DRINK: Sip wine slushies, rosé granita and, of course, big jammy Lodi zins — with a bit of peach pie on the side.
The Lodi appellation has a long and storied past. Some of its vineyards date back to the 19th century. Some of its 50-plus wineries are run by fourth and fifth generation winemakers and growers. And while the region — which includes Lodi itself, as well as the surrounding towns — may be known for its big, jammy zins, more than 100 grape varieties are grown here. Plus, there’s the whole matter of wine slushies. It’s tough to be snobby in the presence of wine slushies, rosé granita and peach pie, people. So we’ve crafted a perfect, laid-back itinerary for wine-sipping and day-tripping that includes a trio of Stockton and Lodi wineries (and said peach pie).
The Fruit Bowl
Start your trek at this oldschool fruit stand and bake shop, a Stockton institution since 1947, when a rapidly ripening peach crop had the Lucchetti family in desperate straits one Fourth of July. The San Francisco fruit market was closed for the holiday weekend, and the peaches wouldn’t keep, so they put out a sign on the highway and started selling their White Nectar freestone peaches to passers-by. You’ll have no trouble finding the place today. Just follow the cars. The bake shop offers made-to-order panini, fat wedges of quiche and ridiculously delicious turnovers and pies, all of which will make a marvelous picnic at your next stop. (You don’t have to buy the whole pie, by the way. A slice of the peach, for example, is $3.75.)
Open daily from mid-April through the summer season at 8768 Waterloo Road (Highway 88), Stockton; www. thefruitbowl.com.
Sorelle Winery
The old Dodge Estate sits just a few minutes down the road from peach heaven. When sisters Kim and Melissa Scott bought the estate a decade ago, they began restoring not only the gleaming white house, built in 1866, but the vineyards that once grew here. In 2011, they released their first wine under the Sorelle — Italian for sisters — label. The winery has earned gold medals for its sangiovese and primitivo wines, but its local claim to fame is the Frappe Vino.
On the day we were there, the baby-shower guests happily partying in the Sorelle garden had already downed three pitchers of these rosy wine slushies. Of course, if you’re a serious wine type or someone who regards anything less than an $80 cab with disdain, you are not going to like this at all. But faced with the spectacle of such slushy enthusiasm on a hot summery day, we just had to try this mixture of equal parts pinot grigio and water, plus fruit, churned in a slushy machine. It’s refreshing, not too sweet and not too boozy. It’s a party sip, and it’s really fun. (We ran across rosé granita at Lodi’s Langetwins the next day. This is a thing.)
Also very nice: Sorelle’s 2014 Bella e Rosa (Pretty in Pink, $16), a strawberry-tinged, delicate rosé that paired nicely with our picnic on the Sorelle patio.
Open Thursday-Monday at 9599 Highway 88, Stockton; sorellewinery.com. Like most of the wineries in the Lodi AVA, the tasting fee is waived if you buy a bottle.
Harney Lane Winery
The Mettler family has been farming these vineyards since 1907, but 10 years ago, they began making their own wine. They’re turning out some lovely bottles now — and the chic winery is a splendid place to go tasting, with high-vaulted ceilings and big comfy seating, as well as a tasting bar and pleasant spots to perch for a picnic, including a grouping of barrel-stave chairs in the shade. If you’re craving another nosh, the winery offers tasting plates ($25) with Fiscalini cheese, salami, crackers and apricots.
If you like jammy zins, try their award-winning 2012 Zinfandel ($22), which has blackberry and chocolate notes. If you’re as rosé-obsessed as we are these days, go for the Harney Lane 2015 Dry Rosé ($18).
Open daily at 9010 E. Harney Lane, Lodi; harneylane.com. Grape-to-glass tours ($20) are offered by appointment.
Klinker Brick
If you’re a zin hound, chances are high that you know all about Klinker Brick, with its 19th-century vineyards and six generations of grape-growing Feltens. If you haven’t already picnicked — or are going for a picnic hat trick — there’s a nice picnic spot, with tables and barrel-stave chairs, but most people come here for those zins.
They’re all rich and jammy, but the Old Ghost is something else: a zinfandel that represents the single best lots of old vine zinfandel they produce each year. And while many wineries talk about “old vines,” this is the real deal: Recent iterations of the Old Ghost came from vines that are 90 years old. Open daily at 15887 Alpine Road, Lodi; www. klinkerbrickwinery.com.