Oasis in the East Bay: Wente Vineyards
Written: Dec 12 '00 (Updated Dec 12 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful scenery, delicious wines and food,
Cons: Somewhat tricky to find (there's a sharp right at one point that we missed)
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| smiles33's Full Review: Wente Vineyards |
After emerging from the parched, yellow hills above Livermore, we were surprised when we drove onto the lush green grounds of the Wente Vineyards. This oasis had a few palm trees (though only the sycamores are mentioned in the brochure), but the focus is really on the vineyards set off by a beautiful lawn in front of the white, Spanish-style stucco buildings with tile roofs.
Note: the website has many photos, including one of the colorful flower garden surrounding the base of the flagpole on the entryway lawn. The site is http://wentevineyards.com/index1.html and is set up in frames, so you need to get to the “Tasting room” section. For some reason, their links are not properly set up (the cursor must be moved below the actual item you want or you end up with the item above it).
My fiance, brace33, and I were encouraged by his parents to drop by and view the place as a potential site for our wedding. I admit I was skeptical, as I'd never heard of wineries in Livermore. The "famous" ones are in Napa, with a few in neighboring Sonoma. But Livermore? I only knew of Livermore as the site of the Lawrence Livermore Lab.
We arrived around mid-morning on a moderately warm weekend (though chilly by California standards) in October, so the place was almost empty. After driving up the long, narrow road that borders the vineyard and its golf course, we found ourselves near the end of the lane and in front of a picturesque scene: a Spanish villa set off by a lovely bed of flowers and a stand of trees. We parked in the front lot near the restaurant (more on that later!) and walked towards the main building where the Visitors Center is located.
Here, we found the gift shop/tasting room and browsed before approaching the "bar" to try a few wines. For a wine tasting beginner (I know, I really must find some time to get out to Napa), I found everything very straightforward. The staff was genuinely friendly and helpful, without being pushy. Our server even suggested a couple wines upon seeing our hesitation. For a small fee (I believe it was $4 per person), we had nearly 1/2 glass each of Wente reserve Brut, 1998 Riva Ranch Chardonnay, 1998 Merlot - Estate Grown, and 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon - Estate Grown.
Now, as I said before, I’m one of those people who can no longer tolerate white zinfandel, but still can’t remember the difference between merlot and pinot noir, except that I know I typically like pinot noir more! Thus, I will save you the horror of trying to decipher my feeble attempts to describe the wines themselves. Suffice to say, I enjoyed the Riva Ranch Chardonnay so much, I ordered it again with my lunch and would like to serve it at our wedding!
After the tasting, we decided to wander around the grounds ourselves, stopping by an adjoining room (I believe it’s the “museum room”) with historical background about the winery. Apparently, Wente claims to be “the oldest continuously operated family-owned winery in California.” The room had photos and other interesting memorabilia from the past to gaze at before strolling outside to view the grounds as they are currently maintained.
Let’s go explore!
The website states that they offer guided tours, but we were more interested in exploring the grounds and judging its suitability for a large wedding. We did not venture to the left side of the winery, where the vineyard and golf course are located. From the photos in the brochure, this is also the same side where Wente’s “Concerts at the Vineyard” summer series are held. It looks like a huge lawn that can accommodate 600-700 people seated at round tables! We’re not having that large of a wedding, so we stayed on the smaller side of the grounds. Plus, they were harvesting grapes at the time we visited, and there were large machines in the area.
For those interested, the golf course was busy that morning and appeared meticulously kept. The brochure states, “Built into the scenic rolling holls, next to the Wente Vineyards Restaurant and Visitors Center, this 18-hole championship course designed by pro golfer Greg Norman is open to the public. It joins the nearby Ruby Hill Golf Course by Jack Nicklaus and Poppy Ridge, designed by Rees Jones-–making the Livermore Valley a premier golf destination.” My apologies, but I’m not a golfer, so I didn’t take a personal look.
We did enjoy a nice stroll on the right side of the main building. There is a medium-sized patio by the side of the large side lawn where guests can relax or hors d’oeuvres displays can be set up for a wedding. The lawn itself is “sunken” as it is set two or three steps down from the patio. Again, it’s easier to point you to the website to visualize how a wedding would be set up here.
Unfortunately for us, the wedding coordinator was not available when we visited and we hadn't thought to make an appointment beforehand. I don’t know if she was busy with the conference that day (conference rooms are also available) or if she had the day off. But our friendly server did provide an informative folder full of useful information, like pricing! This place has an amazing level of service for the costs listed: a personal wedding coordinator, a bridal dressing area (with complimentary beverages), a garden trellis for the ceremony, directional parking attendants, chairs and round tables complete with full china service, glassware, silverware, linens, and skirting, and all set-up and cleanup. This, plus a one hour wedding rehearsal, is priced at between $1,500 and $2,000 (depending on the season).
More than just cheese to dine on!
We also had lunch at the award-winning restaurant (continuous winner of the "Distinguished Restaurants of North America" award since 1993), in part to try out the food in case we do choose this as the wedding site since the restaurant provides catering services. What follows will be a very abbreviated restaurant review, since that could be another epinion entirely.
The décor was simple ("casually elegant") and helped establish a warm and open ambiance. We chose to dine outside as the sun was beginning to shine, but there were a number of large flies hovering near us that were drawn by the grape harvesting, so that was a little disorienting. However, the food was simply divine considering my expectations of a restaurant that I thought was a mere “afterthought” added onto the winery. My fiance ordered the house special-—a smoked double thick pork loin chop. I’m afraid I simply can’t remember what I had—-it was good, but I remember I had quite a large portion of his pork chop!
Prices were very reasonable, though I’m afraid I also can’t remember how much our entrees were (we’re in finals right now and I’m procrastinating by reminiscing back to October while my brain is still chock full of random facts on estates and trusts!). I’m fairly certain they were about $20 per entrée, which is surprising as the same meal in a San Francisco restaurant would surely be more in the mid-to-high 20s range.
A fairly similar menu is used by the catering staff, as the pork chop is an option for wedding guests as well. I don’t want to copy down the very extensive menus (partly because there are several since the fare changes seasonally), but to give you a taste of what you might have at a May or June wedding:
An appetizer and salad first
- Caramelized Onion, Sweet Pepper and Goat Cheese Tart with Garden Greens
- Spring Mix Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, Toasted Pecans and Maytag Blue Cheese
Then a choice of one entree:
- Skillet Seared Salmon on Wild Rice Pilaf with Young Spinach and Tarragon Beurre Blanc
- Fire Roasted Certified Angus Filet of Beef on Mashed Potatoes with Blue Lake Beans and Oven Dried Tomato Broth
- Marinated Leg of Lamb on Potato-Spinach Gratin with Pea-Pancetta Ragout and Mint Jus
and, of course, a beautifully decorated wedding cake prepared by the Wente catering staff, custom designed with my choice of style, flowers, and decorations.
All this comes at $43 per person for a seated lunch and $49 for a seated dinner. Of course, there is also a 19% service charge and California’s 8.25% state sales tax.
Impressions and musings
I don’t know if you’re just supposed to know when you’ve found the right site for your wedding. I guess it’s that whole hesitation that accompanies making a decision that affects one of the most important days of your life. I enjoyed myself immensely, but this was the first place we visited and we did have problems finding it. The one drawback would be the somewhat isolated location that may confuse too many wedding guests. There is a sharp turn that we missed, even though I had the exact directions from Yahoo! Maps. Of course, this can be easily remedied by one of those large, tacky signs that read “X & Y’s wedding this way!”
Regardless, it is a wonderful place to go for a short day trip. The food is delicious, the wine divine, and the view simply enchanting! Who knows? We may end up choosing this for our wedding after all!
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Wente Vineyards
Open Daily 11 am - 4:30 pm
925-456-2400 ~ Fax 925-456-2401
5050 Arroyo Rd. Livermore CA 94550
Recommended:
Yes
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