Wine tasting in the East Bay?

Wine tasting in the East Bay! It exists, it’s real, and it’s plentiful! Check out this image, shared by Anneta Tsapouklis of the Placer Title Company:

Those are all wineries in Livermore! That’s just a short jaunt down the freeway from Walnut Creek, and though you might not find Napa-level quality here, you’ll definitely find good value and still plenty of fun.

I have only been to Wente and that was to golf, so I might have to try some of these vineyards on a day off. I have also heard of a few people getting married at some of the venues. If you have any favorites, give me a shout out.

Also don’t miss the Wente Vineyards concert series, which has some legitimate names coming through the beautiful amphitheatre there: Daughtry, Matt Nathanson, and Styx to name a few. Who knew!

Road Trips: Livermore Outlets

Raise your hand if you love shopping! If you’re like me, and love to find the best deals, then you might like the outlets. I was not too keen on outlet shopping until my friend Maria (shopping queen) said you got to go to Livermore – so, we took a road trip and she introduced me to some higher end stores that I really liked. You could always go out to San Francisco to find some deals or pay top dollar, but why do that when Livermore is just down the highway from us?

Livermore is an easy, 25-minute drive from downtown Walnut Creek and has all the big retailers: Cole Haan, J. Crew, Michael Kors, Bloomigdales, Nike, Banana Republic and more. However I just focused on a unique few; All Saints, Zadig & Voltaire, Kate Spade and Tory Burch.

Obviously, Walnut Creek has its own awesome shopping, but not the ones I mentioned above. Livermore is a pretty cool East Bay city that will give you a new perspective and a new slate of stores to check out. And unlike some of my last few road trip posts, you can actually drive to this one!

Just head down 680 South to 580 east until you get to Livermore, the mall is on the right – big new buildings you can’t miss. You can literally spend the next full day shopping for clothes, home goods, food, drink, and more. Bring your walking shoes!

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Weimaraners & Real Estate

As I’ve expressed here before, my best moments as a realtor come when a client buys their dream home with my help. That happened recently, and the backstory is almost as cool as the moment they shared getting the keys!

I met Wilbur and Aimee through NorCal Weim Rescue, where I got my dog Bodie and occasionally foster dogs for them. At the time, Wilbur was renting and had two Weimaraner puppies (Roxie & Daisy), but the landlord just landscaped the backyard and did not want two big dogs in addition to their small one.

So he surrendered them to NorCal Weim Rescue, who did not want to split the dogs up and I fostered them – see pics below. Roxie was very dominant over her sister and even when they were at a trial run at another home she would growl at the husband, so that didn’t work. Then Wilbur’s landlord said he could have one dog back, he got Roxie the light Weimaraner pictured here and Daisy found her fur-ever home in Bishop. And they later got Jax, the Blue Weim

They knew I was an agent and I said if you ever decide to buy, let me know. A few years later, their landlord wanted to sell his house and called me up! They realized they couldn’t buy the house they were renting, so off we went looking in Livermore. After being in contract and finding the HOA only allowed two dogs, we were back in the hunt. Three offers later, lots of conversations with the lender, and perseverance by all is when Aimee and Wilbur landed a wonderful home and a great place for their fur babies!

Now, Wilbur, Aimee and Roxie (dog) (as well as Jax (dog #2) and Duke (dog #3 smallest with the biggest name) can happily call their Aspenwood house in Livermore home for many years to come!

April events to mark on your calendar!

Believe it or not, it’s already almost April! As the calendar turns from winter to spring, Diablo Magazine has provided a few awesome ideas for local events in the Bay Area next month.

Here are four of the best ones that I’m personally interested in going to:

The Naked Magicians: April 3rd at Livermore’s Bankhead Theater

An Australian duo who put on “the world’s naughtiest magic show,” complete with illusions and comedy. Adults only!

Bay Area Craft Beer Festival: April 22nd at Martinez waterfront

More than 50 local breweries, live music and food trucks from all over the East Bay? Yes, please!

Diablo Trails Challenge: April 15th at Mt. Diablo

You can choose from a 5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon and a 50K. Partial proceeds go to Save Mount Diablo!

Monet: The Early Years: Through May 29th at Legion of Honor (San Francisco)

You can get a cool perspective on Claude Monet’s early period of work, covering his evolution to Impressionism at the SF Legion of Honor.

Leave a comment if you know any other fun things to do next month!

Where to See Fireworks in Contra Costa County this Weekend

For the 24 years I have lived in Walnut Creek, there have been no public 4th of July fireworks displays. According to the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, fireworks are illegal in the county, so good luck trying to put on your own show!

However, you can buy fireworks in Alameda County – Dublin is not that far away – but with the drought, the law is probably a good thing to abide by.

Luckily, some cities close by are shooting off fireworks, so grab a spot on a hill, go to the location itself, or maybe a friend has a bird’s eye view from their house:

Antioch – Contra Costa Fairgrounds (Dusk)
Benicia – Benicia City Park (9:00 p.m.)
Berkeley – Berkeley Marina (9:30 p.m.)
Concord – Mt. Diablo High School & Todos Santos Plaza (9:00 p.m.)
Livermore – Downtown (Dusk)
Martinez – Waterfront (9:30 p.m.)
Moraga – Moraga Country Club (Dusk)
Pittsburg – Pittsburg Marina (Dusk)
Pleasant Hill – College Park High School & Pleasant Hill Country Club (9:10 p.m.)
Pleasanton – Alameda County Fairgrounds (9:30 p.m.)
Richmond – Marina Bay Park (9:15 p.m.)
San Ramon – Central Park (9:30 p.m.)

Have a safe, happy 4th of July!

Livermore Valley Wineries

In a follow-up to my post “East Bay Booze Boom,” I thought I’d write about the amazing wine scene that’s also blossoming in the Livermore Valley.

I have toured there several times and always find the wines to be delicious, the sites beautiful, and the people friendly. And it’s so close to home!

Although wine has been cultivated in Livermore since the 19th century, it has only recently started to gain popularity. Wente Vineyards has long been the largest producer in the Livermore Valley, making around 700,000 cases of wine annually.

The region has a predominately gravel-based soil and lies on a unique east-west orientation, unlike many other wine-growing valleys. Due to a reliable onshore afternoon/evening breeze off of the Bay, there is a wide fluctuation in temperature between sites, making the growing conditions similar to St. Helena or Calistoga.

The Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association has a great website that allows you to research different wineries, and plan a self-guided tour through the wine county. To the right is a list of some of the top wineries in the region.

Another great way to explore the area is on the Livermore Wine Trolley! This trolley is the newest way to explore wineries throughout the Livermore Valley.

They offer an all-inclusive wine tour, where you will be transported through lush rolling hills, beautiful canyons, and award-winning wineries. You can also book the trolley for your group’s own private charter.

One other perk of staying local for your wine tasting tour is that the prices are much more affordable than those in Napa. For example, the top-rated wine tasting in Livermore on Yelp is at Bent Creek Winery.

There, you can pay a $10 tasting fee to try 11 of their wines, and then even apply that $10 towards the purchase of a bottle!

You don’t have to go all the way up to Sonoma, Napa or Healdsburg to get quality California wine anymore.

If you’re living in the East Bay, you can make an easy day trip out to Livermore with your friends to sip on some unique, local wine.

If you have been to any of these Livermore wineries, let us know how your experience was!