Darcie Kent Vineyards is known for fine wines, a beautiful tasting room, and fun wine club parties. A recent special event showed yet another reason to visit: a free concert on the lawn! To start off the 4th of July festivities, Darcie Kent Vineyards hosted a concert by The Novelists. A bit of research on the internet let us know that this band had skills, so we made our plans to attend. It turned into an amazing evening!
Talk winemaking and wineries in Livermore, and before long Earl and Linda Ault and their Cedar Mountain Winery come into the conversation. One of the founding families of the Livermore wine scene, they started their winery in the ’90s and were a source of inspiration and advice to the dozens of winemakers that followed them into the region. After pouring wine for decades from their Tesla Road tasting room, they relocated several miles east to Reuss Road. We recently had the chance to check out the new tasting room and catch up on their new releases!
A week ago, we enjoyed a tasting at Leisure Street Winery, a newcomer to the Livermore wine scene. During that visit, we noticed that a second winery shared the address, with a distinct and separate tasting room. Intrigued, we investigated a bit and learned that McKahn Family Cellars was even newer to the area than Leisure Street Winery! Since McKahn did not pour on most Fridays, we promised ourselves that we would return soon. When it comes to visiting wineries, we tend to keep our promises!
Painting while drinking wine: both fun activities, and I’m pretty good at one of them. It seems that I’m not alone, though, because a franchise called Pinot’s Palette is successfully launching locations across the country. A new location is about to open, right in the middle of Livermore wine country!
Naming a winery can be challenging. Many of the “good names” are already taken. Winery names can be inspired by family names, pets, local history or local points of interest. Sometimes the answer is easier, though, like when your winery is literally located on Leisure Street.
Visiting a new winery is a thrill that never gets old! We were very excited to see that a winery had opened across the street from the Rock Wall Wines tasting room in Alameda. With great anticipation, we had our first tasting experience at the Building 43 Winery.
Memorial Day weekend is full of promise and excitement. Add to that excitement the extra thrill of a wine club pickup, and you have the recipe for a great weekend. Properly enthused, we set off for the Rock Wall Wine Company to kick off summer.
The coming of summer heralds many good things. Not the least of these good things is the latest crop of summer wine club parties! One of the best of the crop this summer was the club release party at Darcie Kent Vineyards.
The year is full of milestone events: New Year’s Eve, Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the Livermore Valley, there is an additional annual event that signals that the summer wine season is in full swing. Called Taste Our Terroir, area winemakers and chefs come together to celebrate everything that makes the Livermore Valley special. We can’t wait!
Let’s be honest! Wine clubs are primarily judged by the quality of their wine release parties. Sure, the discounts and tasting amenities are fine, but what separates the best from the rest is the party. Different wineries approach this challenge different ways, but it is the best way to understand each winery’s approach to making their best fans happy. Eagle Ridge Vineyard builds their release parties around quality: quality wine, quality food and quality fun!
Villa Vallecito Vineyards is an excellent example of a successful transition from farming to winemaking. Sure, the grapes are great, but the wine? That’s where the artistry comes in!