Each city in the Tri-Valley offers its own insight into the area’s frontier past. In Dublin, Heritage Park and Museums is made up of Pioneer Cemetery; St. Raymond (1859), the region’s oldest Catholic church; the Murray Schoolhouse; and the 1911 craftsman bungalow Kolb House, now a museum. Other areas boast their own treasures:

In Danville, an oak tree thought to be 350 years old stands on Diablo Road and also serves as the town’s logo. Nearby, the historic Danville Hotel and Railroad Depot are reminders of the town’s earliest days. The beautiful and renovated Sunol Water Temple,  built in 1910, once carried most of San Francisco’s water supply.

Perhaps no site better reflects the region’s history than Forest Home Farms Park in San Ramon, which includes the Glass House Museum  (circa 1877) and the Boone House (1900).

Even the wines here are historic. Concannon Vineyard  started in 1883 and made one of the first Bordeaux-style wines in California. Clones of its California Cabernet provided the basis for the Cab frenzy of the past 40 years. Concannon also introduced the varietal Petite Sirah to America. Meanwhile, Wente Vineyards (also from 1883) introduced the first labeled Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon in the country. So raise a glass to history.