Livermore Wineries

Heading to the Pleasanton, CA for a business trip in a few weeks and have aafternoon to burn. Thinking of heading to Livermore area to taste at Concannon but wondering if there are any recommendations for another winery or two to visit. I am interested in the Underdog Wine Bar which is affiliated with Concannon but I am also looking for any recommendations for dinner restaurants. Thanks!

Can you expand a little on your wine & dining preferences?

Underdog Wine Bar is part of the “Underdog” marketing branch of The Wine Group, which is among the top 4 largest wine companies in the country. The only connection to Livermore is that they recently bought Concannon. What you’ll find there is a line of supermarket wines designed by a marketing group to appeal to young people - brands like Flip Flop and Cupcake. If there’s anything I could do to make this sound worse let me know and I’ll work on it.

I’d much more highly recommend hitting one of the 3 or so wine bars in downtown Livermore (either on the main strip i.e. 1st Street or in Blacksmith Square which is a block away). Also the 1st Street Wine Shop has a wine bar with organized tastings many nights:
http://www.wineco.com/events.asp

1st Street Wine Co by the way is a nice little family-run wine shop where you can find a really good selection of Livermore wines, as well as some other small production gems like Carlisle, Wind Gap, Denner, McPrice Meyers, etc. Not affiliated other than I’m a customer. Also, many downtown restaurants allow free corkage on your first bottle from 1st Street, so this gives you a really good selection, at retail price, for your dinner wine. Talk to 1st Street about which restaurants.

Be sure to check with wineries before visiting, as many of them are only open on weekends.

Thanks so much for the insight. I typically prefer reds but also enjoy white wines and I was primarily interested in Concannon because they were the only winery with which I have any knowledge (limited at that). I was not aware that Concannon had been purchased either. The fact that Concannon had weekday tasting hours posted on their site also made them a target. But if you have any specific wineries that you would recommend I consider please advise. I am more interested in quality wine over red vs. white. It is looking like my “afternoon to burn” is going to be a Monday so my options may be limited ro I may have to make an appointment or two.

Your help is much appreciated!

Ok, this made me laugh.

Concannon is pretty good, so I wouldn’t discourage you from going there.

Other places I’d recommend:
Cab - Nottingham, McGrail, Steven Kent, Retzlaff
Pinot - La Rochelle
Rhone - Thomas Coyne
Misc. Reds - Murrietta’s Well, Fenestra

Should be plenty, but I don’t know who’s open on Monday.

For dinner:

Terra Mia is the best Italian in town but it’s about a mile east of downtown, in a funny location in a strip mall. Strizzi’s is downtown, has good fish and decent pasta. Bruno’s is downtown is fairly mediocre pasta but good pizza. Strizzi’s and Bruno’s offer free corkage on your first bottle from 1st Street Wine Shop.

Uncle Yu’s is upscale Chinese that’s decent (if you can get into paying upscale $$$ for Chinese food). Zephyr Grill has a fancy atmosphere but IMO the kitchen isn’t up to the menu or the prices. Both these places have an upscale feel so we often bring business clients here.

Casa Orozoco is the best Mexican.

1st Street Ale House has the best beer and best bar fare.

Also you’ve got Dimitri’s (some kind of watered down Greek) Lemon Grass (Thai) Sansar (Indian) and Clay Oven (Indian) which are all decent.

Can 2nd these as well for wines and dinner. Uncle Yu’s (if it’s the same as Lafayette) will surprise you with it’s wine list. Only place I’ve seen Navarro and Dehlinger on the list in a chinese restaurant!

Have also really enjoyed the Kent and Coyne wines a few years back.

The only thing I have from Concannon is a coffee mug from 1995. Currently on a duct-tape handle life, but I’m not giving up. My favorite coffee cup.

Enjoy!

Is that the one I asked you about a couple of years ago by the fountain (I know, which fountain?)? I went to one by the fountain, but that doesn’t really sound familiar. The one I went to was very good and had a decent Riesling/ white list.

Ah yes, It was Uncle Yu’s. I looked it up in your epic Livermore thread.

http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35048&p=464308&hilit=Ah%2C+Livermore#p464308

My favorite thread until Fleming busted my light bulb myth

Uncle Yu’s does have a really nice wine list. Easily the best in town regardless of the restaurant’s ethnicity.

Thanks so much for the help! This site is great for many reasons but it’s the support from the users that make it the best.

Looking foreward to my visit.

We’ll be pulling through the East Bay on our way up to Yosemite (flying in from East Coast with first night in Sonora this coming Sunday), so I am thinking that a wine tasting stop in Livermore may be just the ticket. The First Street Wine store looks like a good stop for picking up a bottle or maybe even a decent boxed/bagged wine for hauling up into the backcountry. Any updates on the wine tasting scene in Livermore? Red are our interest. We’re pretty flexible, zins and rhone blends are usually appealing. Thanks for any input.

And in Pleasanton itself, The Wine Steward is a pretty decent wine shop, with its own upstairs wine bar. Haven’t been in a number of years, but a local friend of mine said it’s still a good place.

I’m probably not the best person to ask, since I drink next to no Livermore wine, but Concannon still makes good petite sirah, which is stylistically close to Rhone and zin. The adjacent Underdog Wine Bar has a pleasant, stylish vibe (especially the patio) but the service is lax. Not a problem if you’re chilling with a bottle and good conversation, but people should be aware. Food is good small plates, not outstanding, but wine friendly.

For other wineries, I like http://bentcreekwinery.com/ which has a syrah and petite sirah.

Uncle Yu’s is good, an outstanding list by the glass but also in halves. Terra Mia is good Italian, for Thai I like Lanna Thai north of town on Livermore Ave. If you like barbecue, try Sauced downtown, which also has good local beers. First Street Wine Company is still around, not cheap but a small, good selection of Livermore and other wines. There’s a couple of wine bars that I don’t know much about, Double Barrel and Winemaker’s Pourhouse.

All great advice! We often take guests to Bent Creek because they are reasonably priced and definitely crowd-pleasers. Maybe a little on the ripe side for wine geeks though.

I still stand by my posts earlier in this thread, with this new news:

Had a Concannon Reserve Petite Sirah 2009 a few weeks ago and it was start to finish all American Oak, complete disaster

Nottingham has opened a new label called Vasco Urbano to focus on Rhone varieties, and so far their releases are very encouraging, but pricey.

There’s an article here which talks about Vasco Urbano, as well as Caddis (who I haven’t tried yet) and Three Steves (which I don’t recommend):
http://palatepress.com/2014/05/wine/livermore-ascending-three-producers-watch/

Another promising new winery is Las Positas which is in Deer Ridge’s old building. I haven’t tasted there yet but did enjoy a Barbera at a larger tasting event. They’re on my list to try soon.

Also there’s been a microbrewery explosion - something like 5 or 6 new breweries, many offering tours & tastings.

A new restaurant we’ve been enjoying is Posada, on the south side (be careful because Google maps will land you about a block away) serving “contemporary southwestern cuisine”. Small place so can be difficult to get a seat, but they do take reservations and the food is great.
http://posadacatering.com/the-restaurant

Yep, every single Livermore wine is ripe by pretty much any standard, and severely overripe by some. That’s why I’m the wrong person to ask about Livermore wine… Thanks for the tip on Posada.

I think Posada is the place I’ve been meaning to try.

Definitely recommended!