A slow day as a ritual

Bay Area life runs on screens and schedules. A day in wine country is the opposite: a long drive with friends, a walk through the vines, a tasting that takes its time and a meal under the trees. Phones stay in pockets. We treat it as a small ritual of rest, and we plan the day that way.

Whose land this is

Hopland sits in the Sanel Valley, the traditional homeland of the Pomo people. The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, a federally recognized tribe, still lives here today. Pomo weavers are known for some of the finest baskets ever made.

The gift basket pictured below was woven by a Pomo artist around 1890. It is now in the Art Institute of Chicago.

We visit as guests and honor the Pomo people as the first stewards of this valley.

Dancing Crow Vineyards

Our day trip ends just north of Hopland at Dancing Crow: estate vines, the cellar where the wine is made and a courtyard tasting under a 150-year-old olive tree. The winemaking is low-intervention, with grapes picked early so the wines stay fresh and bright.