Imagine there is a rapid-fire round and you are asked about Wine in California, the odds are that your instant reply would be Napa or Sonoma. But there is a chance that those in the know would quip Livermore — California’s oldest wine-growing region.
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Bird’s eyeview of a vineyard in Livermore
Just 40 miles East of San Francisco, Livermore is home to 55 wineries. Most of these have been family-owned and operated for generations. Spread over 3,000 acres, Livermore Valley’s wine heritage goes back to the 1840s when Robert Livermore planted the region’s first commercial vines.
At the 1889 Paris Exposition, a world fair attended by nearly 32 million visitors at the Eiffel Tower, Livermore Valley’s Cresta Blanca Winery’s 1884 vintage — a dry white wine — upset French offerings and lifted the Grand Prix crown. A feat that assured the future of the Californian wine industry, which was previously mired down. Today the winery is a historical landmark.
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Live music evenings are commonplace at vineyards in the Livermore region
The cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and the town of Danville, make up a region called the Tri-Valley area, which is worth a long weekend trip from San Francisco. We arrived in Livermore early in the evening and hopped on to the Livermore Wine Trolley at Stockmen’s Park in the vibrant centre of the city. The trolley is a jolly party bus where the guide streams music to its hi-fidelity speakers after gauging the preferred genre according to the age group on board. We were all Gen X, so we had Barry Manilow’s ‘Copa Cabana’ being belted out with everyone singing ‘Her name was Lola…’ as we drove along country roads to Las Positas Vineyards.
Livermore Wine Trolley - VisitTriValley
The first stop — Las Positas — is owned by Lisa and Lothar Maier, who bought this 20-acre vineyard in the southwest corner of the Livermore Valley in January 2006. Referring to local history books and maps, they learned that Robert Livermore named his original 40,000-acre property Rancho Las Positas because of the many streams that coursed through the land.
They started afresh by planting different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo, Barbera, Petite Sirah and Chardonnay. Today, under the masterful eye of winemaker Brent Amos, this vineyard produces small lots of estate-grown wines, some of which have won awards at competitions and fairs, including the 2022 Estate Verdelho (West Coast Wine Competition), 2022 Garnacha Rosado (California State Fair) and 2021 Estate Rose (2023 San Francisco Chronicle).
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Rhonda Wood of Wood Family Vineyards
We sat on their patio, sampling their wines and nibbling on pitted olives, fresh focaccia, grapes and local cheese, while the vineyard was washed orange by the setting sun. The wine that I really enjoyed, thanks to its luscious sweetness with dark cherry and boysenberry characteristics, was the Casimira Red Dessert Wine.
The next day, continuing our ongoing gastronomic quest in Livermore, we visited the Wood Family Vineyard. Rhonda Woods was behind the bar, pouring tasting measures for customers who seemed more like old friends. She chatted with us about her journey of becoming a winemaker from a commercial airline pilot. She and her husband Michael started off by planting 18 vines at their then residence in Fremont. Eventually, winemaking became such a passion that Rhonda turned in her wings and the couple moved to Livermore because of its terroir.
Today, Wood Family Vineyard has grown in size and scale. Rhonda and Michael’s oldest son, Harrison, who recently returned wonder-eyed from a holiday in India, has taken on the role of the executive vice-president We were there on a Friday and at about 5pm the tasting room started filling up since there was a live band performing. Wood Family Vineyards are known for their Pet-Nat sparkling wine and their award-winning (Wine Enthusiast) Para Mas Amigas chardonnay.
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Around the block from Wood Vineyard is The Singing Winemaker — a vineyard owned by Karen and Steve Powell. Steve, often with other musicians, puts on a live singing performance as patrons enjoy wines, views and art.
We visited the Tri-Valley region for just two days and realised that it was a woefully short time for a full experience of the region. The little city centres are quaint affairs with galleries and cafes and turn into farmers’ markets during some weekends. There are 118 varietals from the Livermore valley and Wente Vineyards, since 1883, is the oldest, continuously operated and family-owned winery in the USA.
Tri-Valley maybe the country cousin of Napa or Sonoma, but it scores top points for its culinary scene, outdoors and the affability of the winemakers, brewers and the local populace in general. This is a part of California that is all heart.
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Beyond wine
Pleasanton - VisitTriValley
Bottle Taps, 10 miles to the west in Pleasanton, has a rotating beer menu of 30 beers on tap and over 150 in bottle or cans. Eric Wall, the proprietor is a home-brewer like his father and grandfather. They have were 135 different styles of beer, mead, kombucha and cider. Says Eric, “Beer is as sophisticated and with styles as discernable as wine. I want to help my guests know why they like a particular beer then guide them towards finding others like it.”
Altamount Beer Works: Just across the road from the Wood Family Vineyard, Altamount has many styles of beer on offer — various IPA, white beer, rice beer and fruit ale that we decided to indulge in a sampler paddle. All their beers are produced on site and they have 30 rotating taps pouring the freshest beer. Try the Cryo Clock IPA and Kaptain Kush Double IPA. The first with a bouquet of citrus, tropical fruits and pine notes strikes a good balance between sweet, malty and bitterness. Kaptain Kush takes the drinker on a tasty trip of hoppy extravagance with undertones of flora and hints of tropical fruits.