4 minute read
WINE COUNTRY
NATURE AND NURTURE COMBINE IN LODI
85+ Wineries, 100 Varietals, Award-Winning Wine Region
Lodi is one of California’s premier grape-growing and winemaking regions, with a history dating back to the 1850s. Lodi was an early wine capital of the West—some Zinfandel vines here are over 130 years old! Premium wine grapes cover approximately 100,000 acres in Lodi, more vineyard acreage than Napa and Sonoma combined.
This wealth of grapes and grape varieties create something for every wine lover’s palate, from everyday table wines to award-winning vintages. The Lodi Appellation includes over 450 labels and over 100 varietals. Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Petite Sirah, Albariño, Tempranillo and Grenache are a few of the varietals available for tasting.
The rich soil of Lodi’s vineyards is crosscut with creeks and the Mokelumne River, and brushed with nighttime moisture from the Sacramento Delta. Generations of families have grown fruit and made wine here. One family’s son, Robert Mondavi, graduated from Lodi Union High School in 1933 as Class President, and headed off to Stanford University. Degree in hand, he returned to Lodi and began a career that would transform California’s international wine industry.
DID YOU KNOW
• Lodi is the birthplace of A&W Root Beer; the first batch was sold here in the summer of 1919.
• Downtown Lodi hosts a weekly farmers market during summer months, Thursdays 5–8 pm.
Wineries encircle the town, some surrounded by hundreds of acres of vineyards, others along the banks of the Mokelumne River.
Many current Lodi winemakers trace their careers and craft back to Robert Mondavi—just one thread of traditions stretching back generations of Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch and other immigrant families. One delightful aspect of Lodi wine tasting: you may be served by the winemaker, the owner, or a family member. Lodi’s wine families love to show off the fruits of their labors.
Visitors can drive, cycle or walk between tasting rooms. Many Lodi wineries are only minutes from each other by car. Cyclists love the country roads surrounding Lodi, leading past scenic vineyards to break spots at lovely outdoor tasting rooms and winery picnic areas.
If you prefer to stroll between samples and sips, Downtown Lodi has eight tasting rooms within blocks of each other. This genuine wine region has both a historic and a modern sensibility. Decorative archways lead to streets lined with wide sidewalks, shaded during warm months by the leaves of tall trees. Outside tables are alive with conversation and the clink of glasses.
Explore the vintage clothing shops, modern boutiques, gift and antique shops, and stop for a tasty treat at Double Dip Gallery or Cheese Central. If you like a head on your drink, sample Lodi’s booming beer industry at one of downtown’s five brew pubs.
Other nearby attractions include the World of Wonders Science Museum and Hutchins Street Square, the region’s performing arts center. Or take the self-guided tour of 13 large, colorful murals, created by the famed Walldog Letterheads muralists and local artist, Tony Segale.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Lodi has 85+ boutique wineries
• You can taste over 125 different award-winning wines from a vast portfolio of wines.
• The Lodi Lake Wilderness Area has channels perfect for paddle boarding, kayaking or rafting.
• Cyclists love the rural roads along waterways and between tasting rooms.
• Nearby lakes and rivers are a birder’s paradise, visited by hundreds of migratory species.
Discover a chic, state-of-the-art tasting facility or the relaxed picnic grounds of a small family winery.
Lodi’s location between San Francisco Bay Area and the Sierra Nevada mountains puts it less than a two-hour drive for most Northern Californians. Lodi has an Amtrak station right downtown, with multiple trains stopping daily. Bikes are welcome on Capital Corridor trains.
Lodi events and festivals are visitor favorites! There are frequent downtown fairs, wine strolls and farmers markets during summer, plus popular annual festivals like the Sandhill Crane Festival, Wine & Chocolate Weekend, Wine & Food Festival, Lodi Wine Experience (formerly ZinFest), Parade of Lights and Lodi Beer Fest. Lodi hosts a year-round calendar of fun!
