Lodi's Best Kept Wine Country Secret
West Lodi · Lodi · Upscale Californian/New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 17, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Wine & Roses – Towne House Bar’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walking into the Towne House Bar, the wine list feels like someone finally took Lodi seriously — and they did. This isn't the dusty Zinfandel afterthought list you'd expect from a resort hotel; it's a genuine love letter to the region. The room backs it up: proper stems, attentive staff, and a vibe that sits comfortably between special occasion and Tuesday night.
The list runs 100–200 bottles deep with a clear thesis: Lodi is the star, California is the supporting cast. Producers like Turley Wine Cellars, Klinker Brick, Harney Lane, and m2 Wines anchor the local section, giving you a genuine tasting map of the appellation without having to hop in a car. The selection skews toward Zinfandel and big reds — which makes sense given the terroir — but the presence of m2 Wines Tempranillo signals someone on staff is paying attention to Lodi's underdog varieties. The gaps are real: if you're hunting Burgundy, Barolo, or anything with a French accent, you'll need to manage expectations.
Fifteen to twenty-five glass pours is a generous spread for a hotel bar, and the rotation leans predictably local — expect Lodi Zinfandel to anchor both ends of the price range. The Klinker Brick Old Ghost Zinfandel showing up by the glass would be a genuine win; it's the kind of pour that converts skeptics. Rotation frequency is unclear from the outside, but with a sommelier on staff, there's at least someone with the authority to keep things interesting.
Harney Lane Zinfandel — $14
Harney Lane is one of Lodi's most consistently overdelivering producers — estate-grown fruit, honest winemaking, and a Zinfandel that punches well above its price point. At a resort with $$$$-range ambitions, catching this one at a fair glass price is the move.
m2 Wines Tempranillo
Most guests at a Lodi wine list are hunting Zinfandel, and they'll walk right past this. Tempranillo in Lodi is a genuine experiment that works — m2 has been doing it quietly for years, and it's the kind of bottle that makes the table curious. Order it and look like you know something.
Michael David Winery Petite Petit
Michael David is everywhere in Lodi — grocery stores, Total Wine, airport gift shops. Petite Petit is a fine commercial red, but at resort markup you're paying a premium for something you could grab at Safeway on the way in. Save your budget for the producers you can't find on every shelf.
Turley Wine Cellars Zinfandel + Seasonal chef-driven red meat entrée
Turley is the benchmark Lodi Zinfandel — rich, structured, with enough weight to stand up to whatever the kitchen is doing with beef or lamb that week. It's the one bottle on this list with enough reputation to anchor a special-occasion dinner, and it earns every dollar of the markup.
The Bottom Line
The Towne House Bar is what happens when a resort actually invests in its wine program — and in Lodi, that still qualifies as a surprise. The markups sting slightly, but the local depth and knowledgeable staff make this the best place in town to finally understand what Lodi is doing right.
West Lodi / Lincoln Center area · Lodi · New American / Gastropub
Market Tavern isn't a wine destination, but it earns its place as the kind of reliable neighborhood spot where you won't feel bad about ordering a second glass. If you're in Lodi and skipping the local bottles, you're doing it wrong.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Lodi · Lodi · New American
Zin Bistro is the rare restaurant that actually belongs in its wine region — it champions Lodi producers with conviction and gives old-vine Zinfandel the platform it deserves. If you've been sleeping on Lodi as a wine destination, dinner here is a fast education.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
North Lodi / Lockeford Street corridor · Lodi · Wood-fired pizza and contemporary American small plates
Guantonio's is doing something genuinely rare: running a focused, producer-specific, locally-rooted wine program inside a casual pizza restaurant, and doing it at prices that don't punish you for being curious. If you're eating in Lodi, this is where you drink.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lodi Wine Region · Lodi · Winery Tasting Room
LVVR is a genuine Wild Card — a serious sparkling program planted in the last place most California wine drinkers would look for one. If you're road-tripping through Lodi or just tired of paying Napa prices for bubbles, this is exactly the kind of discovery that makes regional wine exploration worth it.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown Lodi · Lodi · Winery Tasting Room
Onus isn't trying to be a destination wine list — it's a focused estate pour in a shared Lodi tasting room, and at $10–$20 for a flight, the price of admission is low enough that curiosity alone justifies the stop. If you're passing through Lodi and want to understand why the region is having a moment, this is a fine place to start.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lodi Wine Region · Lodi · Winery tasting room specializing in Spanish-style varietal wines
If you think Lodi means bulk Zinfandel and nothing else, Bokisch is the correction you didn't know you needed. Come for the flight, leave with a bottle of Graciano and a slightly revised worldview.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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