Seven Reasons to Love Springtime in California Wine Country

Blooming gardens, baby animals, farm-to-table meals and other spring pleasures beckon

SAN FRANCISCO — California wine country is a fabulous place to visit all year long, but there’s something about springtime that is magical. As winter gives way to milder temperatures, the state’s vineyards, hillsides and winery gardens burst into life—not only with buds for the coming year’s winegrape crop, but with wildflowers, newborn farm animals and fresh produce destined for farm-to-fork wine pairings. Wine Institute offers seven reasons to enjoy springtime in California wine country:

1. Mild Weather & Smaller Crowds

Visitors enjoy a vineyard picnic at Cambria Winery, Santa Barbara County. Robert Holmes photo.

Springtime brings mild weather across the state, often with clear, blue skies. This is the start of picnic season, when wineries invite visitors to enjoy gourmet provisions at outdoor tables with stunning vineyard views. Search for wineries with picnic areas at DiscoverCaliforniaWines.com. As a bonus, springtime is typically less busy, so visitors can enjoy an intimate, leisurely experience.

2. Mustard, Cover Crops & Wildflowers

Mustard grass begins to flower in a Los Carneros vineyard, North Coast. Robert Holmes photo.

Following the winter rains, spring is California’s greenest season. This is the ideal time to admire the emerald hillsides and valleys along wine country back roads, and keep an eye out for bright yellow mustard flowers and lush cover crops between vineyard rows that aid winegrowers in their sustainable farming efforts. Wildflowers are a natural attraction in most wine regions, including Sonoma County, San Luis Obispo County, Monterey County, Calaveras County and Lake County.

3. Vineyards Come to Life

An owl takes flight from a nesting box at Chamisal Vineyards, San Luis Obispo County. Robert Holmes photo.

Watch vineyards awaken from their winter slumber as the first buds of the season appear and tiny flower clusters form on the tips of young vine shoots. More than 2,100 vineyards representing 29 percent of statewide wine acreage are Certified California Sustainable by third-party auditors of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, and springtime heralds a host of eco-friendly activities among the vines. Nesting boxes installed by vintners attract birds that hunt down gophers and other vineyard pests, and winery estates literally buzz with activity as resident bees pollinate cover crops between the rows.

4. Winery Gardens in Bloom

Call the “tulip hotline” to find out when the tulips are in bloom, Dry Creek Valley. Ferrari-Carano photo.

Korbel Winery has a garden tour, Russian River Valley. Korbel photo.

Winery gardens burst into bloom with a stunning array of flowers, trees and estate-grown produce. Meander through seven distinct educational, sensory and culinary gardens at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens, or stop and smell the roses—150 fragrant varieties—during the Korbel Champagne Cellars Garden Tour. More than 10,000 tulips steal the show each spring in the five-acre Ferrari-Carano Japanese tea garden. Call the “tulip hotline” to find out when they’re in bloom. Quivira Vineyards offers tours of its sustainability-focused garden, home to dozens of varieties of heirloom vegetables, fruit trees and herbs. Benziger Family Winery’s Insectary Garden attracts insects essential to the health of the surrounding vineyards. Deaver Vineyards’ sister operation, the Amador Flower Farm, offers walks among its thousands of day lilies.

Wine Institute is the public policy association of California wineries producing 80 percent of U.S. wine. California is the nation’s number one state for wine and food tourism with 3,900 wineries to visit.