Napa Valley Mustard Fields
late winter & early spring bloom of the mustard fields
From late January to early March, the mustard fields are in bloom in the wine country. The flowers are scattered throughout the fields and it's breathtaking.
Last year we headed out to see the mustard fields very late in the season, after I read an article about them. We stopped at field just off Hwy 29, just outside of Yountville. There were other people taking pictures and there was even a group of painters that had just finished there session in the fields.
It's that time again and we're planning to go soon and next time I hope to get better pictures.
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I clipped this article from the internet about the why the mustard seed bloom in the wine country:
Every year the fields in Napa Valley and Northern California Wine
Country a bathed in yellow. Myth has it that the origin of
the mustard blooming in abundance in California is from the Mission Era
in California. Each Mission is in theory a days walk apart.
The missionaries, or so its told, sprinkled mustard seeds along their
path so that after winter, when the spring grass and foliage
grew and covered the trail, a swath of yellow would be the guide. There
is an intensity of the bloom along certain sections
of the Highway 1 and Highway 101 in the spring that would have been the
same as the Mission Trail. The historical marker for the Mission
Trail, the bell, can be seen on the side of the highway. Mustard is a
part of California history, and its very fitting to find
it blooming in the heart of food, wine and epicurean culture.
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