Wine Wednesday - Livermore Wine Tasting

I have some friends who live out in Livermore and have been constantly talking up visiting the wineries out there. It's definitely something I'd been wanting to do and with my recent series of "Lesser Known Wine Countries" I figured I could visit my friends, see some new wineries, and report back on one more county where you can try some amazing wines.

Fenestra Winery

I could probably right this whole post on Fenestra Winery. If Jackie didn't take me to so many amazing wineries, I probably would write this whole post on Fenestra. I might have to come back just to write a whole post on Fenestra. The fact of the matter is - they have amazing wines and a lot to choose from. I really love exploring wines that are unique varietals and made well. Fenestra excels on both fronts, offering a lot of Spanish and Portuguese grapes as well as a few Rhone varietals. There are few things I didn't like in their vast portfolio so I'm just going to mention a few of my favorites.

The 2010 Infared is the Fenestra GSM (43% Grenache, 39% Syrah, 18% Mourvedere). It was extremely well balanced and fruit forward. The wine also comes in a magnum size and they let you taste both. The magnum will develop slower and you can taste some more of the robust flavor since it hasn't settled as quickly. The magnum would definitely be what you would want to purchase if you are planning on aging the wine for a long time. 

The Dolce Francesca was another really interesting wine. This was a dessert wine but wasn't as syrupy as many I've seen. Instead the flavor was light and peachy with a hint of honey. 

And if you don't believe me in regards to Fenestra... they won an award or two!

Tenuta Vineyards

Well, it just wouldn't be a fun post without a gif. I really do love when Dan takes a bunch of pictures and Google gifs them for me because if a picture is worth a thousand words, a gif is worth a million. I'm sure there's some science behind that... yea... science!!!

Now that we're all happy about gifs, let's talk about wine! Tenuta has a wide portfolio of wines but they really excel in their blends. I always think blends are where wine makers have a chance to shine. Since you never know exactly how the grapes will turn out, a blend is a great way to bring together different varietals and a good wine maker will make the whole better than the sum of its parts. This was definitely the case at Tenuta and I suggest tasting straight to the blends if you visit. 

Tenuta was also the only winery that had a TV and sports playing in the background. This made the boys very happy. The owner's boyfriend even showed them to a room with a projector TV and beer tasting. It was definitely a great way for everyone to be happy!

Eight Bridges Brewery

I don't drink beer very often anymore. I used to go to beer tastings a ton but I noticed that it never sat well with me so I basically cut it out. However, Jackie planned a fun trip to a brewery so I thought I'd have a tasting as well. I loved the Twisted Red and the O’Beardsley’s Stout. The Stout especially had a wonderful chocolate and coffee flavor that was amazing.

We had a great trip to Livermore and I'd love to go back and check out even more of the great wineries out there.