Autumn Foliage, Paso Robles Style

I grew up with Vermont's riot of foliage and foliage-watchers each October.  California's trees may not burst into flame colors each autumn, but there is about a two-week window, at the end of harvest and before frost, when the grapevines do.  Different varieties show different signatures, some tending more toward yellows or browns, and others, most notably Syrah, Tannat and Mourvedre, showing orange and red.  While out getting some shots of the last day of harvest (more on that in the next post) I couldn't help but take some foliage shots.  The best of them are below.  First, a view looking over our head-trained Tannat block that shows the characteristic yellow-green rows of Grenache Blanc (left) and the more colorful oranges and reds of Syrah (right):

Closer up, the rows of Syrah in the afternoon sun really do look like they're aflame:

Even closer, you can see the different colors even within a single Syrah leaf:

Tannat leaves are different, on the browner side of red, but no less striking:

Finally, one more shot of that Grenache Blanc/Syrah hillside, this time over the characteristic pale yellow of Roussanne:

These colors are everywhere in Paso Robles wine country right now.  But with the first frost, or the first big rain, they'll be gone, so enjoy them while you can.