ESCAPE IS THE ESSENCE OF SUMMER

Summer, the season of escape, is upon us. It can be as simple as fleeing

the workaday pace to a slower rhythm that allows for some spontaneity. Pack up

the most summery of movable feasts and picnic where you can watch the light

linger during the long days. Wine Country's chefs and vintners suggest some

picnic spots where even they relegate the food and wine to a side show. The

main event is just breaking the routine to dine outdoors. Their tastes vary

widely - redwoods, moonlight on Mount St. Helena or a simple picnic table.

It's all about changing the pace and picking the right place.

Or try an escape to an earlier time by visiting a farm stand or taking an

evocative tour of historic wineries. The Chalk Hill appellation, a handful of

wineries tucked in the Sonoma County hills east of Windsor, is a trip back to

the rustic big-valley feel of 19th century California, where vineyards mixed

with cattle ranches.

In most places, escaping the heat is the essence of summer. In Wine

Country, the routine is a little different. Make no mistake - the sun can be

merciless. Nothing radiates dry heat like a Napa hillside on a July afternoon.

But here fog is the essential ingredient for summer. If after three days it

has not invaded the valleys to cool the nights and gray the mornings, the

natives head to the coast to find the fog for themselves. It is the same

alchemy that makes this the perfect place for grapes, because almost unnoticed

in the stillness of the summer heat is the constant ripening. And that means

there will come a day in August when summer, its quiet, and its slowing are

gone, replaced by the oncoming rush of harvest.

Catherine Barnett Executive Editor