Late summer through early November is Crush Season in California’s Wine Country. During its peak period, wineries harvest grapes and immediately press or “crush” them to begin fermentation. At a time when there is so much urban disconnect from farming rituals and nature’s cycles of life, it provides visitors to Napa, Sonoma, and other grape-growing counties a chance to slow down and celebrate this productive and festive season in one of the state’s most beautiful regions.
Making the trek to the North Bay from other parts of the Bay Area is all the more welcoming these days thanks to growing support there for the LGBTQ+ community. St. Helena is where San Francisco Bay Times columnist and drag artist Donna Sachet recently went with Peanut to visit V. Sattui Winery (see pages 4 and 5 of this issue). St. Helena recently held its first Pride celebration in June of this year. While the city had previously marked Pride Month with civic observances—such as hoisting the Progress Pride Flag at City Hall in June 2025—2026 marked the town’s inaugural dedicated Pride Day event. Organized in partnership with Napa Pride, the event brought together local vendors, food trucks, winemakers, and performers to downtown St. Helena and Lyman Park.
There is still more Pride in the Wine Country on the horizon. From September 16–20, Russian River Pride will take place in Guerneville and Johnson’s Beach. Sonoma County’s flagship fall event will close out the regional Pride season under the majestic redwoods. The main parade will march down Main Street on Saturday at noon, leading into a riverfront festival at Johnson’s Beach, pool parties at the R3 Hotel, and the annual “Giveback Tuesday” kick-off at Rainbow Cattle Co. This year’s theme is “Let It Flow”: https://russianriverpride.org/
In both Napa and Sonoma counties, Out in the Vineyard will be hosting Autumn Harvest tours. While V. Sattui’s Harvest Ball on September 19 sold out in a flash, tickets as of this writing are still available to the Crush Party on October 16, 2026, where there will be an old-fashioned grape stomp, live music, dancing, a menu of foods from a live-fire Tuscan grill and wood-fired pizza ovens, and plenty of vino including several quality non-alcoholic options. For more info: https://bit.ly/46hYnoV
To get in mental gear for the stomping, check out one of the most memorable moments in sitcom history: Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) testing the patience of a professional Italian grape stomper: https://bit.ly/4hKG4jg
Many who visit the North Bay do not want to leave and decide to move there either full or part-time. For this issue of the Bay Times, we asked three such individuals for their recommendations: Brett Andrews, CEO of All Home and former longtime CEO of PRC; former Beach Blanket Babylon star Renée Lubin, who is now a sought-after performer and coach; and former Bay Times columnist Liam Mayclem, who is the “Foodie Chap” on KCBS radio and KPIX TV. We expected that they would quickly jot down a handful of recommendations, but each took significant time to craft very personal lists that reflect their own tried-and-true favorites.
Out in Wine Country
Published on August 27, 2026
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