{"id":580,"date":"2017-05-30T17:31:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T17:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=580"},"modified":"2019-01-29T17:48:32","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T17:48:32","slug":"visiting-napanoma-in-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=580","title":{"rendered":"Visiting Napa\/Noma in January"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re often asked \u201cWhat time of year is best to visit Napa and Sonoma?\u201d.\u00a0 We always answer that it doesn\u2019t matter, that there are pluses\u00a0and minuses whatever time of year you go there.\u00a0 With this issue, Power Tasting initiates an occasional series that will try to capture the essence of each of month of the year in California\u2019s foremost wine making regions.\u00a0 It\u2019s still a good idea to go whenever your calendar allows, but some months might fit your tastes better than others.<\/em><\/p>\n

One way in which Napa Valley and Sonoma County are alike is the weather.\u00a0 It\u2019s not going to rain on one side of the mountain and be sunny on the other.\u00a0 And in both regions, all year long, you are likely to observe the same strange weather phenomenon: no matter the season, days begin cold, humid and grey.\u00a0 Then at mid-morning, in\u00a0 a period of 15 minutes or so, the clouds part, the sun comes out and you spend the rest of the day under glorious blue skies.<\/p>\n

However, in January you run a fair chance of it being grey and rainy for the entire day.\u00a0 2017 had a historically wet winter, complete with some significant flooding in certain areas, especially Russian River.\u00a0 [\u201cRussian River rises again, flooding Guerneville\u201d, http:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/bayarea\/article\/Russian-River-Guerneville-flooding-rise-level-10917521.php#photo-12167050<\/a> gives an especially good look at what it was like.]\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing like a flood to spoil an otherwise pleasant day of wine tasting.\u00a0 But even in the notorious drought years, you could still get a lousy day in Wine Country in January.<\/p>\n

Floods aside, there is some benefit to wine tasting on a rainy January day:\u00a0 There aren\u2019t as many people there.\u00a0 The tasting rooms aren\u2019t as crowded; you can get a table at the best restaurants; and the hotels lower their prices.\u00a0 Your odds are good, especially on a weekday, but it can still be very crowded at times.\u00a0\u00a0 Mid-January brings the Martin Luther King holiday weekend and those wanting a last blast of Christmas and New Year\u2019s come out in droves.\u00a0 We were shocked on several occasions to find normally sedate wineries packed with people who were obviously more interested in imbibing than tasting.<\/p>\n

One of the glories of visiting these regions, especially Napa Valley, is the outburst of color known as Mustard Season.\u00a0 At this time, wild mustard naturally blooms in the fields and many grape growers let it stay.\u00a0 We once thought it enhanced the soil but we later learned that farmers like pretty views just as much as visitors do, so it\u2019s an esthetic decision on their part, not an agricultural one.\u00a0 To our memories, Mustard Season used to occur more in the February-March time of year, but it is coming earlier now.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s global warming or the heavy rains, but it\u2019s happening earlier now and lasting longer.<\/p>\n

\"napa_mustard_0117\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo taken on January 16, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>As can be seen in the photo, there are plenty of bright, sunny January days in between the showers.\u00a0 It may be a little colder than some would like for wine tasting (that would be Steve) but you don\u2019t get the searing hot afternoons that others detest (that would be Lucie).\u00a0 Generally, a sweater, light jacket or down vest is appropriate for the January temperatures in Napa\/Noma.\u00a0\u00a0 And you almost never get any snow.<\/p>\n

Because the vines are bare in January, it\u2019s best not to plan visits to wineries where one of the main attractions is the view across the vineyards.\u00a0 You may still want to taste the wines at, say, Stag\u2019s Leap in Napa or Rochioli in Russian River but you will lose an important part of the wine tasting experience.\u00a0 If your trip in January is the only time you will be in Napa\/Noma for a long while, definitely visit wineries such as these, but put your imagination in overdrive to get an idea of what it\u2019s like in high summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re often asked \u201cWhat time of year is best to visit Napa and Sonoma?\u201d.\u00a0 We always answer that it doesn\u2019t matter, that there are pluses\u00a0and minuses whatever time of year you go there.\u00a0 With this issue, Power Tasting initiates an occasional series that will try to capture the essence of each of month of the … Continue reading Visiting Napa\/Noma in January<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=580"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":617,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580\/revisions\/617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}