Taste of Lodi, Best Lodi Event by Far! Shhhhhh! Don't Tell, it's a Secret!

My most recent culinary adventure took me to Lodi, CA this Sunday to an event called Taste of Lodi. For all of those Sacramentians that are growing accustomed to driving down to Lodi for their tasting events that happen throughout the year, this event follows that same tradition, but sets itself apart. Unlike First Sip Lodi and ZinFest, Taste of Lodi brings the best of both of these events into one location. Hosted at the Wine and Roses Hotel and Spa in Lodi, a remarkably nice hotel with beautiful grounds that host many a wedding and wine event.

The reason I enjoyed Taste of Lodi so much comparatively, is what seems to be it's unintended exclusivity. Unlike First Sip Lodi which has all participants drive all over Lodi drunkenly attempting to find the next winery, or Zinfest which sees sooooo many attendees that it often becomes a hot, slovenly free-for-all on Lodi Lake; Taste of Lodi is civilized! Although the heat was scorching even in late September (Damm Global warming), and thus Hawaiian shirts were in abundance, this event had; white table cloths, white tents, live music, a silent auction, cigars, chocolate, pulled pork and lots and lots of wine!

From the beginning of the event all the people in arriving were sweating their over-priced make-up off, cause it was 104! A perfect day for drinking red wine right? NO! But despite the insane heat that is a norm in Lodi, the food and wine was plentiful, which was good as there is nothing worse than an event that runs out of food half way through! Of the many vendors there here are the memorable flavors:

1. Tri-tip Sandwiches from B&T Catering

New to the catering scene within the last year, this catering company out of North Lodi is outstanding compared to their veteran competition. The golden roll was fresh and complimented the tri-tip and brown sugar vinegar BBQ sauce. I'm always looking for good BBQ and this is worth the trip to Lodi on a wine tasting adventure.

2. Wine Label Art

Neither of these wines were particularly wonderful, but the marketing techniques in Lodi are becoming almost avant garde, from connecting artists to the region where the grapes originated to reviving retro art, Wine Lable art is setting Lodi apart.

3. Pomegranate Guacamole, and Shrimp Cakes with a sweet Cilantro Sauce from
Alebrijes Mexican Bistro

With fresh and spicy flavors the guacamole was hand made with a slight pomegranate flavor, but the real show piece was the shrimp cake with a sweet and spicy cilantro sauce. The cake was warm and crispy as it was freshly made, and the sauce was hot enough that only a white wine could follow, very nice flavors - this place was worth the journey to Lodi, even without wine!

4. The Dancing Fox Winery and Bakery

OK I know that this is the same picture of a cake, but if you look closely it's actually at an angle! Because when there serving a Chocolate Grenache Carmel Cake you take pictures with all angles, now I know that with sooo many flavors this could almost sound cloying gross, but it's superb! As was their caramelized onion torte, and sparkling champagne libations. It seems Lodi has more and more to offer visiting public than just wine!

An event worth seeking out, but let's keep that secret between us!


Overall this event was by far my favorite of all of the Lodi tasting events. For those following Lodi tastings they have really emerged as a visitor area in the last 10 year and these promotional events are a direct result of that. It takes a great restaurant the locals know to become a region-know eatery, and a wine that should have more attention (such as Klinker Brick's Old Ghost) to become known California-wide. Now we can only hope that equally wonderful and emerging regions in the area like Amadore, Yolo and Winters will follow this path; this was the same marketing path Sonoma and Anderson Valleys used, and look what it's done for them!