Hmm... Livermore... the place with the funny name! Thirty years ago I was riding horses through all these beautiful hills, criss-crossing through the vineyards and getting chased out of them by all the vineyard managers! The weather was always almost perfect for horseback riding and my friends and I would spend hours in the summer just cruising on our fellow steeds! 20 years ago I was still riding horses, but now driving around with friends. We would go out on a hot summer's night searching for the highest vantage point on an old country or vineyard dirt road and park on the top of a hill while watching the glimmering night lights of Livermore. Then, in a blink, I was off to college. This old funny town, with nothing to do, a few wineries, and a lab became the placed I missed most and it was truly home. Then about 10 years ago my small little town with the funny name did a total makeover. Living out of town now with a family, it was amazing to see the transformation from a small rural town to a posh, hit, urban destination. I new it was time to return, so we packed up the family and moved back home to help with the new family business...
My family decided to embark on the winery idea about 10 years ago. I think the ever-changing landscape of Livermore and the encroaching neighborhoods onto our beautiful countryside was sad for my parents to see and I suspect a little empty nest syndrome probably didn't hurt either. But more than that, they had some foresight about the prospects of the Livermore wine scene and they also wanted to be a part of the land and protecting what I grew up on for generations to come. They didn't want to look out windows and see neighborhoods as far as the eye could see. The property that we are on today, while it might not be immense, was enough to get our hands wet and plant about 4 acres under vine.
The good news was that we we were not alone. Many had the same ideas as us and wineries were starting to open shop all over Livemore. This was and continues to be an exciting time for Livermore winemaking. Not only is the industry growing and viable in Livermore, but the availability of fine wine is increasing. Gone are the tiny tasting rooms with free tasting, gone are the bottles priced in the teens, gone are the unstaffed owner-run tasting rooms, gone are the funky unusual wines! They are now being replaced with professionally staffed tasting rooms, beautiful grounds, and fantastic tasting wines, but still without the pretentious, over-priced wines. Livermore is really making great progress. And this is a very exciting time to be a part of the wine scene.
We hope the people still enjoy our family run winery, but come away feeling that they had an experience that not only was professional, but fun as well. We hope our long time customers see our progress with out wines over the years. We definitely are constantly making every effort possible to make a better product year after year and improving winemaking and equipment. While we have a long way to go, we feel that at least we are continuing onward and upward!
