Tin Lizzie Wineworks

You’ll never just drive by this place … but you should definitely seek it out. Winemaker Dave — who trained at UCDavis, and has won a bunch of awards for his wines — opened this local, hometown version of Crushpad.
Like Crushpad, he sources grapes from California (among other places), and will work with you to make your own barrel. He doesn’t offer as many sources as a big VC-​backed operation like Crushpad; on the other hand, you can get half or even quarter barrel; and possibly use local grapes if desired. Dave will help you make anything from your basic pizza or burger wine (from Lodi or central valley grapes) to a high end Napa cab (from designated vineyards) or Rhone ranger. And you can put your own labels on the bottles.
Dave’s been making wine for 40 years, but just getting this Wineworks operation started. It’s a cool little place. He gave us a tour, explained the equipment, and popped a bottle of his own 2005 Stagecoach Vineyard Cab (Napa), while telling us about the notorious Girls for Swirls wine club that’s making a Zinfandel with him right now. He’s gotten a number of awards for the Cab, and it certainly was a very respectable wine.
A group of us may go together on a barrel. If so, I’m hoping the real experience and end product result in an upgrade to 5 stars. It’s showing potential …