THE SEASON OF REFRESHMENT

Fruit hanging heavy on vine and branch captures the abundance that is the

essence of summer. Everywhere there is more of everything. The days are

longer, the evenings are warmer and there is more latitude to linger.

And the choices are as plentiful as the light. Try the succulent fruit from

Sonoma County's sole commercial peach farm, tucked away among the vineyards of

Dry Creek and positively dripping with high summer possibility. Or pick from

the riot of berries that ripens along with the season. Digging through the

brambles to bite into a blackberry still warmed by the sun is an August

pleasure without equal. Stop by a roadside garden and grab an armful of

dahlias in outrageous colors.

Visitors flock to Wine Country this time of year, some seeking sun and

others shade. Solitude is more difficult to come by. In Yountville, where the

first grapes were planted in the Napa Valley, this village surrounded by vines

is now as much about food as wine. When the restaurants fill on summer nights,

locals sometimes pull a chair to their porches and watch the tourists wander

this cradle of the New World wine industry.

A porch is the perfect perch for soaking up this season. A picnic is the

perfect meal. In this issue, we offer suggestions on some of the best places

to do both. But the key pursuit of the season is refreshment. The options

again are plentiful, from the traditional root beer float to the more

unexpected blood orange sorbet.

Relish the fullness of summer, for soon it will fade into fall, when the

days will shorten, the evenings will chill and the pace will quicken. Then,

from all the choices, the Wine Country focus will narrow to a single

obsession: the grape at harvest.

Catherine Barnett

Executive Editor