Its Shoulder Season, Do the Spring Fling!


As I wrote in a previous blog, wintertime is a great time to travel in the wine country if you want to save money and have peace and quiet.  If you couldn't go this past winter, or want to go again, I would suggest traveling during the shoulder seasons which is mid-March to mid-May or November & December.  If you were to call a hotel to get prices for a room this time of year, they would give you what is called the "shoulder season rate".  This really means a discounted rate from the peak season but not quite as low as the off-peak season, i.e. between the quiet and the extreme travel times of the year.

Spring is really the beginning of the tourist season in California with October being the end.  What should one expect to see while traveling the different regions of this fine state?  All along the ocean spots you will find the grey whales completing their migration back north.  The grape buds on the vines just popping out.  The wild mustard is still out at some locations plus if you are lucky you will see the beautiful golden poppies (state flower) starting to blossom especially in the Gold Country.  In the central and northern part of the state all the fruit trees, cherries, apples, orange, apricot, etc. are starting to blossom their beautiful white or light pink flowers.  This of course brings out the birds and the bees.  Speaking of the birds and the bees... on the country roads you will see all the new baby lamb, goats and calves that are soooooooo cute!  The owners of the wineries have a pretty quiet time now.  Their primary focus for the next couple months is making sure that the new buds don't freeze.  They do this by checking on the temperatures during the night and putting the sprinklers on if necessary.  The sprinklers protect the buds from freezing.  The winemakers are busy blending the wines of the previous vintage.  This blended wine is then put into the appropriate container waiting its time to be bottled.

If you go to the wine regions in November and December you will find it pretty quiet.  Basically the grapes are getting ready to hibernate for the winter.  Some vines will still have some nice foliage colors such as deep red/orange and sometimes yellow which will take your breath away.  The winemakers are usually taking a big deep breath of relief that the long hard harvest is over.  Some are 
still bringing in the last of the sweet grapes for making late-harvest and ice wines.  November is the peak month to observe the monarch butterfly migration.  It is a fantastic site to see and is mostly located near the beautiful Pacific, which is so fantastic this time of year.  The olives get harvested and pressed.  If you are into pumpkins or corn mazes you will find all sorts of stands and farms selling tons of pumpkins, gourds and the last of their harvested goods such as apples, olive oil and freshly roasted almonds.  This time of year is a good time to check out the olive farms as well as the cheese factories that are cropping up in Northern California.

The great thing about exploring all the different wine regions is that each one has something different to offer each season.  My suggestion to you is to travel during the shoulder season and your ultimate goal should be to travel to each region both in the spring and in the fall to see all the uniqueness it offers.  




Posted by Wine Travels With Lori at 3/23/2009 3:15 PM
Categories: Shoulder Season, California Wine Travel, Spring travels
Tags: monarch butterflies wine grapes whales California olive oil travel
 

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