Why Whine When You Can Taste East Bay Wine?

Why Whine When You Can Taste East Bay Wine?

Forget Napa Valley for your next wine tasting tour. East Bay locals know they can explore a wine country much closer to home -- in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, where the reds, whites and rosés are ripe for sipping.

Some East Bay wineries, like in the Livermore Valley, are historic and lush with mature vines. Others are urban, like the Oakland Urban Wine Trail in Jack London Square. (As Sunset magazine recently pointed out: “California’s newest wine country leaves the ‘country’ behind.”)

This is a perfect time of the year to start planning your East Bay wine tour, starting with tasting local varietals at the 36th Annual Walnut Creek Art & Wine Festival on June 3-4 at Heather Farm Park.

And after that, if you still doubt the greatness of these grapes, plan your visit to some of the best wineries in the East Bay:

Urban Wine

  • Brooklyn West Winery  Located at 201 3rd St. in the oldest warehouse in the Jack London Square Warehouse District in Oakland.
  • Campovida’s The Taste of Place  The family-owned winery actually is based in Hopland and uses organic Mendocino County grapes, but you don’t have to drive that far for a sip. Enjoy Campovida at its tasting room in a historic brick building at 95 Linden St. in industrial West Oakland.
  • Cerruti Cellars  Oakland
  • Dashe Cellars  Oakland
  • Rock Wall Wine Company  This Alameda winery is the project of Shauna Rosenblum, daughter of local winemaking legend Kent Roseblum of Rosenblum Cellars.
  • Rosenblum Cellars  Billing itself as “the original urban winery,” Rosenblum has been making wine since 1978 and is all about the Zin. The tasting room is located in the heart of Oakland’s Jack London Square.
  • Stage Left Cellars  The tasting room at 2102 Dennison St. in Oakland is open to the public on the first Saturday of each month.
  • Two Mile Wines  Their tag line literally is “Yes we are in Oakland.” Get a taste at 477 25th St.
  • Urban Legend Cellars  Located in Oakland's Jack London District at 200 2nd St.
  • Urbano Cellars  Berkeley

 

Livermore Valley Wine | East Bay Wine

Livermore Valley
(Many wineries are located on or near Tesla and Vasco roads)

 

Ehrenberg Wine | East Bay Wine

Contra Costa County Winegrowers Assoc.

 

A Digestif: East Bay Winery Fun Facts

  • East Bay wines go way back. Charles Wetmore's dry white wine from his Cresta Blance vineyard in Livermore Valley won the grand prize at the 1889 Paris Exhibition.
  • At least one East Bay varietal has made it into the Smithsonian. A bottle that once held sherry produced by Concannon Vineyards in 1929, at the height of Prohibition, is part of the National Museum of American History collection. Concannon worked around Prohibition by making this legal altar wine for the Catholic Church.

----
What is your fav East Bay winery? Dashe Cellars in Oakland is one of ours. Come share a glass of vino with us and chat about how Abio Properties can support your dreams of living in the wine country. Call us at 888-400-ABIO (2246) or email at [email protected].