There are a number of “winery rows” around the Livermore Valley. One of our favorites, right on Vasco Road, has Eckert, Nottingham, Occasio, and Longevity wineries. That’s a lot of wine tasting for very little driving. On a sunny afternoon it can be a wonderful bit of road. The Occasio winery is ideally situated right in […]

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Not sure about our hearts, but our palates were certainly yearning for a return to the Eckert Estate Winery. When we tried to remember when we last visited we were convinced that we missed an entire summer! What else could we do, but return and see […]

We’ve tasted at Nottingham Cellars before, and had a wonderful time. Our visit last weekend was even more fun. Not only did we sample some great wine, but we got an “up close and personal” tour of their new winemaking space. Big things are happening at Nottingham! First, the wine. We started with their 2012 […]

 Change is hard. If you have ever visited the Thomas Coyne Winery, you have marvelled at the views and rustic charm of their tasting room. We have enjoyed quite a few lovely glasses of wine while we drink in the beauty that is the Livermore valley. Sadly, this is about to change. The Thomas Coyne […]

We love the wines from el Sol. And the people of el Sol make the tasting experience even more fun. One of our favorite activities while visiting the tasting room is the barrel tasting that accompanies nearly every visit. Our recent visit was no exception. In addition to enjoying some lovely new releases, we had […]

We love visiting Eagle Ridge. Without a doubt, Jim and Cheryl know how to put together a fun afternoon in their tasting room. Great wine, nice food pairings and interesting arts and crafts to peruse while sipping on some amazing wine. So they thought outside the box. Now we can enjoy the Eagle Ridge wines […]

A consistent theme of this blog is our ability to blend wine tasting with nearly any other activity. Grocery shopping, theme park riding, even touring model homes; we’ve been able to add a dash of wine tasting. Hey, it’s a win-win, right? So when we went out to view some art, why shouldn’t there be […]

We’ve written about the el Sol Winery before. Wonderful wine, wonderful people, a puzzling fondness for catamaran sail boats. What’s not to like? We had no real choice about it, we needed to become wine club members. This past weekend we dropped by the tasting room to pick up our club pack. Wow, what a […]

Change is constant, even in wineries. Recently the Mitchell Katz Winery moved from the Palm Event Center grounds to a new facility on Buena Vista Avenue. We took our first look at the new Rubino Estates Winery that took its place. As you might guess, we loved what we saw. Rubino Estates is a sister […]

The Ruby Hill Winery sure knows how to throw a release party. We have started to adjust our social calendar to free up release party weekends. Given the fun that these parties deliver, I’m sure that our relatives understand. Don’t they? This quarter’s release party featured their Intessa and Reserve Petite Sirah. Previous releases of […]