Darcie Kent Estate Winery

Darcie Kent Estate Winery

7000 Tesla Road, Livermore, CA, 94550
www.darciekent.wine

Region: Livermore Valley

Owner: Darcie Kent

Winemaker: Julian Halasz

About: Established in 1996, Darcie Kent Vineyards is a family-owned & operated winery in the Livermore Valley located east of San Francisco Bay. Along with her husband David and her two daughters, Kailyn and Amanda (sixth generation), Darcie Kent is committed to combining Livermore Valley terroir with her artistry and passion to forge and sustain a world-class, family-owned estate winery. We grow, barrel, and bottle all of our own wines. As a fifth-generation artist and vintner, Darcie’s bloodline runs through both art and wine. At Darcie Kent Estate Winery, art and wine are inextricable and inseparable from the natural world. Originally, we made just one wine, and we were obsessed with making it well: a Merlot from our original vineyard. When we began to branch out, we didn’t just go to Cab and Chardonnay: we made Grüner Veltliner, Petite Sirah, and then branched out even further to Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Primitivo, and Albariño. Now, we are very well known for our world-class Grüner, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot, just as much as our “noble” varietals.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? It’s hard to pick a favorite. This year, we’ll focus on Grüner Veltliner. As a cousin of Sauvignon Blanc, it grows beautifully in the Livermore Valley terroir, just as Sauvignon Blanc does. It is versatile, complex, and manages to be both aromatic and food-friendly. It has a unique color expression, with a small green or sappy yellow tint; it ages well, and it has an impressive, “creamy” midpalate that can make it stand up to steak. Its a wild card!

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Darcie’s first lesser-known grape discovery was Corvina, the key grape varietal in Valpolicella in Italy. Traveling to the Veneto region was a big, life-changing moment for Darcie, who had never been abroad until becoming an adult and starting her journey in the wine region. She loved these heavy, raisinated and complex red wines. For her husband, David, Barbera was his first lesser-known “aha!” grape variety, and is a favorite of his to this day. Their daughters, Amanda and Kailyn, grew up with Petite Sirah and Grüner Veltliner – their wine education had a heavy emphasis on lesser-known varieties!

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? Wine drinking and exploration is a form of travel you can do at home. And lesser-known varieties reveal aspects of your home region’s terroir that you might have never known about. Drinking lesser-known varietals is a form of adventure, and undiscovered grapes remind us that wine education is a lifelong journey full of rewarding surprises.