valleys. Due to a reliable onshore afternoon/evening breeze off of the San Francisco Bay a wide fluctuation in temperature between sites and a large diurnal temperature swing occur. Livermore Valley is considered a Winkler Region III grape growing zone with temperatures comparable to northern Napa Valley appellations such as St. Helena or Calistoga. The relatively obscure Petite Sirah grape produced Livermore's best historically known red wine, although the climate also makes for interesting dessert wines as well as excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese, and Rhone varieties. The original plantings of Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc were cuttings taken from Château d'Yquem, and those grapes tend to produce fine wine in the Livermore area. There is also a move afoot among the wineries in Livermore to specialize in Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and some other mostly Bordeaux varieties. Wine made from grapes grown in the Livermore Valley is eligible for the Livermore Valley AVA, San Francisco Bay AVA, and Central Coast AVA appellation of origin designations. Wineries and vineyards 3 Steves Winery Bent Creek Winery Big White House Winery and John Evan Cellars Caddis Wines Concannon Vineyard Cuda Ridge Wines Misson Wines Nella Terra Cellars Nottingham Cellars Occasio Winery Omega Road Winery Page Mill Winery Raindrop Winery Rios-Lovell Winery Rodrigue Molyneaux Winery Rosa Fierro Cellars Rubino Estates Winery Ruby Hill Winery Winery The Steven Kent Winery Wente Vineyards Where to Buy California Wine Grapes Grapesforwine.com Grapemust.com Grapebuckets.com Baywinebrokers.com Photo gallery See also Bernal Subbasin Mocho Subbasin Pleasanton Fault Tesla Fault References External links American Viticultural Areas of the San Francisco Bay Area Geography of Alameda County, California Livermore, California Tourist attractions in Alameda County, California 1982 establishments in California American Viticultural Areas of California American Viticultural Areas