Charles R Vineyard is one of Livermore Valley's big wine secrets - well maybe that's not true with the number of reviews I have found. Charles R is a great little find, here's why: Great wines at decent prices: The Sauvignon Blanc that they just made is light, crisp and delicious and their cabs which are good too. Service with a smile: It doesn't matter how many people are packed into this little tasting room, they always have the nicest people helping visitors and who simply love to chat about wine. The Charles R Experience: From the sitting on their patio nibbling on food you brought while savoring a glass of their wine to tasting in their tasting room, the overall experience is so "laid-back Livermore".  

The History of our founders and by extension our winery starts in Italy. Both of our founders, Ernest (Ernie) and Marie Fortino goes back to Italy where they were born. Marie emigrated from Sicily to the United States with her family at the age of eleven, while Ernie came to the United States at the age of 23 from Cosenza, in the region of Calabria.

Ernie met Marie in Santa Cruz, where their respective families were living. Ernie was immediately taken by Marie and gave her a promise ring while she was still in school, thus ensuring that she would not date anyone other than him. They married in Santa Cruz in 1964 and started their lives together. Ernie and Marie had two children (Gino and Teri) when they found and purchased a very run-down winery in Gilroy in 1970. As young newlyweds and immigrants, they had very modest means, however, they were able to purchase the building and the land surrounding it, thus beginning their legacy in the Santa Clara Valley.

Collier Falls is a family-owned winery in Healdsburg, California’s beautiful Dry Creek Valley. Collier Falls Vineyards makes limited quantities of award-winning, estate red wines from their sustainably-farmed hillside vineyards in Sonoma County. Collier Falls Vineyards wines are aromatic, complex and elegant, and the winery's name comes from the waterfall below their Zinfandel vineyards.

Norman and Gino rented a small farm building in the Carneros region of Sonoma County. They purchased winegrapes, some 50-gallon oak barrels and a redwood vat. Three hundred cases of Pinot Noir and a small amount of White Riesling represented ZD's first commercial vintage in 1969. The grapes were purchased from the Winery Lake Vineyard, which had been planted a few years earlier by René di Rosa. ZD's 1969 Pinot Noir carries the historical significance of being the first wine to have a Carneros designation on the label. It states, "Made in Sonoma from grapes grown in the Carneros region of Napa." The Chardonnay winegrapes from Winery Lake Vineyard were not in production until 1971, which is the first vintage of ZD Chardonnay.