With the wine industry in a downturn right now, if you own a winery, you have a couple options.
One, you sit back, run business as usual, and hope for the best, and that the downturn will run its course. Two, you get out of your comfort zone, change things up a bit, and adjust as you deem necessary.
The second option is where you believe fortune favors the bold.
At the wineries of Rubino and Ruby Hill, they are living the second option.
“It’s no secret the wine industry is in kind of a slump,” said Eric Callahan, who runs both wineries that his father started. “We’re just trying some new things, keeping things interesting. People want to have the experience.”
That’s the key. There are a multitude of wineries in the Livermore Valley and if you are going for a day of wine tasting, you’re going to make it to usually three stops, perhaps four if you are adventuresome and have a designated driver.
So how do you pick the wineries you will visit? It must be an experience. Wine tasting is at its best when you are relaxed in a cool vibe.
The are good wines and bad wines so the place with the good wine and the relaxing vibe is what you are going to remember.
Rubino/Ruby Hill ace the vibe test.
In full disclosure we are members of both wineries, but that is for a reason. The combo of the wine and the vibe. The two wineries are different enough to make them two different experiences.
Both wineries extended their Friday hours, staying open until 6:30 p.m. Starting at 4 p.m., at least for the month of April, they are offering glasses of wine for $10 (a great value in Pleasanton) and 25 percent off deli items.
Will it go past April – to be determined.
“We’ll have to see how the extended hours work in April,” said Callahan, who is pictured to the right.
Rubino is also offering a Sunset Portfolio, a special tasting of their fine wines, along with light pairings in the vineyards. The cost of $90 per couple – $80 for members – is well worth the cost.
My wife and I did a Valentine’s Day excursion, starting with a glass of bubbly at Ruby Hill, followed by tasting in the barrel room of Rubino, then wine in the vineyard, and concluded with food and wine parings back at Ruby Hill.
Ruby Hill offers a Sunset Mello Cielo Vineyard Experience, which also involves going into the vineyards for a flight of wine, as well as light pairings.
Another offering from Ruby Hill is the Odyssey Experience that takes place in the heart of the vineyard at the Harvest Table that is under old oak trees and bordered by vines.
The Odyssey Experience features an exclusive flight of wines, available only at the winery. The wine ambassador takes the guests through the varietals that play a part in the Odyssey wines.
A vertical tasting is accompanied by ample charcuterie for a definitive tasting experience.
There are a lot of factors that go into a wine tasting experience, starting with the wine, but enjoying your time at a winery is every bit as important and it is something the staff at Rubino and Ruby Hill embrace and excel at.
By Dennis Miller