Most wineries aspire to prosper for a generation. Many wineries succeed in passing their success on to their heirs. Rarely does such success run for three generations. One notable example of three generations of success is Jessie’s Grove. Starting in 1868, the Spenker family has continuously operated a ranch and farm in Lodi. Today they produce amazing wine from 120 year-old grapes. It was with great anticipation that we visited their tasting room!
The Lodi wine region undergoes constant change, with wineries and tasting rooms popping up, morphing and (sometimes) disappearing. Popularity brings with it a lot of good challenges, and we were able to enjoy the fruits of one such challenge when we visited the sparkling new tasting room of Stama Winery.
The picturesque downtown area of Lodi is home to boutique shops, brew pubs and, happily, winery tasting rooms. During our recent visit we were able to enjoy two out of three of these attractions. You guessed it, we skipped the boutiques. Our first stop was an amazing visit to the Jeremy Wine Company.
After boning up on the heritage of the zinfandel grape, we set off for Lodi. We had a full day planned, full of new wineries to explore, with an emphasis on smaller wineries that produced a range of varietals. We were all excited enough about our day that we got up early (which is saying something), packed the car and arrived at our first winery at the stroke of 11:00. Our opening tasting? Today that call went to the Van Ruiten Family Winery!
As I prepared for our next wine tasting trip to the Lodi region, it was only natural to think fondly of the Zinfandel grape. Lodi is famous for producing powerful Zins from 100 year-old vines. Then it hit me: what, exactly, is a Zinfandel? It turns out that the Zinfandel grape has some mystery in its background, but I can save you some time on Google, because here is what I discovered.
Until 2015, I had never visited Lodi, California. As one of our (okay, my) new year’s resolutions, my husband, John, and I put a trip to Lodi on our calendar. Being both exceptionally smart and extremely good friends, Laura and Bill decided to accompany us. Since none of us had tasted in Lodi before and […]
Grab your Lodi winery map because we’re at it again! Well, technically it was just me this time with a bunch of girlfriends, not the usual Wine Tasting Bliss family. While our trip on Valentine’s Day featured wineries in what I shall refer to as the lower right hand corner of your map, this trip […]
Our second venture into the Lodi wine district was drawing to a close. We had great dinner reservations (on Valentine’s Day, no less) but felt that we could properly visit one last winery. What to choose, what to choose? Based on some research and Yelp reviews, we gave the nod to Riaza Wines in downtown […]
Omega Cellars in Lodi is a tasty bundle of contradictions. For example, it is a destination winery, yet it isn’t located where our GPS sent us. The tasting room is small, but the ambiance is huge. The wine list is carefully curated, yet we had a new blend prepared right before our eyes. Is it […]
Our second venture into the Lodi wine district began with a visit to d’Art Wines. We didn’t know very much d’Art Wines before we arrived, so we had no idea what to expect. A colorful and exuberant tasting room, plus some amazing wines equaled a great kick-off to a fun day. The d’Art tasting room […]
As part of our first Lodi wine tasting adventure, we visited Mettler Family Vineyards. Set in a picturesque plot along Harney Lane, the tasting room is equally beautiful. Blending warm woods and natural stone, the setting provided a great backdrop for some truly wonderful wines. We started our tasting flight with their 2013 Chardonnay. Spending […]