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Wine tasting is a tradition at the festival

By Ripley M. Howe
News-Sentinel Business Editor

There’s a whole lot of tasting going on at this year’s Lodi Grape Festival and Harvest Fair.

Compared to last year, the four-day event will offer nearly double the number of wines available for tasting. The tasting booth’s organizer said he expects to deliver nearly 7,000 two-ounce taste samples to curious and adventurous wine lovers. Proceeds from the benefit tasting go to an organization that helps high school students with scholarships and other financial assistance.

There will be 42 different types of wine available for tasting, said Tom Hoffman, this year’s Grape Festival Board of Directors president, a local grape grower and amateur winemaker who’s in charge of the wine tasting.

At last year’s tasting, there were 21 different varieties.

Curious wine seekers can sample from 24 different red wines, 13 white wines and four roses, including some sparkling varieties.

Hoffman said he expects to go through 41 cases of wine over the four days of the festival, getting about 14 two-ounce “tastes” per bottle.

The price for the wine tasting is $5 for three two-ounce tastes of wine. The regular tastes come in plastic cups — if a taster would prefer a little more sophistication, $8 buys a trio of samples along with a commemorative wine glass.

This year all of the wineries are from Lodi, Lockeford and Acampo, with the exception of Ironstone Vineyards form Murphys. Twenty-one wineries will be offering samples of their efforts. Nearly all the grapes used in the wines were grown in or near Lodi, Hoffman said.

There are several new wineries at the tasting this year including the Grands Amis Winery, offering a zinfandel and the Watts Winery’s Dos Amores blend. Cascande Pitto will offer its Ruby Cabernet and a chardonnay, Maccia will offer its san gioveses dol cetto, Klinker Brick will offer its zinfandel, and Kreig’s Kellar offers a merlot. Hoffman said Bear Creek Winery’s petite syrah is also and outstanding offering at the tasting.

To entertain the ears as well as the palate, the acoustic folk and soft-rock band Tapestry will serenade the wine tasters.

This is the eighth year that wine tasting has been a part of the Grape festival, and the fifth year that the Lodi High School Flames Foundation has operated the tasting event.

The foundation is a group of volunteers that raises funds that benefit area high school students, Foundation President Tracy Stoltman said. Last year, the group raised $43,000 from its various activities.

The group directs the money to variety of school-related cases, including sending $3,000 to send a high school speech and debate club to the national finals when the school district said there was no money.

“When there’s no other funding, they come to us,” she said.

Last year, the foundation contributed scholarships worth $13,000 to 18 high school seniors. Most of the volunteers are foundation members, parents, school administrators and parents, she said.

To run the tasting booth this year, the group will need around 80 volunteers, about 12 people per shift for three shifts per day, she said.

Stoltman said she is happy to see the increased participation from the area wineries.

“There are new wineries popping up constantly,” she said. “This offers them an opportunity to get some exposure for their wines, and it helps out the high schools, so it’s a win-win for everyone.”

The tasting will be held at the west end of the pavilion area each day of the festival. The wine tasting booth will close a half-hour before the festival closes each night.