Wine country in November is a colorful feast for the eyes. The grapes have been picked and wineries are busy crushing the year's harvest. Anderson Valley in Mendocino County has become a world class wine growing region. There is an annual Pinot Festival, celebrating this grape that enjoys and thrives as a result of the cool fog characteristic of the valley's summer evenings and mornings.
The hot dry summers of this Mediterranean climate mean that the hills turn 'gold'...contrasting with the green live oak trees, a well known feature of the landscape in this part of California. Vineyards are irrigated by taking water from the little hill streams that feed into the Navarro River and storing it in man-made ponds....which means we have lost the salmon that also need that Navarro River water for spawning. Dry years have meant headaches over water for the wine growers, but last year's rain relieved some of that worry, for now, anyway.
The old stagecoach road that connected inland towns with the coast still runs through this valley. It's just a two lane mountain road that winds through hills, sheep country, vineyards, and redwood forests. It is a lovely drive .... uniquely beautiful, and rural. It's very unique and precious, given the highly populated and developed condition of much of California!
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