Touring the Napa Valley

The Napa and Sanoma Valleys lie just over an hour north of the city of San Francisco. They are the premier wine growing regions in Northern America. The Napa Valley is renowned for producing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc while the different variety of grapes grown in the Sanoma Valley are used when making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The very interesting thing about San Francisco and the neighbouring areas of Northern California is the large number of micro climates. This means that while it may be a chilly and very windy 17 in SF, only 40 miles north, south or east of the city it may be a very pleasant and somewhat warm 27. 

This morning we left SF and it was very cold (15 degrees) and the sea mist (also known as the gloom in June) very low. We drove to the Golden Gate Bridge lookout but unfortunately only part of it was visible through the fog. It was eerie standing there listening to the fog horn sound while looking across the bay knowing that an entire city (the most densely populated city in Northern America) was there somewhere. 

Back on the bus heading north it was only 20 minutes or so down the road that the sun came out and the temperature began to rise. By the time we alighted the bus in Napa it was a very warm 28 degrees and there was not a cloud in the sky. After a short wait it was all aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train where we enjoyed a sumptuous 4 course meal while we travelled through the vines and past the numerous wineries. The train consists of fully restored 1915 Pullman carriages. It really was a lovely way to see what our guide told us is the most expensive agricultural land in America.

At the conclusion of that part of the day's tour the bus drove us to the small town of Sanoma. A very pretty historical town built in the Mexican style where the streets radiate out from a central town park. We wandered the shops for a short while before retiring to a shady spot in the park. 

It was then time to return to SF. Incredibly the weather was warm and sunny until we got within the shadows of the Golden Gate Bridge where the gloom in June returned. I am now sitting in our hotel room and the fog is so low I can't see the hotels in the street behind us. Apparently it has something to do with the cooler air over the ocean meeting the much warmer air from inland. Whatever it is it is very strange, particularly when it is actually summer here now.