Livermore Wine Trolley: An afternoon of sipping, singing and so much more

Who knew an outdoor food and wine tasting assignment would involve singing Tupac and Lou Bega songs with a gaggle of new friends?

But there I was, aboard the heated, vintage-style Livermore Wine Trolley, chanting “California Love” as it boomed in time with the trolley’s LED lights and bonding over breakups with a 30-something from Danville. We’d just departed Las Positas Vineyards, an award-winning winery on Wetmore Road, where we tasted a flight of five delectable wines paired with nibbles curated by the winery’s executive chef.

(In warm weather, many wineries offer tastings on the patio, making this an outdoor adventure of the most civilized variety — but on this very wintry Sunday, we’re grateful to be indoors!)

The $149-tour, which includes three winery stops and a designated driver, Fernando, who had the presence and panache you’d expect from a former San Francisco 49ers announcer, offers a fresh, deep-dive into a wine-growing region many Bay Area locals take for granted. I live 35 minutes from this historic valley and feel I know it well. I’m regularly in town to interview a winemaker, pick up a bottle, judge a wine competition. Heck, I got married at a Livermore winery.

But even for me, a progressive tasting of 14 wines from three different estates, including the landmark Concannon Vineyard, allows one to sit back and get reacquainted with Livermore Valley’s terroir. It also showed me how far the wines have come, especially after sampling newer varietals being grown in this valley, including verdelho and cabernet franc.

We started this particular chilly day huddled among the forklifts and stainless steel tanks at Garré Vineyard & Winery, a family-owned winery on Tesla Road. The winter rains had turned the hills from golden brown to moss green, and morning fog still hung above the winery’s estate vineyards.

As we sipped glasses of off-dry sparkling, Garré guide Martel explained how owner-winemaker Bob Molinaro grew up in San Francisco watching his Italian dad and uncles make red wine from grapes hauled in from Napa Valley. He started the winery in the 1990s as a tribute to that legacy. Perhaps that planted a seed, but the soft, plummy sangiovese and estate-grown primitivo were definitely singing during our tasting. Then again, so were we.

It was the most formal of the three tasting experiences that day. Inside the winery’s cozy barrel room, my trolley mates and I sat four to a table and were asked not to skip ahead in the lineup of five wines and accompanying two-bite nibbles. We were just getting to know each other, and the teacher-like vibe elicited shared giggles over sips of a spicy, impressive 2016 syrah.

Martel did a fine job explaining each varietal’s character and encouraging us to go back and try different wines with the tomato basil soup, grilled vegetable flatbread and other foods. “Don’t let us tell you what to think,” she said. “Find out what you like.”

The ding-ding of the trolley told us it was time to move on. Martel, who gave us a 10 percent discount on Garre’s already well-priced ($30-$35) wines, kindly offered to hold our bottles until we returned at the end of the tour.

As we took our seats, Fernando prepped us on the next winery, Las Positas Vineyards, just five miles east. Owned by Lisa and Lothar Maier, the Las Positas estate is planted to 17 acres of vines, including barbera, merlot, tempranillo, verdelho, chardonnay and mourvedre. The winery recently unveiled a new full-service lounge where chef Curt Pipes offers seasonal flatbreads and other wine-friendly nibbles. They also have live music.

For our visit, he prepared individual platters of red pepper hummus, crudites and a proprietary olive blend made with dried chiles grown in Livermore. A tower of five wines greeted each of us as we took our seats inside a homey private room. We loved this tasting. Not only were the wines stellar, but the format was relaxed.

“This is how the winemaker (Brent Amos) and I like to taste,” he said. “Go at your own pace, switch up the order and have fun.”

An attendant, Sebastian, was there to answer any questions we had but otherwise let us explore, compare notes and, most importantly, continue our very important shoulder-shimmying and riveting trolley conversations.

By the time we arrived at Concannon Vineyards, we’d reined in our irreverence, as befits this iconic, 138-year-old winery. The tasting, held inside the massive warehouse barrel room at tables flanked by towering French oak barrels, consisted of four prestigious wines, including the legendary 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Mother Vine.

This wine, with its bold raspberry notes and silky-smooth tannins, was the star of the day. And hearing the Concannon story again, inside the dimly lit barrel room, served as a reminder of Livermore’s legacy.

As the story goes, founder James Concannon imported cabernet vines from Bordeaux’s Chateaux Margaux when he started the winery. He became one of the first winemakers in the state to make cabernet sauvignon. And in 1965, his grandson, Jim, worked with UC Davis to develop virus-resistant vines, called Clones 7, 8 and 11, to keep the legacy alive. Today, an estimated 80 percent of all California cabernet sauvignon comes from these Concannon Clones.

We pondered this as we boarded the trolley heading back to Garre, sang our hearts out to Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…) — one fellow rider danced in the trolley aisle — and hugged our new friends goodbye.

If You Go

Livermore Wine Trolley: The Sip and Savor Wine Pairing Tour is $149 a person and offered at 11 or 11:30 a.m. Saturday-Sunday. The tour lasts four hours. Food, tastings and transportation are included. Reservations required; www.livermorewinetrolley.com

Garre Vineyard & Winery: Opens at 11 a.m. Thursday-Sunday, with appointment-only tastings available Wednesdays at 7986 Tesla Road, Livermore; www.garrewinery.com.

Los Positas Vineyards: Opens at 1 p.m. Friday and noon on weekends at 1828 Wetmore Road, Livermore. Reservations required; www.laspositasvineyards.com

Concannon Vineyards: Opens 11:30 a.m. Thursday-Monday at 4590 Tesla Road, Livermore. Walk-ins welcome at the bar. Seated tastings require reservations; www.concannonvineyard.com