What is organic wine?
Organic wine covers the two main parts of producing wine. First, in the vineyard, it means the grapes were grown using certified organic farming practices. The key part of this is no chemical fertilizers, fungicides, etc. Organic compounds are allowed. Second, during the making of the wine certain things can be done or added to the wine for fermentation, quality, and preservation. This means things like yeast (to ferment) or egg whites (used in fining/clarifying).
So you're in the area for some wine, maybe even some beer, and want to do a couple of other activities. Here are some great things to do in Santa Rosa, the central hub of Sonoma County.
What does the current grape growing season for the Napa/Sonoma area look like so far? As of the first day of autumn, the harvest is well underway, as it started the first week of August. That's a bit early compared to other recent years, quite early when compared to a couple of decades age.
Two things are always on the minds of those in the wine business -- the ongoing drought and wildfires.
The 2020 wines are hitting the shelves. This is a look at the grape crop from that harvest for the North Coast. This includes Napa and Sonoma counties. It was a year affected by fires and to a lesser extent by the pandemic.
One way to have some control over your health is by checking the ingredients in consumables. How much fat, sodium, sugar, etc. is in the product? Wine, and other alcoholic beverages, rarely do that. Why?
Many wineries offer tours of their production facility and/or vineyards. Here are a few of the best ones. Almost always an advance reservation will be required and there will be an extra charge. Pets and small children are often not allowed. Check the winery's website for info and reservations.
A survey of 32,000 people in 22 countries shows that, on average, Australians got drunk 27 times in 2020. Okay, 2020 was a hellacious year. Still, when you're number one, you're still on top -- or is that the bottom? Overall, the average was about 14-1/2 times during the year, or a bit more than once a month.
If you've been anywhere around Napa, Sonoma, or probably a lot of other wine regions, you've seen the inflation in wine tasting fees.
Sonoma County had a 44% increase post-pandemic. Per the 2022 Sonoma Wine Tasting Report, the average is now $37 with about a third of wineries in the semi-reasonable $25-30 range. Doesn't seem that long ago where $10-15 was the norm. In their defense, most tastings went from walking in and finding a spot to stand at the bar to reserved seated tastings. So some increase was warranted.
Every year the local paper, the Press Democrat, sponsors a best of Sonoma County businesses determined by readers' votes. This may not be a hundred percent accurate, in that some businesses take this more seriously and actively encourage votes; maybe even going with the vote early and often routine. Anyway, it's still a pretty good barometer on what the locals like. I'll hit the highlights, plus skip the best dentist and such to stay with things a visitor might be interested in. A link to the full list is at the bottom of the page.
