From The Lodi News-Sentinel’s LodiNews.com
By Sara Jane Pohlman, News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted: Friday, October 5, 2012

The San Joaquin County Planning Commission approved a request from a Lodi winery to hold more marketing events each year.

Heritage Oak Winery has been in business since 2006, when the county approved four events a year with 40 guests at each.

Owner Tom Hoffman said the land has been in his family for five generations, and farmed by all of them.

“To promote the winery, we need more events. Four isn’t enough,” he said.

The application requested an increase to 16 events per year with 120 guests permitted at each.

He assured the board there would be no weddings held on the property, and any live music would be over by 5 p.m.

The property sits next to the Mokelumne River off of Woodbridge road, with a private hiking trail and beach often used by birders and kayakers.

Katie Patterson, San Joaquin Farm Bureau program director, supported the increase on behalf of the bureau.

“We wholeheartedly approve of this as a legitimate winery to begin with,” she said.

The commission approved the application unanimously.

“There are no angry neighbors here, so that’s great,” said commissioner Miguel Villapudua.

Another Lodi winery had planned to present their application for expansion on Thursday, but they were not present.

Viaggio Winery, located on the corner of Taddei and Bender Road, applied to create an agricultural store with a deli and indoor seating.

Their presentation was postponed to Oct. 18 at the request of the Viaggio owners. Commissioner Randy Hamilton was not present, and the owners wanted the full board present to hear comments about the plan.

SIDEBAR:
In other action

Katie Patterson, San Joaquin Farm Bureau program director, gave the commissioners a brief report on the Winery Ordinance Task Force. The WOTF is an independent committee working on creating a new winery ordinance for the county.

Right now, the group is on hiatus while many members are working on harvesting their grapes.

A core group of members, including the Lodi District Grape Growers Association, Visit Lodi! and the San Joaquin Farm Bureau, are meeting periodically to hammer out language and ideas to present to the full group when they meet again in late October. They will present findings to the commission in November.

Contact reporter Sara Jane Pohlman at sarap@lodinews.com.