Sipping Downtown
Lodi’s newest tasting rooms are bringing wine country downtown
It’s a crisp evening in downtown Lodi. The stars are out, as you and your love stroll along School Street taking in the night air. You have no desire to brave one of the local bars in search of a drink, seeking something more intimate, quiet maybe. Instead, you toast to Lodi’s emerging trend: downtown wine tasting rooms.
With a little push from the city’s marketing team, because it just makes sense to have a core destination for wine tasting, wineries are answering the call and slowly opening one door after another for patrons in downtown Lodi. Each tasting room is unique in setting, but they all offer the same thing: one-on-one personal tasting attention, without driving through Lodi’s rural country roads traveling from one winery’s tasting room to another. The hope is that visitors will soon be arriving by car, foot, and even train to enjoy downtown Lodi, since the Amtrak station is less than a block away from these sipping spots.
Cellar Door
Cellar Door, open since March 2007, brought together three of Lodi’s best-known wineries, mixed in a little ambience, and turned wine tasting into a treat for more than just your sense of taste. Take a seat at the bar for a glass of wine from Jessie’s Grove, Michael-David, or Van Ruiten wineries, or grab a spot on one of the venue’s inviting, black leather couches. When the weather turns warmer, you can enjoy your wine and good company outside on the patio, surrounded by an intricate wrought-iron fence. Some say it’s the best people-watching spot in Lodi.
More than that, Cellar Door goes beyond just wine. On many evenings during the week, the hot spot hosts local bands and even mixes Salsa dancing with sipping. Patrons can also mix their tasting with gourmet appetizers like Greek olives, roasted almonds, or, our favorite, gorgonzola from the Cellar Door’s gourmet cheese platter. The ambience is so enjoyable, you might find yourself never wanting to leave.
If you go: Cellar Door, 21 N. School St., (209) 339-4394, www.lodicellardoor.com. Open Tuesday and Wednesday, 12 to 6 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 12 to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.
Dancing Fox
Although it was scheduled to open just last month, Dancing Fox Winery and Bakery hopes to emerge as one of downtown’s premiere tasting spots, with its old country ambience and personal touches such as watching the wine being made while sipping it. The downtown tasting room is located in a separate space in the back of the restaurant, with a wide window overlooking the grape crush area and temperature-controlled barrel room.
Back at the bar, guests will enjoy sipping Dancing Fox’s private label while taking in the rich gold hue of wall paint and gazing upon large murals painted by local artist June Sand. The heavy bar is flanked by a mirror with a unique, antique wooden frame, echoing the old-world style throughout the restaurant. Be sure to check out the same grape motif on the bar and front marble-top counter.
Once home to a popular downtown restaurant, Dancing Fox owners Gregg and Colleen Lewis have opened up the space, literally, by uncovering floor-to-ceiling windows, thereby exposing the original brick, once-obscured vaulted ceilings, and wooden crossbeams, leaving us in awe over the building’s true beauty.
If you go: Dancing Fox Winery and Bakery, 203 S. School St., www.dancingfoxwinery.com
Grands Amis
Grands Amis was actually downtown Lodi’s first tasting room. Jonathan and Cathy Wetmore went out on a limb when they decided a few years back to move their tasting room from Vino Piazza in Lockeford to an intimate location across the way from their business office.
It’s a little hard to find, located between the theater and a funeral home, Jonathan jokes, but once you do, we agree it’s worth the effort. For your endeavor, you’ll be rewarded with plenty of on-site parking and boutique winery hospitality.
Grands Amis’ philosophy that great wine is meant to be shared with “great friends” is apparent as one glass of award-winning Zinfandel after another is poured from behind the friendly bar. The 800-case-a-year boutique winery is unveiling its first white varietal, a Pinot Grigio, this spring.
Jonathan, who farms his own grapes, told us he’s excited about other tasting rooms opening downtown, figuring each one helps all of them become a true destination location.
If you go: Grands Amis, 115 N. School St., Ste. 5, (209) 369-6805, www.grandsamis.com. Open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m., and by appointment during the week
And More to Come...
Benson Ferry Winery has already purchased the site at 112 West Pine Street, and plans to swing open its tasting room doors by the end of this month, according to Alan MacIssac, who told us there will also be an outdoor courtyard where patrons can enjoy a glass of wine.
The business will be known as Lodi Wine Cellar, and, similar to Cellar Door around the corner, it will invite other wineries to pour here as well. Benson Ferry, now located in rural Lodi, does not have a tasting room at its current business office.
MacIssac, who will operate the distribution office at the same Pine Street location, says being downtown has a lot of merit—and a lot of retail traffic.
Anna Goehring, Lodi Wine and Visitor Center spokeswoman, says the allure of locating a tasting room downtown is just another vehicle to put visitors face to face with local winemakers, since many run their own tasting rooms. This way, guests can ask questions about the wine they’re tasting and the grapes that went into it, from the very person who crafted the vintage.
“Downtown Lodi has become the heartbeat of the city, with art galleries, wonderful restaurants, numerous events, and specialty shops,” says Goehring. “Not only locals, but a growing number of out-of-town visitors enjoy our charming historic downtown.” SJM
