Swoop out of San Francisco, drive a half-hour-or-so and out your window you’ll spot rolling green hills dotted with fresh-blooming vineyards.
No, you’re not in Napa. You’re in the Livermore Valley AVA, one of California’s oldest and consistently underrated wine producing regions.
Robert Livermore first planted wine grapes across the valley in the 1840s and since then, a handful of producers have carefully kept that tradition alive, growing beautiful expressions of Bordeaux varieties — and many other treats — just 30 miles east of San Francisco.
While Napa takes top billing on name-brand recognition, a lot of California wine history is thanks to the region. Almost 80% of California’s Chardonnay and Cabernet vines in the United States were grandfathered in by Livermore — Wente and Concannon brought in vines from Bordeaux legends like Margaux and Château D’yquem.
So next time you’re in San Francisco, take a side quest down to the region — the region still offers the dirt-on-your-boots qualities of a working wine region, so expect to share a glass with the winemaker and sip on excellent releases at less formidable prices than neighboring Napa. (Though not on this list, don’t miss Page Mill or 3 Steve’s.) Here’s where to go:
Murrieta’s Well
Wente Vineyards is an obvious stop — the historic winery was the first in the region to bottle a single variety Chardonnay in 1936 — but explore the famed property’s little sister. Murietta’s Well is a gravity-flowed winery surrounded in gravely, rocky soil that makes varieties like Sauvignon Blanc shine (though it might be the Chateau d’Yquem cuttings adding a certain edge to the Sauvignon).
McGrail winemaker Mark Clarin walking through the vineyard
While this winery offers a range of wines, its Cabernet Sauvignon is the most intriguing — the winery works with a variety of oaks to help amplify the expressions of the grape. For example the Patriot is aged in American oak, while other expressions stick to Slovenian or French oak. Try comparing and contrasting, or just taste the lot — it’ll blow open what you know about Cabernet.
Wood Family
Wood Family Vineyards was born in 1991. Pilot Rhonda Wood was grounded for 9 months — US Airways rule at the time — as she came to term. She grew bored. And as one bored and stuck at home would do in said circumstance (I’m looking at you, pandemic sourdough makers and home brewers) she started brewing beer. After a few years, beer turned to wine, which turned into really good wine. Alongside husband Michael, she planted 18 varieties of grapes in their backyard before purchasing real vines. Expect a tip of a cowboy hat from Rhonda when you pull up the drive.
Cuda Ridge Wines
Cabernet Franc is the name of the game here, as is a whole range of Bordeaux-style reds. Named after owner-winemaker Larry Dino’s barracuda, there’s a keen focus on precision, style, and power (yes, we’re talking about the wine, not the car) plus intense complexity and character. While you’re there, try Dino’s single bottling Petit Verdot — it’s not often the Bordeaux grape gets top billing, which is well deserved when in Dino’s hands.
Las Positas
The region’s winemaking history began in the 1760s, when Spanish missionaries started cultivating wine grapes for use in religious ceremonies and as table wine. Today, Las Positas channels the region’s former residents through a range of different Spanish-accented grapes, including Tempranillo, Verdeljo, Garnacha, and Graciano. There’s also a scattering of Italian grapes — namely, Barbera — and the icons of the region: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. All of these properties are grown on-site, processed by the estate, and bottled in the same space. Expect high-energy reds and whites that chase freshness.
Darcie Kent Vineyards
It’s easy to spot the purple-hued barn off the region’s main throughway — it beckons drivers-by to stop in for a drink. Do it: there’s a great variety of wines — Cabernet Sauvignon to Gruner Veltliner — plus rotating events that draw in a big local crowd, thoughtfully managed by Director of Hospitality Jeremy Troupe-Masi. The fifth-generation winery was started by 1883 by Swiss-born Fritz R. Ruegsegger, and is now run by great granddaughter Darcie Kent, who paints her own labels just like her forefathers did. Grab a picture in the panoramic vineyard mirror before leaving.