Looking to visit areas from Napa down to Paso with days of inbetween for general holiday.
I have certain wineries to target and some we will pick as we go, my question is when is the best time to go. A few very nice winemakers have offered to show us around, my question is what months are the best to go. I understand harvest time is obviously not good but when exactly does everyone get busy ?
There are a lot of posts on wineries to visit, not much on timing though
Alan, my vote is March through early May. Weather is generally very good and the vineyards coming to life after their winter rest, along with early wild flowers, make it my favorite time. My next choice is mid- October through November-I love the quality of the light in the afternoons in the wine country.
I think Sean’s guidance is good. But the winter can be nice, too. I always work in a day in Napa and/or Sonoma around New Years and it’s lovely and quiet.
September and October.
I’m not sure how much it matters in California, though, unless you’re arranging appointments with the winemakers themselves. Most places have tasting room staffs. It’s not like Europe where you’re likely to be welcome by the proprietor/winemaker most places outside Bordeaux.
I am hoping to arrange a few visits with winemakers if possible, my objective is quality over quantity. We will visit a few tasting rooms but id rather just learn a lot about a few AVA’s and dedicate a good few hours to meet some of the people i buy from if they are generous enough to offer, so i really want the times that would make this as convenient as possible for anyone kind enough to offer
I always loved visiting in January and February. No traffic, long visits, easy restaurant reservations. The only problem is that vineyards look pretty sparse and it can get very cold overnight.
Best is anywhere from January til late spring to beat the heat and the tourists. Summer it depends where you’re going. Harvest time if you like being pandered to with superficial event touristy bullshit or annoying the crap out of anyone who has anything to do with the actual winemaking. Post-harvest can still be busy, and it’s wind-down time and holidays and catch up with family and normality. It can be a good time, but don’t count on it, and be understanding.
Definitely wait until Feb or later if you want to hook up with a winemaker of two. March-April are prime for weather and relative calm around the wineries.
November and December are our favorite times to visit. The weather is cool, harvest is over and tasting rooms are fairly quiet. You often get clear skies near the coast and you start to see some green back in the landscape. (The case this year, although not much during the last couple as much due to lack of rain).
March and April are also good times, although I would recommend early April. In May you can start to get warm day times which can get problematic if you’re carrying wine. The one benefit to tasting in Spring is that most of the wines will be through Malo so if you’re interested in tasting the most recent vintage from barrel, it’s an option. You may not gather much from it though.
My honest opinion is to go in November if you can wait. Go from Napa down to the Santa Cruz mountains through San Jose, head down to Monterey/Carmel to taste some Santa Lucia Highlands and then take Highway 1 to Paso Robles. November and December are warm (65-70) and sunny on the Monterey peninsula and is a fantastic time to visit.
I think it comes down to a balance between scenery (late spring to early fall) or easy access and less crowds (late fall to early spring). If its your first time, I would likely book the former as it really is beautiful and you can manage the crowds by booking reservations at more boutique wineries.
just a note with Feb - April visits: for many wineries, and tasting rooms, those months are the beginning of Event Season and weekends (more than weekdays) may have more exposure to high traffic. as an example, the Wine Road Barrel Tasting takes place during first two weekends in March in northern Sonoma Co. (i.e. RRV, Dry Creek, etc.). attendees number in the thousands on those event days.
just something to keep in mind if you’re looking to avoid crowds.
You should be here NOW. It’s beautiful, hasn’t rained this year and probably won’t for the rest of January. Traffic is lower, restaurants are more available, etc., etc. Unless a rare storm happens to pass through, pretty much any time of the year is good - though unless you like heat and crowds, I would stay away from summer. So my answer would be any time from October through May, with a preference for November through April.
January and February (and December too) can be quite cold in Paso Robles (the lows). It’s typically colder on average than Napa because of the elevation and the Santa Lucia mountains even though Paso has a reputation for being hot. It wouldn’t be uncommon to see a lot of frost and lows below 30 degrees in some areas.
The odds of getting warm nights peak in late summer. I’d suggest early August. That is a nice time to see vineyards too. Usually, lots of optimism from wine makers too. While there is no sure thing, your chances for 8 or 9 at night still being in the upper 60’s or better are not bad.