COAXING ANYONE OUTSIDE IN APRIL... is a pretty simple thing to do, what with the month's famously billowy clouds and its flowery shrubs and its soft sunshine and all of its poetic pleasures (pleasures detailed, at length, in pretty much any book with the word "odes" on the cover). Thus asking a pal to accompany you to a vineyard come the fourth month of the year seems an easy errand, as these things go, especially if a wine tasting is on the other side. Add to this, however, that April is Earth Month, and many a California winery marks the important occasion via tours, special events, and such, and you've got an outdoorsy outing that's connected to a deeper conscientiousness (read: creating vino in a sustainable, sensible way). Where to start, however, on your April-awesome, wine-themed, Earth Month path? That depends on where you are, of course, and what region of wineries you'd like to explore. And, of course, whether you want to take on "hands-on workshops, eco-tours, green-themed events, special offers, and tastings of eco-friendly wines." Places like...
ALPHA OMEGA... in St. Helena are offering visitors who "arrive in a hybrid or electric vehicle" a complimentary tasting for two (the offer is good through the end of April). A Bring Your Own Bottle day at Page Mill Winery in Livermore encourages recycling -- just make sure you clean them well, ahead of time, with these specifications -- while Napa marks Earth Day on April 23 with a food- and exhibit-packed to-do at the Oxbow Commons. There are a cornucopia of doings all month long, depending upon where you land, from Temecula to Templeton, where an Earth Day Food & Wine Festival on April 23 as Castoro Cellars will spotlight SIP sustainable libations. Eager for the full bouquet of Earth Month go-outs? The planet-minded party begins here.
