In the heart of California’s Livermore Valley, Garré Vineyard & Winery warmly welcomes guests with wonderful wines and genuine family hospitality. The winery was founded by Bob Molinaro, for whom winemaking has always been a large part of life. His passion for food, wine, and his Italian heritage led him to starting the winery.
From the beginning, the Garré tasting room grounds have been a popular place for people to gather, taste wine, and play a game of bocce. Perhaps that’s because Bob and his daughter, Gina Molinaro-Cardera, insist that besides food and wine, friendship and hospitality are also an important part of their family tradition. Besides the cozy tasting room that greets plenty of repeat visitors, they created Garré Café, known far and wide for its Wine Country Salad and house-made focaccia baked in an Old World wood-burning oven. Many family occasions, from birthday parties to reunions, have been celebrated here.
Best of all, for more than 15 years, Garré Vineyard & Winery has been making wedding dreams come true. Already home to the elegant Martinelli Center and homey Casa di Tutti, the winery recently unveiled Bella Rosa, a stunning new wedding destination and venue. Named for Bob’s grandmother, Rosa, the beautiful facility seamlessly blends Old World charm with contemporary, state-of-the-art capabilities, backed by an in-house, internationally trained culinary team and an expert service staff. Bella Rosa offers a variety of fun three-day city-to-vineyard wedding weekend packages designed to treat wedding parties to the best of San Francisco and Livermore Valley wine country. And during Bella Rosa’s inaugural year, a rose bush will be planted along its wedding path in honor of each couple who is married there.
Food, wine, friends, hospitality, and family tradition are the values for which Garré stands and the wine list of Sparkling, Italian, and many blends pays homage to a traditional Italian family’s way of life.
An Interview with VP of Operations Gina Molinaro-Cardera
T&T: Congratulations on the winery’s new wedding destination, Bella Rosa! What was your vision as you created this new venue?
GMC: Our winery is family run, and family is most important to us. Bella Rosa is named for my great-grandmother, Rosa Garré. As the matriarch of our family, she made sure everyone had enough good food to eat, and that all who sat around her table felt like family. What better way to honor her than build a beautiful building in the middle of a vineyard and name it after her?
T&T: Can you tell us about The Wedding Rose program?
GMC: We have planted roses along the path to Bella Rosa. During our inaugural year, each couple having their wedding at Bella Rosa will choose one of the roses during their rehearsal and identify it with a plant marker engraved with their name and wedding date. On their wedding day, after the outdoor ceremony, their guests will walk past the couple’s rose through our Bordeaux vineyard and on to the veranda to toast the bride and groom and enjoy cocktail hour. Each couple will receive an engraved plant stake to commemorate their special day. And, in the future, each time they come back to sample wines in our tasting room, have lunch at Garré Café, or attend another wedding or special wine club event, they can visit their commemorative rose along the path to Bella Rosa.
T&T: In your experience, what makes a special celebration really memorable?
GMC: We’re all about family here, and I think that’s the core thing that makes a celebration memorable. When everyone from the tiniest toddlers to the oldest member of a clan gather together, something magical takes place. Here at Garré, we treat all of our brides and grooms like our own family. We share their happiness and toast them warmly with our wines, great food, in our beautiful vineyard setting. And now with Bella Rosa, our celebrations are more memorable than ever.
What to Buy
Sparkling White – $18
Pear, green apple, honeysuckle, ground almond, hint of brioche
’09 Primitivo – $24
Dark fruit jam, holiday spice, allspice, hint of anise
’08 Merlot – $24
Black cherry, plum, blueberry jam, cassis, touch of tobacco
’10 Nonna’s Family Reserve – $28
Blueberry pie, cassis, rose water, clove
Special Notes
Weddings and receptions, bocce court, tasting room, restaurant, corporate events.
Contact
7986 Telsa Road
Livermore, CA 94550
Phone: 925-371-8200
E-mail: garre@garrewinery.com
Website: garrewinery.com
Tasting Room: Open Fri–Sun 11:30–5
Touring & Tasting
Touring & Tasting is a media company that produces a wine and travel magazine.
