Eight Bridges Brewing - Livermore

4/5 stars

GIANT Jenga! That's what we saw right when we walked through the door. How can a place not be awesome with giant Jenga? And indoor cornhole? And Yahtzee? AND PUPPIES?!

Puppies and beer. It's just... it's just... it's fluffy, hoppy awesomeness.

Oh, and have you ever heard a tower of giant Jenga blocks fall? It's quite impressive. Like thunder in a bottle.

3 Steves Winery - Livermore

3/5 stars

3 Steves was super friendly, but the wine wasn't as tasty as what we'd get in Sonoma or Healdsburg. I'm also not usually a fan of non-champagne houses making champagne... it's not easy! There was a brut, white wine blend (not bad), chardonnay, three cabs blend, chilean blend (this was pretty good), younger vine zin, "Three Brunettes" blend, merlot, cab franc, cab sauv, and a port. Even though the wines weren't our style, we still enjoyed the $10 tasting and sitting outside, breathing in the clean air and watching the hawks fly across the green hills...

A nice place to celebrate Valentine's Day :)

Altamont Beer Works - Livermore

4/5 stars

Altamont was FUN. Very chill with attentive staff despite the crowd. We found a nice spot at the bar and chatted with regulars while sipping super hoppy beer. We tried the Hella Lite, Rich Mahogany, Shot Away IPA, New Kids on the Hops, Ganja Juice, and the Something New stout. Hoppy is not my style, but the Ganja is worth a try. I'd go back for the Berry White: a summer wheat/cream ale brewed with pale malt and white wheat; finished with natural blackberries...

Wente Vineyards - Livermore

2/5 stars

Valentine's Day weekend, hubby and I decided to discover Livermore. Did you know Livermore has craft breweries? Did you know Livermore has wineries?

WHO KNEW?!

So we started our adventure with Wente. It. Was. Packed! I think the staff was overwhelmed. We were overwhelmed. So instead of doing a tasting, we escaped the crowds and ordered 2 glasses of wine (the sauvignon blanc and the riesling) and walked the property. It was HUGE. Very mission-style. Unfortunately, the white wine was served warm (ick) and was either bland (the sauv blanc) or syrupy sweet (the riesling).

We left uninspired...

Onward!

Clif Family Winery at Velo Vino - St. Helena

5/5 stars

This place was very special. And, it was FUN.

Super friendly staff.

EXCELLENT wine.

Laid-back atmosphere.

Bruschetta food truck.

We accidentally "crashed" the rose of grenache launch party. All our wine was paired with yummy snacks. It is, HANDS DOWN, the BEST rose I've ever had. If you think you don't like rose, you should try this "ballet slipper" rose. It's extremely lovely and the prettiest pink. Bright, with aromas of pear, mandarin, and watermelon Jolly Rancher, I am kicking myself for not buying another bottle. We're just going to have to go back.

Laura, the winemaker, spent time with us and we enjoyed speaking to her. She speaks like a teacher. She's wonderful.

We went home with half a case! Including the rose, the gewuztraminer (dry! which is the best way to have gewuzt so it's not too syrupy sweet), and the sauvignon blanc (a treat of peach)! We also tried the prochetta bruschetta and the arancini. The bruschetta (Long and Bailey Farms pig, garden herbs, red onion, aioli, and parmesan) was awesome, but the honeynut squash arancini stole the show. It tasted like macaroni and cheese! We would've ordered more if we didn't have dinner reservations at Ad Hoc ;)

Honestly, I would've signed up to be a club member if we lived closer to attend the parties!