Lodi Winery's $300 Million Expansion Expected To Create 400 Jobs
LODI (CBS13) - A $300 million expansion is coming to a Lodi wine facility, and it's bringing 400 jobs along with it.
Each tank holds 50,000 gallons of wine; now, multiply that by 1,300. That is what is about to happen at Trinchero Winery. As their sales are flowing, so are their dreams for expansion.
One of the largest family-owned wine facilities is about to double its production capacity.
"We have all kinds of different products, something for everybody," said Jim Huntsinger, senior vice president of production.
Trinchero Family Estates toasted to a savory start back in 1972, when Bob Trinchero accidentally created white zinfandel.
"He turned to Lodi, where there was 70,000 to 80,000 tons of zin grapes that really didn't have a home," said Huntsinger.
The Trincheros went from a mom-and-pop winery to using 100,000 tons of grapes, mostly from Lodi.
That turns into 50 million gallons of wine right now, about to become 65 million.
The millions of gallons of wine are shipped to Napa and St. Helene where they do the bottling and distributing. However, all of that will soon be done in Lodi.
It will become a one-stop shop for their popular bottles.
"We get to bottle all our wine, have our competitive price in the market," said Garret Solin, senior lab technician.
Solin checks each tank of wine for quality.
"We make sure to check stability of the wine, make sure the alcohol content is there, the acid, the pH," said Solin.
The massive facility is about to give Lodi an economic jolt with 400 new jobs.
The family chose Lodi to do all of this because of the climate. At night it gets chilly and during the day it's mostly sunny and warm, which makes for some great grape growth.
The facility should be complete by 2015 or 2016.
