This article will cover the last two wineries visited on the first day of the 1st Sip event in Lodi, California held November 14-15, 2009. They are Harmony Wynelands and the various wineries of Vino Piazza. The last two articles will cover: Michael-David, Van Ruiten, Jessie’s Grove, and Berghold wineries that we visited the last day of the event.
Harmony Wynelands
This is another family owned and managed winery. Bob and Linda Hartzell, owners have a rather unique winery and not just for their wines, but for something that comes from my hometown of San Francisco.
The Old San Francisco Castro Theatre Pipe Organ
I did leave my heart in San Francisco, but another organ is close by. Growing up in San Francisco I remember going to the Castro Theatre occasionally and listening to a grand pipe organ, the sound took over the entire theater. They got rid of this organ in the 1980s and I really did not know what happened to it. To my surprise, as we were walking to the tasting room, low and behold, sounds of a pipe organ that took over the entire winery! I did not know it was the Castro Pipe Organ until later. Bob Hartzell was playing it and having a bunch of fun too. He apparently plays this often for visiting wine tasters. It was nice seeing the old thing again, it brought back many memories of growing up in San Francisco and my family.
Now, for the wine. It was very busy there too and was rather difficult to even do some wine tastings, but I usually find a way.
I tasted three wines:
2007 Chardonnay. This was a fruity tasting Chardonnay. Perfect cold on a San Joaquin Summer day. I tend to prefer a more buttery dry taste to my Chardonnay, but there really is no uniform taste for this wine from one winery to the next. I did like this though and went well with most of the appetizers they were serving. I will have this again. Would go well with any poultry or pork dish, light sauced pastas, and any salad. The price list had this at $16.00.
Old Vine Zinfandel. Their 2006 won a Silver Medal at the 2008 California State Fair. This one was a very balanced wine, between fruit and a slight peppery taste. The wine is produced from the family’s 35 year old vines. Like most Zin, it would go very well with pasta or most meat dishes. The price for this wine was in the low 20s.
GMA. No, this does not stand for Good Morning America. It is a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Alicante Bouschet. This blend worked fairly well, but this was young tasting wine. It did not have a year on the menu, but will age ok. It had a spicy flavor that I could not place, although I was leaning towards a chicory taste, but with the next sip got something else. If you like a wine to keep you guessing, this would be it. I think I will try this with rib roast for a bit of variety and see how it pairs.
Linda Hartzell’s son, Shaun MacKay was helping behind the tasting tables and I was told he is winemaker, handles marketing, and winery operations. Well rounded I would say.
Foodie Info. They had various bites to eat for the event participants, including cookies, crackers, chips, dips, and other things. They were also barbecuing chicken with a variety of dipping sauces. This was very nice and the chicken was moist and flavorful.
Harmony Wynelands, 9291 E. Harney Lane, Lodi, CA 95240, 209-369-4184. Their website link is: Harmony Wynelands They do not list visiting times or tasting fees. Please call them for an appointment and further information.
PLEASE SEE PHOTO JOURNAL AT END OF ARTICLE FOR PHOTOS OF HARMONY WYNELANDS AND THE FOLLOWING VINO PIAZZA WINERIES
VINO PIAZZA WINERIES
This wine plaza is rather unique in that it houses about nine wineries from what I was told, all renting space in what I would classify as a cooperative. It is located right outside of Lodi, in the city of Lockeford.
Each independent winery rents space and if chosen, the facility can provide a way to utilize storage facilities, crush tanks, and wine processing. Each winery’s tasting room operations is housed in anything from what was once a warehouse, boiler room, storage, or other such things. This is a bustling place in the Summer with something to do every weekend from entertainment, special tastings, and other events.
By the time we got there, things were winding down. The 1st Sip event was to run until 4:00 pm, but many of the wineries were either not participating or closed down early. Some were closing up when we got there and plenty of people were still coming in. So I will give you some generalities. I will come back and report more at a later time.
The plaza had two bands still playing, one in the courtyard and one in the plaza. It looks like there were some outside tasting booths set up earlier, but were closing shop when we got there. There was a barbecue of some sort as well, but guess we missed out on that!
We did go into one of the wineries there called The Coliseum and some others captured in the Photo Journal below that we did not have time to taste or were finished. We only tasted in one, The Coliseum for what we thought was their wine. Here’s the story, we walked into The Coliseum and proceeded to a wine bar as we walked in. It looked like they had two set up. Inside, there was a slab of beef for those to enjoy with assorted breads and crackers. They also had cheese plates and other appetizers. I asked to try their Chardonnay, but I was told they were not The Coliseum Winery, instead they were sharing space to promote their new wines just bottled the night before! Now, that is a young wine. Their Chardonnay was very good, fruity with a bit of a buttery taste that I personally like. The name of this new winery is called, Miner’s Leap. I expect to hear more about them as they do have a nice Chardonnay. The Coliseum was getting so busy as they were one of the last ones open, that we could not even make to the wine bar for a taste of their wines.
Again, I will go back to the Vino Piazza at some point when they are all open and when I do, I will write a full article on the operations and wineries at that time.
PHOTO JOURNAL OF HARMONY WYNELANDS AND VINO PIAZZA WINERIES
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