The weather and the winegrape crop

I don't usually write about crop yields, tonnage, brix readings, and those other technical things involved in growing and harvesting premium winegrapes. But for you wine wonks who want to hear a bit about the 2010 vintage in Napa Valley, I received a press release today from the Napa Valley Vintners association that puts a huge happy face on the harvest and our "unusual growing season." That's one way to spin it.

Even though the farmers admit it's been a crappy weather year (and I'm reading between the lines here), one grapegrower quipped, "This year was the year of the tiger...we had to be on our paws or claws." The board president of the NV grapegrowers group summed it up in this optimistic fashion: "In the Napa Valley, we have the best vineyard managers and the best field crews in the world –– they know what to do and they can handle anything."

Still, tonnage is down in some Napa Valley vineyards by nearly 20%, which is also the case in Sonoma County. We had an early rain over the region two days ago, and more sprinkles and clouds are expected this weekend. There are still many grapes to be picked, and those are not great conditions for bringing in the crop. Crews are working 24/7 to try to beat the precipitation, and nobody in the biz is getting much sleep this week (or last week, for that matter.... or the week before that).

Yet they're a cheery bunch, those farmers and winemakers. The NVV board president put it this way: "Every winemaker I've talked to is thrilled with what they are tasting in the initial stages." So the yield is down, but the quality of the berries being nibbled straight off the vine sounds pretty good.

Just a few miles away

Let's take a short drive south to San Francisco, shall we? The fabulous Blue Angels were astonishing the masses in The City over the weekend. Though I was not fast enough or close enough to capture most of their aerobatics on camera, I did watch from Twin Peaks, high over the city by the bay, and snapped this bicyclist taking his own picture of the remarkable view below us. All the while the Blue Angels were zipping to and fro, skimming the waters of the bay and buzzing the Golden Gate Bridge, but they didn't make it into this particular image.

And while we're in San Francisco, let's visit the Ferry Building, which just picked up an award for "Great Places in America –– Public Spaces of 2010," bestowed by the American Planning Association. One of only 10 public spaces given the honor, the Ferry Building is part of the APA's list of 30 Great Places, which also includes 10 winners in the Great Neighborhoods category and 10 in the Great Streets category.

The Slanted Door at the Ferry Building

But back to the Ferry Building: It is, indeed, one of the great spots to watch the world come and go, and to enjoy some fabulous food, too. At the peak of its use in the 1930s, 50,000 people passed through the Ferry Building each weekday to traverse the waters of the bay, a figure trumped only by Charing Cross Station in London at the time (and this was before the Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge were opened). Later, a bad decision to build a freeway practically on top of the Ferry Building –– and some unfortunate interior design choices –– kept the building in a sad state for several decades. Underappreciated and taken for granted, it continued to languish and deteriorate. Then in 1989, when the Loma Preita earthquake shook up San Francisco, that ugly and pointless Embarcadero freeway sustained enough damage to be demolished, and the Ferry Building could actually breathe again –– and be seen, too. And what a sight it is.

Cowgirl Creamery

Though it took a few years of planning to get the renovation underway and subsidized, the Ferry Building reopened in 2003 not only as a terminal for more than 10,000 commuters arriving and departing on ferries each day, but with a year-round Farmers Market, restaurants (The Slanted Door, for instance), a wine store, gourmet shops (such as Cowgirl Creamery), and specialty grocers.

Any trip to Wine Country should include a day or two in San Francisco (and if you've flown into SFO, it usually does). When you visit, make time to explore the Ferry Building.

All the colors of the rainbow at Farmers Market

One of the best shows in Santa Rosa, which happens every Saturday morning year-round (and Wednesday mornings, too), is the Farmers Market at the Veterans Building near the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Sure, there are plenty of vegetables and fruits, and this time of year the color red seems to dominate (tomatoes, peppers, peaches, you name it). But there are also artisanal cheeses; breads of all sizes and types; jams and jellies; organic coffee brewed to order; a farmstand devoted entirely to fungus, with culinary mushrooms of every shape and flavor; a huge assortment of seafood and meats; bucket after bucket of fresh flowers; pottery, jewelry, and other handcrafted art; live, upbeat music; and food vendors (try the wild baby octopus souvlaki by Bobby the Greek, if you're up to it before noon).

The Market is a wonderful way to help support our local farmers, and their just-picked veggies and fruits sure beat the heck out of the bland not-so-fresh stuff offered at the corporate supermarkets.

Locals know all about this market, but visitors and vacationers to the area should check it out, too. Start your day at the market before heading out for sightseeing and wine-sipping. It's a people-watching and people-meeting bonanza, and there's plenty of free parking as well. Bring along at least one sturdy shopping bag –– you'll be glad you did.

And speaking of the harvest....

A good time can always be expected at the annual Sonoma County Harvest Fair, where the wine tasting event is a must, and worth the extra few bucks. Nowhere else can you get tastes all in one place of some of the most sought-after and small production wines from Sonoma County's many wine appellations, all distinctly different.

Table after table of wine producers –– small, medium, and large –– generously pour their finest. Sample some of the best wine found anywhere (small bites of food, too), and receive a free logo glass that you wouldn't be ashamed to use again at home among friends. Take it from me –– I have a whole cabinet full of them collected down through the years.

This year, Alexander Valley hit the jackpot in the wine judging, with all three sweepstakes-winning wines emanating from that region. The tables for Alexander Valley Vineyards, Stryker Winery, and Simi Winery were popular with the tasters, who may not have another chance to try or buy the 2007 Estate Viognier, 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2007 Late Harvest Riesling produced by these wineries.

Outside the wine tasting arena, the fair features exhibits, vendors, and creative displays using pumpkins, dried corn, and assorted other autumn-inspired crafts. And don't forget the wine barrel stomp, a competition open to anyone in the world, not just locals. It's too late to sign up for the 2010 fair (the last stomp took place this afternoon), but there's always next year! Plan accordingly to participate or watch.

Who knew? Film's special sounds came from Wine Country

It's not unusual for movies to be filmed in Wine Country –– there have been numerous popular and beloved films shot here over the years in various locations (read all about it on page 197 in my book), and another going on right now in Guerneville (called "Lawless," starring Ted Levine and Justine Bateman). But with the release of "Toy Story 3" this summer, the region was captured in a whole new way: the cacophony of recycling.

Skywalker Sound, one of those many divisions of the Bay Area-based movie-making empire run by George Lucas, worked with the animated film's creator, Pixar Studios, to record the sounds of tractors, recycling sorting lines, and recycling trucks unloading their payloads for use in key scenes in the film. Those sounds were captured in Santa Rosa at the Materials Recovery Facility operated by Redwood Empire Disposal. Skywalker's sound technicians spent a day here in Santa Rosa with their high-tech microphones to stockpile the hubbub of trucks raising and lowering their hydraulic arms, collecting and dumping assorted loads of recycled materials, and just driving around.

Besides using those various sounds for this particular film, Skywalker Sound files them away into a giant sound library to be distorted and combined with other sounds for use in future films. The trash company agreed to forgo financial compensation from Pixar in exchange for depicting the film's animated garbage and recycling trucks in the colors of the company's fleet: green and white.

I'll never look at my neighborhood garbage truck the same way again.

Note: Toy Story 3 is out on DVD in early November.