September: California Wine Month (And How To Celebrate)

April in Paris, perhaps. But definitely September in California.

September is officially California Wine Month, and the entire state is breaking out the red carpet for wine lovers. More than 80 festivals, immersion experiences, galas, bashes, tastings — you name it — are planned from Northern California all the way south to San Diego. For full details click here.

Since California is our home state (Bottlenotes' HQs are in Palo Alto), and since we love sharing cool stuff about wine, here are some fun facts that might make your California wine adventure even better this coming month.

• More than 90 percent of the wine in the United States comes from California.

• The state has 540,000 acres of vines... lots more than second place rival Washington State with 43,800 acres.

• The largest winery in California, Gallo, is also the largest winery in the world. The family-owned company produces 75 million cases a year.

• It was at the Mission San Juan Capistrano that the first successful California vineyard was planted in 1779, resulting three years later in the state's first wine — vintage 1782, made just six years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

• There are now 3,406 wineries in California; in 1960, there were just 256.

Finally, while you could visit California any old time, September gets our vote for the most dynamic time for hip wine experiences. The harvest has begun throughout the state and, everywhere, the buzz/energy is awesome.