From Our Family To Yours

Holiday Recipes & Wine Pairings from the Livermore Valley Wine Community

The holidays are a time for gathering, sharing, and celebrating the flavors and traditions that make each family unique. This season, three Livermore Valley wineries—McGrail Vineyards and Winery, Concannon Vineyard, and Occasio Winery—invite you to their family tables with recipes straight from their kitchens, thoughtfully paired with the perfect Livermore Valley Wine. From cozy starters to cherished family sides and the main event, these dishes bring warmth, nostalgia, and the perfect pour to every holiday celebration. Read More

Wine & Food Pairings with our Signature Varietals for Your Easter Celebration

Easter is a time for family, friends, and of course, great food and wine. Whether you’re hosting a big family dinner or enjoying a more intimate gathering, the right wine can elevate your meal and create unforgettable memories. Here are some top wine and food pairings that feature incredible Livermore Valley Wine signature varietals Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, and classic Easter dishes that are sure to impress your guests and make this celebration truly special. Read More

Cheese, Please! The Ultimate Wine and Cheese Pairings for Your Next Picnic

Cheese, Please! The Ultimate Wine and Cheese Pairings for Your Next Picnic

Attention wine and cheese lovers! In the scenic Livermore Valley Wine Region, renowned for its diverse terroir and exceptional wines, discovering the ideal combinations of local wines and cheese is a sensory journey worth embarking on. We have partnered with The Cheese Parlor’s own cheesemonger extraordinaire, Brandon Wood, to put together the perfect wine and cheese pairings for the ideal spring picnic. Join us as we explore these perfectly crafted pairings that will elevate your picnic experience and introduce you to some of Livermore Valley’s award-winning wines. Picture yourself surrounded by sweeping vineyards and majestic hills, indulging in a curated selection of Livermore Valley Wine and artisanal cheeses. Let’s explore four exceptional pairings that will elevate your picnic and leave you wanting more.  Read More

Spring Recipe Pairings

Looking for some new Spring dishes to try at home? A handful of Livermore Valley’s wineries have put together their favorite Spring food and wine pairings to share with you! Whether it’s breakfast, dinner or dessert we’ve got you covered for your next home-cooked meal and the perfect wine to enjoy with it. Read More

The Chefs Tell All

With Taste Our Terroir less than a month away we sat down with a few of the participating restaurants to hear about what makes for the perfect pairing and what trials and tribulations they endured as they started their careers.

Let’s start with the Quest for Food and Wine Pairing Excellence on Thursday night.  This event brings 18 winery and restaurant teams together to compete for five awards.  So what makes a pairing perfect?  Sabio on Main says that they aim for the wine and food to really cooperate and have a long, memorable finish.  Salt Craft claims that the trick is to make a connection between the local food and wine.  Johnny Garlics is excited to knock some socks off with bold flavors while Beets Hospitality aims for simplicity and clean flavors saying that food and wine should be fun, having too many things going on can confuse the palette.  No one sums up this event better than The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards: I don’t think that the Bay Area wine community gives Livermore Valley the recognition it deserves, so for me, this event does just that.

Now that we’re all dying to know what these chefs have up their sleeves (sorry you’ll have to wait until Thursday night to discover their actual pairings). Let’s discover how these culinary teams got to where they are today.

About 20 years ago I was working at a very busy seafood restaurant that had an open kitchen.  As I watched the people pour in, I thought that I had gotten off hook because I was not getting any orders.  It turns out that my ticket printer was not turned on.  That was the longest set of tickets I had ever seen.  – Salt Craft Read More

Chef and Owner David Lawrence of 1300 Fillmore

We are always excited to have new restaurants participate in Taste Our Terroir. We couldn’t be more curious to try 1300 Fillmore’s executive chef and owner David Lawrence’s pairing with Longevity Wines. David grew up in London with Jamaican parents, was French-trained and southern-inspired. So you know the food will be as dynamic as he is. His San Francisco restaurant is a testament to fresh food that brings an experience of warmth, vibrancy and a sense of belonging to its guests. Here we learn more about his inspiration and the man behind the iconic restaurant.

1)      When did you first know you wanted to be a chef? Read More

Chef Chris Corey of Underdog Wine Bar and Lounge

Chef Chris Corey has lived in eight different states and worked every position possible in the restaurant industry. His experience in wine bars, catering companies, family restaurants and bars has brought him to his newest position as the Executive Chef of Underdog Wine Bar and Lounge. Now he is enjoying the view and the bountiful produce of the Livermore Valley Wine Country terroir. His experimentation and passion for the quality of the vegetables, grapes, meats, and seafood that comes from the area is sure to shine at this year’s Taste Our Terroir and we are anxiously awaiting to taste.

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 When did you first know you wanted to be a chef? Read More

Chef and Owner Eduardo Posada of Posada Restaurant

The guy behind the hottest new restaurant in town is no newbie to the Livermore Valley dining scene. Posada’s Catering has been serving his delicious food at Livermore Valley wineries since they opened in 2005. With all of Eduardo’s catering popularity, it is no surprise he has opened a new Southwestern-themed restaurant. It is one of the only restaurants of its kind in the Bay Area. Here we discuss his inspiration and experience.

1) When did you first know you wanted to be a chef?

At the age of 25 I had my first chance to work along Frank D’Angelo and Richard Olivero. Frank was an Italian chef with a lot of knowledge and knows many shortcuts in preparing food. Richard showed me the Southwestern flair, he had great presentation but lacked flavor.

This is when I realize I could do this and could always go to my mom for a point of reference in her flavoring.

2) What is terroir to you?

The DNA of the land. When you have good soil you will get good grapes, good vegetables and so on.

3) Favorite pairing?

I feel that all my food is very wine friendly, my cuisine is pretty balance. I have learned to get the flavors of the food without cooking too spicy.  My approach in pairing is complementing and contrasting the three elements wine and food have in common, Weight, texture and flavors

4) What is the biggest challenge in food and wine pairing?

Pairing a wine that is not ready to be open. This is where you will need to add, subtract or substitute an ingredient from a complete dish.

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Red or White? Read More

Chef and Owner Rachael Zavala of The Compass Star

 

It is not every day that you meet a meat specialist or charcutier. Especially not one with as much passion like Rachael Zavala. Her love for food is apparent in every house made product at her Martinez restaurant, The Compass Star. Zavala made her Taste Our Terroir debut at last year’s event, and was not afraid to be innovative with a smoked beef brisket, topped with mashed sunchokes and Mascarpone cheese served in a parmesan cone. We are excited to see what creation she will craft this year with her partners from Dante Robere Vineyards. Here we discuss Gourmet Magazines, meat and of course pairings.

 

 

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When did you first know you wanted to be a chef? Read More