By MONICA CANE

209 correspondent

 Wine tasting rooms are one of the best ways to discover exciting new wines, enjoy a taste of old favorites and grow in your understanding of wine quality, not to mention that its loads of fun.

 Richard Foote of The Delicato Family Vineyards in Manteca takes pride in the family owned business and in his role as manager of the tasting room where he has unreservedly helped customers for over two decades discover new and exciting fine wines pleasing to the palate, while at the same time educating them about the vineyards various products and wine knowledge in general. 

As a large winery with at least 16 different brands, each having various types, styles and price points, such as the very popular black red wine by Noble Vines called The One, the winery has more than just a few choices, and this is where a good tasting room comes into play.

 “The way our wine tasting works is that we have chosen six white wines and six red wines that go on a feature list for wine tasting. Customers can taste any six of those twelve wines. We have people that only want to taste the white wines, some people only want red and others try three of each. It’s the customer’s choice and it is all complimentary,” Foote daod.

By the time customers leave the tasting room, not only have they had the opportunity to enjoy a superior wine experience but because of Foote’s vast knowledge, customers are better able to understand and appreciate the distinction of fine wines.

The winery gift shop carries all the wines that are sampled along with an array of gourmet gift items, personalized wine gift baskets and even gift certificates which make the perfect stocking stuffer this time of year.

Gnekow Family Winery

Another fine local wine tasting room can be found at Gnekow Family Winery (pronounced "nee-ko") located on the outskirts of Stockton in the small community of Collegeville.

Gnekow Family Winery’s tasting room offers a variety of over 20 wines including their signature wine, Campus Oaks "Old Vine" Zinfandel, which has won numerous gold medals due to its great taste and silky smooth finish.  A variety of fresh, crisp sparkling wines such as almond, peach, raspberry and pomegranate champagne are also on the wineries featured list.

 With a commitment to produce wines of quality and value, visitors can unlimited samples of Gnekow wine for a small fee of $5.   However, if a visitor purchases two or more bottles of wine then the small fee is waived and the sampling of exceptional wine is endless.

As customers relax and enjoy delicious samples of red, white, rose, dessert and sparkling wines, they can learn how the wine is made as well as a bit of  history behind the movie The Chateau Meroux, starring Back to the Future actor, Christopher Lloyd that was filmed at the picturesque vineyard.  One exciting feature in the film is the actual winemaking taking place on site of wine that is now sold in the gift shop.

Whether your wine knowledge is little or great, it all begins in an exceptional tasting room where one discovers and appreciates the world of fine wine.  Fortunately for those living in the San Joaquin Valley, we have tasting rooms right in our own backyard.