Cabana Winery

So this review is BC (before coronavirus) as it took place in late February. I rarely give out one star reviews unless it is seriously warranted. However when I was here a few months ago, I was excited to try out Lodi wines as I usually do wine tasting in Amador or Napa. What brought me here as well as the Lodi region was the fact that they were one of the wineries listed in a wine passport that I had acquired from attending a wine tasting event. Basically they were listed as providing a "complimentary tasting for two." Needless to say when I was here I did a tasting of their wines and we ended up buying a bottle ($30 - 35). We were charged for both the bottle and the tastings. When I mentioned that I had the passport, the owner threw a fit. He took out a $20 bill from the register and threw it at us. I am pretty sure it was the owner as I checked out their website and it was the same guy on the website who was there at the time. The employee working there looked extremely uncomfortable and I felt bad for him. Who does that?!?!? I was so shocked that I just wanted to leave. Dude, I don't care if you had forgotten to take your meds that morning, but basic Business 101 is: Don't offend your customers. Keeping existing customers is cheaper than acquiring new ones. Yeah, so not coming back and not recommending.

Cabana is nothing fancy as far as the tasting room and in a spot you wouldn't expect but their wine is wonderful!! U pay an annual fee for membership, get 4 bottles of wine during the annual membership with no quarterly releases.... And your discount is great!! Robert is an awesome wine maker!!

Staff and Robert the wine maker are fabulous. It's a hidden gem regarding the location. But the wine will knock you off you seat! Start with the wines labeled Cabana and move onto RISK. You will be amazed!Robert and staff are ready to share their knowledge and why they have dedicated themselves to wine.We became wine members on our first stop.

After being introduced to this place during the yelp event and enjoying it so much I decided to come back with some friends who love wine. My best friends birthday was coming up and she really enjoys her wine as well as all of her friends. They frequent Napa and I wasn't sure if they were aware of this place, so I created an invitation on Facebook and invited them all here for a surprise birthday brunch.The response was really good, many of the girls were surprised this place existed and were anxious to come try it out. I had made reservations for our group and the weather had been kinda iffy the week prior but I was assured either way they would accommodate us indoors or out on patio if possible. The morning of was very nice and we ended up getting a nice table off in the back which they had all set up for us. Don't forget to check in on Yelp for your free glass of wine. The staff took care of our group very well. Drinks were refilled timely (unlimited mimosas was a popular choice) the menu was fabulous and everyone found something they were excited to try. The food was fabulous and thanks to Cabanas I hit a home run with this surprise birthday gathering. I really need to bring hubby back here for brunch and try happy hour one evening.

Such a cool place!WINE, BEER, PIZZA & MOREMy wife and I attended an event at Cabana Winery & Bistro. Since I've been looking for a wine that I would like, we took advantage of the event to taste and to find a great wine.WINESWe got to sample a red and white wine. To me red wines are strong and bitter. I first tried the Cabana Red. It was pretty good, but the taste was a little to much for me. Basically to strong for me. I then tried the homemade sangria. WOW that was great. The taste was light crisp and refreshing, and very easy to drink. I also tried the Cabana White, it was one of my favorite ones to drink. It wasn't to strong and also had a crisp & refreshing taste. It went down smooth and had me coming back for more. I also tired the Cabana's Pinot Noir. I also like it, It had a smooth finish with an awesome hint of what I think was pepper. But my favorite wine ended up being a Old Vine Zin from Zagan's Fire. I thought it was very fruity a very berry flavor, with an all around smooth taste from beginning to end. FOODThe artisan cheese assortment is awesome and the pair well with the wines that Cabana Winery has to offer. Some cheese have a strong flavor and some have a very mild flavor. I prefer the mild flavored cheeses the best. But my wife likes the stronger one. Definitely try the wood fired pizza's. They are perfect, All of the ingredients are from local growers, which is awesome. My favorite pizza was the Apple Hill Pizza, made with chicken sausage, bacon, gala apples, sage, lemon, arugula, mozzarella drizzled with caramel sauce. mmm mmm good. We also had the meat balls. Holy smokes that things were pretty amazing. Just the right flavor. The meat was marinated just perfect and the sauce had an unbelievable taste. As for dessert the bread pudding was good. Nice a fluffy with homemade whipped cream on top. STAFF AND VENUEThe venue is nice, and has a very homely feeling with a nice vibe. The patio is very spacious with plenty of places to sit, plus it is dog friendly. Inside the building is some what small but cozy. Plenty of seats against the wall and my favorite bar seating. The staff is very friendly and very knowledgeable about their wines. It was great to talk to the owner Robert about baseball and Red Sox second base men Dustin Pedroia. (I went to school with him) While my wife talk to Amy the bartender about anthropology and teaching. You can tell how passionate the owners are about their AWESOME business. I can not wait to go back to Cabana Winery to try more of their wines, their great food and to also try the all Unlimited Bloody Mary and Unlimited Mamosa (Sat & Sun noon to 4pm)

Cabana Winery is a hidden gem in East Sac.I love being introduced to new venues when attending events. This was the case with Cabana Winery. Being from Elk Grove, I would never think to come to this part of town, but am so glad I did. This was my second time at Cabana Winery and each experience keeps getting better and better.The owners, Robert and Rene, were the perfect hosts. They have been making world class wine for many years and brought their craft to this little urban slice of heaven in East Sac. I love speaking with people who have a passion for what they do. You can see the spark in their eyes when they talk about their wine and food. Their pride shows in the quality of their wares. I could not get enough of the meatballs. The Boston style uses beef and Italian sausage to produce rich, hearty meatball that was hard to resist. I also loved the Merlot and took a bottle home after my first visit. Besides the meatballs, we were also nuts about the wood fired, thin crust pizza. The BF even took an entire pepperoni pie all to himself after the event. The crust was perfectly cooked with just a little char. My personal fave was the one with slices of bacon and apples. I've never had a pizza with fresh apple slices and it makes me wonder what I've been missing out on.Besides Robert and Rene, the other stars of Cabana are the staff. I have never seen a more hard working and welcoming group of folks.

Truly a hidden a gem! Cabana Winery & Bistro is tucked away in East Sacramento. They have quite the assortment of beverages and food, not to mention my favorite beverages and food. WINE & PIZZA! They have award winning wines, I sampled many but my favorite was the Cabana Red blend they make. It was so good I went back for seconds, thirds, and I stopped counting after that. :) I also saw several people drinking their white wine and the sangria. You can purchase wine there as well, wine-ing!!! I got a bottle of their red blend in their personalized growler that you can bring back and have filled.Their food.....I'm still thinking about it days later. They have an assortment of artisan cheeses that pair so well with the wines. I'm obsessed with cheese, goat, cow, soft, hard, stinky, the not so stinky. I was so impressed and happy with the variety of cheeses they offered. The pizza they serve is wood fire thin crust and phenomenal! We tried the Apple Hill Pizza pizza which had Chicken sausage, apples, bacon, sage and mozzarella. Pepperoni pizza, and a mushroom pizza that was to die for. We also tasted the meatballs which had beef and sausage. This place was a meat lovers dream. Service- saving the best for last. They were so attentive and friendly. My glass was never empty. They were very nice and informative when we were tasting the wines. They walked around and asked about our experience. Overall the staff were top notch. We even met the owners who were so down to earth, had a great sense of humor, and so friendly. They were so kind and generous. I can't wait to go back. On Fridays they have live music and on the weekends unlimited mimosas. I recommend Lyfting or Ubering :) p.s.- it's Farm to Table! Cheers Cabana

This is a great find for anyone who likes quality wines, a relaxed atmosphere, and farm to fork eats. An outdoor patio with firepits and weekend live music rounds out the space. A brunch menu and bottomless Bloody Marys on the weekend. A fresh pizza and a bottle of wine for $30 deal. A refillable 1-liter wine bottle...the owners have thought of everything on my checklist for an amazing wine bistro. The space is much bigger than it looks from the street and is right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. I drove right past it the first time. Luckily, street parking is ample - and free!Not only do they bottle their own wines (try the pinot noir and the cab sauv) but the owner is also a licensed importer with an eclectic international selection. The house wines have also fared well in state wine competitions. I wouldn't have even known about it if it weren't for the Yelp event I attended, and enjoyed this place so much that I'm planning my next visit.

I got to experience Cabana Winery yesterday and was pleasantly surprised on how such a nice place managed to be under my radar. Tucked away in a more residential area, in Elvas Ave, is a winery and bistro lovingly owned by Robert Smerling and family. Robert has over 25 years in the wine making business and was the founder of Renwood winery in Amador County.Tonight he invited us in and we were able to sample some of his award winning wines both white and red although I only got to try the red (my choice) . I tried the Pinot Noir and the Merlot and both were excellent. I was also able to sample a very nice charcuterie plate of cheeses, meats and nuts, as well as some of his famous "Boston Meatballs" were on display. I really liked the meatballs, as they were seasoned and spiced well and had a zippy red sauce that seemed to go great with the merlot that I was having at that time. But the main thing that i came away with was the passion that Robert had for his business. He talked about how he had a corporate job in the world trade center, and transitioned that to the founder of Renwood for about 2 decades and then to Cabana where the site is the actual winery as we took a small tour of the facilities. He broke down the process and gave some characteristics of good and great wine, as well as discussed the differences in barrels from France as opposed to the ones made in the US as well as life expectancy of the barrels.So although our visit was a taster of his entire venue, we look forward to sampling some of the other experiences that we did not get to partake in such as the summer concerts, the outside fire pit and the pizza and dinner selections.FYI - They have a yelp check in offer, so be sure to use that when you arrive for a glass of wine.

This is our 2nd time here for the Lodi wine & chocolate festival and they are just as good as last year. Their service is attentive and quick to answer any questions. We were educated once again on certain wines and where they come from. I would recommend this spot to anyone who is interested in wine tasting Red & Whites. :)