Wente Vineyard

What's a Livermore or Less?

Livermore, California is a small city of 70,000 plus, about 50 miles east of San Francisco. To get there from the Bay Area, one only needs to drive east on Interstate 580, up and over the East Bay's Hills through the Altamont Pass that is famous for a disastrous-but-free Rolling Stones Concert, commuter traffic, and electricity producing windmills. Mention Livermore and the first thing most people think of is Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, a place infamous for nuclear weaponry research dating back to the advent of the Cold War. Not interested in thermonuclear warheads? Then take note that Livermore is also known as wine country with more than a score of wineries, many of them historic. So, prior to its back and forth commuting traffic between California's Central Valley and the Bay Area, previous to its encroaching suburban sprawl and power malls, and long before Edward Teller and Ernest Lawrence founded LLNL in 1952, Livermore was known as a small agricultural community tucked away from the world in its own reclusive valley. Vines took root in the Valley in the mid-1800's. Later in 1883, C.H. Wente, a first generation German immigrant, came to Livermore and started his pioneering winery. Historically, this is one of the oldest wine regions in the Golden State. And although in the 1960's its neighbors to the north of San Francisco stole the limelight and notoriety, Livermore Valley is proud of it venerable viticulture history, both past and present.

Wente—the Wine Runs in the Family

One claim that Wente Vineyards shares with no one is the fact it is California's oldest, continuously owned and operated family winery. That means that no ubiquitous soft drink conglomerate bought them in the 1980's and ran them into the ground and sucked the life out of them. It means a Japanese Kabushiki Kaisha didn't buy them when they were flush with cash and confidence in the 1980's only to turn around and unload it in the 90's when their economic bubble popped and they learned that making wine was not like making beer or sake. It means a French company didn't own them and didn't erect a knock-off Château on the site which seems as appropriate as building a teepee in Bordeaux. No, it means that the Wente Vineyards is making wine with the fourth and fifth-generation of Wentes running the complete show. Collaboratively they manage vineyard, winery, and business operations. The proud Wente name is on their label and nobody else owns it or is responsible for it. The winery started with 46 acres in 1883 and with time has expanded to 2,000 acres in the AVA's of Livermore Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area with an additional 700 acres in Arroyo Seco of Monterey.

The Wente Wines

Wente offers multiple varietals within three designations:

Vineyard Selection

These are easy-quaffing and budget-accessible wines produced from selected estate vineyards from Wente's Livermore Valley and Arroyo Seco region. These varietals include the usual suspects.

• Chardonnay
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Riesling
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Merlot
• Syrah
• Zinfandel

Vineyard Reserve

A step up from the Vineyard Selection, the Reserve wines are from the winery's best single vineyards that reflect the character of both varietal and terroir.

• Charles Wetmore Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
• Crane Ridge Reserve Merlot
• Riva Ranch Reserve Chardonnay
• Reliz Creek Pinot Noir
• Smith Bench Reserve Zinfandel

The Nth Degree

Wente's winemaker, Karl, a fifth generation Wente, personally handcrafts small lots of special release wines that are scarce and only available through the winery's wine club. The Nth Degree wines are a throwback to earlier artisan-style production. From the vine to the barrel, this artisan-style involves meticulous hands-on work from the Livermore Valley vineyards to the winery, melding the ancient craft with modern technology to make unique wines with distinction. Small lots means that meticulous care by vineyard workers limits the grape clusters for the best quality and fruit concentration. Wines are produced in a separate area of the winery under careful management to ensure these special wines stand apart.

• The Nth Degree Chardonnay
• The Nth Degree Syrah
• The Nth Degree Merlot
• The Nth Degree Cabernet Sauvignon

Sustainable Agriculture Practice

Wente practices sustainable agriculture in their vineyard and operations. In principle, this practice seeks to preserve and protect their vineyards' environment. To do this, Wente recycles cover crops for use as fertilizer and nutrients as a renewable resource in the vineyards. They also encourage bio-diversity to help minimize the use of pesticides or herbicides only when necessary, and they work to conserve water runoff and control erosion. Their aim is to ensure that future Wente generations will also have a chance to continue in the family's winemaking legacy.

The Mega-Wente-Plex Experience

When people yearn for a California Wine Experience, they probably think of driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic up Napa Valley's Highway 29 towards Calistoga, stopping at wineries on the east side of the highway on the way up, and stopping at wineries on the west side on the way back. Or, they think of that Sideways movie and listening to that doofus Miles kvetch about his miserable existence while drinking Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara County. Most do not think of trekking to Livermore Valley. For many people, that's a good thing. The reason is when visiting at the Wente Estate Winery Tasting Room you won't wait behind people three-deep at the wine bar for a taste. Without the crowds, the Wente wine staff is low-key, helpful, friendly and actually happy to see you. But that's not all—Wente expanded their wine trip concept beyond a tour of the winery and a taste of their wines, there are other reasons to visit the Wente complex. First, there is a top-rated restaurant with a Wine Spectator's perennial Best Award of Excellence claim to fame. Not satisfied with indulging only a person's palate, Wente also owns a Greg Norman designed PGA golf course next to the vineyards. Wait, it gets more interesting, Wente also puts on summer concerts outdoors at their event center. Smartly, the winery also provides facilities for weddings, conferences, and corporate events. Actually, it might take some tricky maneuvering but, a perfect day might include an early morning round of golf at The Course, followed by lunch at the Wente Vineyards Restaurant, then on to the tasting room for a glass of something white and something red, after refreshment then a quick change to a tux and gown for a wine country wedding and reception, and finally wrapping up the full day with a concert and another glass of Wente. Perhaps it's a bit of self-indulgent sensory overload but it's an appealing challenge. Toast.