Contra Costa County

Contra Costa County hides old vines in sand. Oakley’s sandy loam holds mourvèdre and carignane plantings going back a century — phylloxera never got them, and the roots drive deep into river deposits off the San Joaquin. Mount Diablo rises above, and by afternoon the Delta breeze pulls heat off everything east of Walnut Creek. Tasting rooms lean small and farmhouse. Diablo Foothills and Round Valley Regional Preserves open shaded trails to dogs on leash. Pair an Oakley mourvèdre with a hill walk at dusk. The county pours a rural glass ten miles from a BART platform — no other county quite matches that trick.