SAUNTER INTO A WINERY... on most days of the year and you're bound to see knowledgeable staffers wielding bottles and chatting up oenophiles while other visitors browse the gift shop for logo-rocking glasses and elegant wine stoppers. Saunter into a Livermore-close winery during the Harvest Wine Celebration and you're bound to see all of those things, plus lots more. The "lots more" might include a reserve tasting, or a tour, or some live music, or some food pairings, or all of the above. It's one of the oldest of the Livermore libation parties, and the two-dayer is ready to roll for another Labor Day Weekend. But note that the festivity, which is organized by the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association, does not take place on that traditional day of prime wine-tasting, Saturday, but rather on the Sunday and Monday of the holiday weekend. In 2016 that's...
SEPT. 4 AND 5... and there's a $45 pre-sale afoot (just secure your ticket ahead of noon on Saturday, Sept. 3 to score that deal). Cuda Ridge Wines, Las Positas Vineyards, Concannon Vineyard, Longevity Wines, and a few dozen other regional winemakers are on the sizable roster, one that probably couldn't be completed over a two-day span (perhaps if you just popped your head in the door at each to say hello). This means you'll want to confer with your fellow celebration goers as to what places you'd like to try, and map out your day, or days, from there. Are there discounts, too, if you want to leave with that cab you mooned over? Yes. Is there a commemorative glass, too, to remind you of the 35th annual Harvest Wine Celebration? That, dear Livermore lovers, is absolutely a part of your ticket. Find out more now.
