Forget Napa Valley for your next wine tasting tour. East Bay locals know they can explore a wine country much closer to home -- in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, where the reds, whites and rosés are ripe for sipping.

Some East Bay wineries, like in the Livermore Valley, are historic and lush with mature vines. Others are urban, like the Oakland Urban Wine Trail in Jack London Square. (As Sunset magazine recently pointed out: “California’s newest wine country leaves the ‘country’ behind.”)

This is a perfect time of the year to start planning your East Bay wine tour, starting with tasting local varietals at the 36th Annual Walnut Creek Art & Wine Festival on June 3-4 at Heather Farm Park.

And after that, if you still doubt the greatness of these grapes, plan your visit to some of the best wineries in the East Bay:

Urban Wine

• Brooklyn West Winery  Located at 201 3rd St. in the oldest warehouse in the Jack London Square Warehouse District in Oakland.
• Campovida’s The Taste of Place  The family-owned winery actually is based in Hopland and uses organic Mendocino County grapes, but you don’t have to drive that far for a sip. Enjoy Campovida at its tasting room in a historic brick building at 95 Linden St. in industrial West Oakland.
• Cerruti Cellars  Oakland
• Dashe Cellars  Oakland
• Periscope Cellars  Periscope gets our vote for coolest label (mermaids with wine bottles). The once small tasting room inside historic Swan's Market has evolved into Deep Roots, a restaurant at 510 9th St. in Oakland.
• Rock Wall Wine Company  This Alameda winery is the project of Shauna Rosenblum, daughter of local winemaking legend Kent Roseblum of Rosenblum Cellars.
• Rosenblum Cellars  Billing itself as “the original urban winery,” Rosenblum has been making wine since 1978 and is all about the Zin. The tasting room is located in the heart of Oakland’s Jack London Square.
• Stage Left Cellars  The tasting room at 2102 Dennison St. in Oakland is open to the public on the first Saturday of each month.
• Two Mile Wines  Their tag line literally is “Yes we are in Oakland.” Get a taste at 477 25th St.
• Urban Legend Cellars  Located in Oakland's Jack London District at 200 2nd St.
• Urbano Cellars  Berkeley

Livermore Valley
(Many wineries are located on or near Tesla and Vasco roads)

• 3 Steves Winery
• Bent Creek Winery
• BoaVentura de Caires Winery  These wines are considered truly hand-crafted; the grapes are hand-picked by family and friends. Read about winemaker Brett Caires here.
• Caddis Winery
• Cedar Mountain Winery & Port Works
• Charles R Vineyards
• Concannon Vineyard  The 130-year-old vineyard isn’t stuck in the past when it comes to food pairings, sponsoring summer food trucks events in the summer. The tasting room, a historic landmark, was named one of the Top 25 Most Awesome Tasting Rooms in California by IntoWine.com for its pressed tin ceilings, stone floors and century-old cedar planks.
• Crooked Vine and Stony Ridge Winery 
• Cuda Ridge Wines
• Dante Robere Vineyards
• Darcie Kent Vineyards
• Eagle Ridge Vineyard
• Eckert Estate Winery
• Ehrenberg Cellars
• Elliston Vineyards
• el Sol Winery
• Fenestra Winery
• Garre' Vineyard & Winery
• Las Positas Vineyards
• Leisure Street Winery
• Les Chenes Estate Vineyards
• Longevity Wines
• McGrail Vineyards and Winery  Since McGrail won awards for its Cabernet Reserve in 2012, the winery’s popularity has skyrocketed. Now McGrail is expanding its vineyard with 10 more acres.
• McKahn Family Cellars
• Mitchell Katz Winery
• Murrieta's Well 
• Nella Terra Cellars
• Nottingham Cellars
• Occasio Winery
• Omega Road Winery
• Page Mill Winery
• Pat Paulsen Vineyards
• Retzlaff Vineyards
• Rios-Lovell Estate Winery
• Rodrigue Molyneaux  The boutique producer won gold for its 2012 Merlot and Silver for its 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon at the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The charming tasting room is a former horse barn, but sipping while picnicking outside also is encouraged.
• Steven Kent Winery
• Vasco Urbano Wine Company
• Wente Vineyards   7x7 magazine recently named Wente a must-visit destination for anyone looking for more than just a wine tasting. Dine at The Restaurant, golf the premiere course, learn about vinification in the Winemakers Studio, and dance in the winery's amphitheater with the likes of Chris Isaak, Alanis Morissette, Kenny Rogers and Seal -- all playing during the summer of 2017. Get ticket information here.

Contra Costa County Winegrowers Assoc.

• Campos Family Vineyards  Byron
• Bhachu Vineyards  Martinez
• Bloomfield Vineyards  Brentwood
• Four Fools Winery  Rodeo
• Hannah Nicole Vineyards  Brentwood
• Tamayo Family Vineyards  Brentwood
• Viano Vineyards  Martinez

A Digestif: East Bay Winery Fun Facts

• East Bay wines go way back. Charles Wetmore's dry white wine from his Cresta Blance vineyard in Livermore Valley won the grand prize at the 1889 Paris Exhibition.
• At least one East Bay varietal has made it into the Smithsonian. A bottle that once held sherry produced by Concannon Vineyards in 1929, at the height of Prohibition, is part of the National Museum of American History collection. Concannon worked around Prohibition by making this legal altar wine for the Catholic Church.

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What is your fav East Bay winery? Dashe Cellars in Oakland is one of ours. Come share a glass of vino with us and chat about how Abio Properties can support your dreams of living in the wine country. Call us at 888-400-ABIO (2246) or email at hello@abioproperties.com.