Shots of Soquel

On a recent trip to Northern California, we were graciously invited by the Bargetto family to spend a night in their charming home... which happens to also be the location of their family business: Soquel Vineyards. After an amazing dinner, and a very comfortable night's rest.. I spent a couple of hours walking around the property with my camera. I took well over 200 hundred photos.. (just couldn't get enough) and wanted to share some of my favs!

So I probably got more artsy than I should have with this.. but I did love capturing the grain on the wine barrels..

And I'm always a sucker for a nature close-up.. esp. when its this shade of purple.. and adorable (yes, adorable) vine tendril creeping along...

The cats on the property are more like business partners than they are family.. so they just roam around and are very skittish!.. so it took me a while of sitting very still to get these kittens to pop out and say hi.. but it was so worth it!

So I'm not a fan of spiders or anything.. but I am definitely a fan of this shot. :)

This one just makes me happy :)

And I LOVED the contrast of the forest w/ the vines.. and played a little with depth of focus to feature that.

Then on their front door.. I noticed the cutest little detail.. and couldn't help taking a ridiculous amount of pictures of it.. but chose this one to share.

And finally.. when I was all walked/photo'd out.. I took a little break in the living room.. and this little guy kept me company! This is a total money shot... cuz he posed w/ that toy all by himself!

Such a great trip.. I so very much loved being welcomed here.. and am hoping to visit again when there are grapes on the vine!