LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA — When most Bay Area residents hear “wine country,” they probably picture Napa, Sonoma, or maybe Livermore.
They probably do not picture the hills behind Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda. They certainly don’t picture their neighbor’s backyard.
But Lamorinda is, in fact, an officially recognized American Viticultural Area — an AVA — and a local event this week is celebrating 10 years of that quietly remarkable distinction.
The Lamorinda Wine Growers Association is hosting 10 Years of Celebrating the Lamorinda Appellation on Sunday, May 31, from noon to 6 p.m. at Local Vines, 3393 Mt. Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette.
The event invites guests to meet the people growing grapes and making wine in Lamorinda, taste local wines, and celebrate the decade since the area earned federal recognition as a distinct wine region. Food will be available for purchase from Maine Lobster.
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Yes, Lamorinda is Really Wine Country
Okay, granted, it’s not as well known as Napa, Sonoma, or even low-key wine country spots like the Anderson Valley. But Lamorinda is officially wine country!
In 2016, the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau formally established the roughly 29,369-acre Lamorinda viticultural area in Contra Costa County. The rule made Lamorinda part of the larger San Francisco Bay AVA and Central Coast AVA, but also recognized it as its own distinct grape-growing region.
TTB defines a viticultural area as a grape-growing region with a name, a boundary, and distinguishing features. That matters because AVA status allows winemakers to identify where their wines come from in a way that is meaningful to consumers.
A recent San Francisco Chronicle profile of Local Vines noted that the Lamorinda region includes roughly 100 vineyards totaling about 120 acres, with many of them operating as literal backyard projects. The same story described Local Vines as a Lafayette tasting room featuring local wineries and a cider producer, with many wines made on site in a co-op-style model.
Of course, since Local Vines is in our backyard, we’ve been covering it since way before it even opened.
Local Vines’ own vineyard list includes producers such as Thal Vineyards, Meadow View Winery, Los Arabis Vineyards, Raisin D’Etre Vineyards, Deer Hill Vineyards, Crane Terrace Winery, Reliez Valley Vineyards, Stag Hill Vineyards, Rancho del Hambre Winery, Mount Diablo Cider, Castillo Vineyards, and Prima Materia Vineyard and Winery.
What to Know Before You Go
Again, the event celebrating our little AVA is Sunday, May 31, from noon to 6 p.m. at Local Vines in downtown Lafayette.
Event listings through Eventbrite show it as the 10th Anniversary of the Lamorinda AVA, presented by Local Vines, with tickets starting at $39.19 at the time of this writing. Here’s the link.
Check it out, and drink a toast to the Lamorinda AVA!
