Earlier this summer I had the privelage of attending the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference held in Lodi California.  You are probably curious about Lodi as I have never been nor shared any Lodi Wines on the blog. I was just as excited to discover this unknown California wine region as you probably are reading what my experience was…. See more about this fabulous weekend meeting Lodi winemakers, grape growers and other wine bloggers below. 

Me and Aliye of Cuvee Appeal and Hanah-Lee of Wander & Wine on our way to the Oak Ridge Winery visit and dinner.

Part of the weekend itinerary included Winery visits and dinner on Friday evening.  A friend and fellow blogger, Hana-Lee of Wander + Wine (who you may recognize from the World of Pinot Noir Wine Festival I attended this Spring) and I randomly picked tickets to what ended up being one of the most in incredible, over the top, intimate winery dinners I have yet to experience. Little did we know when we picked our tickets (which had disguised names so you didn’t know what winery you were selecting tickets for) that we were in store for a visit to Oak Ridge Winery. Oak Ridge Winery is owned by The Maggio, Reynold and Donero families, producing various estate wines under multiple labels.  Combined they have over 500 acres of estate vineyards within the Lodi AVA. Talk about a huge production!! After hearing how much wine they make I was curious of the quality and have to say I was very impressed with the wine quality, flavors and body at the price points they are able to offer. It goes to show, never judge a wine by it’s price tag!

The vineyards which we learned were all dry farmed.

Vineyard tour with Chue Her production manager at Oak Ridge Winery

The incredible cheese tasting we enjoyed in the vineyards. This was one of the most spectacular cheese plates I have ever enjoyed!! A huge thank you to Shelly Maggio-Woltkamp the Chef and Hostess behind the amazing culinary treats we enjoyed during this visit. I was told it took all morning to create this beautiful and delicious Charcuterie & Cheese spread.

Cheers to the Oak Ridge Winery family for their incredible generosity and amazing hospitality. They really know how to show their guests a great time paired with their delicious wines.

This was the wine we toasted to in the vineyard and having never had Oak Ridge Winery Wines before the visit, I was pleasantly surprised how delicious they were especially considering their accessible price point.

The Old Soul Chardonnay & The OZV Rose wines we enjoyed pre dinner. The Chardonnay was very nice I ended up having a few more glasses during dinner as well!

An incredible watermelon, onion salad which was perfect on a hot summer day in Lodi

The corn gazpacho soup which was delicious!

The amazing pasta with ham and peas.

Our main course, a filet entree with roasted vegetables. Incredible and paired perfectly with the wines we were served.

Thank you to the Oak Ridge Winery Team for their amazing hospitality and opening up their home to us. It was lovely to discover your wines, meet the team and share an evening together!! 

If you liked this post and want to see some more coverage of this incredible visit read a few of my fellow bloggers and friends posts too. Wander + Wine & Laura Wines.