'Personal touch' keeps Livermore wineries afloat

LIVERMORE VALLEY — El Sol Vineyard on Lupin Way isn't the biggest game in town.

It's at least a couple miles from any other wineries, only produces about 4,000 cases a year and sources most of its grapes. Owner Hal Liske admits his small vineyard is mainly for show.

But the winery's 18-month-old tasting room has something that seems to be helping it weather the recession as well, or better, than some of its larger competitors — a personal touch.

"If you're a Nordstrom shopper, you know you generally don't leave the store without a clerk coming out from behind the counter, handing you your bag and saying, 'Thank you very much.' That's a good model," said Liske, a retired Hayward Fire Department captain who runs the winery with his wife, Kathy.

Grape harvest started this week in the Livermore Valley, which includes 40-plus wineries from Sunol to the foot of Mount Diablo. And while this year's larger-than-average crop is expected to receive high marks for quality, local wine experts say the region's wineries have not escaped the recession unscathed.

"The word that best describes consumer patterns in our wine region this year is 'inconsistent,'"‰" said Chris Chandler, executive director of the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association.

Though people are still drinking wine, tasting room traffic has been unpredictable, with some weekends drawing droves of customers and others hardly any at all.

Surprisingly, the wineries that seem to be faring the best are some of the area's smallest — possibly because they're able to make a "special, personal connection with visitors," Chandler said.

El Sol, which opened a tasting room in April 2008, is the only winery in the Livermore Valley with a "hospitality model," Liske said.

Customers who come in for tastings are seated at individual tables and waited on, restaurant-style, instead of standing or sitting at a bar area.

"Having people sitting at a table and me being able to walk up and put my hand on the back of a chair and chitchat without that bar space in between really facilitates communication," Liske said.

The winery's sales are up 20 percent from last year, he added.

For John Evan Cellars and Big White House, two labels produced by the same, small Livermore Valley winery, it's a family affair.

"It's a rare weekend when neither my dad or I are here. Most weekends both of us are here," said John Evan Marion III, co-owner of Big White House and John Evan Cellars winery.

Marion launched his own, self-named label in 2004, 12 years after his father, John "The Elder," started the Big White House label in 1992. The family's main winery and tasting room is on Greenville Road, but they also operate a satellite tasting room in Blacksmith Square in downtown Livermore.

Customers seem to enjoy hearing family stories and watching their father-son rapport, Marion said, adding, "I think one of the things that has helped us through "... is the personal touch."

Industrywide, people are buying less expensive wine these days — a trend that may be benefiting the more modestly priced Livermore Valley wines.

Liske, of El Sol, prides himself on his low price points, which he says are "perfect" for the current market.

"I like to keep the majority of my wine below $25 with a fairly significant amount of wine (below $20)," he said.

One Livermore Valley winery was forced to close its doors this year for financial reasons, Winegrowers Association officials said.

But at least a couple others have cropped up in its place, including the new Occasio winery on South Tesla.

Building the business, which opened its tasting room doors just last weekend, has been a two-year process that began in 2007, said owner John Kinney.

"In 2007, I didn't see 2008 and 2009 (coming)," Kinney remarked, referring to the economic downturn.

Nonetheless, he says he's excited about the future. The emphasis at the winery, which uses only Livermore Valley grapes, is "value."

"We're trying to offer the best wines in Livermore, but we're very value-conscious of the prices we're charging," Kinney said. "I think we're coming out of the recession about the same time we're opening, so I'm optimistic that we'll recover from this. I think we're nearing the end."