** Detailed information compiled by ViciVino.com staff

Livermore Valley: the Rodney Dangerfield of California wine regions. No respect. But Livermore Valley does deserve your respect. Located in Alameda County, in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, Livermore Valley is actually the oldest commercial wine producing region in California. In 2008, Wente Wineyards celebrated its 125th anniversary as a family-owned, continuously operating winery. It was a Livermore winery that won America’s first international gold medal for wine in 1889.

Livermore Valley is trying pretty hard to earn our respect now, and doing it with fun wine tasting experiences and very good wines. At less than an hour’s drive from San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Livermore Valley is easily accessible for that day trip to the wine country. And it has the other amenities: great restaurants, hotels, spas, golf and other activities for the whole family. Bring your children, hit a couple of wineries, and then finish up at the Shadow Cliffs water park. Or play a round of golf in the morning at Poppy Ridge (Chardonnay, Merlot, Zinfandel courses), then go chat with a winemaker about the award-winning wine they’re producing. We’re running out of fingers, but 8 regulation golf courses plus 2 executive 9-hole courses should give you some options.

The east-west orientation of Livermore Valley enables cooling of the valley by fog and breezes from San Francisco Bay. Changes of 30 degrees from high to low are not unusual for Livermore. This geography and climate allows almost every varietal to grow well in the valley. Cabernet and Chardonnay, Petit Sirah and Tempranillo, Zinfandel and more grown in over 5,000 acres of vineyards in the Livermore Valley appellation. Explore picturesque canyons, hand-crafted wines and California’s winemaking history on a visit to the Livermore Valley wine country.