Napa Valley Welcome Sign, St Helena
I recently did a photo walk(in fact a drive) of Napa Valley to capture fall colors in the Wine Country. Inspired by recent post from @LilyanaZ about foliage in South Korea, decided to share California foliage version in Wine Country.
In the cover picture above you can see some of the devastation caused by recent fires in Napa Valley. You can see the burnt areas on the hill behind the ‘Napa Valley Welcome Sign’. In fact there are two welcome signs one in St Helena and one close to Oakville on Hwy 128/29 in Napa Valley. This is very popular location for tourists for photo opportunity.
Here is a map which indicates my photo drive route. I started at Downtown Napa, pretty much stopped wherever I saw pretty fall colors on the way to capture pictures. On the way I stopped at few Wineries as well.
Due to Covid-19 wine tasting is by appointment only these days. So folks need to plan Wine tasting ahead of time, there are no walk-ins. In spite of this most parking lots in Wineries were pretty full.
Downtown Napa
Here are few pictures shot at Napa Downtown, where you can see Napa River, China Point Overlook and Stone Brewery in the back ground.
Darioush Winery
Darioush Khaledi, an Iranian immigrant started this Winery. In 1997, Darioush and his wife Shahpar founded Darioush and began to realize a lifelong aspiration to share the art, architecture, wine, craftsmanship and culture that inspired their journey.
Shots of Grape Farms
Here are few shots of Grape Farms. As you see leaves are in different stages, starting with yellow/red/ finally turning in to dark brown.
Here are several shots in the Napa Valley where you can see various fall colors. You can also see the row of Ginkgo trees with golden yellow, which are located in Far Niente Winery. Checkout my post on Far Niente Winery for more pictures.
Here are few shots Hwy 128/29, including Robert Mondavi Winery
This is something new I discovered during this trip. Downtown Napa has a 9/11 Memorial Garden. The memorial is three large pillars, each with 8-10 foot glass panels attached to them. The panels have information about what happened and the names of all those who lost their lives during the attacks.
Hope you enjoyed the Fall tour of California Wine Country, Napa Valley through these pictures captured during Photo Drive!
