Winery Recommendations For A Good Bottle of Wine in Lodi
Our winery recommendations for a Good Bottle of Wine in Lodi….we’ve written about individual wineries when you see links, and we do have an overview of some of these, ‘Lodi Wine.’
Just like our wines we are ranking wineries we’ve visited with our star system. When you see ✰++ you need to visit this winery, with a -✰, not so much. Ranked from best to least in descending order.
Western Side of Highway 99
✰++ Michael & David – Review Coming Soon – West of downtown on Route 12 and known for Freak Show and Earthquake, lots of Zins.
✰++ M2, Interesting building, good wine, well priced with an experienced and mature staff.
✰+ Fields Family, Northwest of downtown. Check out their Big Red and Il Ladro (Tuscan blend of Sangiovese, Cab & Merlot)
✰+ Jessie’s Grove, another pioneer family estate with 100+ year old grape vine around the old farm house. Now operated by Michael & David wines.
✰ Oak Farm Vineyards, has a beautiful new facility, wonderful patio for lunch (your own food.)
✰Van Ruiten, also West of downtown on Route 12. Another pioneer family making nice wines.
✰ Peirano Estates – Review Coming Soon – 4th generation farmer with 128-year-old Zin vines creating well priced wines from Zins to Petite Sirah.
✰ Jeremy Wine Company, downtown retail storefront sells some good wine and a ‘Jug’ for refilling with their blended wine.
Eastern Side of Highway 99
✰++ Burghold, Northeast of downtown. Great Syrahs and of course Zins we enjoy. If you’re lucky, the owner, Joe Burghold and his wife will be behind the bar and he’ll be telling stories.
✰++ Klinkerbrick – Review Coming Soon – Check out their Zins and Syrahs, all very good. Ask most winery hosts where you should visit when you leave their facility.
✰++ D’Art Wines – Review Coming Soon – Winemaker making a wide range of tastey wines. They have a patio and yard with tables for picnic lunches and a dog who wants a lot of attention.
✰++ Macchia Wines, lots of good Zins, but alas, getting a spitting cup from them was difficult. We were ready to leave when they finally produced one.
✰+ Durst, Cassandra Durst is creating interesting wines. You owe it to yourself to a visit here.
✰+ Delicato – In Manteca, just south of Lodi. Big commercial winemaker with good commercial wine and some more expensive wines too. Check out their 1824 red wines and their 1924 Whiskey Barrel-Aged Red Blend. Many wines available at retail stores including a boxed Chardonnay with low carbs, calories & alcohol.
✰ Bokisch – Out on the east side specializing in Italian variatels. Enjoyed their Barbera & Old Vine Carignon.
✰ Harney Lane, good wines, Zin of course, a pioneer family making wine since the early 1900s.
✰ Oak Ridge, a large wine maker of long time residents. Their tasting room is in a 55,000 gallon aging cask. We went there to taste their 100+ year old zin and left unsatisfied as they have a set taste list for the week. The wine we wanted to taste was not on that week’s list, and they were not going off list…..disappointing.
✰ St. Amant, hard to find, located in the Lodi agricultural center on the end of Guild St. Nothing here ‘sang’ for us, but they might for you.
✰ McCay Cellars, a rock and roll kind of place in an industrial center. The wine room is The Pallet Room, made from pieces of shipping pallets.
✰ Heritage Oak, the wine did not ‘sing’ for us, it was the last winery of the day and our palates may have been overburdened and the fruit flies were irritating.