Autumn seemed to suddenly set upon Mendoza overnight.  One day, the trees all had leaves, and the weather was decent (no coats needed), people were out at all hours of the night, sitting at sidewalk cafés and bars.  The next day, the leaves turned yellow and fell from the trees, the weather turned brisk and coats are a necessary item, and the Mendocinos have begun to hibernate.

The same change is noted in the vines at the vineyards. Within a 2 or 3-week period, they went from beautiful deep reds and purples, to shriveling up and losing all their leaves for winter.

The saving grace of the Mendocino winter is that the sun is still strong and warm, and there are still over 300 days of sunshine here a year.  Outdoor cafes have tables outside still (optimistic?), and many have big spaceheaters to accommodate diners who want to dine alfresco without getting too frio. 

Arístedes (the major nightlife street) is dead – about 1/4 of the people are out at any given night now, compared to a month ago. It’s really quite strange.

It’s good red wine drinking weather. 🙂