Lodi Wine Festival on Treasure Island: October 11, San Francisco

I have been quite happy to see an increase in the frequency and number of public wine tastings held by regional or appellation specific organizations over the past few years. It seems that many people have woken up and realized that if they are not Napa, they've got some work to do in educating and building relationships with consumers. As a result, opportunities continue to pop up for Bay Area wine lovers to learn a lot more about the wines of some lesser known California appellations, without hopping in the car for a drive.

The latest of these such regional tastings to show up in San Francisco will be happening on Sunday, October 11th, when the winegrowers and winemakers of Lodi come to town to showcase their wares for anyone interested in learning more about the region or just drinking a lot of good Zinfandel.

The folks from Lodi have chosen a nice venue for the event, off the beaten path and partway across the Bay on Treasure Island. That Sunday also happens to be the first day of Fleet Week, so in addition to sipping more than 200 different wines and nibbling on various snacks, attendees will have front row seats to the aerial acrobatics of the Blue Angels and other Fleet Week activities.

Lodi is best known for it's old vine (some of the oldest in the state) Zinfandel wines, but increasingly other varieties are being experimented with, to good results. This will be an excellent event for anyone looking to get a sense of what's going on in this area. To help out, several seminars will be offered to provide a little more depth of understanding than what you will get in your glass.

1st Annual Treasure Island Lodi Wine Festival
Sunday October 11, 2009 1:00 PM - 5:00PM
291 Avenue of the Palms
Treasure Island, San Francisco 94130

Tickets for the event are $55 and should be purchased in advance online.

Free parking is available for the event, and public transportation information is available on the event web site. Fleet week may make traffic on the Bay Bridge somewhat unpredictable, so leave plenty of travel time to get there.

My usual tips for such public tastings apply: wear dark clothes; get a good night sleep; come with food in your belly; drink lots of water; and if you want to learn anything, SPIT!

Posted by: Alder on September 30, 2009 9:40 PM: Tweet; Share this post elsewhere: Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit; Filed under: Wine Activities

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Comments (4)

Jon Bjork wrote:

09.30.09 at 11:50 PM

Thanks for the plug, Alder!
Coming from Lodi, for Zins I suggest you seek out the 2007's, which seem to have a bit nicer structure than usual (Harney Lane is particularly nice). Don't miss all our Rhones, especially Lodi's Petite Sirah, Carignane, and Late Harvest Viognier.

tom merle wrote:

10.02.09 at 9:02 AM

The Lodi folks are believing their own propaganda and seem out of touch with the economic times. $55 (=$59 with fee)/$65 at the door to taste unknown wines from a lesser AVA, ironically known for their affordability, plus some hors d'oeuvres. They're now coming down to earth and discounting tix on Goldstar.com

Mark Chandler wrote:

10.05.09 at 3:10 PM

Hi Alder - thanks for the great write-up. Can't figure out why Tom has his knickers in a knot. Hopefully by "lesser AVA" he means "lesser known AVA", something this event is designed to remedy. We are very encouraged by the enthusiastic response we are getting from wine lovers, and come Sunday we will sipping great wines and watching the Blue Angels from the best venue in the Bay Area. Cheers!

tom merle wrote:

10.05.09 at 5:51 PM

As I wrote Mark, my comment stems from my support of Lodi which extends back to the hundreds of hours I spent trying to get them a tasting room in downtown San Francisco. I've also arranged tastings for the wineries over the years, including one with a nationally known wine critic whose positive comments the Commission still uses in their promotional literature. I want more people to know about the appellation and setting a relatively high price during a financial crisis, IMHO, defeats that purpose. But I'm glad I've been proven wrong.