D'Vine Wine and Visitor Guide, serving Amador County, Calaveras County, El Dorado County, Placer County, Nevada County, San Joaquin County, Alameda County, Clarksburg and Delta region, Northern Sierra, Lodi Wine Region and Livermore Wine Region

Dvine Wine and Visitors Guide November 2007

Rosewood Bar & Grill	Cooper Vineyards
Simple Sophistication	Lake Don Pedro
Wine Tasting 101	Culinary Corner
Wine Education Claret	Past Issues

It’s Wine Time at Lodi’s CELLARDOOR!

"By Fran Benavidez"

It’s wine o’clock somewhere and CELLARDOOR wants you to come play! Plain and simple, downtown Lodi’s popular new wine tasting venue, CELLARDOOR, is offering wine tasters the chance to have fun with wine.

Whether you are new to the wine scene or a veteran sipper wishing to expand your viniculture horizon, everyone is encouraged to toss out the wine tasting “rule book.” This uncomplicated attitude is what makes CELLARDOOR so appealing to many local and out-of-town wine buffs, and keeps a taster or two coming back, often bringing along friends and new “recruits!”

Owing much of the magnum-sized charisma surrounding the tasting room to the good-natured staff, their knowledge of local wine and personal attention to customer service is a pleasure to observe. When Vanessa Foreman signed on as CELLARDOOR’s manager, she brought along an extensive professional background in the hospitality industry and a genuine passion for wine. Her approach is enthusiastic and highly contagious. “Wine should be fun!” Foreman says, while encouraging tasters “Don’t be afraid of what you taste.”

Sharing a strong desire to participate in downtown Lodi’s revitalization efforts, local vintners Michael David, Jessie’s Grove, and Van Ruiten Family Wineries realized the mouth-watering potential of pouring an elegant wine tasting venue into downtown Lodi. Since opening last April, it has been successfully spreading the good word about Lodi wine!