Wente Vineyards & Wente Estate Winery

Two Historic Livermore Valley Wine Tasting Rooms

There are two Wente tasting rooms. The Wente Estate Winery on Tesla Road is where the wine is produced. Here visitors can taste as well as tour winemaking facilities. This is also the location of the Tamás Estates (Wente owned) wine tasting room.

The other tasting room is Wente Vineyards in the historic Cresta Blanca Winery buildings out on Arroyo Road, one of Livermore Valley’s beautiful spots.

Rolling hills, vineyards, massive oaks—this is the setting for Wente’s upscale restaurant; Greg Norman-designed golf course; a Spanish-Colonial event center; barrel caves, and Wente’s celebrated concert series.

Nationally renown, Wente has been a powerful force in Livermore’s winemaking evolution.

Carl Heinrich Wente, an immigrant circa 1870 from Hanover, Germany, worked for Charles Krug in Napa Valley.

Finding Livermore Valley a premier growing region, Carl bought forty-seven acres in 1883 and produced bulk wines. He sold them to Beaulieu Vineyards, Gundlach-Bundschu in Sonoma and Italian Swiss Colony. These wines won gold medals at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, but Wente received no recognition.

The Wentes planted the first Chardonnay vines in California in 1916. They created a Wente Brothers label in 1918, but didn’t release a Wente-labeled wine until after Prohibition. And they survived Prohibition by producing 30,000 gallons of sacramental wine a year, and by starting a cattle-and-hay business.

Five generations of Wentes have continued making premier wines sold throughout the U.S. and in more than 50 countries.

Fascinating Fact:

In 1912 Carl Wente visited southern France and brought cuttings from the wine school at the University of Montpellier to Livermore Valley. U.C. Davis selected Wente’s Chardonnay for its nursery-vineyard. Today, at least 70 percent—possibly 80 percent or more—of California’s Chardonnay vines are Wente clones.

Amenities: Wine clubs, tours, weddings/events, concerts, restaurant, golf course
Founded: 1883
Signature Wines: Riva Ranch Chardonnay, Louis Mel Sauvignon Blanc, Charles Wetmore 07 Cabernet
Wine Tasting:
     Estate Tasting Room: daily 11 – 4:30; free and paid flight tastings
     Vineyard Tasting Room: daily 11 – 6:30; tasting fee $5 and $10

Wente Estate Winery
5565 Tesla Road
Livermore, CA, 94550
925-456-2305

tastingroom@wentevineyards.com
www.wentevineyards.com

Wente Vineyards
5050 Arroyo Road
Livermore, CA, 94550
925-456-2405

tastingroom@wentevineyards.com
www.wentevineyards.com

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Sandy Sims, an award winning journalist, newspaper editor, and travel writer, also writes fiction.
Thomas C. Wilmer is an award-winning author and travel writer. His latest book; Wine Seeker's Guide to Livermore Valley is available from White Cloud Press or Amazon.com.

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