The Lucas Winery highlights what is wonderful about the Lodi climate and relies on authentic winemaking techniques to offer Chardonnays and historic ZinStar Zinfandels from old-world vineyards. Winemakers David Lucas and Heather Pyle-Lucas embrace the philosophy of producing wines that reflect the place they come from. With a certified organic vineyard and a winery powered by solar energy, The Lucas Winery invites wine enthusiasts to stop by for an earthfriendly and interactive tasting experience. The Lucas Winery head prunes their vines, meaning all grapes are hand-harvested for optimal ripeness. The ZinStar vineyard develops full-ripe flavors with low sugars, which avoids high alcohol content and overripe wines. The three vineyards that contribute to their crisp Chardonnay wines add flavors of lemon-lime, Pippin apple and Bartlett pear that blend into a lively flavor fermented in their French Oak barrels.
Although anyone can drop in for a tasting experience that includes a tour of the historic barn that houses the tasting room, consider reserving a more indepth wine adventure. The Advanced Tasting Experience ($20 a person) is perfect for aspiring winemakers interested in learning more about viticulture, fermentation, barrel aging and more. Dive deeper with the Winemaker’s Tour ($55 a person), and wander through the historic ZinStar vineyard, the winery tasting room, and the famous Grand Chai that houses the French Oak barrels slowly working on fermenting those grapes to wine perfection.
The Essence of Wine tour ($50 a person), conducted by winemaker David Lucas himself, is a two-hour experience into the world of wine aromas. Learn about how the nose identifies some of the over 1600 VINO CULTURE food&wine WINERY OF THE MONTH aromas present in wines. After this adventure, you will gain a new vocabulary to put words to the aromas associated with red and white wines. Join the Lucas Winery family through their Circle of Friends Wine Club. Customize your annual shipments to your needs, and enjoy discounts on additional wine purchases, complimentary tastings, exclusive wine pick-up events, and priority reservations to annual events such as the Great Chefs of San Joaquin Valley experience and Chardonnay and Zinstar Zinfandel Retrospectives. The Lucas Winery invites wine enthusiasts and professionals to experience wine, food, friends and the art of winemaking in the heart of California’s Lodi Appellation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
THE LUCAS WINERY
18196 North Davis Rd.
Lodi, (209) 368-2006
lucaswinery.com
TASTING HOURS
Thursday-Sunday, Noon-4:30 p.m.
$10 tasting fee includes winery tour
and Lucas signature tasting glass