Barrel Tasting Weekend in Livermore Valley Wine Country is almost here, and that means our local artists are hard at work creating our Painted Barrel Trail. Follow the trail throughout the Valley starting February 1st until Barrel Tasting Weekend, March 23rd-24th, and purchase raffle tickets for your chance to win a beautiful hand-painted barrel, and a case of wine!
This year, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition had 65 professional judges review over 6,500 submitted wines. As an AVA, the Livermore Valley brought home over 150 awards. Pick up these award winners now before they sell out!
Livermore Valley Wine Country wishes you a year of health, happiness and lots of good wine. Cheers!
It’s an age old conversation, how much does the glass you drink from really affect your wine? You will find a handful of websites that touch on the topic, but today we are here to bring you a simplified version of what really matters in a glass to compliment your favorite wine.
The most important thing to remember when picking out the perfect glass for your favorite red wine, is to choose a glass that has a large bowl, allowing the wine to breathe properly.
The length of the stem is of utmost importance when choosing a glass for white wine. A tall stem keeps the temperature of the wine chilled and unaffected by the warmth of your hand.
All these glasses and more can be found through Riedel.
1. The “Welcome” Wine
Sparkling wine is the perfect ice breaker to your Thanksgiving get together. Welcoming guests in with a sparkling wine helps the holiday feel festive and celebratory. Recommendations for your sparkling wine from the Livermore Valley are…
3 Steves Winery Brut Sparkling Wine
Crooked Vine Winery 2013 Sparkling Pinot Noir Rosé
El Sol Winery Grand Cuvee Champagne
Page Mill Winery 2012 Blanc de Blanc
Rios-Lovell Estate Winery NV California Champagne
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7. Barn at
Mitchell Katz Winery
This Sunday, October 14th is National Dessert Day. Here in the Livermore Valley, we believe the best way to celebrate National Dessert Day is with a perfectly paired wine. Below are a handful of creative and decadent ideas to get you thinking about how to spend your weekend celebrating!
Image by Doug Jorgensen via The Independent
Grab your coffee or tea from your favorite downtown cafe and take a stroll through Downtown Livermore to see this years’ beautiful “Tree Sweaters”. These handmade sweaters that are knit to every tree will be up until Friday, November 18th, before being donated to the Valley Humane Society of Pleasanton as comforting blankets. You can find these cozy trees along First Street between Maple and L Street. Bothwell Arts Center sponsors the Tree Sweaters each Fall.
Vineyard Tours at Murrieta’s Well:
If hiking along side, and being up close and personal, to vineyards then this is the perfect activity for you! Murrieta’s Well will be hosting Vineyard tours every hour during the event. If you haven’t gotten the chance to partake in one of the vineyard tour hikes at Murrieta’s Well before, I would definitely recommend participating in this activity. You’ll get some of the best views in the valley and learn so much about Murrieta’s Well’s vineyard and harvesting process and practices.
Discussions with the Winemaker at Wood Family Vineyards:
Items you will need:
Step 1: Find your pot
We are using some old glasses from our tasting events, both glass ones and our newer Go-Vinos, as well as a wine bottle that had it’s neck cut off. Directions on how to cut glass can be found here, if you want some more DIY projects. The size of your glass will determine how many plants and decorations you will be able to feature.
Step 2: Choose your Plants
We suggest doing no more than two small plants in each glass, as you want to give them enough room to breathe. Try and choose plants that have varying colors. For example, a leafy plant with purple and green leaves will pair nicely with a bright green succulent.
