LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA – I’ll confess that I lived in Lamorinda for years before I learn that we’re actually an official wine region.
The Lamorinda AVA was recognized as a California wine-growing region in 2016. There are over 40 vineyards operating in Lamorinda.
But most are tiny–producing perhaps a few hundred cases per year. They’re tucked into peoples’ backyards, or their suburban hillsides. Most offer tastings by appointment only. Sometimes, you’re tasting wines in someone’s kitchen.
Now, a new, hyperlocal wine tasting room seeks to change that. Local Vines (3393-3395 Mt Diablo Blvd, Lafayette) just had it soft opening this month, and is preparing for a grand opening.
It’s located on Mount Diablo Blvd right in downtown Lafayette, and it’s pouring wines made as close as a few blocks away.
Local Wines. Like, Really Local
Local Vines sits in a new building on Mount Diablo Boulevard, in the same stretch of downtown as Wine Thieves and the new Horn Barbecue location. Signage on the building calls it “Local Vines Tasting Room & Winery,” and licensing paperwork points to Deer Hill Vineyards as a key player behind the project. (We have a big list of the wines they’re pouring below).
Instead of being a single winery’s tasting room, Local Vines is set up as a cooperative urban wine bar for Lamorinda winemakers. The Lafayette Chamber describes it as “a boutique urban wine tasting room in the heart of the Lamorinda Appellation” and notes that it is run as a co-op of local winemakers, right in walkable distance from Highway 24 and Lafayette BART.
I stopped by about a year ago in December of 2024 when it was still under construction.
Behind the bar is winemaker and consultant Pietro Buttitta, best known for Prima Materia, an Italian-variety focused label that recently closed its Temescal Alley tasting room in Oakland. Buttitta has taken on a new role as general manager and winemaking consultant at Local Vines, where he will help anchor the space and guide multiple small producers sharing the facility.
Inside The Space: Co-op Tasting Room Meets Food Incubator
Local Vines is part of a broader Bay Area trend toward collective tasting rooms, where multiple small producers share a single, casual, community-oriented space instead of each trying to maintain their own formal tasting room.
In this case, wineries like Raison D’etre and Deer Hill will be sharing the tasting space, which is paired with an incubator kitchen for emerging chefs next door. That allows for events with wine and food paired together.
After years of “coming soon” announcements from the Lamorinda Winegrowers Association and partner wineries, Local Vines finally started welcoming guests in early December. A December 4 post on the Local Vines Lafayette Facebook page described it as “the first day of our soft opening” and invited people to “drop in to try Lamorinda grown and made wines,” with hours listed as Wednesday through Sunday, 2 to 7 pm.
What are they pouring? Here’s a sample of what’s on offer at launch:
Wines by flight
White Wines Flight $10
- Deer Hill Vineyards Chardonnay
- Stag Hill Vermentino
- Thal Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc
- Crane Terrace Winery Chardonnay
Medium-Weight Reds Flight $12
- Los Arabis Vineyards Pinot Noir
- Deer Hill Vineyards Sangiovese
- Meadow View Winery “Super-T” Blend
- Crane Terrace Winery Syrah
Bigger Reds Flight $12
- Stag Hill Vineyards Syrah/Grenache
- Meadow View Winery “Haas” Cabernet
- Prima Materia Aglianico
- Raisin d’Etre Vineyards Petite Sirah
Gold Medal Flight $13
- Stag Hill Vineyards Zinfandel
- Rancho del Hambre “SoRho” Rhone Blend
- Raisin d’Etre Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
- Thal Vineyards “Lily’s Blend”
Mount Diablo Cider Company Flight $8 (ciders, not wine, but on the same menu)
- “Girl Named Sue” Gravenstein
- Biodynamic Quince + Granniwinkle
- Newtown Pippin
- Community Crush
It’s super cool to see wines grown right on our literal doorsteps finally getting a tasting room of their own. We can’t wait to stop by and try it. Make sure to join our free 925 News newsletter so I can share a review as soon as we do.