What in the Wild, Wild, World of Wine is Goin on Here?
You probably will catch my tone of voice in this article. I'm mad! I live in the East Bay of San Francisco. Really close to the Livermore Valley Wine Country.
Livermore Vineyards Fall '08
This is a beautiful area with nearly 50 wineries, rolling hills, golf courses galore, restaurants, shopping etc. Its only a 15 minute cab ride from the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station. Yet, I just read an article from a tour company based in San Francisco that says, 'After mentioning Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, most would likely run out of names to offer when attempting to identify California’s wine country regions. There are numerous other pockets throughout the state that produce equally fine wines and contribute as significantly to wine derived revenue. One such region is Lodi'.
Lodi! I have nothing against Lodi. I know that Lodi does have quite a few very nice wineries, and they are producing grapes that most wineries throughout the state use to blend with their own grapes. But why is it that they would recommend Lodi over say, Livermore? My answer is because Lodi has a great wine support group. The Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission is a great asset to all the Lodi Wineries. They list 36 wineries that have tasting rooms and then about 16 that don't have tasting rooms. They also list other things to do while in Lodi (which I feel is important, see www.vicivino.com/winecountry.aspx). Near Lodi there is the Vino Piazza, (The Winery Plaza). This is a common tasting place with over 10 wineries and 75 wines at one convenient location. Within the plaza each winery is independently owned and operated, and has its own tasting schedule. I give kudos to the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission, they do a fantastic job at promoting themselves, the wineries, and the city of Lodi.
On the otherhand what does Livermore have? Besides over 40 wineries within a 3 mile radius and all that I mentioned above; there is also Livermore's two largest wineires, Wente and Concannon, who just celebrated their 150th anniversaries! Livermore has the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association to be their voice, their marketing company. This association lists 42 wineries currently and it is organized with a map so you can see where they are located and how to reach them. The problem with the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association is they don't have much else. They do have quite a number of events every year, some that include the downtown association also. But they need to learn to market outside of their own community. Livermore wineries need to get the credit and recognition they deserve. Why don't the tour companies in San Francisco have information on Livermore to recommend? Livermore is only 40 miles from San Francisco while Lodi is over 100 miles. I think that Livermore has a good thing going for them, but if they aren't careful, tourists will be more interested in going to Lodi instead. I think that the wine owners of Livermore need to take a part with this issue and either help with the marketing or pull out of advertising with the association and advertise elsewhere.
This is a beautiful area with nearly 50 wineries, rolling hills, golf courses galore, restaurants, shopping etc. Its only a 15 minute cab ride from the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station. Yet, I just read an article from a tour company based in San Francisco that says, 'After mentioning Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, most would likely run out of names to offer when attempting to identify California’s wine country regions. There are numerous other pockets throughout the state that produce equally fine wines and contribute as significantly to wine derived revenue. One such region is Lodi'.
Lodi! I have nothing against Lodi. I know that Lodi does have quite a few very nice wineries, and they are producing grapes that most wineries throughout the state use to blend with their own grapes. But why is it that they would recommend Lodi over say, Livermore? My answer is because Lodi has a great wine support group. The Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission is a great asset to all the Lodi Wineries. They list 36 wineries that have tasting rooms and then about 16 that don't have tasting rooms. They also list other things to do while in Lodi (which I feel is important, see www.vicivino.com/winecountry.aspx). Near Lodi there is the Vino Piazza, (The Winery Plaza). This is a common tasting place with over 10 wineries and 75 wines at one convenient location. Within the plaza each winery is independently owned and operated, and has its own tasting schedule. I give kudos to the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission, they do a fantastic job at promoting themselves, the wineries, and the city of Lodi.
On the otherhand what does Livermore have? Besides over 40 wineries within a 3 mile radius and all that I mentioned above; there is also Livermore's two largest wineires, Wente and Concannon, who just celebrated their 150th anniversaries! Livermore has the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association to be their voice, their marketing company. This association lists 42 wineries currently and it is organized with a map so you can see where they are located and how to reach them. The problem with the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association is they don't have much else. They do have quite a number of events every year, some that include the downtown association also. But they need to learn to market outside of their own community. Livermore wineries need to get the credit and recognition they deserve. Why don't the tour companies in San Francisco have information on Livermore to recommend? Livermore is only 40 miles from San Francisco while Lodi is over 100 miles. I think that Livermore has a good thing going for them, but if they aren't careful, tourists will be more interested in going to Lodi instead. I think that the wine owners of Livermore need to take a part with this issue and either help with the marketing or pull out of advertising with the association and advertise elsewhere.
Posted by Wine Travels With Lori at 3/18/2009 3:44 PM 
Categories: livermore lodi wineries
Tags: livermore wine lodi winegrowers association central valley wine touring wineries
Categories: livermore lodi wineries
Tags: livermore wine lodi winegrowers association central valley wine touring wineries
This is very interesting. I too wouldn't think to recommend Lodi over Livermore if one is visiting San Francisco. I hope that the Livermore Wine Growers Association gets their act together.
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The Tri-Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau is a great resource for Livermore Valley Wine Country. www.trivalleycvb.com. We are the destination marketing organization for the entire region. And, we do all of our advertising & public relations efforts outside of the Tri-Valley.
I encourage all wineries to be actively involved in BOTH organizations in order to elevate the Livermore Wine Country profile.
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