It’s been both a relaxing and busy week here with Caroline and Dan: relaxing because we were finally in one place but busy helping in the lead-up to Thanksgiving. The first few days were dry, and unlike previous years that we’ve visited the vines on Pritchard Hill were nearly bare, and what was left of the colour was very dry – there had been no rain since April. Then, for the last few days there has been rain – soaking rain that has cleaned the air and is replenishing the vegetation.

Disappointingly there have been no posing squirrels this year, but I’ve seen a few new birds on the hill on walks. After the marathon of food preparation for Thanksgiving dinner, on the day after we visited Healdsburg, a pleasant town in Sonoma County, about an hour and a half away. The drive took us through areas burned in the fires here this year and were an illustration of how capricious fire can be – hills burned but houses at the foot of the hill untouched; trees along the road burned but not vineyards. It was also a reminder of how rugged it is here – the floor and the foothills of the valley are manicured and planted in vines, but behind them rise steep, scrubby and inaccessible hills where it would be basically impossible to stop a fire that gets away.

Caroline and Dan have again been generous in sharing their wine cellar, but we did two tastings this year: one in St Helena of Ladera Vineyard wines – sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon – the most commonly made wines in Napa. In Healdsburg – while Sonoma is known for pinot we tried wines from Idlewild, a producer experimenting with italian varieties.

We fly back to NZ tonight, but here’s a little smattering of the Napa.