GREEN TO GOLD, THEN BACK TO GREEN

Summer's green melts into the gold of autumn as vineyards give up their

fruit to harvest. With gondolas of grapes trundling down back roads to feed

the crush, the pace quickens during Wine Country's richest season.

This season that begins with full sun will end inevitably in full shadow,

so the rituals rush to capture the abundance before it vanishes. On wine

estates and in back yards, we celebrate outdoors while we still can. As warmth

and light start to wane, we compensate with candles and fire pits to linger

outside in the evening chill.< Entertaining is easy because it is all just

at hand. Follow the advice of vintner Joy Sterling: "The real art at this time

of year is what comes out of the ground. It doesn't need to be fancy or

luxurious."

It is all there for the gathering: ripe vegetables for the platter, fruit

for the crisp, foliage for the table and bay to finish the meat. And it is all

there for the preserving. Save time in a bottle and fill your shelves with

flavors preserved at their peak. Nothing captures the sparkle of summer like a

bottle of raspberry vinegar broken out at Christmas.

Before winter descends, October's first rains will trigger the fragile

return of green to the golden hills. And the cycle of green and gold goes on.