the heart of the Anderson Valley. The Anderson Valley is the land of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and other cool climate grapes. Our “Wine Country Photo of the Day” was shot at the Navarro Vineyards winery. Navarro is one of our favorite wineries. It is family owned, and the wines are consumer friendly priced. Read more about the Anderson Valley: Where to dine, lodge, and which wineries to visit.
Merryvale Tasting Room
The Merryvale tasting room is a very popular spot in the Napa Valley. Coming from the South, Merryvale is on the right just before the downtown business area of St. Helena. For the wine tasting visitor, no reservations are required for a regular wine tasting experience. The tasting fee is currently $30 per person. In addition, there are other elevated tastings and these require a reservation. See the Merryvale Website for complete information on wine tasting options. In 1996, the Slattery Family became the sole owners of Merryvale. The most impressive room at Merryvale is the Cask Room. The Cask Room holds 70 people and is the site of many winery events. It can also be rented for those who want to host the ultimate wine party.
Dry Creek Valley Fall colors
Harvest is over; the grape juice is in the tanks or barrels, and the vines are getting ready to take a long siesta. It is Fall Colors in wine country. Most of the tourists are gone and wine country takes on a much slower pace. Fall is our favorite time to visit California wine country. The scenery is breathtaking. Starting from now until the end of November we have Fall Colors in the Napa Valley, Sonoma, Mendocino, and all the wine regions of California. The scene in the photo above is near the Pedroncelli Winery in the Dry Creek Valley. See the Geyserville Wine Trail for information on wineries in this area. The Dry Creek Valley is one of the best places for viewing and capturing photos of the vines turning color. If you find a great viewing area or take a great vineyard Fall color photo, please enter the information in our comment sections for our readers to enjoy. Happy Fall Colors travels!
What is this man doing on this wine tractor? Nice job!
We travel to California wine country often and, within the last year and a half, we have discovered five wineries who are using concrete eggs for either fermenting or aging wine. The eggs are limited in use at these five wineries, with stainless tanks and oak barrels the mainstay of wine production. But the concrete egg tank for wine is catching on. We previously posted an article on three wineries using the concrete egg and here are two more wineries using concrete egg tanks for wine.
Two concrete eggs at the new Comstock winery on Dry Creek Road
Comstock Wines is a new winery, and the tasting room currently under construction should open in mid-August. For now, tasting is done in temporary quarters at the Comstock winery. Comstock has only been open a few weeks but has garnered enough attention to have 105 wine folks sign up for their wine club. For the two concrete eggs pictured above, Winemaker Chris Russi plans to use the two for Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Comstock Wines is one of the first wineries you will see on Dry Creek Road as you travel west from Highway 101. You can’t miss the huge dark barn-like structure to the left. The tasting room is open daily 10:30am to 4:30pm.
Concrete egg at Williams Selyem used for Chenin Blanc
At the Williams Selyem winery, Pinot Noir is the speciality but the winemaker also likes to make small lots of various varietals. This small concrete egg tank is used at the winery exclusively for producing Chenin Blanc. We spotted at least three of these tanks around the Williams Selyem wine cellars. Williams Selyem is open by appointment and only to those on their allocation list. See our review of this Russian River Valley winery.
Anderson Valley Pinot Noir loves the overcast skies!
This is view of the Navarro Vineyards in Anderson Valley. On most Anderson Valley days during the vineyard growing season, the climate is just as you see in the photo. Overcast skies and fog mark the morning days. By mid afternoon, the skies clear but the cool winds from the Pacific Ocean kick in. This is why Anderson Valley Pinot Noir is a major grape in the area. The Anderson Valley is also famous for its Alsatian grapes, especially Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Another important wine product in the Anderson Valley is sparkling wine. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the most commonly used grapes in the production of fine sparkling wines. But it is the Pinot Noir wine that is now taking center stage in this cool-climate wine growing area. Among notable producers of Pinot Noir are Goldeneye, Lula, Navarro and Copain. For those interested in traveling to the Anderson Valley to taste Pinot Noir and other wine varieties, we have a complete tour guide to the area. In addition, we have a guide to the romantic town of Mendocino that is on the Pacific Coast, just about 40 minutes away.
The vines in Sonoma Valley the day after Thanksgiving
A traditional activity for us is to travel to the Napa Valley or the Sonoma Wine Country the day after Thanksgiving. It seems that 90% of the time, the weather is sunny, clear, and the air is fresh. I took the above photo a few years back on November 28. The Fall colors in the vineyards and hillsides at this time of the year are spectacular. There is something so special about this time of year. We feel rejuvenated when we return home. The big deal for us is a picnic lunch with a nice glass of wine, weather permitting. We always have leftover turkey. We hit the bakery for fresh sourdough rolls and make our turkey sandwich with all the fixings. One must plan ahead because this is a busy weekend in wine country, especially the Napa Valley. A two-night stay is required at most lodging establishments. We tend to go to Sonoma Valley or near Healdsburg. There are more options for picnic wineries in those two wine areas than the Napa Valley. Below is a list of the picnic areas in the Napa Valley, Healdsburg, and Sonoma Valley. If you plan to stay for two nights, make your reservation today.