![<\/a>](\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2012\/02\/DSCN03911.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2012\/02\/Wente-7.jpg\")
<\/a>A view of The Course at Wente Vineyards from the 7th tee with Mt. Diablo in the distance.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Imagine visiting a really special, beautiful and challenging award-winning golf course and then sipping fine wines and enjoying gourmet cuisine under the live oak canopies of the oldest continuously family-owned winery in California.\u00a0 In an easy hour\u2019s drive east of San Francisco you can combine those three rare treats for a wonderful day at on outstanding venue.\u00a0 The place is The Course at Wente Vineyards.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>The entrance to golf's perfect trifecta - golf, food, and wine!<\/p><\/div>\n
One of the special secrets of the Greater San Francisco area is the Livermore Valley wine region tucked over the hills in the so-called East Bay.\u00a0 Actually the area is the oldest wine region in California and in terms of friendly folks, great wines, and value is what Napa and Sonoma were twenty-five years ago.\u00a0 Here you will often meet the owner or vintner while you sample the area\u2019s 43 wineries with the assurance that some libations that will become lifelong \u201cfriends.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Couple that with more interesting topography than the Napa Valley and you will actually encounter more unique golf courses \u2013 the best of which may be The Course at Wente Vineyards Course.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As you leave the chill of the San Francisco or Oakland area and head over the hills on Interstate 580 East, you encounter the attractive Livermore Valley that also includes the charming town of Pleasanton (my home).\u00a0 About ten minutes east and then ten minutes south as you head out of Livermore into the hills, you leave suburbia and gaze upon the vines and yes, the golf.\u00a0 There is no place quite like it in California.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Today the Wente wine brand continues to be owned and lovingly managed by the fourth and fifth-generation of Wentes with the name being synonymous with leadership in the State\u2019s wine industry.\u00a0 The property at Wente\u2019s that includes the golf course would be special if it only included their winery, or their fine restaurant, or just a golf course.\u00a0 Here within steps of each other, you can experience the best of all three experiences.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n From a historical backdrop, a first-generation immigrant from Germany, C. H. Wente learned the art of wine-making from Charles Krug.\u00a0 Moving to California, Wente discovered that the warm days and cool nights together with the gravelly soils of the Livermore Valley were prime for growing grapes.\u00a0 He bought 48 acres and founded his winery in 1883.\u00a0 Today, Karl Wente is the fifth-generation winemaker and the family has significant land holdings in California that also include 2,000 acres of vineyards in the Livermore Valley and 800 more in Arroyo Seco near Monterey.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Above is the wine tasting room and event center.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n As you approach the property that is tucked away in a pristine valley setting surrounded by steep hillsides on three sides, you are probably thinking to yourself what a great place to build a golf course.\u00a0 Then all of a sudden to the left on the flat valley floor you actually encounter four long holes that accompany you the last mile into the winery.\u00a0 Your heart rate quickens.\u00a0 The splashes of brilliant white sand, ribbons of green, golden hillsides, and aged oaks have all the earmarks of something special.\u00a0 As you encounter the understated old Spanish style wine tasting and separate restaurant area, you feel the glow of having made the short trek off of the beaten path for here the threesome of wine, food, and exemplary golf only need you and your friends to make it a \u201cperfect foursome.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Wente\u2019s commissioned Greg Norman to design an 18-hole golf course on the property, which was opened in 1998.\u00a0 The result remains one of Norman\u2019s finest efforts anywhere.\u00a0 The layout is a combination of grassy meadows, flat valley floors, and some woodland areas interspersed with vineyards and hillside golf.\u00a0 The topography is at times rugged and carts are essential.\u00a0 That said, the thrills and views are easily worth the ride.\u00a0\u00a0 The course is visually separated into sections with the first six holes completely invisible from the building facilities.\u00a0 Climbing to the first tee and playing in that pristine bowl all by itself is like really stepping out into a quiet nature preserve.\u00a0 With the elevated tee shot on the par-three 7th<\/sup> hole the course again shifts as much of the remainder lies out before you, but there are yet more thrills to be discovered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am always hesitant to describe individual holes, but The Course at Wente Vineyards has so many that I can\u2019t<\/p>\n resist.\u00a0\u00a0 I have previously called the first hole \u201cthe best opening bunkerless hole in America.\u201d\u00a0 From an elevated tee with vineyards to the left and trees and water to the right and magnificent hills as a backdrop, it is not only breathtaking, but it is a beastly challenge from the tips at 474 yards.\u00a0 The second hole is contrast is only 307 yards and is drivable for some.\u00a0 Tucked into a pocket of mature woodlands, it is one of the best short par-fours you will ever encounter.\u00a0 My recommendation is to layup and find the fairway, and then apply a full spinning approach into the well-bunkered green if you hope to make a birdie.\u00a0 The course continues with any hole eligible to be your favorite, but the climb ala twisting Lombard Street in San Francisco from the 9th<\/sup> green to the 10th<\/sup> tee is amazing and surpassed only by the view at the summit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Holes ten through fourteen, though not particularly long, are a treacherous stretch that plays in its own little envelope above the valley with the finish composed of a long, relatively flat stretch directly back to the clubhouse.\u00a0 And the 472-yard 18th<\/sup> is a dream-spoiler.\u00a0 With a creek splitting the fairway and a pond fronting the right side of the green, it has ruined many a good score.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Overall, the layout stretches to 7,181 yards and because of the abundant bunkering, elevation changes, and challenging putting surfaces can really play tough.\u00a0 If the wind is blowing multiply the \u201ctough factor\u201d by two.\u00a0 And how tough you ask?\u00a0 Well, the course hosted the Nationwide Tour for the three years and it set the record as being the toughest one on their schedule.\u00a0 If you play a more forward tee, the test is really quite versatile and very entertaining.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And what about the Wente Course is so captivating?\u00a0 Several things come to mind.\u00a0 First, Norman put considerable focus into the green sites.\u00a0 Typically they are punctuated with bright white sand faces and spill off into collection areas. \u00a0From my perspective, they rate among the best greensites Norman has fashioned, comparable to the best anywhere.\u00a0 As referenced the putting surfaces are a distinct challenge to putt with slopes that are deceptively subtle, firm and usually very quick. \u00a0Even the pros leave shots out there on these greens.<\/p>\n The conditioning is excellent so you can expect tight uniform fairway lies and speedy true, but firm rolling greens.\u00a0 Then there is the gorgeous scenery that ranges from the many vineyards and surrounding peaks and hillsides to the trees and valleys.\u00a0 Thankfully, there are no housing developments to distract from the magnificent vistas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Golf is only the beginning of the golf\/food\/wine trifecta that makes Wente\u2019s so uniquely special.\u00a0 Beyond that fact that all are beautifully situated, there is a small comfortable golf clubhouse with a patio area overlooking the 18th<\/sup> green from which to enjoy a cool beverage or a tasty sandwich as you replay your round.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The patio area overlooks the very difficult finishing hole.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For a gourmet meal, you will certainly enjoy a host of treats at the restaurant situated at the entrance to the property.\u00a0 Imagine yourself in a quiet, romantic countryside setting savoring simple food with complex flavors.\u00a0 The Wente Family realizes that fine wines only truly shine when they can accompany equally tasty food so you can be assured that the American dishes influenced by Italian, French, and California cuisines are fresh and designed to complement their wine presentation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adjacent to the restaurant across the lawn is the wine-tasting building where in addition to the restaurant you can sample the many varieties for which the Wente name is famous.\u00a0 In a portion of the property that hosts both numerous weddings and concerts by famous musicians and comedians, you can further relax during your visit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Speaking of famous names, Annika Sorenstam is a wine connoisseur and has partnered with the Wente\u2019s to produce her line of wines.\u00a0 No less that the PGA TOUR\u2019s resident wine expert, Duffy Waldorf, awarded her his highest five-star rating, \u201cAnnika Sorenstam has teamed up with Wente Vineyards to do what she usually does, become a winner.\u00a0 Her 2006 Annika Syrah Livermore Valley combines exotic flavors of cinnamon and smoke in a balanced wine that keeps getting better in the glass, and will likely continue to get better with age.\u201d\u00a0 Now wine-sipping golfers, does that whet your palette?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the entire world, The Course at Wente Vineyards may feature the best combination of quality golf, superlative wine, and scrumptious food – a magical trifecta.\u00a0 When in Northern California, you\u2019ll savor the day you spend enjoying it all here!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Below is the par-3 seventh and just another of the many mesmerizing views that treat you at The Course at Wente Vineyards – one of Northern California’s and Greg Norman’s best.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Who would have thought that the Wente Family would also have such a wonderful influence on Northern California golf? \u00a0Above the old oak to the right in the midst of the fairway must be negotiated if you expect to hit the green.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>\n
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Proper club selection is critical on the downhill par-3 fourteenth.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Spectacular views of the course below are a definite distraction at the top of “Lombard Street” in the vicinity of the tenth tee area. \u00a0Shown above are the 8th, 9th, 16th, 17th, and 18th holes.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n
<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/a>I call Wente’s first hole from its elevated tee one of the best opening holes in American golf – and it’s bunkerless and tough!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>You really play among the vineyards at Wente’s as witnessed from the fifth tee looking toward the fourth green.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>You will encounter all varieties of topography as demonstrated by the challenging uphill par-4 sixth hole.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>Bold bunkering is ever present at Wente’s as evidenced by the short par-3 third hole.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>\n\n
<\/a><\/dt>\n
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"