Bold red from Forbes-featured hidden-gem wine region
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
2021 Primrose Trail Red Blend Proprietor’s Select Grand Reserve Livermore Valley 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
This Could Have Been Napa…
There are two groups of people who are deeply familiar with the wines of the Livermore Valley: historians, and wine lovers hell-bent on getting maximum value for their red-wine dollar.
The area is one of California’s oldest important wine-growing regions, with an arid climate that features warm days balanced by cool nights: A perfect environment for growing lush, powerful reds. But despite publications like Forbes writing articles like “Why You Should Explore the Wines of the Livermore Valley,” the region still flies under the radar.
Barely half an hour from the urban bustle of Oakland, Livermore has seemed a likely candidate to be the next Napa or Sonoma for a long time now. And, indeed, if you were a post-Gold Rush socialite in the swinging San Francisco of the 1880s, the finest wines on your table would likely have borne names like Wente or Concannon—Livermore Valley pioneers.
Vintners realized that the climate of the Livermore Valley was perfect for growing grapes like Zinfandel and Petite Sirah—and later Cabernet and Merlot—as the warm days advanced ripeness while the cool, bay-influenced evening weather kept acidity fresh. That allows for long hangtimes, which are essential for bold, dark red wines.
In fact, the first California wine to win an award at a major French wine competition wasn’t from Napa, but from Livermore’s Cresta Blanca winery, in 1889. Without the intercession of Prohibition, it’s possible that tourists would be flocking to the east side of the San Francisco Bay instead of the north. But thanks to the 18th Amendment, Livermore remains a sleepy grape-growing community, and a treasure trove of value.