Eagle Ridge Vineyard

Again, I am no wine connoisseur. If I was to have come to Eagle Ridge Vineyard in a group where no one had wine tasting experience, I would have been a bit uncomfortable. It was quite the scenic route to get here, like a literal rollercoaster. lol The view was absolutely stunning! It was a bit smokey that day but I can only imagine how beautiful on a clear day.After going through a few hills and questioning if I was at the right location, we found the tasting room. It is a green-ish barn located next to a residence. I was unsure if this was someone's literal property!!!! lol Very nerve-wracking. The barn itself was filled with a lot of collectable items, it wasn't my favorite thing. It felt cluttered and dusty. It was a tad odd after coming from a different tasting. There was no where to sit and seemed more rushed. The tasting was complimentary and consisted of 8 wines. I believe it was the owners serving us, they were very kind.

What a rollercoaster ride it was to get up to the tasting room, a medium hill, a big hill, then a journey between the vines. If you think you're driving somewhere you shouldn't be, you're probably in the right place! The tasting consisted of 8 wines and was complimentary. When we were there they also had two ports the were pouring in addition to the menu. You tasted standing up at the bar, so it was a fairly quick tasting experience. Unfortunately I wasn't too crazy about any of the wines. Everyone else I was with did end up getting a bottle, but none for me. The tasting room was a large barn. There was a lot of old-school memorabilia and collectables in the building. At first glance it looked a little cluttered, but the more you looked at the items individually, the cooler it was. The view from the hill was really pretty, either way you looked you saw rolling hills and lots of wines. We were here in the winter so the vines were all empty, but I'm sure it looks beautiful in the summer when they're full!

This has been one of my favorite local wineries, so sad they are closing :(They have everything I love about a winery: talk directly with the owners/winemakers, free tasting, unpretentious farm feel like in Europe where you can relax and aren't being elbowed by 'grams trying to snap pics that seem they are at an Italian villa, just chill down-home enjoy the wines & views and they even let friends split cases and charge each separately. They are open the 1st Saturdays of the month only now & giving big discounts on cases.

First off, I have to admit, I didn't really "love" any of the wines here. Of the 8 or so reds that we tried, there may have been 1 Cab, and maybe one Petite Syrah that I found decent. Just basic food wine, good red fruit presence with grippy young tannins. Nothing to bust out on a special occasion. Yet some of the pricing is delving into the "special occasion" realm. Unless you go for their lower end stuff ($20ish), most everything else will be over $30 and some approaching the $50 mark. But in their defense, I noticed this at other neighboring wineries as well, so it could be just keeping up with the market. But at these prices, you can certainly find much better stuff at a store/on line. But when you buy at the store, you will not to be able to sip on the wines amongst the vineyard and the people who make it. That is the price you are paying for when you go tasting/purchasing at the winery. So there is that.The digs: -Quaint farm-like environment. You have to drive through the steep hills crawling with rows of grape vines.. Gravel parking lot, porta-potties and farm machinery. Cool in my book. -Metal barn that serves as the tasting room. It also doubles as an antique gallery so you can browse about whlist sipping on your glass. It looks junky, but there are some cool old shit up in there. -Lots of wines on their tasting list. More than 12! I had to scale and edit what I really wanted to taste, other wise my mouth would've puckered out. 6-8 is way plenty. -Free tasting. Yes, that is not a typo, it cost nothing. You will never find a place in Napa/Sonoma that does this. They used to, but no more. Livermore is on its way to that, but you can still find a handful out here, that does it the old school way. -The Mad Cait is a white dessert wine that is pretty unique. Peachy, slight citrus with an earthy and heavy finish. It is quite unique. Pairing this with grilled stone fruits over vanilla ice cream and honey this summer. -Spring time and maybe late autumn will be the best weather months to venture out. In my recent outing it was a perfect 70ish degrees, with a slight wind and a cloudless blue sky. We just sat on their makeshift patio for literally an hour, just chilling. In deep summer months, it will be waaayyy hotter, with hot wind. I'll pick and choose.So this may not be top on your list when venturing out here in Livermore Valley, but certainly consider it. It is charming enough to warrant that opportunity.

This winery was so great. The owners are super friendly and wine is pretty good (says those who were drinking) They were very accommodating to even us Designated Drivers by having water & soda to drink while everyone was wine tasting. There is zero tasting fee - what a bargain There are picnicking spots there as well.

If you like a down-to-earth farm-like experience at a winery, come here!Super nice owner and winetender. Very underrated winery. I wouldn't mind being a member here. :)

The wine was horrendous, undrinkable. The service wasn't great either and served us in plastic cups! Wondering if the good Yelp reviews were all family or friends? Very puzzling...Save your taste buds and skip this one.

The first thing you'll notice about Eagle Ridge Vineyard is how welcoming it is, especially with owner, Jim pouring for you! Then you'll notice how many pours you get with your tasting- over ten. WOW! Jim tells you in depth about each wine, comparing varietals and gives you a great, friendly experience which makes you want to come back again and again. Put Eagle Ridge on your list of places to visit next time you're in Livermore. You won't want to miss out!

Eagle Ridge was first on our impromptu wine tasting trip list, and since it is the farthest out on Tesla Road, it is a perfect starting point and then you can drink your way back. They are open from noon until 4:30 and offer free tastings of ~10 wines, mostly reds and two ports.We were the only ones there at first and it was nice to chat with the friendly winemaker while tasting their delicious wines. Eagle Ridge is celebrating their 5th anniversary next month and offer up wines made only from Livermore grapes with the first harvest from the own vineyards in 2009. The stand outs to me were the Pinot Grigio and 2005 Petite Sirah. We left with a bottle of each. They get bonus points for complimentary snacks - including cheese and crackers, palate cleansing crackers, and dark chocolate to enjoy with the port. Overall, a wonderful and scenic first stop for complimentary wine tasting in the valley.

I had a good time hear, the hosts are very friendly and offer a great experience. We didn't know this before coming there but the wine tasting is free and they pair it will various snacks. I'm not a huge wine drinker but I thought their offering was very generous. I liked almost every wine we tasted, especially Petite Syrah and the Mad Cait. There's plenty of seating with nice views of Mt. Diablo and the countryside. I would definitely come back here again next time I'm in Livermore.