Wine Show celebrates its 25th anniversary

This year’s Lodi Spring Wine Show marks 25 years of promoting the wines of the Lodi area.

The first Wine Show, held April 25th & 26th, 1981, featured art, photography and home arts competitions much like the annual Grape Festival. The two day Show was on Saturday and Sunday, and the hours were long — 6 hours each afternoon. Unlike today’s event, where wineries only sample their vintages, bottles and cases were also sold in a separate building.

The committee of Grape Festival Directors in charge of the first Wine Show included chair Don Douglas and members Ben Selover, Spence Joerke, Charles Chapman, John Schook, and Alvin Inman (who still serves on the Board of Directors today.) Admission to the first Wine Show was free, but patrons were charged $3.00 for a wine glass and three “tastes.” Tickets for additional “tastes” were sold for $.50 each. Twenty five wineries and several food booths participated in the Show, and it took up about half of the Grape & Wine Pavilion building.

Many changes have taken place since 1981; the most significant came when the show was changed to a Friday and Saturday evening event. The 2005 Show will showcase more than 40 wineries from Lodi and beyond, background music in the Pavilion will be the area’s number 1 DJ, David Allyn Kraham’s Gypsy Express, and the outdoor patio features music and dancing with Class Act II.

As crowds grew, so did the Wine Show, which now features carpeted aisles, a beautiful outdoor area with seating, wineries, hors d’oeuvres as well as food for purchase, and live music. “Through the years we have had a variety of themes, and have decorated to match,” said Manager Mark Armstrong. “One year we created a huge sand beach in the center of the Pavilion, and we’ve also had new and antique cars, trucks and motorcycles on exhibit. We’ve had magicians, swing bands, fashion shows — you name it, we’ve done it. And while these are all entertaining and fun, the people still come for the wine.”

“The first year we tried an outdoor patio, it rained cats and dogs,” chuckled Armstrong. “Everyone made the best of it — the wineries out there were real troupers. Now, the patio is completely covered and the rain has no impact, and the patio has become “the” hot spot of the Show.”

Dates for this year’s Show are Friday, April 1st and Saturday, April 2nd, 6 to 9 each night. Tickets are $25 per person through March 31, $30 at the door each night. Advance sale tickets are at Long’s Drugs of Lodi, Raley’s (Lodi) Camera Department, Lakewood Liquors in Lodi, and the Grape Festival Business Office. Tickets can also be purchase on-line at www.grapefestival.com. Call 369-2771 for more information.

“If you’ve ever wanted to come to the Spring Wine Show, and for some reason didn’t, this is the year to be there,” said Armstrong. “The 25th anniversary only comes around once, so you don’t want to miss it.”

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