When my wife, Karen, and I traveled to New Mexico for our honeymoon, she forbade me from taking pictures of signs. I harrumphed a bit at the time, but it was important to be focused on we, not me. However, she relented when we traveled to North California wine country for our 5th anniversary last summer, and gave me the green light to photograph local signage (my window of opportunity coincided with her massage appointment).
We chose Sonoma Valley, rather than more-acclaimed Napa Valley wine country, because it appeared to offer a more down-to-earth (and less expensive), yet still sophisticated, bacchanalian experience. And, Sonoma is recognized as the true birthplace of California’s wine industry, dating back to its founding as a Mexican government outpost by Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. The town was named California’s capital after the Bear Flag Revolt in 1846, when settlers emigrating from the U.S. overthrew the Mexican government and briefly established the California Republic before its annexation as a U.S. state in 1850.
This photo gallery represents just a sampling of my photos (I became snap-happy and captured approximately 200 images during a single afternoon). Although I can’t fully replicate my trip for you (sadly, transmitting or uploading a glass of Zinfandel or Pinot Grigio through a printed page, website or application will probably never be viable), I hope these pictures aptly represent how signage richly contributes to the region’s local color.