Wrap up wine tasting and pizza for Father's Day

June 19, 3:31 PMNorthern California Wine ExaminerJulia Hollister

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Instead of buying dad another tie or T-shirt with unoriginal saying for Father’s Day, here’s another gift for both of you – a road trip to Lodi and m2 wines.

The small boutique winery will be rolling out the red carpet and the barrels for some newly released wines and more.

“If you are a Daddy you get 15 percent off of all our wines,” said winemaker and co-owner Layne Montgomery. “But, we don’t discriminate; if you are not a dad and just want to taste some good wines this weekend you also can receive a discount. We want to make sure everyone leaves happy.”

In addition to tasting some “knock your socks off” Zinfandels, Montgomery says he’ll be grilling complimentary pizzas on the “Big Green Egg” ceramic smoker grill.

But wait, it gets better. There is no charge for the wine and barrel tasting or the pizzas. They are open Friday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The signature wine of the Lodi Appellation is Zinfandel and I can attest to the robust, full-bodied wines that come from these local old vines especially m2.

Weekend visitors can sample all the newly released wines -- 2007 Soucie Vineyard Old Vine Zin ($28) and Artist Reserve Series Zin ($35). The latter won a gold medal at the Orange County Fair. Both wines were selected as two of the top 10 Zins of Lodi.

Sharing the spotlight with the Zinfandels, m2 will be pouring an ’07 Trio (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Syrah and Syrah) $22; an ‘07 Cab from Napa fruit ($35) and
two whites – a Grenache Rose and a Viognier.

“Our Zins are the most popular wines followed by the Trio,” Montgomery said. “We produced our first vintage in 2004 and opened two years later and our name – m2 – came from the two original owners who both had last names beginning with the letter ‘M’.”

The winery does not own vineyard land and sources grapes from a variety of elite vineyards throughout California. They are located in a Lodi warehouse (1376 East Turner
Road) so, if you are looking for a croquet court and fancy landscaping, this is not the place. But, this is the place for excellent wines.

“We try to keep it fun,” he said. “All our wines are wines fruit forward and rich with a complexity of flavors. The deep, dark fruit is due to aging in real oak barrels. Above all, we don’t use short cuts.”