Articles
LIVERMORE WINE IS MIGHTY FINE!
(2013)
Many people think of the Napa Valley when talking about California’s wine heritage, but Livermore has quite a story to tell too. Spanish missionaries from nearby Mission San Jose planted the first vines in the valley during the 1760s. The area’s soil and climate, warm days, and cool nights, attracted pioneer vintners beginning in the 1840s.
Forty years later, the valley entered a new era of wine making when Wente, Concannon, and Cresta Blanca all got their start. It was Livermore, not the Napa Valley, that brought California wine to the world’s attention. In the 1880s, French wine dominated the American (and California) market. The best restaurants in San Francisco featured French imports on their wine lists. Some even labeled local vintages as “French” to help them sell.
Journalist Charles Wetmore was a big fan of California, especially Livermore, wines. He championed local wine in dozens of newspaper articles and talked about the virtues of drinking locally at every occasion. Perhaps he was one of the first wine locavores (or as Liz says, “locaholics”). When the state legislature decided to create a Viticultural Commission, Wetmore was picked as the first chairman.
Wetmore brought cuttings of Semillion, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle and Cabernet Sauvignon back from France and used them to start his own winery in the Livermore Valley, Cresta Blanca. In 1889, his efforts paid off when two of his wines were awarded gold medals at the Paris International Exposition. His wine beat France’s best and put California on the world’s wine map.
Wente is the oldest continuously operating family-owned winery in the United States. It was founded in 1883 by German immigrant C. H. Wente. After Wente arrived in the Golden State, he worked for Charles Krug in Napa before settling in Livermore. Wente brought Chardonnay grapes to California in 1912 and was the first to bottle Sauvignon Blanc as a distinct variety.
During Prohibition, the winery stayed in business by making sacramental wine (lots and lots of sacramental wine).
The tasting room is on the original 1883 property.
Livermore has 4,000 acres of wine grapes planted and 50+ wineries to explore.