Oak Farm Lodi Zinfandel 2017

Oak Farm Vineyards, located in Lodi, California, sits at the heart of the historic DeVries estate with its centuries-old, majestic oak trees. The property, located on the Mokelumne River in northern Lodi, was the original homestead of William DeVries. DeVries left Baltimore in 1853 at to search for gold in California but instead made his fortune by selling provisions to other prospectors. He bought the property in 1860, and when DeVries began farming it, he insisted that the ancient oaks be left standing rather than cut down for easier planting of crops as was common in the 1800’s. As a result, the estate became known in the community as Oak Farm. The Panella family assumed stewardship of Oak Farm in 2004. They meticulously restored the grounds and the colonial mansion to its original glory. Dan & Heather Panella and their four children now make it their home 

Lodi is widely admired for its generational history, and Oak Farm Vineyards, above all, is about family. In addition to Dan and Heather who run the day to day operations, visitors will usually find Dorothy Panella, Dan’s mother and Panella clan matriarch, onsite helping in various aspects of the business. Dan’s father runs Panella Trucking, a company initially created when it became difficult to find reliable transportation to get Lodi crops to market. Dan’s wife Heather is a landscape designer and helped to create the look of the property today. Like grape growing and winemaking, family ties are important in Lodi, and Oak Farm Vineyards proudly carries on the family tradition as a third generation California farmer, Dan has always had a passion for agriculture. He acquired his first taste for farming while driving a tractor in his family’s cherry and walnut orchards. It was a natural progression for Dan to move from the orchards into vineyards. Because of his background, Dan was led to a detailed approach to vineyard planting and winemaking, always focused on capturing the Lodi sense of place. 

Approximately sixty acres of the seventy-acre property were originally vineyards, and in 2013, Dan began replanting to ensure that the estate had the right varietals, rootstocks and clones. Fourteen varieties of grapes are now planted. Construction was begun in 2013 on the state of the art winery and visitor center and it opened in 2014. Heather’s vision of the design for the winery and landscaping of the property is evident. The winery was designed to be aesthetically pleasing but also follow form and function. Consulting winemaker Chad Joseph graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in botany and emphasis in chemistry. During his studies he became enamored with viticulture. Moving to Lodi in 2001, Chad has emerged as one of Lodi’s leaders in the movement towards artisanal grape growing and wine making. Chad has helped Dan to craft the style of wines for Oak Farms by focusing on the terroir of Lodi. In 2017 Sierra Zeiter, a Lodi native and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo oenology graduate was added to the winemaking team. The trio of Dan, Chad and Sierra share a common philosophy of letting grapes and wines express themselves naturally.