The recent earthquake just south of Napa this past Sunday at 3:30a has many of my Napa friends cleaning up spilled wine, broken glasses.. and in some cases structure damage to their older homes. 

Side note: Jeff & I were sleeping when it hit. As he drug me out of bed and into the bedroom doorway of our third story townhome, I thought we were being robbed. It took me a few seconds to realize it was an earthquake.

Nothing in our home broke, or even fell.

Even our dogs thought all the lights on meant that it was time to wake up.  The "earthquake lights" did scare me though. 

The aftermath of the #NapaQuake has seen a few people canceling their vacations to Napa and Sonoma County over the next few weeks - either fearing their will be another quake, or not wanting to deal with the disaster that is downtown Napa at this moment (which they are cleaning up very quickly). 

I am here to say without any doubt, these people are missing out.  THIS IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT NAPA/SONOMA COUNTY!  The absolute best. 

Why is this the best time to visit Wine Country?  Well, for me it is all about... 

• The food: squash, pumpkin, peppers, cheeses, chili, soups.. Oh my!
• The fall fashion: boots are perfect for a day of wine tasting, and scarves are perfect for early mornings and late nights. Also, gingers like myself and Jeff look best in fall colors! Hurray. 
• The smell of harvest: there is something about the smell of fermentation in the morning that gets me excited.
• The temperature: Indian summers were named after what the weather is like here in wine country.. At least I assume they were. 

Some of my Napa/Sonoma and tourist friends gave me their two cents as well:

• Tina Caputo, Editor in Chief at Vineyard & Winery Management Magazine, says: "I love the light here this time of year as it falls on the vineyards."
• Maria Teresa Pisenti who works at Dry Creek Valley winery, Sbragia Family Vineyards, says: "Change of colors in the vineyard really highlights the different varietal plantings and different ripening times.: 
• Jean Herschede, Director at Amigos de Guatemala, says that she loves the "Great hiking weather, Armstrong Redwoods, the coast, Lake Sonoma, etc. Also, the coast tends not to have as much fog in the fall."
• Cosette Trautman-Scheiber, owner of Healdsburg's Hope-Merrill House Inn says that "there is all of the energy associated with harvest."