Wente Vineyards

Established in 1883, Wente Vineyards is the oldest continously family run winery in America. The estate grows 25 different varietals with vineyards covering some 3000 acres, 2000 in the Livermore Valley of the San Francisco Bay AVA and 1000 acres in Arroyo Seco of the Monterey County AVA to the south. Founder Charles Wetmore learnt the skills of winemaking from Charles Krug, and is credited with pioneering Californian Chardonnay, by introducing clones from Burgundy in the 1890's. Proudly, the estate can claim 80% of all Californian Chardonnay is from the Wente original clone. The family, German in origin, has long been innovators introducing stainless steel fermentation tanks in the 60’s and introducing varietal labelled wines as long ago as the 1930’s. Today, fifth generation winemaker Karl D. Wente carries on the family winemaking tradition. "There is no separation between what happens out in our vineyards and what takes place in the winery," says Karl. "Winemaking has to be a collaborative effort, because you can't make great wines without a mutual understanding of your objectives. We all recognise that our first priority is growing grapes that have the potential to become excellent wines. We then tailor our methods and techniques in the winery to preserve the delicate flavours in the fruit and to elevate an expression of the vineyard terroir." As well as the winery, on site they have a Golf course designed by Greg Norman, and host a renowned series of summer music concerts.