{"id":1306,"date":"2019-06-30T18:03:21","date_gmt":"2019-06-30T18:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2019-07-09T18:25:47","modified_gmt":"2019-07-09T18:25:47","slug":"visiting-napanoma-in-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1306","title":{"rendered":"Visiting Napa\/Noma in November"},"content":{"rendered":"

No matter what T. S. Elliott says,\u00a0some believe that November is the cruelest month.\u00a0 In northern California\u2019s Wine Country, the grapes have all been harvested; the new wine is all in barrels; and even there you can feel winter coming on.\u00a0 But at the same time, the frenetic atmosphere of harvest has past and the crush of high tourist season has disappeared with the summer.\u00a0 The general bonhomie that settles in across America as Thanksgiving approaches can be felt in Napa\/Noma as well.<\/p>\n

A lot of the pleasures of visiting Napa\/Noma depends on the time of the month that you are there.\u00a0 In the early days, many of the trees are in their autumnal glory.\u00a0 More important, so are the vines.\u00a0 There will be many brown leaves but also bright yellows and oranges, a few hardy remaining greens and some vibrant reds.\u00a0 Sadly, the red leaves are a sign of what is known as \u201cleaf roll\u201d, meaning that the vines are getting along in years and will soon enough stop producing.\u00a0 They will be replaced by seedlings, but visitors can still enjoy their bright color in the fall.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Yountville.com<\/em><\/p>\n

In the latter part of the month, Thanksgiving and the beginning of Christmas season<\/a> lend a festive quality to Napa\/Noma.\u00a0 Almost all wineries have put on their holiday decorations; they sell giftware and a few are really little more than novelty stores that serve wine.\u00a0 So you can get a lot of your holiday shopping done while you sip.\u00a0 For those who favor wine-themed gifts, we have in the past bought a wreath made of vines and a gold-dipped grape leaf to hang on a Christmas tree.<\/p>\n

Along with summer\u2019s crowds, summer\u2019s heat disappears in November as well.\u00a0 Instead of searing 90\u2019s, you\u2019ll find afternoons in the 60\u2019s and mornings rather colder than that.\u00a0 We recommend packing a sweater and maybe even a heavier jacket.\u00a0 It\u2019s up to the individual whether this temperature is bracing or just brrrr.<\/p>\n

November can be a season for tasting newer vintages.\u00a0 Wines that sat in the barrels for 18 months or longer will have just gone through the bottling and labeling processes and are just hitting the stores and the tasting rooms.\u00a0 Of course, these are young wines and you might prefer them with a bit more age to them.\u00a0 November is really not about what you should be drinking now but what you will be drinking in a year or two.\u00a0 It\u2019s a good idea to bring a long a Clef du Vin<\/em><\/a> if you have one, which can help you simulate what the wines will taste like a few years hence.<\/p>\n

On or about November 1, the rates for hotel rooms in Napa\/Noma go down, so you might get a better deal on accommodations.\u00a0 The prices in restaurants, alas, do not follow suit but since there are fewer tourists, it becomes easier to reserve a table in some of the more exclusive places.\u00a0 You might even find yourself sitting next to a winemaker, who finally has a chance to slow down and enjoy dinner out after a hectic few months.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the theme of a wine tasting visit in November.\u00a0 Everything is easier and more relaxed, which may be exactly what you are looking for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No matter what T. S. Elliott says,\u00a0some believe that November is the cruelest month.\u00a0 In northern California\u2019s Wine Country, the grapes have all been harvested; the new wine is all in barrels; and even there you can feel winter coming on.\u00a0 But at the same time, the frenetic atmosphere of harvest has past and the … Continue reading Visiting Napa\/Noma in November<\/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\/1306"}],"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=1306"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1320,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions\/1320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}