Shenandoah Valley Wine Region
Even though Bryan and I are opening a winery, we still enjoy visiting various wine regions and drinking other wines. We love the diversity in wine, the various methods used by winemakers and the intricate details that make each wine unique in its own way. We currently have a total of 9 wine producers here in East Contra Costa County which represent our area very well. In Brentwood we have Nunn Family Vineyards, McCauley Estate Vineyards, Tamayo Family Vineyards, Hannah Nicole Vineyards and Bloomfield Vineyards. In Oakley we have Favalora Vineyards Winery, in Knightsen we have Petersen Vineyards, in Byron we have Campos Family Vineyards and Martinez we have Viano Vineyards. We love all that our local wineries have to offer, however, we also enjoy taking a drive to other winery regions and enjoy those wines as well.
We recently visited Shenandoah Valley which is located in Plymouth, California, approximately 1 1/2 hours from the Brentwood area (Contra Costa County). The winery we make certain to visit each time we make the trip is Wilderotter Vineyard. Although we enjoy all their wines, my most favorite is their beautiful citrus aromatic, crisp easy drinking white wine named “Vermentino”. Bryan and I were first introduced to this wine when we stayed the weekend to celebrate my birthday at their Grand Reserve Inn located on the property. In fact, we loved it so much we decided to plant the Vermentino Varietal at our winery. Knowing the terroir in Shenandoah is quite different than the terroir in our area, we are confident we can still make a fabulous wine with this varietal. In addition to Vermentino they have a tasty list of reds, whites and bubbly. Shelly went above and beyond in ensuring our experience was nothing less than memorable.
There are over 40 wineries located in this beautiful region. I recommend taking a drive, enjoy the scenery and embrace the tasty wines that are produced in this area. Truly makes for a great little get away.
The 49er campground is a great place to stay if you want to camp for the weekend.
Salud!
