Sunday, September 21, 2008

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

John Keats was waxing lyrical about autumn in England but this season is equally as special in the Napa Valley. If you have never visited here this time of year you have deprived yourself of a exquisite sensory experience. Each season has it's uniqueness, but this time of year you can actually feel the excitement of the season valley wide. It's as if the valley has been snoozing all summer long and has now awakened to fulfil it's oenological promise. Witness the acquiescing of the patient vines to the will of the winemaker, the singing of field workers harvesting tiny orbs of captured sunshine, the humming of tractors laden with bins of fruit, the heady smell of hungry yeast, the olfactory delight of hopeful fermentations. All of these things, and more, combine to make autumn an enchanted time in the valley. Not a time to mourn the passing of summer, nor a time to dread the oncoming winter, but a time to take a moment, feel the mist, breath in the smells and look forward to a glass of Mother Nature's elixir.

7 comments:

Thud said...

I think you have had more than one glass!....easy now!

monkey said...

whereas here we get colder, the rain becomes fatter and the days become shorter and the wine has to be boiled to give us warmth.

Ron Combo said...

Hello Vinogirl. This is off topic and a bit cheeky for that. Do you rate the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium at Sacramento? An Italian company I advise who make closures might like to exhibit at the Fair next January. I have no contacts at all on the West Coast so I thought I'd ask you - having found you through Thud.

Lord Roby said...

Sold! I'm now thinking of applying to become a grape-watcher during the fall.Do you have any openings for grape-watching GNomes in GNapa Valley?I know a grape when I see one.And is all the wine you can drink a Perk of the job?

Vinogirl said...

Ron, pleased to make your acquaintance. Symposium v. big deal. I work at a commercial winery and the production crew attend for 2 days. Any specifics you need? Let me know, I'll try to get answers but I think it's well worth it.
Lord Roby...you're hired!
Monkey...bit early for mulled wine.

Ron Combo said...

Thanks Vinogirl! Just one question..do the big American closure companies, Nomacorc et al, take stand space? Thanks for your help.

Vinogirl said...

Nomacorc defo there...biggest and best trade show in US.