The Lucas Winery

Never have I been disappointed in any winery, was a pathetic tasting. I hear it is different when the owner, wine maker is there, he wasn’t. There were two gals working, one on a computer and the other «greeted» us. She could not have been more bored or could care less about our experience. We were the only ones there and on our second taste when some wine members came in the door, she could not ditch us fast enough. Gave us more of the wine we were just tasting and told us to wait in the other room, we did. Eventually the gal on the computer came in and did she have our next taste? No, she had a major sales pitch about the wine club, that was it, that was all she could talk about. We eventually were able to get back to the main tasting room where we were ignored yet again by the other young server. Finally 30 minutes later we were allowed to finish the flight they offered. We bought a couple bottles of wine to offset the tasting fee only to find out that they are the ONLY ones in the Lodi area that will NOT put your tasting fee towards your purchase. Very sad, very pathetic and I felt so unwelcome I could not get out of there fast enough. They do give you your tasting glasses which I gave to the maid in our hotel as I could do without a reminder of this place. NEVER again will I go to this place, there are just too may other wineries to choose from. Plus the wine was marginal at best.

Hokey tour, wines were good but priced high for Lodi. There are better values in Lodi than Lucas You keep your glass for your 10 tasting fee. I would have preferred them applying the tasting fee towards a purchase. I would have bought a bottle. Poor marketing

David gave us a tour and we had a great time. If we ever go back to Lodi we will stop again. Good wines!

This place has great wine! Their tasting are fun because they take you out to the vineyards and to their barrel room to teach you about their wine. I think their wine tasting is $ 10 but you get a nice wine glass with the tasting. Overall, liked most of their wine but their wine prices were a little bit to pricey for my wallet.

Different tasting than most Lodi wineries. You pay $ 10. You get the usual number of tastings, but a quick tour of the vineyard and barrel room, and you get to keep the beautiful glass. The wines were on the high end, and the price reflected that. But excellent wines. The guy pouring couldn’t have been more helpful and nice. Great experience.

Girlfriend likes it a lot so I take it pretty good. I’m not the wine drinking dude but fun place and very nice, knowledable staff. Cool vibe, cool people, cool place. I am exploring more wine now and this was a great place to start.

I am sitting chilling watching TV sipping on a glass of wine. And I thought to myself, this is great. Of course it’s Lucas. I first came across their tasting room with my mom. One tasting and I was hooked. A tasting includes a tour of the Vinyard and of the barrel room and of course the wine. I have done this tour a few times and with different workers, they really know their facts. They can tell you about how the weather and insects effect their crop, and what that means for the wine. I love the fact that the employees know what they are talking about, it makes for a more informative purchase. I have brought friends and family to the winery to taste now that I am a member and everyone loves at least one wine, I love most. I have gone to events like special tastings and dinners and it has always been a blast, you get to meet new people and see some of your club member friends and of mouse you’re fave staff members. After one event the owner David Lucas even gave me one of the flower centerpieces. The service and wine are always worth going back for.

Unimpressed. Third and final stop on a carriage wine tour. We bypassed tour of grounds to save time for tasting. We tasted 4 bottles in about 7 mins based on pace of tasting room hostess. Never offered opportunity to rinse glass, cleanse pallet. We noticed French bread for this purpose behind us and took it upon ourselves to do so. Tasting fee of $ 10 was twice that of other stops and pours were not equivalent. Wine glass was included — would rather have paid $ 5 w/​o a glass. Hostess informed us fee would be waived if we purchased $ 100 worth of wine. Not up to standard of other stops. Would not go back.

What an awesome place to taste and learn a bit about local wine. The tasting includes a riedel wine glass, 6 wines and the invitation to re-​taste any at the end. You walk and taste as you view the vines and take a close look at the grapes growing as well as explore the barrel room. It was pretty quiet at 3pm on a Saturday in there– so my friend and I felt like all the attention was on us. We loved most of the wine and both ended up joining the wine club. Winemaker/​owner David shared his thoughts with us and welcomed us to his family. He was so sincere and passionate as we chatted. I highly recommend this stop.
*TIP* if you join the wine club anyone you refer to the club that signs up will earn you 2 bottles of wine. My friend and I signed up at the same time and I wish we would have known in advance so we could have earned those bottles and joined separately.

Our visit at Lucas today could not have been any better. Glo, and tasting room associate, took time to pour us on the Chardonnay, before taking us out to the vineyard, originally planted in 1933, to tell us about Lucas’ farming practices.
David Lucas then joined us to show us the barrel room, while we enjoyed 2011 Zinfandel from the head-​trained vines behind the winery.
Top-​notch service and hospitality, and impeccable wines that harken back to a sometimes forgotten, yet always appreciated, style of California winemaking.
Thank you to David and Heather, and Glo, for such a great experience.

Fell in love with Lucas the minute we walked in the door. The love David Lucas has for his wine and winery beams around the room. The education the pourer gave us was invaluable.
Not only did we get to learn about each wine, we were taken out to the organic vineyard to see the grapes used for their Zinstar wine, and organic zinfandel which is THE BEST!
After that we were given another pour and encouraged to roam the barrel room, which is rich with atmosphere and a display of their wines from 1978-​present. The staff are very personable and you feel like friends after you leave. We loved Lucas so much we became wine club members. There is not one wine we did not love.

Wine was good but too expensive. I went an event did not get what I expected they charged $ 10 for your first glass if wine and after the 1^st glass they charged $ 8 for the same wine. I went to purchase a bottle if the same wine and they wanted to charge around $ 50 for the star zinfandel. The winery was ok but not what I expected for an event. I must have read the event description wrong.

I liked they spent a lot of time with you touring the grounds and barrel room. The wines were ok but nothing we wanted to buy. Overall it was a decent tasting room experience with ok wines.

I really enjoyed this winery this past Sunday on my visit to Lodi. I paid $ 5 for a tasting, tour and got to keep my wine glass. Our pourer was extremely friendly and informative. She gave us her full attention which was really nice. They offered some really good red wines. I’m looking forward to coming back to Lucas Winery.

This was our second winery we went to in Lodi and it was a great experience. So good I signed up to be a club member.
Beautiful tasting room. We really enjoyed the tour of vineyard and barrel room. I would highly recommend. Looking forward to going again.

Nice atmosphere. Great employees with plenty of knowledge of the wines. Decent to good wine. In my opinion it’s pricey for what it is. It’s good, but it’s not «wow I have to spend $ 34.99 for this bottle good.» They had some nice snacks and chocolate. It was a delightful experience. It’s a shame, especially in these economic times, that the wine is this pricey.

Another trip and another successful experience. We picked up our club shipment about a month late after several failed attempts to get our friends to commit. They were very nice to hold onto our stuff for us for so long. We got to sample everything from their zin blossoms (their zin rose) to their straw wine (a late harvest) and everything in between. It is so amazing that for the 6 – 7 years I’ve been tasting and buying there it’s been so consistently great. Their chard from year to year is fantastic, crisp and oaky. The zins are big, robust and peppery. The zin blossoms is perfect for Thai food or just sitting on the patio. The late harvest is the best I’ve ever had and the perfect accompaniment for any decadent dessert. We even picked up some good tips on what to reduce it with and use with a meal for a sauce.
It has been nice to see the progression the last year or so into different varietals. They’ve started making a second chard from the north coast. They have a pinot noir coming out soon. Their cab is second to none, even your big Napa wineries. The best place in Lodi by far. It’s no wonder every other place seems to have David and Heather helping to improve their product.

Lucas is classy but approachable. I am not a seasoned wine aficionado, so I appreciate places that don’t make me feel like I should already know everything about wine just to have a taste. David Lucas, the owner himself, greeted all who entered and gave a red rose to every lady on Wine & Chocolate Weekend. It was a nice touch, and he immediately put us at ease.
Now, onto the wine. It is outstanding, just like all the reviews say. We brought home a bottle of the Zinstar, and I regret not picking up their amazing dessert wine. It’s sweet like a port but isn’t actually a port. Let them tell you about their fancy process to make it. Meanwhile, taste a chocolate truffle between sips. Delish!

Love Love Love.
If you are entertaining a guest, this is one winery you HAVE to visit. They don’t just provide you with a tasting, they take you on an educational tour. You visit the barrel room, which is STUNNING, you walk out into the vineyard and they let you prune your own vine.
All of the wine is delicious. They implore organic techniques, which is extremely costly and time consuming but it pays off in the taste of the wine.
I love everything about a tasting at Lucas, from their large and well designed glasses, to their funny and informative pourers like Chuck.
The wines are expensive, but they are worth it, especially for a dinner party or special occasion.

What a fun place to wine taste! David Lucas the owner was there the day we visited during our little 4 party wine tour in our own backyard, Lodi, just 12 short miles from Stockton. Side bar; my grampa used to be a grape grower in the 20’s-lost a years harvest in the Great Depression due to the prices of freight to the east coast-​just an interesting little bit of family history.
Well, as I remember, Dave the owner is a free spirited guy that used to be a surfer bum, maybe he still is. The place is a bit eclectic. As you pull up there are picnic tables where you can enjoy your picnic, bread, cheese, whatever you bring yourself with your wine purchase. If you’d like a tour the staff is eager to grant your wish. The day we stopped in Dave Lucas was doing his own private tour and we got to listen in on his brief talk in the barrel room-​good stuff.
This is a rustic, unpretentious place to taste and believe me, you will enjoy it. One other thing I remembered from our visit, Dave’s daughter designed one of his wine labels… I just love this type of «insider» (even though I’m not-​but feel as though I am) information!