Lowdown on Lodi

When a lot of people think of California's wine country, they think Napa & Sonoma. Others are quick to sing the praises of Amador and El Dorado counties. Then there's Lodi. I like to call it the California's undiscovered wine region. (In the interest of full disclosure, I've done some PR for the city and it's signature event, "Taste of Lodi," for the past few years but the region has some great wineries and great prices! This is not a PR-post though) This past weekend Carmen, Lisa Marie, Jessica and I headed down scenic Route 99 for The First Sip. Needless to say, we had many, many sips! The first stop was Vino Piazza. If you've never been -- you should go. It's a few miles outside of Lodi in Lockeford. The place houses about 10 small wineries in an Italian-style plaza. The handful of wineries I've tasted at are great! Worth mentioning is Macchia. Their brightly-labeled bottles hold some amazing and unique vintages from Nebbiolo to Petit Sirah -- with about eight different Zins in between. It was so hard to choose a favorite!

However, my favorite stop may be Stama. Gus Kapiniaris, who runs the place, settled in Lodi from Kalamata, Greece. He's the sweetest man in the world and has quite a way with the ladies! His wines are delicious and inexpensive - which Gus likes to point out. I'd suggest the Curvaceous Cab or the Reserve Zin. And as a red wine drinker I'm bewildered by the fact that the White Zin is fantastic. Try before you judge. I guarantee you'll be surprised.

The Berghold Estate Winery was all decked out for Christmas - maybe a little too much - but the winery is a great stop for its extensive antique collection and gorgeous grounds. The wines are good too, but didn't compare to our first stops. Our trip also included a stop at M2, which was too crowded to really enjoy though they had live music, live art demonstrations and good snacks.

By the time we got to Borra it was starting to rain (and I was getting a little tipsy), but the Italian sausage hot off the grill and the Andrea Boccelli in the backround made it worthwhile. Like most Lodi vineyards they're known for their Old Vine Zin, but their Fusion blends (in red and white varieties) were quite tasty too. Plus, they have whimsical labels.

Lodi is so close to Sacramento and most of the wines are really good. I really encourage more people to take the 45 minute drive down to check them out. A good starting point if you've never been before the Wine & Visitor's Center on the grounds of Wine & Roses Inn (http://www.lodiwine.com/visitorcenter1.shtml). Cheers!