Wine and Chocolate

My dad and stepmother are visiting from Arizona.  On their visits, we always drive down to Lodi for wine tasting (and buying).  This trip, we inadvertently stumbled into the Lodi Wine and Chocolate Weekend.  We knew something was up when we pulled into Phillips Farms (home of Michael David, the makers of Seven Deadly Zins), and the parking lot was full with a tour bus parked on the street.  We are quite fond of this stop for a number of reasons.  First, their wine is great (and this comes from someone who is not fond of reds – they make the only zinfandel I will willingly drink).  Second, they are always very generous and happy to sit and chat.  Third, they have a GREAT cafe attached to it – we always eat lunch there.  And finally, they have a very cute country store, filled with baked goodies (pies, breads) and farm fresh produce (in February their tomatoes looked amazing).  I discovered yet another reason today.  Because there were so many people passing through their tiny facility, they set up a tasting station in their arbor.  While my parents tasted (I, due to my dislike of reds, was immediately dubbed the designated driver), I wandered the gardens.  Even in February they were neatly kept.  I could easily imagine their beauty in full bloom (I feel like gardening as my dear friend Yolanda feels about crafting – it’s porn).

We only went to two wineries this afternoon (we did not buy tickets for the festival, you could still taste – for the normal tasting fee, usually nothing- at the participating wineries without one).  The crowds were insane, and two were enough to knock my folks pretty well onto their asses (each tasting has at least five wines, and the tastes are really generous – at least a quarter of a wine glass).

The weekend seems like something that would be great fun with friends, perhaps on a Sunday when it’s not so crowded.  Shall we place it on our calendars? You taste the wines – I’ll taste the chocolate.