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Although rain was forecast, the start of the weekend storms held off long enough for participants to walk the length of Main Street to taste some of the 38 Livermore Valley wines that were offered at this winter fest, officially called: “Truffles, Tidbits and Wine Tasting.”
A total of 31 merchants took part in the event, with many including chocolates, hors’deurves and light buffets to the hundreds of customers who came through their stores.
The wine stroll event, held twice each year, is sponsored by the PDA, the Pleasanton Weekly, The Rose Hotel, the Livermore Valley Wine Country and Zzippes.
“This is an event that really helps downtown merchants,” said Viola Hernandez of Girlfriend’s Apparel & Co., 645 Main St. “Many are from out of town and they come back—sometimes the following day, or the following week, or the following month, but they come back.”
“We also get many compliments from customers and their friends on the outfits we have sold<” she added. “That’s what we like to hear. We’ve been in Pleasanton for 20 years and at this location for the last 12. We appreciate the new business we’ve gained tonight and the many compliments from our repeat customers that make us optimistic that we’ll be here for many years to come.”
Crowds gathered in the covered parking garage of the Rose Hotel well before the 6 p.m. start of the stroll. There PDA staff and volunteers collected the 800 tickets sold in advance, checked age identifications and then help guide the strollers to the retail shops that were pouring wines they wanted to taste.
Three stores also featured non-alcoholic beverages along with the buffets and chocolates, which was especially helpful for the designated drivers selected by the many groups that strolled Main Street.
“We have two of these wine strolls each year,” said Nickie Hoppe, the PDA’s events coordinator. “The winter event is limited to 800 tickets, but we extend that number of 1,000 or more in the summer when we also have a few more merchants participating and wines to sample.”
“The program gives new business in our downtown first-time exposure to the many people from Pleasanton and the Tri-Valley who aren’t frequent downtown shoppers,” she added. “It’s a chance to see how much the downtown has changed.”
