For those of you not going to Burning Man or spending the long weekend catching up on blog posts, consider heading up to wine country this holiday weekend. No, not that that wine country, the other one. I can’t even say that, there are way too many wine country regions around here, so I better be a bit more specific.

Livermore Valley is hosting its annual Harvest Wine Celebration, and this one appears to be the grandest yet.

Labor Day Weekend -Sunday & Monday, September 3 & 4, 2006 Noon – 5:00pm

It’s only one time a year, two days, 35 wineries, 30 open house locations all featuring wine tasting, live music, food for purchase and over 100 arts and crafts vendors! Oh, and there will be wine there too 😉

Here are a few of my personal favorites:
Stony Ridge Winery
The Steven Kent Winery
Tamás Estates
Wente Vineyards
White Crane Winery
Concannon Vineyard
Page Mill Winery
Murrieta’s Well

And for those of us that dare to judge a wine by its label, give these a shot:
Bodegas Aguirre Winery
Crooked Vine Winery
El Sol Vineyard

Livermore, like our neighbors in Gilroy, San Martin, Fremont, Santa Cruz, Lodi, and Amador, produce some of the most incredible wine on the market. If you have the time, make it happen. You’ll discover some incredible varietals, new wineries, great wine, and more importantly, incredible stories behind the wineries.

Here’s a breakdown of events:

LIVE MUSIC
Live music at every winery includes famous local bands such as Georgi and The Rough Week at Concannon, The Tom Rose Band at Fenestra, T Lane & the Nighthawks at Garré, The Hummingbirdz at Mitchell Katz, Hurricane at LVC, The Bacchus Brothers at Steven Kent, plus reggae to classic rock, acoustic guitar to rockabilly and good old blues.

FOOD
Enjoy every cuisine imaginable with food offerings that will tempt every palate, with Mexican to Mediterranean, Hawaiian style to house made hummus, Grape Stomp Salad to garlic fries, Prime Rib to Kalua pork sandwiches, plus ice cream, baklava, brownies and of course, BBQ.

DISPLAYS
Fine Art, Classic Cars, Winery History and much more.

SPECIAL TASTINGS
Special barrel tastings are available at almost every winery for a nominal fee.

TICKETS
2-Day
$35 in advance ($40 day of event) Includes entrance into winery open houses on both Sunday and Monday, wine tasting, commemorative wine glass, official program, live entertainment and courtesy bus shuttles between wineries

Monday only
$30 in advance or day of eventIncludes entrance into winery open houses on Monday, wine tasting, commemorative wine glass, official program, live entertainment and courtesy bus shuttles between wineries

Non-drinking/Designated Driver
$5 for two daysIncludes entrance into winery open houses for both days, official program, water, live entertainment and courtesy bus shuttles between wineries

For more information, follow this jump.

Send me an email if you’d like a few recommendations on each of the wineries…pr2point0 at gmail dot com.

Salud!

Tags: Stony Ridge Winery, The Steven Kent Winery, Tamás Estates, Wente Vineyards, White Crane Winery, Concannon Vineyard, Page Mill Winery, Murrieta’s Well, Bodegas Aguirre Winery, Crooked Vine Winery, El Sol Vineyard, Livermore, wine, Amador, lodi, Gilroy, san martin, solis