A Zinful Day

Zinfest 2014, Lodi Ca. 

This past Saturday myself, my husband, two of our three daughters along with two friends spent a wonderful day full of great wine, food and music together at Lodi's 10th annual Zinfest.  This was only my husbands and myself's second time for attending and the first time for everyone else and so we were well aware of the fun we were about to have, and it was exciting to share that with the first timers. 

All dressed up and ready to go!

Zinfest, an event that features an offering of 250 handcrafted wines from 50 Lodi wineries, as well as food booths, featuring everything from fruit to BBQ'd sausage links, Mexican food to Cajun and just about everything in between. There is always local wine related, hand crafted products to be had from wine racks to wine glass charms and as if that was not enough there is always a few local food products available to purchase, from aged Balsamic Vinegar to toffee as well. Located throughout there is various places to sit and relax while listening to music, including a piano bar where you can purchase a glass of wine and sing along, or if you want to burn off some of the calories you have been sipping there is always a place to dance to one of the local bands. There are food and wine pairing classes, wine education and cooking classes as well. Basically there is something for everyone and many different ways to enjoy the festival. 

Our daughter Angel on the left and her best bud and
a young lady who is unofficially part of the family for
years now, Andrea, ready to start the day. 

Andrea, our daughter Rebecca's boyfriend Kevin,
our daughter Angel and our daughter Rebecca enjoying
the ride down to zinfest. 

The day was a comfortably warm, with a good breeze making sure that no one would get over heated... always a good thing when spending so many hours outside in the sun. The Mokelumne River and surrounding park grounds where the event was being held was lush and green, beautiful as always, and the line was already quite long by the time that we arrived, but lucky for us it moved quickly and soon it was time to get the party started. 

On the way in we were greeted with great bluegrass music,
setting the mood for the day ahead.

   Once inside, we all decided to go our separate ways and meet back up at the end of the day. Below is a "snapshot" of our day at Zinfest, everyone contributed to the photo taking efforts so that I could share different perspectives with you all. 

The  Mokelumne River

It was a great turn out, but the lines were never too long
until the next sip of wonderful wine. 

There was everything from Chardonnay to Old Vine Zin
being offered, something for everyone's taste as well as budget.

Some of the wine makers were to run a race
down the river as part of the days festivities,
their vessels were quite creative as you can tell!

With classes about every 45 minutes or so, you could spend
all day just sitting, sipping and eating while you learned
something as well, that is how our daughter Angel and her
friend Andrea choose to spend their day. 

Peaceful views and vistas surrounded the event and gave
plenty of opportunity to just relax while sipping.

A shrimp cocktail for myself, and pulled
pork nachos for my hubby. That with
free mini loaves of locally baked bread
and later a dessert of fresh strawberries and
cream kept our bellies happy. 

Hubby and I found that getting two separate types of wine and
sharing worked for us. The wine glass slings often
made that an interesting experience to be sure. 

There was always something new to discover just around the
corner and across the river. 

Our daughter Rebecca and her boyfriend Kevin choose to
sit and watch many of the visitors dance to the sounds
of a classic rock band playing on the grandstand while they
enjoyed their lunch and wine. 

Hubby enjoying the sights and sounds

Spending time with our friend, and wine maker
for m2 wines, Layne Montgomery

"Stalker shot" taken from a distance by daughter
Rebecca. Andrea to the left, myself, hubby Rob, and
daughter Angel. 

Yumminess 

Food demo as viewed by daughter Angel and
friend Andrea.

Chocolate salad, one of the many cooking school/wine pairing
offerings throughout the day. 

Enjoying the day with my sweetie 

Another sip... yes please! 

The wineries ...

Click... 

HERE!