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California Wineries Welcome Spring
California pours sweet splash of spring in wine country
Picnic baskets announce the arrival of spring in Napa and Sonoma valleys, famed Northern California wine country. Packing the basket poses a challenge: Tuck in a buttery chardonnay or refreshing pinot grigio? Or perhaps pinot noir hinting at grapes soon plumping on the vines.
Sippin' sunshine in California's Sonoma Valley
It's only natural to soak up spring's rays while swirling a glass of liquid sunshine. Chateau St. Jean welcomes tasters to bask on the patio while a server pours. The wine's colorful notes heighten with sensory overlay of rolling green hills. Tours and tastings offered daily with advance reservations.
Clink glasses filled with bubbly to toast merry spring
Vibrant spring air pairs well with lively sparkling wines. Domaine Carneros invites savoring spring and some of their wines on the patio of their grand chateau in Napa Valley.
Blooming gardens inspire wandering, with wine
Cherry trees with flouncy pink petals, tulips of red and yellow. Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery celebrates a blossom bonanza on their five acres in Napa Valley. Wander paths or taste at the winery's Villa Fiore wine shop.
Friends sip with friends in salute to sunshine
Gather friends, then sip and savor spring at Viader Winery in the hills above Napa Valley. Viader's sweeping view of the valley is from Howell Mountain.
Picnic tables up, shrimp's on the barbie; must be spring
It's a sign of spring when V. Satui Winery fires up the barbecue grills. It looks like a Tuscan villa, but with Southern barbecue hospitality in a Napa Valley setting.
Springtime in wine country makes everything bloom
A glass of wine, a spectacular view--and thou? Rolling hills and vineyards set the mood at Silvarado Vineyards in Napa Valley.
Tranquility
Wrath Wines' patio looks out on a pond graced with lily pads. The Soledad winery is 132 miles south of San Francisco in Monterey County. Wrath's high quality wines justify a spring day road trip.
Newly opened Hall Wines fine architectural blend
St. Helena is home to a new wine production facility. No, it's a visitor center and tasting room. Wait, it's a sculpture garden. Actually, it's Hall Wines' new combo facility.
Spring-watch at welcoming Ram's Gate
This winery puts the "home" in Sonoma. Ram's Gate is an architectural welcome mat, more like your rich pal's home than a winery.
Spring is here: open the wall and let it in!
Go ahead, just walk through that wall to sip your pinot grigio in the spring sunshine. Then back inside for the next pour at Ram's Gate.
Two-wheeling in wine country: a spring thing
Spring goes with bicycles like wine goes with cheese. Cycle to Napa and Sonoma valley wineries in spring, as Valley traffic gets heavy in summer.
Sweeping view caps perfect spring day
From the lookout atop Howell Mountain, each spring day brings a greener portrait. CADE Estate Mountain Winery is home to wines that win ratings to match the elevation. Gazing across Napa Valley from CADE, it feels like you hold keys to the kingdom.
A valley so green
A sweeping view of the Russian River Valley is the treat for spring picnickers at Paradise Ridge Winery. The Sonoma Valley winery invites you to bring your basket, taste their wines.
Plump grapes are full speed ahead
Spring's subtleties move into summer's plump grapes. Wine tasting takes many forms in Napa Valley. A few wineries say, "Just stop in." Many require advance reservations. Some have members-only tastings, as at CONSTANT Diamond Mountain Winery, where the view over the infinity pool looks down into Napa Valley.
About Anne Chalfant
Years as travel editor for a San Francisco Bay Area newspaper shaped Anne's understanding of what travelers want to know. Anne conveys the wonder and "whoa's!" of travel, and is always eager to share travel tips. The San Francisco Bay Area is home for Anne; she lives with husband and cat Sherpa. Despite Sherpa's traveler name, he thinks travel is for the birds. When the suitcases come out, he heads under the bed.
Read more about Anne Chalfant here.