A visitor sips Michael-David wine at the Phillips Farms tasting room. In addition to being a working farm, Phillips Farms offers a winery, cafe, pumpkin patch at Halloween and fun activities for the whole family. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

An ag experience — and more

Phillips Farms offers wine tasting, cafe and fun for kids

Phillips Farms and its winery component, Michael-David Winery, is one of Lodi's most popular tourist attractions.

Like many of Lodi's wineries, it has winetasting, but Phillips Farms has a lot more. It has a restaurant that is especially popular for its breakfasts, a small souvenir and gift shop, a pumpkin patch trail during Halloween season and a lot of tame animals that can't wait to be fed.

The family plants some 8,000 pumpkins and erects a scarecrow more than 24 feet high each fall. They also provides hay rides, games, a pumpkin rolling contest and weekend farm shows.

"We come here all the time," Paul Grant of Lodi said. "It's great for the kids. They can run wild in the back, and they have all the baby animals."

If you walk behind the main building, which fronts Highway 12, you'll find a host of ducks, goats, sheep, horses, rabbits and chickens, including little chicks in an incubator.

The animals aren't at all afraid of people, especially the goats and sheep who are anxious to chomp down food provided by the many children who visit the farm.

The gift shop offers such items as flowers, Cecchetti Olive Oil, pear candles, dried fruit, veggie chips, pasta, and eucalyptus home fragrance mist.

Monica Perez of Elk Grove enjoyed the good wine selection and the locally made food and gifts that are available. Their fruit pies are a strong seller.

Myron and Andrea Kamper of Davis come to Lodi frequently to visit Phillips Farms.

"The hamburgers are great," Myron Kamper said. "And (Don's) Lodi Red (wine) is excellent."

Wife Andrea Kamper said, "They have huge salads with lots of veggies."

Phillips Farms is located at 4580 W. Highway 12, between Lower Sacramento Road and Interstate 5.

Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cafe is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

For more information, call (209) 368-7384 or 1-888-707-WINE, or visit http://www.lodivineyards/com.

Phillips Farms has operated in the lodi area for six generations

Phillips Farms, run by Michael and David Phillips, is in its sixth generation of operation.

The farm was founded by their great-great-grandfather, Andrew Harshner, and his wife Lucille, who homesteaded 160 acres near Lodi after the Civil War.

"Farming's obviously in our blood, and we've been able to adapt over the years," said Production Manager Kevin Phillips, who represents the sixth generation. "It's not all doing the same thing."

Guests enjoy lunch at the cafe at Phillips Farm in Lodi. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

The family originally grew vegetables, but they added fruit, including 15 wine varietals that were shipped throughout the country during Prohibition.

Kevin Phillips said his great-grandfather grew only watermelons. When Kevin's father, Michael Phillips, came into the business, operations leaned more heavily toward winegrapes.

For a 10-year stretch beginning in the late 1980s, the family returned to the multiple-crop business to keep the finances a success, Kevin Phillips said.

In 1972, the family constructed a winery, cafe, wine tasting area and fruit stand in a historic building at 4580 W. Highway 12, about seven miles west of Downtown Lodi.

Michael and David's parents, Jeanne and Don, remain a part of the operation, which includes 500 acres of premium winegrapes.

Jeanne and Don Phillips have farmed for 52 years and have grown alfalfa, hay, sweet corn, melons, grapes and 100 acres of tomatoes. They've also raised cattle.

Don Phillips also founded a Future Farmers of America chapter at San Joaquin Delta College.

Michael-David wines

7 Deadly Zins
7 Heavenly Chards
6th Sense Syrah
Incognito
Earthquake
Don's Lodi Red
Windmill Estates
Sparking Duet

Source: Phillips Farms

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.