Heritage Oak is a small family winery northeast of Lodi. The tasting room is in the working winery and while the architecture or interior ambiance isn’t special the setting and the people make this winery a good destination. They have one of the larger Zin selections in the area so visitors should be able to find the right wine for their taste preferences.

Heritage Oak Winery in Lodi wine region

The most striking feature of this winery is their river walk nature trail through the vineyards to a secluded beach on the Mokelumne River. Bring a bottle of their wine to enjoy a picnic on the beach or picnic at the winery.

While we enjoyed all of their wines we came home with their Zinfidelity Zin and Cab blend and their Chardonnay. The Zin is medium bodied and pleasant nose and finish. The Chard is non-oaked with no malo-lactic fermentation with fresh fruity flavors. Both are very good wines and an additional reason to stop by this winery if you are wandering around Lodi.

- Jim

I’ve blogged about Fenestra before and their very large wine selection, picnic area, and historical old barn winery. This winery isn’t to be missed! We just finished a bottle of their Lodi sourced Alvarelhao and I want to make a quick mention of it. This is a Portuguese wine that is rare in California. It has medium body with a light-medium nose and finish. I enjoyed the soft fruit and aromatic finish.

On its own it is interesting and enjoyable but we paired it with crab and shrimp and that makes this wine pop. I recommend dropping into Fenestra and trying this unusual wine. You may find it a treat.

- jim

We recently finished-off a bottle of Jessie’s Grove Winery Old Vine 05 Lodi Zinfandel.  We were reminded of two things:

1) Lodi Zins are often terrific and this one is no exception. We loved the strong rich flavors and nose.  All to often we drink wine that has a great nose but not much to taste.  This Zin doesn’t disappoint if you are looking for robust but still soft on the finish.

2) Jessie’s Grove Winery is a ranch with a wine tasting room.  There are a few farm animals around, a huge barn, and a desert tortoise that is sometimes lively.

Besides the wine and tortoise the real attraction here is the preserved ancient oak savanna from pre-European times.  Walk into the oaks for a little glimpse of the past at a little museum and wonderful picnic grounds.  Buy their wine and hangout for a while.

- jim

You probably think I mean Murphys with a dozen tasting rooms in a small Gold Rush town.  Murphys is wonderful and we can’t wait to return, but I have another place in mind.

Near the Central Valley town of Lockford in the Lodi wine region is Vino Piazza – the Wine Plaza. So you would think that it is a romantic Italian plaza in the vineyards.  It is romantic, but it is an old industrial winery complex of huge concrete buildings.  The owner remodeled the run-down plant and some 8 wineries moved into it. Each tasting room is quaint, interesting, cozy, often intimate, and the whole experience, including the restaurant, is EXCITING!

Check out the tiny tasting room inside the old boiler!  (Hint: Visit Stama.)  For bargains, and a lively barista, we taste at Watts. Boitano seems to always have some event going on.  Last weekend they were barbecuing sausages and had a meal to go with their Barbera. The tiny Pasos tasting room often has munchies, and a social atmosphere.  You won’t be bored.

The grapes are mostly from the Lodi and Sierra Foothills regions and the diversity is just fine.  These are all tiny wineries with creative wine makers and strong local followings.

On our Lodi wine region map notice the infestation of markers on the upper right.  That’s Vino Piazza.  Sunday is generally a quiet day in the Lodi region and a great time to visit for a weekday experience.

Modest hotels are available in nearby Lodi but for a not much longer drive you can stay in the romantic Gold Rush towns to the east.  These are close to the Amador and Murphys regions.

- jim