Just west of Lodi lies the sprawling region known as the “Delta”. Here the Sacramento River from the north and the San Joaquin River from the south meet as they flow into San Francisco Bay. Our path takes us across the delta region to the north side of San Francisco Bay where small mountain ranges create microclimates conducive to the growing of grapes.
Originally a vast expanse of marsh and water, much of the delta is intensively managed today as agricultural land. Approaching from the east the delta is a flat expanse marked by farmland and pockets of marsh.
I can’t possibly pass through on my way to Napa without a stop in Fairfield and the Jelly Belly Factory!
The jelly bean is believed to be the descendant of a soft sweet known as a Turkish Delight that dates back to pre-Biblical times. Formed by a process called “panning” where a core is rotated and layers of coating are applied first developed in 17th century France, the earliest known appearance of a jelly bean in America is an 1861 advertisement for William Schrafft of Boston encouraging the sending of jelly beans to Union soldiers during the Civil War. In 1869 Gustav Goelitz opened a candy business in Belleville, Illinois, which became the genesis for the currently Jelly Belly Company, still run be descendants of Gustav Goelitz. Jelly beans exploded in popularity in the 1970’s when President Ronald Reagan brought them to the White House. Today the company produces 50 different flavors of jelly beans!
Unfortunately the factory is on its yearly two week break so the machines are not operating but the tour still gives an interesting view into the process of creating jelly beans. As with all factory tours, the beginning and the end are the company store…
Against the back wall are all fifty flavors available for purchase.
The tour consists of a walk along galleries above the factory floor.
The various flavors and colors of jelly beans are celebrated in a series of “paintings” hanging above the factory floor entirely made out of jelly beans.
In homage to their patron President Reagan his portrait is highlighted next to the Statue of Liberty.
The final part of the process before packaging is quality control, any jelly bean that is not perfect is sorted out into a separate bin. In a stroke of marketing someone decided to call these rejects “Belly Flops” and thus able to be sold without compromising the company’s integrity.
But enough of this frivolity, let’s continue on to wine country!
The Napa Valley
North of San Francisco Bay the Coast Ranges continue to parallel the Pacific Ocean. Small rivers flow south through narrow valleys, creating mild microclimates protected from the heat of the Central Valley just a few miles to the east and the harsh coastal climate. Wild grapes grew throughout the Napa Valley but in 1839 homesteader George Yount planted the first cultivated grapes in the valley. In 1847 the original town of Napa was founded on the west side of the Napa River at the uppermost point of river navigation from San Francisco Bay. Originally overshadowed by the neighboring town of Sonoma in the valley west, Napa Valley proved to be a center of rich agricultural lands. In the 1860s the Napa Valley Railroad ran up the valley all the way to Calistoga, about 30 miles north of Napa. Charles Krug established the first commercial winery in the valley in 1861 and by 1889 there were over 140 wineries in the region. Prohibition in the 1920’s crushed the wine industry in Napa and it did not truly recover until the late 1970’s when the world wine culture was stunned at the Paris Tasting of 1976 when, in a blind tasting, two Napa Valley wines beat out French wines for the top honors. Today the valley is known throughout the world for its wine and food.
I enter the valley after crossing a low ridge and the coastal ranges unfold in the distance.
Past experience has taught me that the Napa Valley is not “rv friendly”. Roads are narrow, parking non-existent, limited camping possibilities, and traffic unbelievable. The valley is relatively narrow and only about 30 miles long with Highway 29 the main route. Fortunately I score a spot at the county park campground, a beautiful setting only a mile from downtown Napa on a hillside to the east.
The view from the entrance kiosk looks out over vineyards to the mountains beyond.
I already know that I won’t be able to maneuver around downtown Napa in the Lunch Box, too crowded and no parking, so I get up early one morning to drive along Highway 29 from Napa to St Helena through the heart of wine country. Traffic shouldn’t be too bad on the way north to St Helena because it’s early in the day and commuters will be heading south to the Bay Area, once I turn around and return south to Napa all of the traffic should be then be heading north. We’ll see if this works! While it is only 20 miles between the two cities, this is the heart of wine country and the highway is lined with vineyards and wineries the entire way.
This limousine is probably longer than the Lunch Box and I am amused as traffic stops on the highway while the driver works his way into the winery parking lot.
St Helena is at the center of wine country and the main street is lined with expensive boutiques, restaurants and tasting rooms. The entire valley is not the place for the budget traveler, and especially not St Helena. Traffic is building as I pass through town.
I am amused as I pass Bordeaux, an exclusive clothing shop for dogs and cats…
Beyond St Helena the valley begins to narrow.
I turn around and head south back towards Napa and as I had suspected, the traffic flow has now changed and is building as people head north. It appears my decision to get up early has paid off!
Leaving Napa I head west to the Sonoma valley, which I know from past experience will be a little more motorhome friendly. The Sonoma valley, immediately west of the Napa Valley, is a significant part of the modern wine-based economy though not the high-end tourism based as the Napa Valley.
Sonoma
Sonoma is home to the last mission on the El Camino Real, Mission San Francisco Solano. The Mission Solano was established in 1823 and was the last of the Spanish missions to be built. It also had the distinction of being the only mission built after Mexico had won its independence from Spain and only existed for 11 years until the 1834 seizure of the California missions by the Mexican government. Sonoma was the most powerful military installation north of Monterey Presidio, established not only to control and “civilize” the natives but also to block the expansion of the Russians, who had built Fort Ross about 65 miles northwest of Sonoma on the California coast in 1812. The original mission was constructed in the traditional quadrangle pattern with a small chapel at the southwest corner and a larger church on the south east corner, connected by a long, low adobe wing that served as quarters for the fathers. This is the façade that faces the street. General Vallejo, the last Mexican commander in the area, moved the seat of his power from Monterey to Sonoma and laid out the current plan for the town of Sonoma, centering on a large plaza at the southwest corner of the old mission grounds (the mission itself does not face the plaza, but is at the northeast corner). After the departure of the priests the mission quickly fell into disrepair, being cannibalized to provide building materials for other structures. In 1840 General Vallejo rebuilt the small chapel next to the fathers’ quarters and both of those structures remain today.
Visitors enter at the far right and walk through three interior display rooms prior to entering the chapel. This is not an active parish but is a state park, thus the lack of pews, etc., in the chapel.
West of the mission fronting the plaza General Vallejo constructed a large two-story military barracks that also remains virtually intact. Half of the lower floor has been reconstructed to look as it would have during use as a barracks. Some of the furnishings are original, others are replicas. After California won its independence from Mexico (raising the first “Bear Flag” and declaring an independent republic here in Sonoma Plaza), the barracks housed militia and then after California jointed the United States, housed military personnel.
The central plaza is a huge, grassy square dominated by the 1904 Sonoma City Hall.
This is the center of town and on all four sides are a mix of historical buildings (both in original and restored condition) housing a mixture of stores, restaurants and on the north side, the military barracks and historic Toscano Hotel.
Anchoring the north side of the plaza west of the military barracks is the Toscano Hotel. Built in 1855 as the Hotel Eureka it was renamed in 1890 as the Toscano Hotel in an effort to attract the local Italian immigrants. An “L” shaped building, the short leg fronts the plaza. In the view from the rear, the kitchen wing is yellow and the front wing is white.
The first floor of the front building houses the bar and parlor, the first floor of the back building houses the dining room and kitchen. The original cast iron stove is so large that it had to be brought up river on a barge from Sacramento. Not all of the furnishings are original to the hotel, but are original to the period. The second floor of both wings housed the hotel rooms.
This wraps up my tour of the major California wine regions. It’s been an interesting blend of history and wine!
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