Introducing American Fare
Lodi has always known what it is. Rich agricultural land, multigenerational farming families, winemakers who've spent decades earning recognition that the rest of the world is only now catching up to. What it hasn't had, until now, is a single afternoon that brings all of it together.
American Fare makes its debut on Saturday, May 2, 2026, on the gardens and grounds of Appellation Lodi – Wine & Roses Resort and Spa. Part open-air market, part culinary celebration, part community gathering, the inaugural event is a walk-around experience built entirely around one idea: everything here is made, grown, and crafted in Lodi.
"American Fare is about honoring the people and the land that make this region so extraordinary," says Chef Charlie Palmer. "There's no better place to celebrate that than right here."
A Region on One Plate
The heart of the event is a collection of ten market-style tasting booths, each pairing a local chef, a local grower, and a local winemaker to create a single, seasonal expression of Lodi food, wine, and produce. It's a format as straightforward as it is revealing: when a chef who knows their grower by name cooks alongside a winemaker who grew up down the road, something different happens. The food tastes like somewhere.
The Chefs
The culinary lineup brings together ten of Lodi's most compelling kitchen voices—from established destination restaurants to neighborhood favorites with deep local roots.
Chef Robert Ito leads the team at Americana House, Appellation Lodi's own culinary anchor, where California farmhouse cooking meets the resort's sprawling gardens. Joining him is Chef Lance Ramhurst of MOHI Farm, whose cooking draws directly from what grows on property—a taste of where Appellation will soon reveal its newest locale, The MOHI by Appellation. Nassim Bounoua of Folia Bar & Kitchen brings the fire-forward, garden-to-table approach that has made Appellation Healdsburg's flagship restaurant one of Sonoma County's most talked-about dining rooms.
The lineup also includes Matt Masera of Miller & Lux, the acclaimed San Francisco steakhouse that has quietly become a destination for serious beef; Jacob des Voignes of Heleje Wine Co., whose dual role as both chef and winemaker gives his cooking an unusual attunement to what's in the glass; and Lacey Franklin of Oak Farm Vineyards, who brings a winery kitchen sensibility shaped by the estate's own land. Arriel Oneal of The Exchange 1874, Sunny and Tim Chong of Komachi Sushi, and Srijith Gopinathan of The Oxford Kitchen & Gastropub round out a lineup as varied as the region itself—each bringing a distinct perspective on what it means to cook in, and for, this place.
The Winemakers
Lodi has spent years building a wine identity that refuses easy definition—and the winemakers at American Fare reflect exactly that range.
Acquiesce Winery has become one of the most distinctive voices in California white wine, with Sue Tipton's Rhône-focused portfolio showcasing what Lodi's warm days and cool nights do for varieties most of California ignores. Jeremy Wine Co. brings irreverence and craft in equal measure—wines made for tables, not trophy cases. Michael David Winery is as synonymous with Lodi as the delta breeze, the Phillipe family having farmed here for six generations before the first bottle was ever filled. Harney Lane Winery, steered by the Mettler family on land they've worked since 1907, represents the kind of deep agricultural continuity that makes Lodi unlike almost anywhere else in California wine country.
LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards spans a remarkable range of varieties grown across their estate, while Peltier Winery & Vineyards has carved out a reputation for bold, thoughtful reds built from fruit grown feet from the winery door. Markus Wine Co., Oak Farm Vineyards, St. Jorge Winery, Heleje Wine Co., and Perlegos Family Wines complete a pour list that covers the breadth of what this appellation produces—from single-vineyard Cabernets to skin-contact whites to old-vine Zinfandel that tastes like the history it carries.
The Growers
If the chefs and winemakers are Lodi's voice, its farmers are its foundation—and American Fare gives that foundation its proper credit.
CalRiver Farms and Toscano Farms represent the deep-rooted row crop agriculture that has defined the Central Valley for generations. Honest Acres Farm brings a commitment to sustainable growing practices that is reshaping how the region thinks about soil and production. PT Ranch raises heritage livestock with the care and intention more commonly associated with small-scale producers, while Golden Bear Ranches brings its own land-rooted story to the table. Ecofriendly Farms and Spenker Family Farm round out the vegetable and row crop representation, each farming with an eye on long-term stewardship over short-term yield.
Then there are the producers that speak to Lodi's more unexpected depth: LoCA Blueberry Farm, whose fruit finds its way into kitchens well beyond the valley; Tsar Nicolai Caviar, bringing one of California's most celebrated aquaculture operations to the table; and Pocket Honey, the kind of small-batch producer that makes a region's food culture feel genuinely alive.
Beyond the Booths
American Fare is designed to wander. Between tasting stations, guests will find a curated artisan market featuring makers like ImGarten Ceramics, Calivirgin Olive Oil, Five Dog Woodworks, Rancho Calaveras Honey Company, Salt & Slopes, Orso E Petali, and textile artist Barbara Utting—the kinds of small-batch creators who embody Lodi's commitment to craft at every scale. There's also a build-your-own bloom bar, a Maison Lodi boulangerie stand, and a garden bar featuring cocktails drawn from local ingredients. The experience runs from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM—long enough to explore, linger, and still make it back for an afternoon on the resort's grounds.
A Weekend Made in Lodi
For those looking for a more intimate experience, VIP tickets grant access to an exclusive four-course luncheon on the Americana House patio—an unhurried, seated afternoon with Chef Charlie Palmer and chef partners, Americana House's Chef Robert Ito, and Maison Lodi Head Baker Anne Rosete.
The lunch runs from 1:30 to 3:30 PM and offers something the walk-around experience can't: time. Time to sit with the chefs, to hear the thinking behind each course, and to taste Lodi's best in a setting worthy of it.
The full American Fare experience—both general admission and VIP—is available as an overnight package. The General Admission Package includes two tickets and an overnight stay in a luxury guest room. The VIP Package adds the Americana House luncheon with Chef Palmer.
Grounded in What Matters
Like all things Appellation, American Fare is built with the next generation in mind. Proceeds from the event support scholarships and educational programs through a partnership with San Joaquin Delta College—investing directly in Lodi students pursuing culinary, wine, and creative education. It's the same commitment that drives the Palmer Family Education Foundation: the belief that craft and mentorship, passed forward, is how a region sustains itself.
Saturday, May 2, 2026
Lodi has the growers. It has the winemakers, the chefs, the makers, the land. American Fare is simply the occasion to experience all of it at once—an afternoon that asks nothing more of you than to show up, taste, and take it in.