The 27th annual Harvest Wine Celebration gets under way at noon Sunday for a two-day opportunity to visit winery open houses and sample some of the best wines in the country.
A total of 43 wineries will each host a slate of events that include wine tastings, seminars, entertainment, foods, arts and crafts. Well-known local bands have been commissioned to play during the two-day event with music from country and rock to jazz and reggae.
“It’s a wine country weekend event with a lot of history and tradition,” said Chris Chandler, executive director of the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association. “It celebrates the annual winegrape harvest, the busiest time of year in all wine regions.”
“We’re expecting thousands of wine lovers from around the Bay to join us,” she added. “It’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity to meet winemakers, growers, musicians and local craft artisans.”
The wineries are located in Pleasanton, Livermore and Castro Valley. Visitors can park and start their adventure at any winery, or at the main transportation hub in Robertson Park in Livermore, and travel on shuttle buses between participating wineries.
This annual celebration of the grape harvest takes place from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday and on Monday, Labor Day. Tickets are $50 in advance for a two-day pass or $55 if purchased on the first day of the event. A Monday-only ticket costs $45. There are no Sunday-only tickets.
These tickets include entry into the wineries, complimentary wine tasting at each winery, live music, free parking, free shuttle bus transportation, a collectable souvenir glass and an official event program.
Non-drinking tickets are also available for “designated drivers” and children who will not be sipping any wine, with those tickets also including entrance into the wineries, three non-alcoholic drinks, complimentary transportation on the shuttle buses that travel to each winery throughout the day, and complimentary parking at the Robertson Park hub. They are $10.
Tickets can be reserved by calling 447-9463 or visit the association’s website at www.lvwine.org. Tickets also are available at:
* Participating wineries.
* First Street Wine Company, 2211 First Street, Livermore.
* Vino Cellars, 1772 First Street, Livermore.
* Wine Steward, 641 Main Street, Pleasanton.
* PW Markets throughout the Bay Area.
Because of the anticipated crowds, Chandler suggests taking one of the shuttle buses from the Robertson Park hub at 3200 Robertson Park Road, where L Street becomes Arroyo Road.
“It’s the complimentary shuttle buses that circulate between the wineries for two days that make this Labor Day weekend event unique,” Chandler said. “No other wine region offers transportation. And, in spite of high gas prices, we are offering the buses again this year. We hope our guests and visitors will take advantage of them during the weekend.”
An added benefit this year is that five Livermore wineries will be gathered together in one shady location at Robertson Park to pour samples of their wines, with live music at the park both Sunday and Monday.
Some 30 shuttles will use six different routes stopping at their specified wineries along each route. Winery-goers will receive a map outlining the six different shuttle routes, so they can choose which one to take. In addition, most routes will cross with at least one other so ticket-bearers can transfer to another shuttle route and group of wineries, if they choose. All shuttles will return to the hub at the end of their route.
Wine event organizers said each winery will offer live music, including several well-known local bands playing reggae to classic rock, and acoustic guitar to rockabilly and good old blues. Food will also be available for purchase at each location with cuisine to tempt every palate, from Mexican to Mediterranean, Hawaiian style to hummus, prime rib to pulled pork sandwiches, plus ice cream, brownies and, of course, barbecue.
Chandler said that while sipping and nibbling, guests will be able to peruse the jewelry, pottery, glass and metal craft of many local artisans at the various wineries, taste the abundant olive oils from the Livermore Valley region, enjoy fine art displays and take in winery education and special history exhibits.
With a record-high number of 43 wineries participating in the Harvest Wine Celebration this year, participants are being urged to start their day closest to the wineries they want to visit, choosing a shuttle that goes to those locations. There are a total of seven different routes with at least four wineries on each shuttle stop. From past experience, wine visitors take about an hour at each location.
“The two-day celebration is the Winegrowers Associations’ annual fundraising event,” Chandler said. “Many events of this size and caliber hire event planning firms, but we keep the planning and logistics in-house and rely on the generous support of volunteers to make sure the proceeds benefit our nonprofit association directly. Many of our volunteers have been involved in this event for several years now.”
“It’s a fun weekend,” she added. “We get calls year ’round asking when the ‘event with the buses going to each of the wineries’ takes place. This is it!”
The Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association was founded in 1981 by a small group of vintners and growers, as development pressure threatened their valley. Today, with a growing membership, the LVWA is dedicated to showcasing the world-class wine and visitor amenities of the Livermore Valley Wine Country and attracts more than half a million visitors annually to this unique appellation. Besides the wineries, the valley is home to 3,600 acres of grapes, 3,200 of which are protected as vineyards in perpetuity.
The details:
Purchase tickets online at www.livermorewine.com; at the wineries; or call the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association at 925.447.WINE (447-9463). Advance sales, $50. Day of event tickets, $55. Monday only, $40.
Participating wineries:
Pleasanton’s Mitchell Katz Winery and Ruby Hill Winery, Battaion Cellars, Bent Creek Winery, Big White House and John Evan, Bodegas Aguirre Winery, Cedar Mountain Winery, Charles R Vineyards, Chouinard Vineyards, Concannon Vineyard, Crooked Vine and Stony Ridge Winery.
Other wineries to visit are: Deer Ridge Vineyards, Eagle Ridge Vineyard, Eckert Estate Winery, el Sol Winery, Elliston Vineyards, Fenestra Winery, Garré Vineyard and Winery, Hidden Creek Winery, John Christopher Cellars, La Rochelle Winery & The Steven Kent Winery, Les Chenes Estate Vineyards, Little Valley Winery, Livermore Valley Cellars, Longevity Wines and McGrail Vineyards and Winery.
Also participating in this year’s Harvest Wine Festival are: Murrieta’s Well Winery, Page Mill Winery, Palomares Vineyard Winery & Westover Vineyard, Red Feather Winery, Red Skye Winery, Retzlaff Estate Vineyards, Ryhan Estate Vineyards, Tenuta Vineyards, The Singing Winemaker, Thomas Coyne Winery, Wente Vineyards Estate Winery, White Crane Winery and Wood Family Vineyards.
