Report: Livermore Left Intact

Might I pat myself on the back for introducing yet another wine tasting virgin to my scene. We three girls had a fabulous time exploring my new favorite part of the East Bay: lunching, wine-ing, and enjoying the fantastic Livermore sunshine!

We started off with a delicious lunch at Wente's restaurant. We ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc (not Wente's-- is that a faux pas? Oh well.) and it was hands down the best Sauvignon Blanc I have had in a really, really long time. Brophy Clark 2006, Santa Ynez Valley, Valley View Sauvignon Blanc. In fact, just blogging about it reminds me that I best look it up & order some online if need be! Once again, a Wente treated us to a spuerb meal and wonderful service, right down to writing "Happy Birthday" in chocolate on Kelly's crème brûlée.

Happy birthday, wine tasting newbie! @the Restaurant at Wente

Well, since there's a tasting room just a few feet away... off we go!  Being the former sorority girls that we are, we decided we had to have a color theme (red) and wear boas. Birthday girl Kelly got a tiara. We were quite the festive sight!

@Wente vineyards (I appear to have sweated off my make-up).

My comrades were pleased that Wente accomodated their desire for only white wines. How can I be friends with a couple of Reisling lovers is beyond me. As DD, I couldn't even finish off their red wine rejects. Alas, not everyone is as red wine savvy as ZinfanGirl!

Next up was White Crane. What a little gem! They were offering something like 9 tastes for $5-- wowzers! And like any good winery, this was waived with any purchase. We arrived uncertain of where the tasting was. Could it be that little wooden shed just past the vines? That was when we heard the singing...

Our red-clothed, feather-adorned selves entered just as the singing finished. We immediately received remarks about our boas. After explaining that it was Kelly's birthday, the entire winery launched into a (second) round of, "Happy Birthday!" The vibe in that little tasting room was friendly, fun and welcoming-- always good traits, in my Zinfan-pinion. And it's always a rare treat to start your tasting with a sparkling wine-- double points for that, White Crane!

Boas, tiaras & red, oh my! @White Crane

After consulting our trusty map (I'm on the verge of brekaing up with my GPS-- seriously, don't get me started), we found that another recommended winery, Charles R, was just down the road. ZinfanHubby's good friends told us they like Charles R because it is "off the beaten path." They were not joking. I had faith that the Horace-mobile could make it down this gravelly dirt road, and was not disappointed (Horace, like ZinfanGirl, would never let some dirt & rocks interfere with wine).

Literally, off the beaten path! @Charles R Vineyards

Charles R had an interested Chardonnay called Sur Lies, a method which uses less batonnage to bring out the fruit flavors. I knew immediately what this meant even before the lady held the bottle up for my friends to see. "Ewww!" was the (predicted) reaction to the sight of sediment floating in the bottle. ZinfanGirl, however, found it interesting. Dredges & sediment, while not ideal, are just something you deal with in the wine world. Like having to scoop poop if you own a cat, it just comes with the territory (not to insinuate that ZinfanGirl would ever swallow cat poop. Just sayin'.). Our visit to Charles R concluded with Deena's pink melted frosted birthday cupcakes outside in their lovely little picnic area.

Thanks to Kelly for the photos. I better actually, you know, make sure she's OK with me posting them on here.