It seems as if it’s been a long harvest season, but it finally looks to be drawing to a close. Tomorrow we press our Cabernet and transfer it from vats to steel tanks. Once there, they’ll need no more attention from me except on weekends. I can go back to the Big City. Which is looking very attractive now that it is getting very cold. Yesterday, it was still 46 degrees at 10AM, so I’m assuming it must have been near freezing overnight. With a woodstove the only source of heat in the barn, cold weather takes a bit of the charm off the place. I’ve been waking up at 3AM to stoke the fire for morning. Luckily, I’ve remembered to bring enough wood in every night. I’d hate to walk the quarter of a mile to the woodpile now that we’re having more frequent coyote sightings.

Still, even in the cold and the isolation, Sonoma still has it’s charms off-season. Here are the vineyards, stripped of their grapes, leaves turning and heading into a graceful dormancy.

The rows between the grapes are already rototilled and planted with mustard waiting for spring. Which around here is February.

The rows between the grapes are already rototilled and planted with mustard waiting for spring. Which around here is February.