{"id":1093,"date":"2018-11-30T19:13:06","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T19:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1093"},"modified":"2019-01-29T17:47:30","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T17:47:30","slug":"visiting-napanoma-in-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1093","title":{"rendered":"Visiting Napa\/Noma in July"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s face it: it\u2019s hot in Napa\/Noma in July.\u00a0 Of course, it\u2019s hot everywhere and if you like it that way then it\u2019s no problem.\u00a0 We are split on the matter, so while we have been there in the height of the summer, we don\u2019t go at that time very often.\u00a0 The afternoon temperatures are generally in the 90s and it\u2019s scant consolation that in other grape growing areas further south the 100s are regularly reached.<\/p>\n

There are other drawbacks as well.\u00a0 July 4 weekend brings crowds and at this time of the year, the crowds often mean tourists with children<\/a>.\u00a0 The roads are jammed and in many cases so are the tasting rooms.\u00a0 So why go in July?<\/p>\n

Because the days are long.\u00a0 Even though the wineries are closed by 5:00 or earlier, you still have time to laze by the pool at your hotel, visit a state park or just enjoy strolling in the pretty towns. Some wineries, especially those with a view<\/a>, take advantage of the lengthy daylight and stay open later for special events.\u00a0 We well remember evenings at William Hill Winery (https:\/\/www.williamhillestate.com\/estate#our-winery<\/a>), sitting in comfortable Adirondack chairs with a bottle of Chardonnay admiring the view in the approaching dusk.\u00a0 (Of course, you have to buy their wine to take advantage of their grounds).<\/p>\n

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William Hill Estate Winery<\/em><\/p>\n

There are some pleasures only available in the summer months.\u00a0 For example, the Santa Rosa Wednesday Night Market is open from May to August and the fruits and vegetables reach their peak in July.\u00a0 There\u2019s music, barbecue and a chance to meet the locals.\u00a0 July also brings music festivals in the parks in St. Helena, Calistoga and Santa Rosa.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Santa Rosa\u2019s Wednesday Night Market.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.<\/em><\/p>\n

July can lay claim to being the month when the vineyards are at their most beautiful. \u00a0It is the month in which veraison begins, when the red wine grapes attain color.\u00a0 It can be quite stunning to see the clusters of grapes \u2013 some green, some purple \u2013 giving promise of the harvest to come.\u00a0 Each month has its own beauty, to be sure, but there is nothing quite like seeing the vines heavy with fruit.\u00a0 Earlier in the year, there are only tiny berries.\u00a0 Later, the fruit is dropped or picked.<\/p>\n

If the temperatures are your bugaboo, take advantage in July to go wine tasting in the cooler, higher elevations.\u00a0 A case can be made for the quality of mountain wines over those made from fruit grown in the valleys, so taste up there and avoid the highest temperatures.\u00a0 We remember a summer tasting at Storybook Mountain Vineyards (https:\/\/www.storybookwines.com\/<\/a>), in the very north of Napa Valley, when we were positively shivering in their caves.<\/p>\n

If you do visit Napa\/Noma in July, you\u2019ll enjoy wine tasting most if you go on weekdays and make appointments for tastings on the weekends.\u00a0 You\u2019ll also get a better price in some hotels on weekdays, but prices will still be high compared with those in winter months.\u00a0 Heat notwithstanding, there are many pleasures to be had in Napa\/Noma in July.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s face it: it\u2019s hot in Napa\/Noma in July.\u00a0 Of course, it\u2019s hot everywhere and if you like it that way then it\u2019s no problem.\u00a0 We are split on the matter, so while we have been there in the height of the summer, we don\u2019t go at that time very often.\u00a0 The afternoon temperatures are … Continue reading Visiting Napa\/Noma in July<\/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":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1093"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1110,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093\/revisions\/1110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}