Wente Winery (Livermore) cheese board.
Wente Winery (Livermore) cheese board.

Wine. For one thing. The obviously obvious thing. No doubt.

But there is quite a bit more to the story of California wine country. At least according to the Wine Institute.

The San Francisco-based policy advocacy association (which, per its web site, brings together the resources of approximately 1,000 wineries) has released  “Seven Reasons to Love Springtime in California Wine Country.”

As if you needed another excuse to visit Napa or Sonoma or Santa Cruz or Livermore or Santa Barbara or any of the beautiful and iconic wineries located here in California…

In any case, here’s the run the cheat sheet of 7 reasons to love wine country in spring:

Seven Reasons to Love Springtime in California Wine Country

Francis Ford Coppola patio. Photo: Robert Holmes
Francis Ford Coppola patio. Photo: Robert Holmes

1. Mild Weather & Smaller Crowds

2. Mustard, Cover Crops & Wildflowers

3. Vineyards Come to Life

4. Winery Gardens in Bloom

5. Baby Animals

6. Spring Produce Stars at Winery Restaurants

7. Homegrown Food & Wine Pairings

To see more detail about each of the love letters above, see this Wine Institute release.

Round Pond Culinary Experience
Round Pond Culinary Experience.

Another one we might add to this list would be events and concerts.

In Spring many wineries gear up their events including, of course, tastings and tours, but also entertainment, with a large emphasis on concerts and musical performances in and around the winery grounds. Though many happen in summer (Robert Mondavi Summer Concert Series, for instance), there’s almost always something happen, and it’s worth taking a look.

Why not enjoy your wine tasting experience with some entertainment as well?

Contributor to Stark Insider for tech, the arts and All Things West Coast for over 10 years.