The best wine country vacations often happen in California, and it’s no wonder. The state is filled with pockets of ideal weather conditions to grow flavorful grapes. and one of the best wine regions to experience the flavors of California wine country is beautiful Livermore Valley.
This post is in partnership with Livermore Valley to bring awareness to California Wine Country.
California Wine Country in Livermore
California wine regions are peppered all over the state, so knowing which area you’d like to visit is important. Livermore Valley is conveniently located off the coast of California, just east of the San Francisco Bay. Plus, they have around 40 wineries to visit!
Livermore Valley California Wine Country Map
Personalized California Wine Country Map
If you are planning a California wine country vacation, Livermore Valley has the perfect tool. You can head here to plan out a personalized itinerary. All you have to do is plug in the various wineries you wish to visit, and their site generates a specific route to ensure the best wine country vacations. Genius!
A California Wine Country Vacation
Livermore Valley is one of the best wine regions in California, and the wineries offer such a variety of tastes. Many have also won awards at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and the West Coast Wine Competition.
It’s safe to say that all of the wineries are worthy of a visit. However, here are six wineries I would like to focus on in Livermore Valley Wine Country. California is such an amazing place to head for wine!
Cuda Ridge Wines
Known for their small-batch, handcrafted, Bordeaux style wines, Cuda Ridge Wines is a family affair. The winery was founded by Larry and Margie Dino in 2007, yet Larry began making wine in his garage in 1999. What started with humble beginnings has grown into producing 2100 cases per year with grapes grown in Livermore.
Darcie Kent Vineyards
Family history runs quite deep with Darcie Kent Vineyards. Darcie is a 5th generation vintner, and her great-great-grandfather came to America from Switzerland to become a winemaker. In addition, Darcie’s great-grandfather used to hand paint his labels, and she has carried on the tradition with her own stunning artwork.
Las Positas Vineyards
Las Positas Vineyards began with the purchase of 20 acres of land in 2006. After pulling the existing vines and tilling the land, this labor of love has grown into a vineyard with stunning views that produces wines full of character.
Murrieta’s Well Estate Vineyard
For those who love history, Murrieta’s Well is the perfect story. With a history dating back to the 1800s, the original vines were via cuttings from French vineyards. Notably, it is also one of the original wine estates and used the technique of gravity flow. In addition, each of their wines is made from grapes sourced from the property.
Page Mill Winery
Founder, Dick Stark, used to sell lasers but felt a career change was in order after roaming the wineries in Germany. He and his son excavated a cellar underneath their home on Page Mill Road, and a business was born. As they grew, their son took over, and operations moved in 2004 to a larger facility to produce their 3500 cases of wine.
Wood Family Vineyards
Winemaker Rhonda Wood is a former US Airways pilot, so she’s definitely well-traveled! She started brewing beer and then decided to try her hand at making wine. When a vineyard property came up for sale in Livermore Valley, Rhonda and her husband, Michael, seized on the opportunity to start Wood Family Vineyards.
Are you considering a California wine country vacation?
Heading to an off-the-beaten-path place like Livermore Valley is perfect! Not only is it one of the well-established California wine regions, but it is conveniently located near San Francisco. It may be new to you, yet it is often considered one of the best wine regions in California.
What a fabulous way to soak in beautiful views and enjoy a glass of wine made from grapes in Livermore. It sounds absolutely perfect! For more information on Livermore Valley Wine Country, just click here.
Comments
13 responses to “California Wine Country’s Livermore Valley”
I have never been to a California winery but it is on my bucket list. I’ll have to bookmark this one for sure.
Those are some wonderful wines you got there. I wonder how they would taste like, each of them probably has some distinct taste to differentiate them.
Ohh we have never thought of having a Califonia wine country vacation before but as we plan to have a road trip on the west coast next year, Califonia would be perfect for our itinerary! We live in Switzerland, and we drink a lot of European wine so it would be awesome to taste and learn some about the Californian wine!
As much as I’d truly LOVE to travel to California one day and wander wine country (oh gosh, the DREAM) – I don’t know when it’ll happen, so I’m grateful that living in Virginia allows me to have Charlottesville. I like to say it’s the East Coast’s wine country – haha! But truly, I do hope one day I get a chance to visit Livermore Valley. It sounds divine!
Reading all about all these makes me want to go! I hadn’t ever thought about going to California to visit a winery, but it makes so much sense!
A wine vacation and a wine tour – yes please! I’d be the first one to sign up. I’ve visited some vineyards before, but they have been standalone ones, not something like you shared here. It sounds fun to legit go on a Wine Country vacation from one vineyard to the other.
I used to love going on wine tours and loved tasting different wines from all around the World. But from past three years, I have completely stopped alcohol including wine. Maybe I would love to visit this place to see the landscapes and enjoy the wineries without actually drinking wine 😀
This looks like a lovely experience! I have been wanting to do a wine tour, but unfortunately have not yet had the chance, only visit some here and there. California sounds like the perfect place to do so! I wouldn’t know where to start, they all sound so great!
To begin with, I don’t think I’ve ever tasted American wine! I’m trying to think. Nope. I’ve tasted a wide variety of European wines from German to Belgian to Italian to Portugal and more. I need to head to the store soon to try and find an American wine here.
As someone who loves wines and visited quite a few vineyards and wineries, I’d totally love to go on this Californian roadtrip on wine tasting. Thanks for the map! Of your list of 6, my fav seems to be Darcie Kent Vineyards and Murrieta.
I have once dreamt of doing a California Wine tour probably inspired by an episode on KUWTK. This post has further inspired that dream. I am interested in the story of the Wood Family Vineyard. It will be such an experience to chat about travels over a glass of wine.
I would find it so difficult to choose from this amazing range of wines. Few of my friends from college days stay in California and they keep talking about the amazing wines and vineyards there. I would start off with Cuda Ridge Wines as I love their blue bottles and then probably move on to others.
California wine country in Livermore looks like a great place to go to have a view of wonderful vineyards! Wood’s Family Vineyard looks worth visiting. Good to know! Thanks for sharing all the wineries and their key features.
I like the idea of vineyard hopping though I must say I don’t have a big appetite for wine. I think I would love to experience the place and the landscape around. Maybe a day or two in the county would help me space out the tasting and stick to my quota.