Lodi Tasting Rooms as Social Portals

By Dennis Hall

Wineries tasting rooms blend people’s lives with intrigue and discovery serving as a key social portals. It is phenomenal today that new wineries keep sprouting up in and around Lodi such as Six Hands, for example, and long-established wineries such as Jessie’s Grove press on with their established varietals. Some vintners innovate with adventurous new wine blends as well. My wife Dana and I continually venture into downtown Lodi wine tasting rooms to get the low down on what’s fresh and new at Sorelle – Six Hands, Jessie’s Grove Winery, Estate Crush, Vinedos Aurora at Pamplona Tapas, Riaza Wines, and Jeremy Wine Company, plus go to tasting rooms already acquainted with us for quite some time via the Lodi Wine and Visitor Center, Cellar Door, Fields Family Wines, HG Vineyards, Toasted Toad Cellars, and The Dancing Fox Winery & Bakery.

We return after hours following dining downtown to many of the tasting rooms transitioned for the evening hours’ entertainment offerings of soulful, upbeat music, art exhibits, wine with cheese and crackers pairings, tours and barrel and tank tastings. The evening sunsets, twilight glow, and then nightfall hours accent ambiance delivering fun, romantic social outlets.

An aerial view of downtown Lodi finds the Lodi Wine and Visitors Center at Turner Road and Lower Sacramento Road, and then just blocks away, a dozen tasting rooms clustered on the streets of downtown Lodi, all within walking distance of each other with plentiful parking.

The surge and sustained interest in Lodi wine converged with social media such as blogs, podcasts, Match.com, Deal Chicken, Living Social, Google +, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. This convergence transformed every tasting room into portals for reaching and educating wine lovers near and far thanks to customers inspiring, viral testimonials. Further, tasting rooms are the new chic dating destinations. Customers can tap into on-line sites to learn about the winery and tasting room even while right in the room, hence allowing them digital appetizers so they can better digest the information conveyed to them by the vintner or tasting room staff. Wireless fidelity or “wifi” hotspots empower every guest to instantly post her or his own instant tell-all with the winery, tasting room, staff and clientele at center stage. That is phenomenal social marketing propelling wineries and Lodi appellation branding. Further, today it is expected in turn that a winery’s wine tasting room have its own social media brand page or community via Facebook, Google +, and Twitter at the very least that people can Like, Join, or Follow.

Camron King, Executive Director of the Lodi Grape Commission, with a tasting room and offices at the Lodi Wine and Visitor Center asserts that the dramatic changes in the Lodi Appellation amaze even local seasoned residents. For example, he emphasized, “There are 80 wineries now versus just six about twenty years ago.” Therefore, whether a person is a resident or a guest from out of the area, he and staff promise they will “act as a concierge” to make the experience most pleasant. The Visitor Center wine tasting bar is stocked with scores of local wines where the staff educates visitors about how to taste and buy wines. A demonstration vineyard immediately outdoors allows everyone to learn up close and personally through seeing actually planted vines with their grapes in various annual stages toward harvest. Walking through this phenomenal series of specific rows of vines is most delightful. Posted information explains each unique varietal of grape grown in the appellation such as Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon along with the key annual cycles. Come marvel at this special all-inclusive venue that includes on-site viticulture.

Estate Crush is a particularly enchanting tasting room, as at first glance transparency is clearly apparent. Setting at the intersection of West Lockeford Street and North Sacramento Street, the tasting room is even today what it was originally designed to be decades ago, a showroom, just not for new automobiles any longer but instead now for 79 bottles of wine. In its former life, the corner area of this structure was a car dealership showroom. While fully renovated, existing still are the large paned windows. This view sparks curiosity drawing you to the corner recessed entrance door opening into an expansive room of wine bar with cubby shelves holding 79 bottles of wine, stools, tables and chairs for sipping, buying wine, and relaxing. Smiling tasting room staff greets you welcoming you to come sip some incredible wines. Each stool finds at the wine bar face a mounted brass pair of hooks for comfortably hanging purses, sweaters, or jackets. The entire décor shines with classy, exuberant understated whites and greens buoying a playful, exploring state of mind. The tasting menu changes each month offering five wine tastings for five dollars, but every wine in its long list of offerings is available for sale. Estate Crush produces some of its own vintages under its own Estate Crush label, but is also a resource for entrepreneurs who dream of owning their own lines of wines. Entrepreneurs no longer need to invest valuable funding into the actual facilities and vineyards per se, but instead can let Estate Crush be their incubator and marketing channel. When you taste wine in Estate Crush’s tasting room, you may be sipping commercially viable artisan wines produced and bottled by Estate Crush, but for a client brand such as Miner’s Leap located near Clarksburg, California, or Twisted Roots which has a tasting room in Carmel Valley, California. Sitting or standing in the tasting room, visitors can walk over to a bank of windows looking in on the production area that includes barrels aging wines. During the fall, visitors witness the full bottling process. Come in and taste truly original wines.

H G Vineyards tasting room on Locust Street serves its own wines for the label Hansen-Garbarino, the “H G”, and also those wines of its wine venture partners. Jeff Hansen, owner and winemaker, does all the final blending with his winemaking team from throughout California’s various wine regions. They source grapes from Lodi, California’s coastal regions, Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, and Santa Maria. Dee Dee Capps manages the tasting room serving up delicious, warm meatballs from scratch, and cheeses and crackers, plus chocolate to pair with the wines while tasting. The tasting room is expansive and well lit by large windows with seats and tables available for tasting and relaxing. You will enjoy tasting the wines and learning about their complexities while assembling your own intriguing mix of varietals to buy.

Sorelle Winery in the rural vineyard reaches of Stockton teamed with Six Hands winery out of Walnut Grove, California opened during May 2013 its new collaborative tasting room on School Street. Both wineries offer at least a flight of three wines to taste at any one time. The “U” shaped bar at the room’s furthest wall from the entrance allows visitors easily to scan the entire room while seated on stools and listening to tasting room staff explaining the characteristics of the wines. Old-fashioned style, thick glass bulbs encapsulating thick orange glowing filaments reminiscent of Thomas Edison’s early inventions suspend down from the ceilings. A huge horizontal rectangle of windows above the entrance threshold consists of a series of original, antique opaque glass panes. Inset stylishly into surrounding panes are three recently handcrafted stained glass panes. These panes add touches of color that pops across and above the room’s threshold and reception area. Hardwood, original Douglas fir floor boards dating back to the early 1900s only recently sanded and sealed richly shine their proud heritage. Entering the tasting room, there are plenty of seats and tables inside, with the left wall exposing original plaster and some chipped away to expose original brick and mortar. This tasting room addition on School Street will surely complement those of neighboring Cellar Door and Fields Family Wines to complete an afternoon’s trio of wine tasting adventures.

Cellar Door asserts comfortable chat when describing the wines it pours instead of all the pretentious jargon. For example, a customer came in from the warm outdoors exclaiming to Akaylia Sidener pouring behind the bar, “Something cold!” and her instinctive response was to pour him a glass of chilled Van Ruiten Family Winery estate grown Pinot Grigio. While I was sipping the Michael David Family of Wines 6th Sense Syrah, General Manager Vanessa Foreman and Akaylia Sidener together gave me a golden idea for bringing more people from out of the area into downtown Lodi for wine tasting. Their idea is for people to take advantage of low-cost roundtrip Amtrac train travel into Lodi from either Sacramento or Modesto for less than $30 per person. What an incredible adventure! Arrive by train, wine taste, buy wine, and depart from the station during the evening back to home.

Erin and RickTaylor, winemakers for their new Riaza Wines, expressed delight at the guests who come into Riaza’s tasting room on Elm Street where they serve Spanish varietals saying, “We’re making Lodi a destination point.” Riaza Wines tasting room bursts with rich Spanish décor aglow from tastefully, discreet small lights. One step inside finds you at their lounge area with couch, chairs, and wine table. Guests may opt for al fresco seating just outside and in front of the tasting room entrance for enjoying their bottle of wine with conversations.

Jessie’s Grove Winery is a name long associated with the Lodi Appellation dating back into the 1800s. Some of its vines are aged at over one hundred years old. Today, Jessie’s Grove Winery pours wines for guests in its second tasting room. It is located in downtown Lodi at Main Street and Locust, having renovated the Old Ice House. Back in the day several decades ago, this building provided coveted ice for local residents, businesses, and the railroads. People visit and recall that they once bought snow cones and blocks of ice there. They marvel at the exquisite renovation and repurposing. Entering the Jessie’s Grove Winery tasting room through the door on Main Street, the rich Tuscan décor fills your eyes and heart. Tasting Room staff smile and welcome visitors offering tasting at a granite topped bar faced with dark, rich vertical mahogany staves with seating at six stools. The tasting room prominently, yet subtly displays the Jessie’s Grove horsehead logo behind and above the granite bar with relaxing, comforting expression. The bar is set back with six stools, affording an immediate laid-back area in the foreground where there are six chairs offered at circular granite topped tables. Says Courtney Chadwell, the Tasting Room manager, “this seating area affords guests a place to relax and hang out while enjoying their wine.” Dark, hardwood repurposed 100 year old wood floor planks that formerly served the ice house as water resistant, insulating wall boards. Light grey granite bar top and round tabletops, plus Tuscan style dark mustard colored walls reflect and absorb natural light shining in from a wide bank of windows. Ceiling lights support continuous lumens regardless of sunshine, overcast, or winter dusk skies. This culminates in a warm well lit, balanced hue.

Vinedos Aurora at Pamplona Tapas tasting room on Oak Street next to Alebrijes Mexican Bistro is a collaborative between Gerardo Espinosa, a professional architect and winemaker, and Ruben Larrazolo, Executive Chef and owner of Alebrijes Mexican Bistro. Gerardo and his tasting room staff pour at the Pomplona Tapas tasting room his Vinedos Aurora Spanish varietals. It is highly recommended to enjoy pairing the wines with the scrumptious Spanish cuisine tapas. A common wall separates the two distinct worlds, but they share one common kitchen for the Mexican food entrees and the Spanish cuisine tapas. Gerardo branded his wines in loving memory of his grandmother and further the name Aurora means the first light of the day in the vineyards.

We want the world to know about California wine. Therefore, Dana founded SipCalifornia.com during 2012 for introducing people to wine tasting rooms and buying wines. We market Sip California Wine Tasting Cards via e-commerce, retail sales, and through fundraising. Each card affords the cardholder complimentary tasting for two at wine tasting rooms through December 31, 2013, on a repeat-usage basis. The wine tasting rooms are all throughout the Lodi Wine Region (at least 22 locations), and the Sacramento Valley / Sierra Foothills Wine Regions (at least 25 locations).