Historical Beauty & New Wines
More than 100 years ago, owner of Oak Farm Vineyards William DeVries instilled a lifetime of beauty and magnificence into his property. That legacy has carried over to the Panella Family who purchased the 70 acre estate about 12 years ago. The addition of a new wine tasting room provides an excellent chance to discover Oak Farm Vineyards. Over the past 112 years the property has been home to many different crops. “Since taking ownership, we have removed and replaced several types of varietals. We’ve removed zinfandel and planted cabernet sauvignon and Barbera,” says Oak Farm Vineyards manager Dan Panella. “We recently planted approximately 40 acres of grapes composed of eight newly planted different varietals and we have a total of 60 acres of grapes in varying degrees of production levels. The vast majority of our wines are made from the grapes of our neighbors.” Certain varietals don’t do well in Lodi and Oak Farm Vineyards will source from where a particular grape grows best climate-wise and soil-wise. “We grow Zinfandel and the Italian version of zinfandel-primativo. Those are the wines that are currently producing,” explains Panella. Other red varietals planted at Oak Farm Vineyards include cabernet sauvignon, Barbera, malbec, petite sirah, petite bourdeaux and sangiovese. White varietals grown include chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and Portuguese grape verdelho. Panella lives on-site at the vineyard, tending to a variety of details in the vineyards and to other areas of the property, including the approximately 10 lush acres of Oak Farm Vineyards that are open to the public.
One big draw at the vineyard is the wine club. “There are a couple different options. We have our standard club which is a mix of red and white wines because we are proud of our diverse line up of wine offerings, which include five white varietals,” states Panella. “We have a reds-only club and a whites-only club. People can either choose three bottle, six bottle or a by-the-case club. There is no fee to start; it’s just the cost of the wine per quarter.” Wine club members are also invited to special member-only events at Oak Farm including a quarterly new wine release party with food and music. The new wine tasting room at Oak Farm Vineyards just opened. On Fridays, there will be a few hours where the room will be available as a perk to wine club members. There are also wines that are made available specifically for the club members prior to release to the general public. Tasting flights are $5 per flight and include eight, one ounce pours, with four red wines and four white wines that rotate. “Customers get the $5 back as credit if they make a wine purchase.” The general public is invited to bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the scenery while sitting out under the old trees, many of which have been growing since the days of the original land owner, DeVries. Wine tasting room hours are 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thursday through Monday.
CHEERS TO THE GOOD LIFE AT:
Oak Farm Vineyards
23627 N. DeVries Rd.
Lodi, (209) 365-6565
oakfarmvineyards.com