Hyde Vineyards

LARRY HYDE surveys his vineyard from the front seat of his "mule," a beat-up green truck small enough to drive down narrow vineyard rows, each vine within easy reach of the 61-year-old farmer's calloused fingers. One after the other, he tells the stories behind each of his 52 vineyard plots as he passes. The angle of each row, the soils and the genetics of each vine are puzzle pieces that he works to match. After 28 years, he says, the 180-acre Hyde Vineyard is still revealing itself.

LARRY HYDE surveys his vineyard from the front seat of his "mule," a beat-up green truck small enough to drive down narrow vineyard rows, each vine within easy reach of the 61-year-old farmer's calloused fingers. One after the other, he tells the stories behind each of his 52 vineyard plots as he passes. The angle of each row, the soils and the genetics of each vine are puzzle pieces that he works to match. After 28 years, he says, the 180-acre Hyde Vineyard is still revealing itself.

Marin French Cheese Co. Triple Creme Brie Location: 7500 Red Hill Road, Petaluma. Open daily 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours available. Also sold through specialty retailers nationwide. Contact: (800) 292-6001; www.marinfrenchcheese.com Pair With: 2003 Stony Hill Napa Valley Chardonnay Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. Original Blue Location: The dairy is off-limits to visitors, but its cheese is sold at the Cowgirl Creamery (inside Tomales Bay Foods), 80 Fourth St., Point Reyes Station.

Days after record-breaking, triple-digit temperatures across much of the state, the 2010 wine grape harvest has officially lurched into gear, weeks later than normal, kicking off the final acts of one of the strangest California vintages in recent memory. Just a little more than a week ago, the day before the autumnal equinox, Sonoma winemaker Merry Edwards had her harvest staff stuffing envelopes for a fall mailing and once again taking a mop to the floors of her barely used crushpad.