Eagle Ridge Vineyard

Livermore Valley Tasting Room with Antiques

Turning right off Tesla Road onto a dirt road, you wonder as you drive up and down steep hills if this is right. Even as you drive onto the property, passing a vineyard, you are unsure as you head toward a corrugated warehouse.

Inside, you see barrels stacked in back, antiques and kitsch everywhere, even an old Texaco gas pump and a Route 66 sign. Children are writing on a blackboard. People are sidled up to a wine bar. The man pouring says, “Welcome.”

“We are a family oriented winery and want every aspect of our visitors experience to be comfortable and casual,” Cheryl Perry says.

Cheryl and Jim Perry planted their first vineyard in 2003. Ending up with tons of excellent Petite Sirah fruit, they decided to make wine—studied viticulture, enology, vineyard maintenance and chemistry. The Aults from Cedar Mountain Winery helped. (Earl Ault is their winemaker.) In 2005, the Perrys moved to their current location and planted Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Pinot Grigio.

“We want small lots with everything focused on the grapes,” Cheryl says. Ninety percent of their wine is aged from thirty to thirty-six months in French oak. “We don’t do a lot of barrel blending or overwork the grapes. We concentrate on showing what the very best of a particular varietal can be.”

Fascinating Fact:

Eagle Ridge is the first winery to be entirely solar powered.

Amenities: Wine club, antiques, children welcome.
Founded: 2004
Signature Wines: Cabernet, Petite Sirah
Wine Tasting: No tasting fee.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday 12 – 4:30 or by appointment

Eagle Ridge Winery
10017 Tesla Road
Livermore, CA, 94550
925.447.4328

www.eagleridgevineyard.com

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Sandy Sims, an award winning journalist, newspaper editor, and travel writer, also writes fiction.
Thomas C. Wilmer is an award-winning author and travel writer. His latest book; Wine Seeker's Guide to Livermore Valley is available from White Cloud Press or Amazon.com.

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