It was just too good an opportunity for Kathy to pass up: Groupon was offering 2-for-1 deluxe wine tasting at Wente’s facilities in Livermore. Even though we had recently motored down to the Valley on our “Port run,” the idea of an elegant lunch in their dining room, and an afternoon of winery hopping sounded downright civilized.
We hadn’t made a reservation, and the restaurant was packed: The sun was shining, their seasonal patio was open and diners were in absolutely no hurry to turn over the table. We were told that without a reservation, we had no hope for lunch. Kath had the brilliant idea of seeing if one of the staff in the tasting room could call over for us, and before we knew it Donna the Tasting Room Diva was booking us a table for two five minutes hence. We sauntered over to the dining room, and though we had to wait virtually another 30 minutes past post time (made bearable with the aid of a bottle of Murrieta’s Well Livermore Tempranillo), we were eventually seated where we proceeded to enjoy a wonderful lunch.
During this memorable meal, Kathy and I reflected on the fact that exactly 52 weeks ago today (Sunday), we posted our very first entry to this CoCo Fermented blog. What began as a series of investigations by a pair of newcomers as to who owns, grows and makes wine from the many acres of century-old grapevines found in our far-east section of Contra Costa County (and our newly adopted city of Oakley in particular) has resulted in some fascinating stories and interviews over this past year.
We’ve talked to third- and fourth-generation grape growers whose eponymous vineyard names have graced labels on bottles we’ve been drinking for years. Fruit from Oakley growers such as Rich Pato, Stan and Gertie Planchon, John Continente and Tom Del Barba has been the key component of bottles in our wine stash a decade or more before we even knew where Oakley was, let alone moved to live here.
We’ve had illuminating interviews with such respected winemakers as Randall Grahm, Matt Cline, Kent Rosenblum, Tadeo Borchardt and Shauna Rosenblum, getting all kinds of insight as to their reasons for, and occasional frustrations with, using fruit from these ancient vines in our neck of CoCo County.
Kathy and I have had several successes in our roles as “grapevine gumshoes” as we’ve been able to identify owners/growers of certain vineyards, and some wines made using fruit from them. But sometimes the trail runs a bit cold, and there are still dozens of plots around town sporting beautiful, gnarly, fruit-bearing vines. The vineyards are being tended and their fruit is harvested every fall, but we don’t know by whom or for whom.
So on this first anniversary of our little project, Kath and I would like to cast our net a little wider, to include ruminations on just what a rich agricultural and viticultural bounty we now officially happen to be a part of. We’ve dipped our toes into these subjects in previous posts over the last 12 months, but just as winemakers strive to create vibrant, bright product from our region’s 100-year-old vines, we too will attempt to keep things fresh and juicy.
Speaking of which, on our way to Wente yesterday, we pulled off the road to stop in at Rodrigue Molyneaux, a small Livermore estate producer. Established in 1998, RM has a penchant for Italian varietals and blends, but we were especially delighted yesterday to purchase a house olive oil made from Leccino olives grown on their property. Colorwise, it’s a bright translucent green, reminiscent of Yellow Chartreuse. It’s got a nose of black pepper and green grassy notes. On the palate, flavors of cracked peppercorns ride the roof of the mouth on a long finish with nice bite.
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