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TASTE: The Livermore Valley Wine Experience had something for everyone, even if you were not wild about wine. The four-day event, from Oct. 17-20, featured 13 events. For wine lovers, there were serious wine tastings and shmoozing with winemakers. Foodies signed up for gourmet dinners and wine brunches.
Yet several events that I attended included fun times for both wine and food lovers and others who came for morning yoga with puppies or post-brunch relaxing and grape stomping. These creative and casual experiences were among the first to sell out, according to the event sponsors, Livermore Valley Wine Community.
The Bougie Brunch & Beats event was held at 3 Steves Winery on the warm, Sunday afternoon of Oct. 20th, with sun umbrellas available at check-in for the partially covered back patio. The word “bougie” in this case may refer to a classy lifestyle; the attendees appeared to enjoy life to the fullest.
The draw for the Bougie Brunch was three-fold. New Tradition Kitchen of Livermore served fried chicken and waffles, DJ Myk-e provided the upbeat playlist, and four wineries poured bubbles and red wine.
I met Nirit Kedem and her husband who enjoyed the view, the sounds, wine and food. They traveled from Saratoga, Calif. to Livermore for the Wine Experience to celebrate his birthday. The previous day they attended the Signature Tasting event at McGrail Vineyards next door. Their travels sounded to me like a wine weekend play date.
Though their table was in the sun, the Boosahda, McCall, and Pereida-Delon families from Livermore enjoyed the chicken and waffles and charcuterie board.
I chatted with Shaunette Buchanan of Tracy after several winemakers used a small sword to saber off the top of their sparkling wine bottles. Buchanan is a leader of the Tracy and Tri-Valley section of the nationwide Facebook group, Girls Trips on a Budget.
“We are ladies who like to travel locally and abroad, and this event looked like fun. Since we choose a theme for outings, we dressed in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Buchanan.
I arrived hungry for the wine brunch at the Sip. Savor. Stomp. event at Del Valle Winery on Oct. 19th. The regular lunch menu at the winery has garnered positive feedback. Del Valle boasts the same owner as Garré Winery where tasty food is served at the on-site Garré Café. The chef at Del Valle, Marikah Woodson, is a graduate of Foothill High School in Pleasanton and most recently held culinary positions in Las Vegas.
The brunch venue under the arbor next to the Sangiovese vineyard which fronts the tasting room spelled wine country ambiance.
Three Del Valle and three Concanncon Vineyard wines were served. Located practically next door to each other, the two wineries collaborate and often refer guests to visit the other’s tasting room.
Served family style, the lunch included gravlax with fixings, frittata with Havarti cheese and veggies, squash and potato hash, and a creative dessert with a buttermilk biscuit topped with macerated strawberries, vanilla pastry cream and whipped cream.
I asked my seatmates which wine they preferred. Marilyn Kehl replied, “Whatever is in my glass at the time.” Victor Dejesus enjoyed the Del Valle Brut sparkling wine with dessert.
After brunch, guests retrieved their phone to memorialize the grape stomping. There were two sets of short barrel “buckets,” one with white grapes, and the other, red grapes. Next to the grapes was another barrel for hosing off the feet after stomping. Like other novice grape stompers, Dejesus and Kehl said it felt a bit like walking in mud, but they enjoyed it.
As soon as she hopped into the barrel, Jhoanna Madrid of Dublin cried out, “I feel like Lucy!” The fan of the famous “I Love Lucy” TV episode said she would now cross grape stomping off her bucket list. The barrel got crowded as Madrid’s friends sloshed in.
Puppies, Wine & Yoga, Oh My! began bright and early on Saturday morning, Oct. 19th. As I walked from the parking lot to the expansive front lawn of Fenestra Winery, I spoke with Danielle Tristan and her husband from San Jose who were carrying yoga mats. I asked why she chose this event. “I’m not focused on the wine. I searched online for an event with dogs and found it.”
I chatted with Fenestra co-owner Eric Replogle. “My parents didn’t establish a fancy showplace winery; it’s rural here, a special place. Today the weather is perfect with the sun’s rays dappling the vineyards. We’ve had yoga before but not with puppies.”
Also displaying Livermore collaboration, Replogle invited Jennifer Sahara, owner of newcomer Sakura winery, to pour her wines. Sahara does not yet have her own tasting room.
As the gentle yoga with relaxing music concluded, the puppies from Family Dog Rescue in Sonoma playfully joined the group.
Victoria Short told me she lives “über-close” to Fenestra. “We’re here to play with the puppies and do yoga. Yes, the wine is a bonus.” Short enjoys Fenestra wines and was excited to sample Sakura.
After the event, Family Dog Rescue Executive Director Kaite Alford told me that two puppies were adopted at the Fenestra event.
The Taste 92 event at Cuda Ridge Winery on Friday, Oct. 18th, was another of the top five events which quickly sold out. Why not sample 12 top wines that scored 92 or higher by critics and listen to winemakers tell the backstories of the wine? The panel discussion was moderated by Fran Cunniffe from Prima Vini in Dublin with winemakers Brent Amos of Las Positas Vineyards, Sasha Burdujan of Wood Family Wines, Larry Dino of Cuda Ridge Winery, and Mark Clarin of McGrail Vineyards.
During the TASTE: Livermore Valley Wine Experience, I discovered new wines, restaurants, and venues. At the TASTE our Terroir wine and food pairing event, I sipped an interesting white wine that Steven Kent Mirassou makes under his L’Autre Côte label, a delicious Cabernet Franc Blanc, that comes from a red grape.
I also met wine representatives from several lesser-known wine regions from Canada to Croatia at the Luxury Sommelier Dinner who were accompanied by Alameda County Supervisor Dave Haubert and the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Community. Their purpose? To learn about Livermore Valley for future networking.
Most of all, I reveled in Livermore Valley’s diverse expressions of hospitality. At Fenestra Winery, Replogle said he hopes to repeat his program. “It was so peaceful here with people enjoying the yoga, the music, the puppies, and some wine. This is a respite from our busy lives.”
