Remote Surveillance Trailer in Lodi, CA

In Napa Valley, wine tastings cost $80 on average. In Lodi, you can visit four wineries for that price.

Lodi (San Joaquin County) embodies a long lost era of rustic wine tasting in Napa in the 1980s and ‘90s. Tastings are laid back and unfussy — no caviar pairings or Michelin-trained chefs on staff. Tasting rooms typically accommodate walk-ins and kids, and you’ll often “find someone who is intimately involved in the process,” Kyle Lerner, co-owner of Lodi’s Harney Lane Vineyards, said. “You’re not going to walk in many other regions and talk to the owner or winemaker or farmer on a daily basis. That used to be common.”

Not a lot of people know this. Located roughly 35 miles south of Sacramento, Lodi has struggled to compete with more popular wine country destinations, such as Napa Valley and Sonoma County. The region is still largely undercovered, despite the fact that it’s California’s most diverse wine region, growing more than 130 grape varieties.

Yet a wave of recent restaurant and hotel developments suggest that Lodi is finally on the cusp of breaking out. Plan a trip now, and like Napa Valley’s earliest visitors, you’ll one day be able to say, “I remember when.”

Read on for the top seven tasting rooms to visit in Lodi.

Acquiesce Vineyards & Winery

Over the past 20 years, Lodi has quietly shed its reputation for being limited to growing big reds, such as Zinfandel, to become one of California’s most exciting white wine regions. Much of that credit goes to Sue Tipton, who founded in 2008 Lodi’s first winery exclusively dedicated to white wines. “When I first opened, a few well-meaning male winemakers came to me and said, ‘Sweetheart, you’re never going to make it with all whites in your lineup,’” Tipton told the Chronicle last year. But make it she did: Acquiesce is one of Lodi’s most popular tasting rooms and has proven that, despite warm temperatures, white grapes can thrive in Lodi. This is largely due to a diurnal temperature swing, which causes temperatures to drop significantly at night and helps preserve the acidity in the grapes; today, white varieties account for roughly 30% of Lodi’s vines. Acquiesce focuses specifically on white Rhone grapes, including Picpoul Blanc, Grenache Blanc and Bourboulenc, which Tipton was the first in the U.S. to plant. Tastings, which take place in a quirky, century-old barn (or outside on a patio), are a great value, featuring a flight of four wines with food pairings for only $20.

Fields Family Wines

Fields Family is the dive bar of tasting rooms — in a good way. Set in a small winery warehouse, tastings ($10) are poured on a wood slab laid across two wine barrels; visitors can sit at a handful of plastic tables and chairs surrounded by more barrels, stainless steel drums and other winemaking equipment. Founded in 2008, the winery isn’t trying too hard with its hospitality, and it works. “We’re in a dumpy metal building. I talk s— on it,” winemaker Ryan Sherman said, “and every (person) goes, ‘That’s why we like it.’”

It’s common for Sherman to make an appearance — when he’s not working his day job as a realtor — and Fields Family’s cast of characters includes a frog named Carignan, a mouse named Syrah and Mouverdre, a stray cat with a tortoise shell coat. Sherman is self-taught and one of Lodi’s least traditional winemakers, using only natural yeasts and neutral oak barrels, and experimenting with whole-cluster fermentation and carbonic maceration. Sherman works with about a dozen different grape varieties and the lineup includes a few fun surprises, such as Vermentino, Tempranillo and Petite Sirah.

3803 E. Woodbridge Road, Acampo.

Lodi Wine & Visitor Center

Don’t let the name or the generic Tuscan architecture discourage you. Lodi’s Wine & Visitor Center, which doubles as the area’s one true wine shop, is perhaps the region’s best-kept secret, carrying over 200 bottles from more than 70 local producers — many of which are super small brands without their own tasting room. It’s here that Lodi’s claim to fame as California’s most diverse wine region is put on full display: Beyond the region’s signature Zinfandel, you’ll discover hard-to-find varieties like the Greek white Assyrtiko, Sicily’s fruity Nero d’Avola and Kerner, a white German grape. Tastings are $12 and most bottles are under $60. If you’re a first-time visitor, start here. Conveniently, it’s located at Lodi’s best hotel, Appellation Lodi — Wine & Roses Resort & Spa, managed by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer’s hotel company.

Harney Lane Vineyards

Once you step foot inside Harney Lane’s outdoor oasis, you won’t want to leave. It feels like another world: Adirondack chairs and tables are dispersed throughout the tasting room’s soothing, meandering gardens, comprising a fountain, towering, century-old cedars and an array of other trees and flora that were all planted by Harney Lane family members. The property was purchased by the Metlers in 1900, and the family, now led by Jorja and Kyle Lerner, is in its fifth generation of farming. In 2006, like many multi-generational Lodi grape growers, the Lerners started making wine. They’re best-known for old-vine Zinfandel — even offering a single-vineyard Zinfandel tasting flight for $25 — but produce many other wines, including Albariño, Tempranillo and a port-style dessert wine. Several tasting options range from $20-$50, including a walking tour of the estate and winemaking facilities for $40.

Lucas Winery

If you’re unsure about whether or not you like Zinfandel, the grape that Lodi is best-known for, swing by Lucas. Launched in 1978, Lucas is a Lodi pioneer and producer of elegant, balanced Zins that aren’t too big. Founders David Lucas and Heather Pyle-Lucas met while working at Robert Mondavi Winery. He managed grape growing production and she was a winemaker, and they were both also involved in the early days of Opus One, Mondavi’s partnership with Bordeaux’s Baron Phillippe Rothschild. But Lucas is nothing like Napa’s flashy estates. This charming tasting room is set inside a restored tractor barn. Tastings include an intimate tour of the ZinStar Vineyard, planted in 1933, and the Grand Chai, featuring a striking barrel room design inspired by Bordeaux, Mondavi and Opus One. They cost $20 and guests can bring their own picnic to enjoy steps away from the nearly 100-year-old vines.

Bokisch Vineyards

There are very few California wineries dedicated to making Spanish wines; Bokisch was one of the first. In 1999, founder Markus Bokisch smuggled vine cuttings from Spain into the U.S. and planted them at his Lodi ranch. Today, Bokisch makes Spanish staples including Tempranillo, Albariño and Garnacha (Grenache), plus lesser-known varieties, such as Macabeo. Ask about the Cava-inspired sparkling, the only wine in the country made with the three traditional grapes grown in Cava: Xarel·lo, Macabeo and Parellada. If the weather permits, you’ll want to post up on Bokisch’s grassy lawn overlooking its stunning estate vineyard, one of the best views in Lodi. Flights cost between $15 and $25, or you can opt for bottle service (minimum of one bottle purchase per hour) and add on a charcuterie board.

Klinker Brick Winery

Like Harney Lane, Klinker Brick is owned by one of Lodi’s longest-running grape-growing families. Now in its sixth generation, the Felten family has tended vines for more than 100 years and produced its first vintage of wine in 2000. The low-key tasting room is inside a former farm equipment shop built in the 1940s, though the brick-laden courtyard is the best place to relax on a warm day. While Klinker Brick’s wine portfolio is built around old vine Zinfandel, the winery keeps up with the trends; recently, it launched a light, chillable Zinfandel made with native yeast fermentation. For tastings, choose from four flights of six wines priced between $15-$25, including one focused on whites, rosés and sparklings.

Jess Lander joined the food and wine team at the San Francisco Chronicle as wine reporter in 2022. Her writing encompasses the California wine industry — from Santa Barbara to Mendocino — with a focus on Napa Valley and Sonoma County. Jess reports on winery and vineyard acquisitions; controversial Napa land use debates; wildfires; a growing farmworker rights movement; and Wine Country’s most exciting restaurant and tasting room openings. Occasionally, Jess also writes about her favorite food: cheese.

Originally from Boston, Jess moved to Napa Valley in 2010 and has extensively covered California wine country for numerous national and international publications. In 2021, Jess published “The Essential Napa Valley Cookbook,” a project that raised more than $100,000 for Napa Valley restaurant workers impacted by the pandemic.