Make Concannon’s stunning landscape a setting for your meal
Northern California has no shortage of picturesque wine country destinations where you can unfurl a blanket and plant your picnic basket. But few have as much trailblazing historical significance as the 210-acre Concannon Vineyard property in Livermore Valley.
As the famed story goes, Irishman James Concannon founded the winery in 1883 — it is one of the oldest continuously operating family-owned wineries in the country — after immigrating to the United States and settling in the Livermore Valley, where he noticed a striking similarity to the terroir of France’s Bordeaux vineyards. He planted cuttings from Châteaux Margaux, and his son, Joe, kept the family business going through Prohibition by making and selling sacramental wine.
Future generations made their marks, too. Jim Concannon, grandson of James, was the first to bottle petit sirah on its own
— a single varietal wine that put Livermore on the map — and played a significant role in the development of California cabernet sauvignon. Today, an estimated 80 percent of the state’s cab is planted to Concannon clones created from those early cuttings.
For picnics, try a table under the grape arbor dripping with tokai table grape vines or a perch on the dog-friendly lawn pavilion, where fruitless mulberry trees have been trained into arches to provide shade in summer. They’re the best spots from which to take in the property’s five estate vineyards, which are planted to a whopping 14 varietals. An 1895 white Victorian house is within view, and the tasting room is just across the lawn. Don’t miss the property’s stunning landscaping, including the whimsical topiaries fashioned into the shapes of animals and, sometimes, people.