Elite Event: LV Wine Tour

I went to this event with my friend Will as his plus one. I had a great time.
The first stop at Wente Vineyards was a great start for the entire day. I found the tour of the vineyard was fascinating. I really enjoyed learning about various processes of making wine. Our Wente tour guide/​teacher was great.
The second stop at Magriel Vineyard was incredible as well. Although, I really suck and identifying the various scents in wine, It still found it enjoyable and educational.
The last stop was more low-​key than the others, but it was a great way to end the event. The food was great and the conversations with my fellow Unilocalers was very enjoyable.
Nique did a great job in hosting this event. She kept everything moving along very well. She made sure that no one was left behind.
All in all, I had a great time and it had inspired me to become more active in Unilocal.I’m really great time.

No Whining, Only Winos
Complimentary wine tastings at three separate wineries during one of the most gorgeous days of the year, traveling in air conditioned transportation and topped off with food pairings and goody bags? These are the makings of one of the best elite events by far! The YEE Livermore Wine Tour was a relaxing yet exciting event where elites enjoyed learning about the winemaking process at Wente, experienced an educational yet fun aroma class at McGrail, and delicious food pairings at Garre.
The day began by boarding the luxurious Bauer bus at Dublin/​Pleasanton BART. At check-​in we received a fantastic goody bag with Vita coco water, Kind granola bars, Pretzel Crisps, Krave jerky, and Unilocal sunglasses. The coconut water proved essential for hydration during the warm, sunny day. I couldn’t get enough of the Pretzel Crisps, which went surprisingly well with the wine. Definitely serve these to your guest the next time you open a bottle of wine! It was also great being able to chat with other Elites during the brief trips from one winery to another.
First stop was Wente (pronounced Vente due to its German origins). Here, we learned about their winemaking process — how the wine ferments to types of wood used for the barrels. Wente also had by far the best Chardonnay I’ve ever had! Their premium Chardonnay is the perfect balance of sweet, crisp, and clean.
Second stop was McGrail where we had an aroma class, learning to detect notes in wine, such as cherry and vanilla. I absolutely loved the building, and could imagine myself getting married at such a gorgeous location. The patio seating, live music, and St. Patrick themed food was also a nice touch. We were very lucky to come on this day.
Last stop was Garre where we ended the day celebrating all that we had learned. Wine tasting takes its toll! The complimentary food pairings were delicious, especially the phyllo dough mushroom bites topped with tzatziki and the chicken curry skewers.
By the end of the day I was completely exhausted, but incredibly grateful for learning about these gem wineries in the East Bay! Thank you to Nique and Bauer for leading the event and all the wineries for graciously hosting us! I’m so excited to visit Livermore Wine Country again! See you soon.

By far one of the best Elite Events I have ever been to. A day long excursion through Livermore for local wine tasting and food sampling for the Gold Elite Unilocalers. Although we have all been Unilocaling for awhile and met up with a lot of my friends, I met a few for the very first time!
We all boarded the Bauer Bus at the Dublin/​Pleasanton Bart Station. This party bus set the mood to have a fun day as we went from stop to stop. When we checked in we received a couple totes with snacks, drinks and swag to enjoy on our trip and take home.
The first stop was Wente Vineyards and Tasting Room where we had a guided tour through the huge facility learning how they make the wine from beginning to end. Our tour guides were knowledgable and generous with the samples. I thought that it was a very cool behind the scenes look at such a large winery.
The next stop was McGrail Winery. We started with a little sampling on the patio, while we listened to the Winemaster talk about the production of the wine at McGrail. I was really impressed with the wine, but found the Aromatics class that we did to be one of the funnest challenges. You had to guess the smells from 12 different glasses and pinpoint the flavor without tasting. It was a lot of fun seeing what my fellow Unilocalers wrote down in comparison.
When we boarded the bus, we picked up sandwiches made for us by Ofelia’s Kitchen. My guy and I shared one crab ½ sandwich and a turkey sandwich. I usually do not like fake crab, but this sandwich was so good. Fluffy fresh bread that tastes homemade with sprouts, perfect amount of flavor and meat. I would definitely stop in for a couple sandwiches when in Livermore.
Third stop was Garre Winery, we stopped off at the construction site for the new restaurant and banquet room building. Since I’m very familiar with construction project job sites, I was intrigued by seeing the design before it was done. It’s going to be a nice place when completed.
Then over to the Garre tasting room for wine tasting with complimentary bites made by the Chef at Garre. The Sparking wine was one of my favorites, paired with the spankatopia, absolutely wonderful. The staff was very friendly and were able to host us before a wedding later that afternoon. I imagine it was a very nice wedding with incredible wine, food and memories.
We got back on board the bus after a fun day of fun in the sun, enjoying fine wine with good friends. The Bauer bus was a great way to bring everyone together and get on the road for an adventure. I would definitely consider them for any corporate or large event, all aboard the party bus!
Thank you to Nique for being an awesome Community Manager who really cares about her local businesses, the Unilocalers and East Bay community. I’m very happy to be a Gold Elite Unilocaler and appreciate the opportunity it provided to meet a lot of great new friends.

1^st –Eugene gets the «Gold Star» for having the most detailed Elite LV Wine Tour breakdown, hats off to you bro.
2^nd — Nique, what can be said she takes care of her Elite Unilocalers and in this case her Vets were treated royal, fine transportation, seeing fellow Unilocalers, the wineries were awesome, the tour of Wente Bros was a nice one, I learned the difference between premium wines & how much hand craftmanship goes into the wine and the general wine etc. McGrail had great fwine and unlimited pours, they were soo good to us and the same for Garre one of the owners were on hand as we also were treated to great food and wine as well. Nique looking forward to more wine tastings and tours! Love it

Definitely the best Elite event I’ve attended! I chuckled a little bit driving from my hometown of Livermore, pretty much in the backyard of where we would be wine tasting to the BART station, but nothing beats wine tasting with *transportation.*
All of the experiences were unique and very informative. I learned something new at each stop along the way! Kudos to Nique and Bauer’s Transportation for a fantastic day!

2014 is a great year to be Gold!
Nique put together a very fun & informative event for Gold Elite Unilocalers in the Livermore valley. As luck would have it, I was in town the previous weekend visiting wineries with my family. 2 weekends of wine tasting… yeah I’m pretty spoiled!
My fellow Unilocalers pretty much covered it in their reviews. Great tour & tasting at Wente, interesting & eye opening aroma sensory class at McGrail, & food & wine paring at Garre. The staff at each of the wineries seemed genuinely happy to see us & were friendly & helpful throughout the day. They were more than happy to answer any questions or pour another taste for us.
The Bauers bus was comfy & we rode up so high we could see all the gorgeous green hills around us. Driver Joe was a pro & rep Brandon was helpful & fun! I think he fit in just fine with this group of Unilocalers.
It had been too long since my last Unilocal event so it was good to see old friends & meet some new ones. My plus one had a great time & she got to see what fun it is to be Elite!

What a way to spend a Sunday. After breakfast, I parked in the West Dublin parking lot and walked over to the shuttle only realize my plus one went to the Dublin BART station along with some other folks. My area is pretty confusing in that way so if you don’t live in the tri-​valley or ride BART a lot, most people just assume there’s only one station. They really should rename the other one something else like Stoneridge since it’s near the mall like San Leandro and Bayfair. But I digress.
After that minor snag, we were off with our Wine Survival Kits. I think that was one of the most clever shwag bags yet.
First stop — Wente Vineyards — this was the only winery I had visited before but once the bus driver realized he had gone to the restaurant and not the tasting room, I realized I hadn’t ventured there yet either. Our tour guides were funny, informative and gave us generous pours. The heat was starting to beat on us so were happy to visit the cool areas for a little bit.
Second stop — McGrail Vineyards — This local winery had a nice view and we played a game where we tried to guess the aroma of the wine. It’s a lot harder than it looks. Kudos to Christopher J. and his clever answers. I now have a few funny trivia team names which will be revealed next time you go to trivia with me. I liked this spot a lot and thanks to Nique for introducing me to it, I won’t have to venture far for some wine.
Last stop — Garre Winery which is still under construction. The restaurant and banquet hall are in the making. We got an up close and personal tour. I enjoyed the food and wine pairings to end the journey. Those six hours went quickly.
Oh and you can’t forget the Almost Famous moment where a couple of Unilocalers almost got left behind. Luckily, they didn’t.
It was a blast to see lots of familiar faces and chat with new ones. This is yet another reason why it’s neat to be Elite. Whether you’re gold, red or black badged — Unilocal is a fun community of diverse people that enjoy a lot of the same things. Thanks to Unilocal for introducing me to lots of hidden gems over all of these years and to Nique for making the East Bay community such a wonderful family.

It is days like yesterday that remind me how much of a lucky duck I am.
First of all, I hadn’t RSVP’d for this event because I thought there wouldn’t be any +1s and I didn’t want to ditch my honey to attend. Fast forward to a few days ago when I learned that +1s were, in fact, going to be welcomed. I was bummed for a minute but then the fantastic Jenn and Steve N offered us their +1 spots. Yay!
The weather was the perfect example of Bay Area loveliness, the Bauer’s IT bus cushy, the snacks tasty and abundant, the Wente, McGrail and Garre wines flowed generously and the company was absolutely fabulous. Each winery offered a unique and authentic experience and I felt completely spoiled by the service.
Thank you, Nique, for truly making me feel like Unilocal Elite Gold! You are Unilocal Elite Platinum!

Amazing! Fun! Educational! I could go on and on with the adjectives, but you get the idea. I ventured to this Gold YEE without a plus one (bff partied too hard the night before & hubby was golfing). I have been looking forward to this event, so I convinced myself that I would be fine without a partner in crime. I was greeted by Brandon and Joe (Bauer Transportation) and Nique. I then realized… I’m the only lame one without a plus one (or didn’t know any other fellow Unilocalers on this trip). I headed towards the back of the bus and got cozy. I started talking with two of the couples sitting across from me. Fortunately, they were nice enough to let me tag along with them throughout the day.
The Bauer bus was amazing! Talk about traveling in luxury. They had plugs on every other seat, lucky for me… I forgot to charge my phone the night before. Sunroof throughout the length of the bus, window shades, individual vents for air conditioning and wifi. I would take a long trip in one of these babies!
First stop, Wente. This is the great-​great-​great grandfather of Livermore Valley wineries. I’ve been to the event center/​golf course location, but never to the tasting room. It was everything I expected for Wente — classy, beautiful grounds with friendly and knowledgeable staff. Their Pinot Noir was my favorite, but their best Cabernet… I would drink that with a nice steak. And I’m not even a fan of red wine… so that is saying a lot!
McGrail, our second stop… this was a great place. There was a St. Patrick’s Day event happening on the patio, people brought their kids with them. I’m not sure I’d bring our kids along, but the view of the valley was amazing from their patio. But I do feel as if this is a place the hubby and I will check out in the future. The staff is friendly and was really excited about educating us about their winery and wines. The scent-​aroma part was so fun! Something I’d probably not do on a normal wine tasting tour.
The last stop was Garre/​Bella Rosa. I’ve been here once for a wedding. I drive by it frequently, but unfortunately have never stopped at the tasting room or café. We got a tour of Bella Rosa, which will be open in the near future. I think this expansion will be great for this winery. We went over to the tasting room and they had food pairings with every wine. They had more than enough food samplings for all of us. The staff was really friendly, the chef even made an appearance, in between catering a wedding! The hubby and I will be back to dine at the café, sooner than later.
For lunch, we were provided with sandwiches from Ofelia’s. Unilocal must have been reading my «What you’re craving» mind… because I’ve been wanting a crab sandwich for the past couple of weeks. What was one of the sandwiches we were offered? CRAB! So delicious, I’m already planning my lunch trip to Ofelia’s.
This was an overall great event. Nique really does take care of her Unilocalers. Thank you for this amazing day!

Ahhhh-​mazing YEE for Golds only, wow! I finally see what all the hype is about in the East Bay, Nique is a fantastic host. Super lucky bunch, and this time I came along for the ride, thank you pretty lady. Couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day and hospitable wineries in the heart of Livermore — it’s truly a gem.
Thank you to Brandon and Joe from Bauer’s Transportation for keeping us hydrated and awake, especially during high noon (nap time zzzzz’s). Joe did a wonderful job turning the huge bus around when we realized there were two Unilocalsters missing.
Hands down Wente Vineyards is an immaculate winery with so much history. Much thanks to Tim and Meryl for all their expertise and wisdom. Didn’t know the Wente Estate is a historical landmark. We ended up purchasing their limited edition Cab. Next up was McGrail, and they were extremely accommodating. Winemaker Mark spoke to our group, he was informative and humorous. There was an event happening with musicians setting up, extremely picturesque winery. Everyone enjoyed the aroma test; however, after all the tastings, I was smelling only cleaning supplies. I had no sense of taste, and somehow Cassis still smelled like Lysol to me ^_​^ The yummy sandwiches from Ofelia’s kept me sober again, as we proceeded to the next winery.
Last but not least, Garré Vineyard and Winery laid out their finest food and wine pairings for us Elites. From Spanikopita paired with sparkling white-​private cuvee, smoked salmon crostini paired with 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, to chicken satay paired with 2009 Primitivo, everything was delicious. Can’t wait for the grand opening of Bella Rosa, love the sneak peek.
I love how we were transported like Executives through the oldest wine region in the Bay Area. It was the ultimate VIP experience with the Unilocaliest crew. To top it all off, it was my husband’s birthday, thanks again Nique ~ ’til next time…
…Carpe diem, more like Unilocale diem!
P. S. I hope someone captured my Unilocal scribble in the ice room :-)

My ‘VIP Golden Carpet’ experience began the moment I stepped onto the Bauer bus and was greeted by the amazing Nique! Somehow she always knows my Unilocal name even when I’m not wearing a badge. So I have a disclaimer. I did read the instructions about BART and I knew the bus would be on the ‘Dublin’ side and not ‘Mall’ side. This is a conversation I’ve had numerous times with BART patrons. But now there are TWO stations in Dublin. Fortunately Erin S cleared up my confusion and I arrived at the right Dublin station.
The ride to Wente Vineyards, with the Greg Norman designed golf course, gave everyone on the bus a glimpse of ‘IMBY’. Beautiful green hills, deer feasting on all the greenery, and the ‘gateway’ to Livermore’s oldest olive groves of Olivina… jealous much? We then traveled to the other Wente on Tesla to be treated to some nicely chilled Pinot ??? I’ve never heard of it before but it was refreshing. And I think I was called out as a ‘Wine O’ for wanting seconds. Into the freezer we went where I witnessed some Unilocaling graffiti on the iced tanks. Tim and Meryl then took us back into the relative warmth of the bottling room for some Cabernet. At the back of the pack Tim was explaining to us some of the challenges the drought would be presenting with this years crop. Yes… I apologize for distracting the tour presentation.
We next went to McGrail where Mark the winemaker explained the history and Heather McGrail refreshed our glasses. We went on a sensory tour and learned about our palates and whether we had one or not. I managed to guess 6 of the ten but then I did eavesdrop a bit for a description when I lacked the right words. So what is Cassis again? McGrail has a lovely view from the patio with ample seating for the St. Paddy’s day revelers and all the Unilocaling Elite. Nique was waiting back at the bus with some tasty sammies from Ofelias.
Next and final stop was Garre where we were taken on a personal tour of the still in progress Bella Rosa by family member Gina. I truly enjoyed hearing her speak about the family and winery history. We were treated to some great wine and food pairings which included Smoked Salmon, Crostini, Chicken Satay, Bruschetta, and lovely Primotiva, Sparkling Cuvee, and Merlot.
What an amazing day with all my fellow Golden Elites. I can’t thank Nique enough for a fabulous day. The effort and time she expended was obvious but it was delivered flawless and fabulous! Bauer rep Brandon was very friendly and even managed to scoop up a couple of wayward Unilocalers so they didn’t miss the bus. Oh… well there were a few he missed but the bus turned back and everyone was on-​board for the end to a fantastic day of wine ‘tasting’, viticulture lessons, and spending time with Unilocaling friends in the beautiful sunshine of the Livermore Valley. Gold looks good on us!

SUCH A FUN EVENT!!!
Had a great time meeting my fellow Gold Elites while sipping on fine wine.
We really had the Gold Elite carpet treatment from our winery hosts– Wente, McGrail and Garre!
Definitely coming back to the area as I never knew there was wine country out in Livermore– noob of me, I know.
Perk is that you can go drunken outlet shopping after: D
Thank you Nique for putting this event together!

I was very excited when I saw this Unilocal Gold Elite event in the list of upcoming events and signed up right away. I’ve never been wine tasting in Livermore Valley and there are many many wineries there that I’ve never tried.
Nique had a limo-​bus waiting for us at the West Dublin/​Pleasanton BART station — it was super clean, comfortable and provisioned with snackies, water and coconut water. Our first stop was Wente — where we had generous pours from garrulous tour leader Tim and got to experience many different microclimates around and inside the winery facilities. I was pretty happy that Sandyann, Carmen and I went into the tasting room/​shop because there was yummy mustard and it was 30% off (I know — we’re there for wine but the gourmet mustards are always better at wineries!).
McGrail was our next stop — we were greeted by very happy smiling staff, wearing green and blinking green shamrocks. We started our tasting on a very nice patio with views of the valley. The sensory game was fun — there were glasses of wine doctored up with esters to represent typical attributes of wines (clove, cassis, black cherry) — but no tobacco, asphalt, leather or wet dog!
As we boarded the bus, we got provisioned with sandwiches and then headed to Garre to tour their new facility still under construction and then to the community house in the front for tastings paired with appetizers. Nique went above and beyond to make sure I got a lunch that was definitely vegan — which I appreciated very much as everyone was snacking at Garre.
Did I mention it got very hot out? It was only in the low 80s but that felt plenty warm as nobody has had a chance to acclimate and we’d been drinking all morning! I was ready for a siesta by the time we got to Concannon and the green grass looked so nice and inviting!
I have to say the most impressive feat of the day was the bus driver backing down a driveway to turn around to catch a pair of stragglers who we left behind. That man should be teaching folks how to drive big buses — he was extremely proficient!
Big props to Brandon (from Bauer) who was a cheerful and inclusive co-​host — I enjoyed our conversations. Thanks to Nique & Unilocal for organizing this excellent event!

What a outstanding Gold Elite Event. We were definitely Golden in our Awesome Community manager hand the Lovely Miss Nique.
It’s readily apparent to all of us Elites that Ms Nique really cares about her East bay Community. She really goes all out and puts a lot of work and effort into her Elite events and it shows .
I woke up bright and early and jumped into my Whip White Beast and rolled to my local Bart Station. I stashed my Whip there and jumped on to Bart. Boy Bart is always an interesting ride. Lots of Creepers and a guy holding a 3 person conversation with himself. I arrive at the West Dublin /​Pleasanton Bart station and exit the Dublin side.
I roll down the stairs and I see the Lovely Ms Nique and a Huge Bauer Intelligent Transportation Super Bus Powered By Mercedes Benz. Brandon and Joe our Bus Driver were setting up Swag Bags from Bauer on the seats of the Bus. The Bus Featured AC, Wifi, Sunshades for the Windows, 110 power, Dvd Player with Screens, Sun Roof and Super Comfy seats .
Ms Nique even had Swag Bags from Unilocal for Everybody .
Our 1^st stop was to Wente for a Photo Op with the Bus. Then we proceeded to Wente Number 2 for our VIP Tour and Tasting. Our Wine Experts were Tim and Meryl
they showed us all the processing areas used to make Wine and the Barrel room. with the American, Hungarian and French Oak storage Barrels. Tim also showed us 2 antique Wine Barrels that were Hand Carved with art work that would be perfect for my Man cave. One of them had the God Of Wine Bacchus on it. Legend is if you rub Bacchus Tummy it will bring you good luck.
Tim and Meryl would also pour us Wine at stations along the tour area. They really did a great tour they explained everything in Layman terms and had plenty of fun facts about Wine.
Our 3^rd Stop was McGrail which was very nice also as were led to a great outdoor patio area. The Head Wine Maker wearing a Magnum PI aloha shirt explained the different sensory steps in tasting wine especially the sense of smell which Mcgrail was going to test us on.
McGrail has a very Lovely Staff of Women Bartenders pouring wine. I was served by a very lovely Bartender by the name of Mercedes. She had a full Back Tattoo of an Oak Tree with a Dragon. Very Sexy!!!
We were tested on 10 different scents to see if we could tell what they were. Its harder to do than it sounds.
When we went Back to our Luxury Bus the Lovely Ms Nique was passing out Ofelia’s Sammie’s to Snack On — Crab, Turkey and Ham and Hummus. They were yummy with the Vita Coco Pure Coconut Water. So refreshing.
A good way to soak up some of the Vino. LOL
Our 4^th and Final Stop was Garre they gave us a tour of their new Kitchen? Convention Center /​Restaurant currently under Construction. It was quite impressive and Huge!!!
We then went to their Tasting Room for a Wine and Food Pairing.
They had Paired
Spanikopita-​Filo dough wrapped around Spinach & Feta Cheese with
Sparkling White Private Cuvee
Smoked Salmon Crostini-​House Smoked Salmon on top of a Crostini topped with Goat Cheese, Capers, and a Parsley citrus Melody with
2009 Savignon Blanc
Brushetta-​Crostini topped with tomato, basil, mozzarella cheese, olive oil and a balsamic reduction with
2010 Gina Marie’s Merlot
Chicken satay and
2009 Primitivo
After the pairing we returned to our Luxury Bus and rolled back to the West Dublin/​Pleasanton Bart Station. There we all parted ways.
What a wonderful day and Elite Event. 6 Hours and a lot of lovely ladie Gold Elites and Great Wine And Food .
Nique Your the Best!!! This will be a Hard Elite Event To Beat!!!
2014 The Year Of Opportunity and New Beginnings!!!

Today was a good day. Good day to be GOLD! What treat Nique arranged for us «long time» Unilocalers, to do some wine tasting. Although we put some cash in for the ride –awesome Bauer’s IT bus was worth that easy — the day was compliments of Unilocal via some of Livermore’s finest wine and food. Wente, McGrail and Garre showed all about Livermore wine making and shared plenty of it with us. There was a lot of premium wine offered to us, which made it very special. Nique also arranged some food, starting with swag bag of crackers and chips and snack bars, then Ofelia’s delicious sandwiches on bus, followed by tasty pairings at Garre. One of the more unique parts was the sensory smell test at McGrail.
We saw some old friends and got to start making new ones. Some awesome businesses opening their doors on a beautiful East Bay day are just icing on the cake! It’s good to be Elite in the East Bay!

Nique you did AMAZING!!! 5 years Elite, events I can’t count and this one stands out as the BEST I’ve ever done! First– shout out to Brandon and Joe for the driving and hospitality! I have hired driving for wine tours in the past and this one stood out! You guys rocked! Next the private tour in Wente was incredibly entertaining and educational. The second stop was what I felt where I would go normally. Super Homie small, intimate and good red wines! The third-​place had good paring of food and wine. They will soon have a event center and everyone should check it out! Thank you Nique for putting on this fabulous event! And all the partners who participated! I definitely bought a lot of wine from you all ;-)

Best. Day. Ever.
For reals.
How do you have a more perfect day than 1) wine tasting 2) sunshine 3) noms 4) Unilocal elite pals and 5) cushy transportation?
First up: Bauer Intelligent Transportation. Our man Brandon gave us all the details on our bus/​luxury cruise liner. From perforated window shades, to wifi, to a XXXXL sunroof, that baby was built for comfort. The bus was so nice, it took the sting out of having to leave each lovely destination.
Next: Wente. Wente is clearly the big Kahuna in these parts. They have history, volume, and sheer visitor space beyond compare. They provided an excellent, in-​depth behind-​the-​scenes tour of their facility with delicious reserve wine tastings along the way. It was great how the wines were interspersed along our route. I really enjoyed the Pinot Blanc. The tour guides were very enthusiastic and helpful. I tend to ask a lot of questions and these pros answered every one. Most interesting takeaway: when a red wine’s meniscus fades from red to dark brown, it’s an older red. I love fun factoids like that. Lovely grounds. Note to self: go back with picnic!
On to McGrail. McGrail has the vibe you’d want your winery to have if you were new and growing. The pouring staff was vibrant and the head winemaker was adorable in that chemist-​pulled-​out-​of-​the-​lab kinda way. It was really nice to meet and mingle with the actual winemaker, as opposed to hearing about an absent third party. The winemaker here is very reflective and there’s something charming about the whole place because it’s just so REAL here. They gave us a clever ten-​part aroma exercise to improve our winespeak, and it was SO interesting. My favorite wine here was the rose, and I bought a bottle. Heads up: bocce courts open in June! One of the staffers had the last name McGrail… she was cute as a button!
On our way back onto the Bauer dreamliner, we were given nice healthy sandwiches from Ofelia’s. Just what we needed to keep our energy up as our livers caught up.
Last up: Garre. They gave us a sneak peek at their not-​yet-​open restaurant/​event building, and of course it’s always fun to see something brand spanking new. Then we adjourned to the separate tasting building for bites and wine. The chef had prepared spanakopita, a salmon crostini, bruschetta, and a chicken satay with peanut sauce. Each bite was offered with an accompanying wine. This was the only sparkling wine of the day, and it was great for a sunny day like this. The deck was marvelous for mingling.
Nique, you are the queen. We minions are so lucky to have you. Big props to the best Community Manager eva!!!

Where does one start describing this amazing day?
From start to finish we were transported to an educational, fun, olfactory challenging, perfectly paired day!
The wines were the star, but from the goodie bags, to the abundant fresh cold water, to Ofelia’s Kitchen Sammies (a personal fave when I worked in Livermore) we did not skip a beat in this 5 hour extravaganza.
Thanks to Nique and crew, and of course Unilocal!
Best… Unilocal…Event…Ever!

East Bay Unilocalers now how to wine. Met at the west dublin station and we were on our way. Joe and Brandon from Bauer’s made our trip fun and ensured we were fully hydrated. We may have hit a small snag by going to the wrong spot for Wente but it was smooth sailing from there
At Wente, we got our wine tour and a nice little freeze in the blast chiller. They totally poured us generous amounts.
At Mcgrails we learned to be a wine snob and smell all that we could at the aroma class. Who knew eucalyptus smelled?
Then a quick Ofelia’s sammich (bread very reminiscent of Intermezzo from Berkeley) satiated us on our way to Garre’s where we toured the soon to be Bella Rosa Restaurant. We then drank and ate our hearts out with some wine and food pairings. The small room helped quench our dehydrated bodies as the weather was definitely warmer than normal winters.
Great company and an awesome event again pulled off by our bestest Nique! Till next time!
*Note* when wine tasting do not wear white. But if you do, bring your handy dandy trusty Tide Pen. It works miracles.

Did any of you have a teacher that gave you a test like this?
#1 Follow directions. #2 Read through all of the questions. #3 Meet at the West Dublin/​Pleasanton Bart station. #4 What does Wino stand for? #5 What consumes the sugar in fermentation? #6 How many BART stations are there in Dublin/​Pleasanton? #7 If you answered any of questions 3 – 6, you have failed the test. Do not answer any of the questions, just sign your name & turn the quiz in blank.
Yea, I failed it. Yea, I missed the WEST in meet at West Dublin/​Pleasanton Bart. Thank goodness I phoned a friend that put us back on track & bless Nique for allowing wiggle room for launch.
By the way, the answer to #4 is Women In Need Of and #5 is yeast (I learned that at Wente today.)
It was a fabulous day of learning, tasting & smelling. I won’t mention that teacher also missed a detail & delivered us to the alternate Wente. hey, it made me feel better & we got the beautiful scenic tour!
We got to taste an amazing Nth degree Chardonnay at Wente, along with a $ 100 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon. We even got to see the freezing room!
We had an incredible aroma/​sensory class that really opened my eyes to the different smells that can be present in a wine. Cassis? I call Shenanigans. Talk about a trick question. Really, that was #1 McGrail? I’ll let it slide because your Rosé is affordable & delectable.
Nique summoned us to the fun bus & handed us our choice of Ophelia’s hand made sandwiches as we boarded. I selected the hummus, adorned with sprouts and paired it with the rockin bbq pop chips. So good!
We ended our day at a budding Bella Rosa. They took us on a tour of their impressive event space, which is under construction. I cannot wait to return in a few months & see the finished product. They paired a bubbly white with a rich & perfectly cooked spanakopita. The smoked salmon with a kick, was paired with their Sauvignon Blanc. The Merlot was paired with a fabulous tomato bruschetta. They treated us so well.
I only had one glass of wine spilled on me & we almost. but didn’t, leave 2 Unilocalers behind. Thanks to Bauer’s intelligent transportation (wifi, seat trays, power plugs, restroom & tv screens) and Joe’s amazing navigation, we avoided all major pitfalls. We had such a fun day.
Thank you Nique! Thank you Unilocal