Winemaker Matt Smith was good enough to take some time out of his busy day to show us around Bennett Valley to highlight budbreak. As he pointed out, Spring has sprung in Sonoma County and the grapevines are waking up, buds are appearing and the winemaking process is starting again for this year.

Below are some of the photos we took while we were out and about, enjoying a beautiful Spring morning from one of the more wonderful places in Sonoma, Bennett Valley.

If you enjoy the photos, check out our Facebook page and Flickr Stream for more photos of budbreak and other winery events and vineyard milestones.

Here you can see what will eventually become a cluster of grapes hiding just behind some leaves shortly after the shoot ruptured.

Not all the shoots and future clusters are so shy, though.

Here in Bennett Valley you can see a combination of budbreak on the vines as well as vineyard cover crop, in this case mustard and wild radish.

Of course, grapevines and cover crop aren’t the only things growing in vineyards. Here you see California Poppy, the state plant of the Golden State.

Winemaker Matt Smith has a tough job. Here is Matt in the vineyard checking out a block of Merlot. Taking in these amazing views on a daily basis is, in fact, part of his job description.