LODI TRAVEL ITINERARY

Pleasant Days Spent Amidst the Delta Breeze — Day 1
Afternoon and Weekday Itinerary (Short Tour/Day One)

The most convenient tasting experience to the traveler, right off Interstate 5, offers some of Lodi’s most celebrated wines and opens at 8am!  Michael and David Phillips’ Family Farm supports a tasting room, café and farmer’s market.  It is all housed together in a quaint combination that speaks old-time California and is within truckstop and vineyard views.  Michael-David Vineyard’s Earthquake Petite Sirah was the talk of the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition – yes, a Lodi wine was the Red Wine Sweepstakes winner this year!  Up-front blueberry syrup, black cherry and coffee flavors will shake your senses, with brawny aftershocks of complexity rolling down your throat.  The 7 Deadly Zins is also a tasty delight.  Take Highway 12 exit east from the I-5, and Michael-David Vineyard will be on the right. 

Not too much farther east on Highway 12 is the Van Ruiten Family Winery.  Open daily except Monday, the winery shows the influence of Dutch culture; you can find some amazing Gouda cheeses and pair them with the wines here.  The Rosé of Cabernet and Shiraz, dry and appetizing, matched the Goudas oh so well.  The Syrah and Estate Petite Sirah are also standouts.  Be sure to finish with the Late Harvest Zinfandel, which is not excessively sweet, but flavorsome and wonderful with chocolate.

Not far away, the Lodi Wine & Visitor Center is certainly a must-stop. The diverse offering of wines made with Lodi fruit—from wineries outside of the area as well as local—allows you to explore the richness of what this area has to offer in a single visit.  The wines poured are rotated, with nine wines organized into three interesting, related flights.  From Michael David or Van Ruiten head east to Lower Sacramento, turn left and turn left again a few miles later on Turner Road.  The center is just west of the Wine & Roses complex.  Open daily.

The restaurant next door at Wine & Roses is an excellent spot for a fine dining experience in the elegantly restored ranch house, or in the gardens when the weather is nice. Our meal was elegantly designed and executed with perfection.  The accommodations here are excellent too, whether you choose rooms in the old house or in the more spacious new building. 

Other premium choices for accommodation include the extremely hospitable Amorosa Inn & Gardens.  A spacious, modern home is nestled in the vineyards overlooking a serene pond.  You will enjoy a superb bed and breakfast experience that also gives a feeling for life in Lodi.  The satellite tasting room for Vino con Brio is also located here; the wines offered are a real plus.  Another choice, a bit further out of town, is the Inn at Locke House, a quaint historic property in the nearby town of Lockeford.

Downtown at Night

When spending the night, you will want to explore and dine in Lodi’s celebrated downtown.  The famous Lodi sign is a beacon calling for your arrival.  Built in 1907, this gorgeous piece of old-California culture is especially attractive when seen after the sun goes down and the lights have gone on.  The old train station, once the center of activity and now perfectly restored as a transit center, is also a jewel.  If it is still open, be sure to check out the fascinating display of historic pictures inside.

As for dining, the Rosewood Bar & Grill is the sister restaurant to Wine and Roses, and offers a similarly pleasing dining experience.  If you want something a bit more casual, you could try the Lodi Beer Company, a brewpub offering food and an excellent selection of area wines as well. 

And whether you are a smoker, or perhaps are equipped with an open mind and adventurous soul, we highly recommend exploring wine and cigar pairings at Stogies.  We have to admit, as non-smokers, that we were skeptical as we investigated the selection of cigars in the walk-in humidor with friendly proprietor Russ Daniels.  Yet matching a cedar-wrapped stogie with a spicy Zinfandel made sense, and the astonishing quality of ventilation in the room (or sitting outside) made everyone’s visit very comfortable.

We tested the match of the local Vino con Brio Pinotage with a cigar Russ recommended, and were surprised at our interest and enjoyment.  The smokiness of the cigar neutralized smoky flavors in the wine and emphasized its fruit, while the wine emphasized cedar notes in the cigar.  The mouthfeel of the thick Rhone elements in the Pinotage matched the tingle of the nicotine and feeling of the smoke as we held it in our mouths, a little chewier than the wine.  Okay, we finished the wine and not the cigar, but we lived a little and enjoyed the flavor combinations.

Creedence Clearwater Revival wrote that song years ago complaining that they were stuck in Lodi.  We finished our day agreeing to disagree, looking forward to more Lodi wine adventures tomorrow!

Introduction to Lodi
Day Two Itinerary — Greater Lodi

Travel Itinerary • Culinary Tourism • Wine Country Recipe
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